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As the most refined expression of classical music, the extremes of composition made visual, Opera naturally has a polarized image in music and culture in general. Some see it as too pretentious either in composition, performance, or its surrounding culture, while others cannot sit still long enough to get through a couple of hours of musical visual staging where nuance and subtlety are key in both performer and audience.
I'm weird. I'm an old punk rock musician, but I have a taste for excellence in performance. I love it in sports, fights, and especially in music, regardless of genre. Listening to compositions like Verdi's "Aida," Bellini's "Norma," any of Puccini's works, or especially the greatest of all, Rossini's "Barber of Seville when these works are performed by the greatest singers in history such as Maria Callas, Luciano Pavarotti, or Mario Del Monaco...it all just takes music to the highest level.
Talk about opera here, or post your favorite arias from operas or in concert.
I'll start:
Here's Maria Callas in 1951 ruining the life of every soprano ever subsequently cast to play Aida. In Mexico City the year before, she had sung this high E-flat (Eb) at request of the rest of the cast in order to pay tribute to famed Mexican soprano Angela Peralta, as well as to show up Kurt Baum, the obnoxious hot-dogging tenor. She blew him away at the climax of Act II, to great acclaim. The next year in Mexico City she hit the note again when paired with Mario Del Monaco, and he wisely laid back and let her roar. The result sent the opera house into chaos, as can be heard momentarily before fadeout. As a result, subsequent sopranos in her role have felt pressured to sing the note occasionally, with mostly disappointing results.
Callas had incredible mastery of her unequaled vocal instrument. Her articulation, control, and power ahve never been seen together in one vocalist. Without a doubt in my mind she is the greatest singer in history. Her talent and skill were excelled only by her work ethic, as she almost literally played every role of note, doing so with uncanny dedication to not only her roles but the entire cast, and left a measuring stick by her body of work that nobody could ever touch.
Here she is, once again with Del Monaco, hammering the final nail in "Norma." There's a higher fidelity studio version out there, but Corelli is the tenor, and Del Monaco crushes him.
I'm weird. I'm an old punk rock musician, but I have a taste for excellence in performance. I love it in sports, fights, and especially in music, regardless of genre. Listening to compositions like Verdi's "Aida," Bellini's "Norma," any of Puccini's works, or especially the greatest of all, Rossini's "Barber of Seville when these works are performed by the greatest singers in history such as Maria Callas, Luciano Pavarotti, or Mario Del Monaco...it all just takes music to the highest level.
Talk about opera here, or post your favorite arias from operas or in concert.
I'll start:
Here's Maria Callas in 1951 ruining the life of every soprano ever subsequently cast to play Aida. In Mexico City the year before, she had sung this high E-flat (Eb) at request of the rest of the cast in order to pay tribute to famed Mexican soprano Angela Peralta, as well as to show up Kurt Baum, the obnoxious hot-dogging tenor. She blew him away at the climax of Act II, to great acclaim. The next year in Mexico City she hit the note again when paired with Mario Del Monaco, and he wisely laid back and let her roar. The result sent the opera house into chaos, as can be heard momentarily before fadeout. As a result, subsequent sopranos in her role have felt pressured to sing the note occasionally, with mostly disappointing results.
Callas had incredible mastery of her unequaled vocal instrument. Her articulation, control, and power ahve never been seen together in one vocalist. Without a doubt in my mind she is the greatest singer in history. Her talent and skill were excelled only by her work ethic, as she almost literally played every role of note, doing so with uncanny dedication to not only her roles but the entire cast, and left a measuring stick by her body of work that nobody could ever touch.
Here she is, once again with Del Monaco, hammering the final nail in "Norma." There's a higher fidelity studio version out there, but Corelli is the tenor, and Del Monaco crushes him.
