Above: Tichina Vaughn
AIDA as performed at the Arena di Verona in 2005. Watch and listen here.
Radames: Jose Cura
Aida: Micaela Carosi
Ramfis: Carlo Colombara
Amneris: Tichina Vaughn
Amonasro: Alberto Mastromarino
Conductor: Daniel Oren
Director and Scenographer: Franco Zeffirelli
Costume designer: Anna Anni
Tatiana Troyanos ~ GIULIO CESARE arias – San Francisco 1982 – in English
I wonder: has any other singer in the history of opera sung both the title-role and Cleopatra in Handel’s masterpiece?
Ildikó Komlósi (above) is Santuzza in a 2004 performance of CAVALLERIA RUSTICANA at Livorno.
Watch and listen here.
Santuzza – Ildikó Komlósi
Turiddu – Alfredo Portilla
Alfio – Alberto Mastromarino
Lola – Sonia Zaramella
Lucia – Viorica Cortez
Conductor – Massimo de Bernard
Above: Eva Marton and Margarita Lilowa in the opening scene of LA GIOCONDA
A rather odd collection of excerpts from a performance of Ponchielli’s LA GIOCONDA given at Vienna in 1986 is available on YouTube. The principal roles are sung by Eva Marton (Gioconda), Ludmila Sementshuk (Laura), Margarita Lilowa (Cieca), Placido Domingo (Enzo), Matteo Manuguerra (Barnaba), and Kurt Rydl (Alvise). Adam Fischer conducts.
Watch and listen here.
I am not sure why some scenes were included, and others – more interesting – were not; the editing is haphazard. But it’s nice to have a souvenir that recalls the performances of the opera at The Met with Marton and Domingo during the 1982-1983 season. Marton was a passionate Gioconda, and Domingo’s dreamy falsetto at “…o sogni d’or” in his great aria is so pleasing to hear.
Above: Margarita Lilowa
And I always enjoy Margarita Lilowa‘s performances.
Actually, as I watched the excerpts included in this YouTube presentation, I remembered that this performance was previously available on VHS, and later on DVD and BluRay. For now, the YouTube highlights will suffice.
An impressive line-up:
LEO NUCCI
GHENA DIMITROVA
PETER DVORSKY
SONA GHAZARIAN
GIACOMO ARAGALL
RUGGERO RAIMONDI
ELENA OBRATZSOVA
FERRUCIO FURLANETTO
NATALIA TROITSKAYA
LUCA CANONICI
MONTSERRAT CABALLE
SAMUEL RAMEY
APRILE MILLO
VINCENZO LA SCOLA
MARA ZAMPIERI
RENE KOLLO
SILVANO CARROLI
EVA MARTON
JUAN PONS
ANTONIO ORDOÑEZ
ILEANA COTRUBAS
JOSE CARRERAS
Watch and listen here.
Doori Na plays Jessie Montgomery’s Rhapsody #1 in an at-home performance during the pandemic. Watch and listen here.
Doori is the resident violinist of Miro Magloire’s New Chamber Ballet. During this period of isolation, Doori has been producing a series of Laid Bach Concerts: watch them here.
Read about composer Jessie Montgomery here.
Above: Martina Arroyo and Oralia Dominguez
A televised performance of the Verdi REQUIEM given at the Salle Pleyel, Paris, in June 1969. Martina Arroyo, Oralia Dominguez, Aldo Bottion, and Nicolai Ghiuselev are the soloists; Jean Martinon conducts.
Watch and listen here.
The artists of the Deutsche Philharmonie Merck, led by Chief Conductor Ben Palmer, perform the prelude to Act III of Wagner’s LOHENGRIN in isolation.
Watch and listen here.
Natalia Makarova and Ivan Nagy dance the White Swan pas de deux from SWAN LAKE at the 100th anniversary celebration of the Metropolitan Opera in New York City in 1984. Ivan Nagy came out of retirement to dance with Ms. Makarova on this occasion. The dancers are accompanied on-stage by violinist Itzhak Perlman and cellist Lynn Harrell.
Watch and listen here.
Natalia Makarova and Ivan Nagy dance the White Swan pas de deux from SWAN LAKE at the 100th anniversary celebration of the Metropolitan Opera in New York City in 1984. Ivan Nagy came out of retirement to dance with Ms. Makarova on this occasion. The dancers are accompanied on-stage by violinist Itzhak Perlman and cellist Lynn Harrell.
Watch and listen here.
Oberon's Glade 