Zinka Milanov was a marvel. In her prime she was considered the most significant spinto soprano of her day, a singer who possessed an instrument capable of pristine top tones...
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Here we have Jo (Johanna) Vincent, the most famous Dutch singer of the first half of the 20th century. She was not an opera singer. She was rather a recitalist...
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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...
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"Ich bin der Welt abhanden gekommen", one of Mahler's so-called Rückert lieder, is Mahler's finest song. I have been told that the word "Weltschmerz" or "world pain" is used much...
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I'm going to try to post this rather quickly as I haven't posted for a little while. Rather than do a lot of interpretation, I will give some biographical information...
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Capriccio: Mondscheinmusik und Letze Szene Capriccio had its premiere at the Munich, National Theater, 1942. It was Richard Strauss’s final opera, and it is a sophisticated “conversation piece for music”...
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This introduction is essentially a copy from the Winterreise Part I posting. These are the last 12 songs that Schubert wrote. Schubert's Winterreise is a song cycle for piano and...
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Elisabeth Grümmer was a wonderful soprano who sang at around the same time as Elisabeth Scwarzkopf, Lisa della Casa, Hilde Güden, Irmgard Seefriend, and Sena Jurinac. There seemed to be...
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What is Verismo and who was Magda Olivero? First, let me say that no one can really agree what verismo is. Below is a "median" definition. I am going...
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Auch Kleine Dinge Before moving on from Wolf, there is one more Lied that I wanted to play for you. It is called "Auch kleine Dinge". It is the first...
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