I thought that for the end of the year/the beginning of next year, I would post what some might call "opera's greatest hits". These are two duets, one from Delibes'...
Read More
Before introducing Régine Crespin, I want to describe what a Falcon soprano is. The term "Falcon" comes from Marie Cornélie Falcon, a French singer who lived from 1814–1897. Roles that...
Read More
The following is a duet, a wildly popular duet, from Wagner's opera "Lohengrin". As can happen in Wagner, the story is a bit complicated, and I have inserted a synopsis...
Read More
I am going to do something a little different in this post. I have put various performers side by side singing lieder in the past, but I have never done...
Read More
Elena Gerhardt was one of the greatest lieder singers of the 20th century. She was unique in that she appeared in both opera and lieder recitals. This is not usually...
Read More
Der Rosenkavalier – the Presentation of the Rose, Tiana Lemnitz (Octavian), Maria Cerbotari (Sophie)
This is the Presentation of the Rose from the 2nd Act of Strauss's Der Rosenkavalier. It is a wonderful recording with two singers in their prime. I did a fairly...
Read More
Ebe Stignani (July 10, 1903 – October 5, 1974) was an Italian opera singer, who was pre-eminent in the dramatic mezzo-soprano roles of the Italian repertoire during a stage career...
Read More
Nadezhda Obukhova was one of Russia’s most beloved artists during the post-war years. Already 28 at the outbreak of WorldWar I, she could well be expected to have recorded during...
Read More