The great Gigli w.Elizabeth

Barbato in Forza. He was 61. I saw his 1955 farewell. Had he lived to 80, he would still have had it!!!!!

  Diana Soviero's Met debut

with Alfredo Kraus in Romeo

et Juliette.The "Poison aria"

is superb.(Also on YouTube).

I know her since 1977.Still feel

she is as great as any soprano in

my experience.

Callas, Corelli, Nicolai

from Trieste.Note Corelli attack before Callas D!!!!!!!!!    Nothing like this today!!!

 Verstovsky(3), glinka, moniuszko,smetana

The second volume of some of my favorite commercial
recordings,featuring:

Eileen Farrell (pictured), Jussi Bjoerling, Robert Merrill,
Lotte Lehmann, Claudia Muzio, Gottlob Frick, Ruby Helder,
Riccardo Stracciari, Christa Ludwig, Walter Berry,
Clara Butt, Enrico Caruso, Janet Baker, Herman Prey

                               (72 minutes)

A Collection of  commercial recordings that are among my
personal favorites. Artists included are:

Sumi Jo (pictured), Zinka Milanov, John McCormack,
Beniamino Gigli, Claudia Novikova, Enrico Caruso,
Janet Baker, Dorothy Kirsten, Robert Merrill, Virginia Zeani,
Luisa Tetrazzini, Giusepe Anselmi, Ebe Stignani,
Cesare Siepi, Eleanor Steber, Pavel Lisitsian,
Mafalda Favero, Vassilka Petrova (I think)

                                     (84 minutes)

A Compilation of 16 Violettas all singing the scene that ends
the Gambling Scene of "La Traviata." Included are:

Callas,Tebaldi, Fleming, Stoyanova, Schymberg, Cotrubas,
Radvanovsky,De Los Angeles, Soviero, Galvany, Scotto,
Carteri, Zeani, Sayao, Guerrini, Albanese

                                 (77 minutes)

The excellent Ponto company has released their 4 CD set of many
interesting excerpts. (Number 50 in their catalogue.).These are live
scenes featuring many fine artists as follows:

Trovatore:  Renata Scotto,Louis Quilico
The Medium:  Regine Crespin
Semele: Beverly Sills
Jenufa: Gre Brouwenstijn and Frans Vroons
Salome: Lili Djanel and Tito Gobbi
Otello: Joan Sutherland and Angelo Marenzi
Manon Lescaut:  Leontyne Price
Eugen Onegin:    Margaret Price
Forza:       Julia Varady
Don Giovanni: Frank Sinatra and Kathryn Grayson (Don't ask!  (74 minutes)

A compilation of 15 tenors singing the famous Boheme aria.
 Included are the following artists:

Giuseppe Anselmi,Georges Thill, Josef Schmidt, Giovanni Malipiero,
Galliano Masini, Jan Kiepura, Richard Tauber, Helge Roswaenge,
Mario Del Monaco, Mario Lanza, Franco Corelli, Alfredo Kraus,
Marcello Giordani, Richard Tucker, and Nicolai Gedda.

                                    (72 minutes)

A selection of Italian songs as sung by five wonderful
tenors: Gigli,Corelli,Tucker, Bergonzi,Caruso.

  I found the error,but rather than redo the narration, here are the selections,not in the correct order, as I could not recover the order,but you can get more information at least:

Gigli:Marechiare, Core'n grato,Sorrento

Corelli:  Addio a Napoli, O paese da sole,I'te vurria vasa

Tucker:  Fenesta che lucive,L'alba separa,Senza nisciuno

Bergonzi: I te vurria vasa,Sorrento, Dicitincello vuie

Caruso:  Pecche, O sole mio, Vieni sul mar, Tu che non chiagne,
Santa Lucia, L'alba separa

 (65 minutes)

             

  For some unknown reason, my narration portion of this
 podcast could not be published, leaving you without the
 answers to the "Esultate Quiz" I had prepared. I suggest
 you might want to play the selections (listed below) for
 a friend, and let him/her guess who is who. I do not know
 why this glitch occured.

          (Maybe you can NOT LOOK BELOW!)

Tamagno, Vickers, McCracken, Ralf, Giacomini,Corelli
Di Stefano (his first and last Otello), Martinelli in 1938,
Martinelli's last Otello in 1948. three by Mario DelMonaco:
Buenos Aires 1950 (his first ever), then 1958 and 1971.
Atlantov, Domingo, Frank Porretta III, Vinay, and finally
John Frederick West.

                                 (35 minutes)

 The remarkable mezzo Ewa Podles in a program of arias and
 songs. Included are five Rachmaninoff songs and arias from
 Rossini's Cenerentola, Tancredi, Maometto II, La Donna del
 Lago, Handel's Orlando and Rinaldo, Tchaikowsly's Maid of
 Orleans, and Gluck's Orfeo et Euridice.

                                   (83 minutes)

An exciting compilation of 12 sopranos singing the Odabella
aria and cabaletta from my personal favorite early Verdi opera,
"Attila."  Included are the following sopranos:

Marisa Galvany, Gilda Cruz-Romo, Julia Varady,
Mara Zampieri, Maria Krikorian, Caterina Mancini,
Tiziana Fabbricini, Rita Orlandi, Linda Strummer,
Antonietta Stella, Marilyn Zschau, and (in photo)
Dimitra Theodossiou.

                                         (83 minutes)

A comparison of some of the great Aida/Amonasro scenes
in live performances.Included are:

Milanov/Warren               Welitsch/Merrill
Callas/Taddei                   Zeani/Guelfi
Scheppan/Hotter               Stella/Guelfi
Rysanek/London              Cerquetti/Guelfi
L.Price/MacNeil                Galvany/Quilico

  Plus,as a bonus, if you can handle it, the same scene
  featuring Vassilka Petrova and Olive Middleton,but
  be sure not to eat before or during this section,
  although you may need a stiff drink.

                               (96 Minutes)

Serse,Rodelinda,Bertarido

A Comparison of 16 pretty good tenors singing the Flower Song
from Bizet's Carmen. Included are:

Georges Thill, Charles Dalmores, Fernand Ansseau,Raoul Jobin,
Richard Tucker, Nicolai Gedda, Mario Chamlee, Beniamino Gigli,
Jon Vickers, Placido Domingo, Rolando Villazon,Enrico Caruso,
Franco Corelli, Giuseppe di Stefano, Jussi Bjoerling, and
Mario del Monaco (pictured).

                                  (70 minutes)

  An exciting comparison of 10 different tenors in the last scene
  of "I Pagliacci."  Included are:

Richard Tucker, Giovanni Martinelli, Franco Corelli,
Jose Carreras, Helge Roswaenge, Mario del Monaco,
Raoul Jobin, Galliano Masini, Jussi Bjoerling, and
Carlo Bergonzi.

                             (66 minutes)

Opera Scenes and Lieder as sung by  the late Hans Hotter, 
 one of the most famous artists of all time.The opera excerpts are from:

 Elektra, Salome,Siegfried, Parsifal, The Flying Dutchman,  
 Pagliacci, and Don Carlo.
       The songs are by Schubert, Brahms, and Pfitzner

    (67 minutes)

 From a superb 4 CD set on the Preiser Label,  20 famous Wagnerian singers:

Lotte Lehmann, Gertrude Bindernagel, Nanny Larsen-Todsen,
Maria Muller, Maria Reining, Lilly Hafgren, Karin Branzell,
Maria Olszewska,Margarete Arndt-Ober, Hans Hermann Nissen,
Alexander Kipnis, Joel Berglund, Michael Bohnen, Emil Schipper,
Heinrich Schlusnus, Set Savanholm, Gotthelf Pistor, Curt Taucher,
Erik Enderlein, Franz Voelker.

                               (83 minutes)

I think you will enjoy these 17 tenors singing the famous aria
from Gounod's "Faust" and will be able to understand how
various tenors approach the top note, because that alone is quite interesting;of course, you might be hearing some of these artists
for the very first time, and I think you will be pleased.

Richard Tucker, Enrico Caruso, Beniamino Gigli,
Neil Shicoff, Georges Thill,Giuseppe Di Stefano
Rolando Villazon, Nicolai Gedda, Jussi Bjoerling,
David Devries,Miguel Villabella, Lucien Muratore,
Cesar Vezzani, Alfredo Kraus, Gaston Michelettti,
Albert Lance, and Charles Rousseliere

                              (93 minutes)

This podcast features three of the finest mezzos in opera history:

    Kathleen Ferrier       Janet Baker         Stephanie Blythe

                                 (88 minutes)

I had a problem with the narration for this podcast, so you will
have to live without the benefit of my voice for this one. I was
so thrilled at Joyce Di Donatos' fabulous rendition of the final
aria of Cenerentola at her recent recital, that I decided to do
a comparison of several other mezzos in this same scene. They
are as follows in order:

Ceclia Bartoli, Olga Borodina, Ewa Podles, Maria Callas,
Veselina Kasarova, Agnes Baltsa, Marilyn Horne, Conchita
Supervia, and Joyce di Donato. 

     I sincerely hope you enjoy the podcast!

                                   (68 minutes)

Scenes from operas in the "Verismo Style" sung by some of
the great Italian interpreters,including:

Tito Schipa, Aureliano Pertile, Bernardo de Muro,
Beniamino Gigli, Alessandro Valente, Giuseppe Taccani,
Ferrucio Tagliavini, Riccardo Stracciari, Titta Ruffo,
Mafalda Favero, Maria Farneti, Licia Albanese,
Pia Tassinari, Gianna Pederzini, Cloe Elmo

 (73 minutes)

An exciting and emotional scene from Act Three of "Siegfried"
as interpreted by 11 different baritones: (Conductor listed also)

Friedrich Schorr (Heger)            Mikhail Kit (Gergiev)
Albert Dohmen  (Thielemann)    Allan Titus   (Fischer)
George London (Leinsdorf)        Robert Hale  (Sawallisch)
Hans Hotter    (Keilberth)           Ferdinand Frantz (Furtwaengler)
James Morris  (Levine)               Donald McIntyre  (Boulez)
                       Sigurd Bjoerling (Von Karajan)

                                   (56 minutes)

An affectionate tribute to the very great Magda Olivero,who
will celebrate her 97th birthday on March 25. The selections
included in this podcast range from 1940 to 1993!!

Traviata, Tosca, Risurrezione, Adriana Lecouvreur,Fedora
Fanciulla, Gianni Schicchi, Lodoletta, Jenufa, Mme.Butterfly,
La Rondine, Manon, Mefistofele,plus "O del mio amato ben."

                                    (81 minutes)

Aida,Faust,Trovatore,Juive,Carmen,  Folk Song      ADORED MAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

A comparison of ten fine sopranos singing the Sieglinde
"Hallucination Scene' from Act two of Wagner's "Die Walkure."

Featured are:

             Regine Crespin, Kirsten Flagstad, Julia Varady,
             Leonie Rysanek, Astrid Varnay, Birgit Nilsson,
             Lotte Lehmann, Regina Resnik, Martha Moedl,
             Natalie Secunde.

                                 (75 minutes)

A compilation of material as sung by Leyla Gencer, one of
the most interesting and versatile artists who never recorded
commercially, but since collectors know she is the veritable
"Queen of the Pirates," there is a wealth of material available:

Trovatore, Due Foscari, Assassino nell Catedrale, Saffo,
Gerusalemme, Roberto Devereux, Rigoletto, Belisario,
Battaglia di Legnano, Simon Boccanegra, Rigoletto,
Werther, Macbeth, Idomeneo, Dialogues of the Carmelites,
Abduction from the Seraglio, Lucrezia Borgia

                                   (88 minutes)

Selections that feature eight of the most exciting divas of
the past. Many of them are not as well-known as I believe
they ought to be;nevertheless,their delivery is so emotional,
and their exciting voices will thrill you:

Rosa Raisa (in photo), Iris Adami-Corradetti, Hina Spani,
Eugenia Burzio, Giannina Arangi-Lombardi, Bianca Scacciati,
Rosetta Pampanini, and Celestina Boninsegna

(66 minutes)

A comparison of famous divas singing the aria "La mamma morta"
from Giordano's "Andrea Chenier."

Antonietta Stella, Renata Tebaldi, Maria Callas, Claudia Muzio,
Meta Seinemeier, Bianca Scacciati, Lina Bruna Rasa, Rose Raisa,
Regina Resnik, Raina Kabaiwanska, Gilda Cruz-Romo, Aprile Millo,
Diana Soviero, and Zinka Milanov

                                (87 minutes)

Nine versions of the Manon St.Sulpice Duet:

 Feraldy/Rogatchewsky               Sills/Gedda
 Gallardo-Domas/Sabbatini          Fleming/Giordani
 Zeani/Oncina                             Freni/Pavarotti
 De Los Angeles/Valletti              Albanese/Di Stefano
     Sayao/Rayner

     (87 minutes)

     I am happy to present highlights from the career of one
     of my all-time favorite artists, Antonietta Stella, who made
     such a great impression on me in her Met seasons. The operas
     represented are:

    Aida, Simon Boccanegra,Attila, Aroldo, Tosca, Don Carlo,
     Il Trovatore, Vespri Sicilani, Andrea Chenier,Luisa Miller
     Gianni Schicchi, Fanciulla del West, Mme.Butterfly

                                 (85 minutes)

   Some of the most amazing singing in this pot-pourri of scenes
   from Bellini's "I Puritani." Artists include:

   Leyla Gencer, Joan Sutherland, Mariella Devia, Beverly Sills,
   Edita Gruberova, Maria Callas, Mirella Freni, Anna Moffo,
   Gianna D'Angelo, Virginia Zeani, Nicolai Gedda, Paul Plishka,
   Louis Quilico, Dmitri Hvorostovsky, Luciano Pavarotti,
   Alfredo Kraus, and William Matteuzzi (and his high "F.")

(83 minutes)

An interesting selection of scenes from Wagner operas sung
by Non-German artists in various languages.Included are:

Mario DelMonaco, Maria Callas, Renata Tebaldi, Nelly Melba,
Josep Palet, Francisco Vignas, Cesar Vezzani, Paul Franz,
Fernando de Lucia, Giuseppe de Luca, Mattia Battistini,
Germaine Lubin, CloeElmo, Aureliano Pertile, Edward Johnson,
Victoria de Los Angeles, Riccardo Stracciari, Emili Vendrell,
 and Ivan Koslowsky.

                              (85 minutes)

Part two of a tribute to the fine sopranos of today. Included are:

Karita Mattila(in photo), Edita Gruberova, Hei-Kyung Hong,
Krassimira Stoyanova, Olga Guryakova, Anna Netrebko,
Sumi Jo, Deborah Voigt, Rene Fleming, Natalie Dessay,
Angela Gheorghiu, and Rebecca Evans.

                  (60 minutes)

Part One of two in which we honor the wonderful divas of
the present generation. Included here are selections by:

Vivica Genaux, Stephanie Blythe, Elina Garanca, Dolora Zajick,
Maddalena Kozena, Susan Graham, Joyce di Donato, Judith Forst,
Olga Borodina, Vesselina Kasarova, Ewa Podlés (in photo),
Lisa Gasteen, Ruth Ann Swenson, Christina Gallardo-Domas,
and Barbara Bonney

(62 minutes)

Figaro,Lucia,Favorita,Nabucco,traviata,Trovatore

For some reason, my first Rigoletto "Si,vendetta" podcast
was flawed, so I am repeating it. We have 11 versions:

Cappuccilli/Bonifaccio      Quilico/Wise      MacNeil/Gencer
Tipton/Koeth                Schlusnus/Berger  MacNeil/Scotto
Campolonghi/Callas       MacNeil/Peters    Warren/Peters
Vargicova/Grundheber           Milnes/Sutherland

              (45 minutes)

 Selections from the Saint-Saens opera "Samson et Delilah
 featuring many fine singers,including:

Ezio Pinza, Robert Merrill, Rise Stevens, Dolora Zajick,
Shirley Verrett, Oralia Dominguez, Rita Gorr, Christa Ludwig,
Ebe Stignani, Giulietta Simionato, Fiorenza Cossotto,
Jose Luccioni, Ramon Vinay, Jon Vickers, Robert Massard,
Rene Maison, and Richard Tucker

                                (70 minutes)

In the Holiday Spirit, a selection of songs featuring some
of the greatest artists in the world of music:

De Los Angeles, Schumann, Muzio, Schumann-Heink,
Onegin,Thill, Schiotz, Tucker, Kussevitsky, Robeson,
Maynor, Weede, D'Arkor, Tauber, Destinn,Gedda, Erb

                          (68 minutes)

An exciting pot-pourri of sopranos of the past. Featured are:

Tetrazzini (in photo), Muzio, Ponselle, Cobelli, Bruna Rasa,
Nordica, Patti, Neshdanova, Kurz, Hempel, Galvany, Jokl,
Poli-Randaccio, Spani, Leider, Ljungberg, Austral, Scuderi,
Arangi-Lombardi, De Hidalgo

                                    (84 minutes)

    Many selections in honor of  Richard Tucker, for me, the
    greatest tenor I ever heard in live performance.

Andrea Chenier, Fanciulla Del West, Forza del Destino
Cavalleria Rusticana and Pagliacci, Ballo in Maschera,
Floridante, La Juive, Turandot, Tosca, Luisa Miller,
Manon Lescaut, Trovatore, and songs.

                              (75 minutes)

Maria Callas and Renata Tebaldi, two of the greatest divas
who ever graced an opera stage, singing the same material
as a point of friendly comparison. Selections are from:

La Gioconda, Aida, Louise, Tosca, Mme.Butterfly,
 Tristan und Isolde,  and Andrea Chenier.

                                    (102 minutes)

There have been many great artists who appeared at the
Salzburg Festival in the 30's and 40's, and in other theatres.
Here is a pot-piurri that will present some of them to you.

Tiana Lemnitz,Lotte Lehmann, Maria Reining, Charles Kullmann, Koloman Von Pataky, Sigrid Onegin,Marcel Wittrisch,
Alexander Kipnis, Michael Bohnen, Ludwig Weber,
Selma Kurz, Julius Patzak, Hans Hotter, Dino Borgioli,
Maria Cebotari, Ljuba Welitsch, Set Svanholm, and
Alfred Piccaver.

                              (80 minutes)

Let us give the men a chance! I am so "diva-oriented" I tend
to forget that there is an incredible array of male artists who thrill us. Here are some scenes from Verdi operas featuring:

Richard Tucker, Leonard Warren, Robert Merrill, Jussi Bjoerling,
Samuel Ramey, Thomas Hampson, Cornell MacNeil, Piero Cappuccilli, Nicolai Ghiaurov, Giorgio Tozzi, Ezio Flagello,
Sherrill Milnes, Karl Ridderbusch, Carlo Tagliabue, Galliano Masini,
Mario del Monaco, Helge Roswaenge, Heinrich Schlusnus,
Ettore Bastianini,Jerome Hines

                                    (55 minutes)

  On occasion, even a jaded opera lover like me finds joy
  in discovering a great voice. I find that Signor Giordani
  is one of the great singers in my opera-going experience
  and I am pleased to present live scenes from various operas
  that feature him:

Favorita, Manon, Romeo ,Huguenots, Gioconda, Ballo,
William Tell(with a BIS!!), Adriana Lecouvreur.

                             (85 minutes)

A comparison (quiz) of 13 sopranos singing the heartbeaking
second act scene "Che tua madre" from Puccini's Mme.Butterfly.

                                 (54 minutes)

 Like high notes???????????????????

Donizetti, Bellini, Rossini (L'ape musicale)

A comparison of 14 renditions of the trio from act one of
 Bellini's Norma, featuring :

Callas, Sills, Cigna, Milanov, Hunter, Cerquetti, Deutekom,
Galvany,Goerke, Flanigan, Scotto, and Suliotis

                             (60 minutes)

Selections from Charlie's favorite early Verdi opera.

In the Attila compilation, the following artists are featured:

Gilda Cruz-Romo, Mara Zampieri, Caterina Mancini, Rita Orlandi, Lauren Flanigan, Elizabeth Rethberg,Marisa Galvany,Julia Varady,
Antonietta Stella, Igor Gorin, Piero Cappuccilli,Vladimir Chernov,
Nicolai Ghiaurov, Ezio Pinza, Gianfranco Cecchele,Beniamino Gigli,
Enrico di Giuseppe, Francisco Casanova,Sam Ramey (in photo)

                                (77 minutes)