# Favorite duets?



## rgz (Mar 6, 2010)

To go along with the favorite arias thread (and yes, I'll probably make favorite trios/quartets/quintets threads eventually ), what are some of your favorite duets?

I really, really love Dunque Io Son





And Ah! C'est ainsi (from Orphee aux Enfers) might be one of the funniest duets ever (due largely to the astonishing Ms. Dessay)




The duet starts at about 2:15 but the preceeding two minutes are worth watching if only for the disdainful way Natalie says "Viva la luna"

And no duets list would be complete without a mention of La Ci Darem La Mano


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## BalloinMaschera (Apr 4, 2011)

my favorites, in no particular order:

the endless Tristan & Isolde love duet
the endless Lohengrin & Elsa, love duet
the Ricardo & Amelia Ballo in Maschera duet
the recognition duet from Simone Boccanegra
the Eugene Onegin final duet
Hansel & Gretel's evening prayer
Don Carlo & Posa's friendship (or love?!) duet
the Adalgisa & Norma "Mira" duet
the Fenton & Anna love duet from Nicolai's Lustigen Weiber von Windsor


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## Aramis (Mar 1, 2009)

Tristan und Isolde: duet in second act especially it's ending with motives that later appear in final aria of Isolde

I Puritani: glorious male duet after the madness scene:






Norma: male duet with chorus between Meco al'tar... and Me protege...

Traviata: First scene between Violetta and Germon alone in 1st act (because it was my introduction to opera and I'll always remember it from Domingo/Stratas movie)

The Pearl Fellows: obviously the famous "friendship" duet

And some others.

I mentioned more male duets than love duets HMMM perhaps it's because I enoorroor


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## emiellucifuge (May 26, 2009)

For me too the second act of Trsitan und Isolde, but especially the beginning of the 2nd scene. The ecstasy upon them meeting eachother is just overwhelming.


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## rgz (Mar 6, 2010)

BalloinMaschera said:


> Hansel & Gretel's evening prayer


Ah, H&G completely slipped my mind. I love, love, _love_ the dance duet


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## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

All of the above are phenomenal, and I love each single one of them.
I have to think of what to add because you guys have mentioned so many that are so good, but a couple spring to mind immediately:

The Presentation of the Rose from Der Rosenkavalier
The Flower Duet from Lakmé
Sull'aria from Le Nozze di Figaro


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## Il_Penseroso (Nov 20, 2010)

Crudel, perché finora (Le nozze di Figaro)

Schnelle Füsse, rascher Muth (Die Zauberflöte)

Donque io son (Il Barbeiere di Seviglia)

Credeasi misera (I Puritani)

Dite alla Giovine (La Traviata)

Ekh, Máma Mámushka, Vot Tak Skázochka (Boris Godunov)

O Tsaryévich, Umolyáyu' (Boris Godunov) 

Viens, Mallika...dôme épais (Lakmé)

Brüderchen, komm tanz mit mir (Hänsel und Gretel) 

Bimba Dagli Occhi pieni di malìa (Madama Butterfly)

and many more !


@ rgz, favorite arias, favorite duets, Why not open a thread for favorite choruses ?


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## Il_Penseroso (Nov 20, 2010)

I'm just listening to Volkhova/Sadko duet (Svetyat rosoyu medvyanoyu kosy tvoi) from Rimsky Korsakov's Sadko. One of my favorite operas. It's such a brilliant and effective duet but could be heard rarely.


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## classidaho (May 5, 2009)

Hands down, Barcarolle from Offen Bach's 'Tale of Hoffmann'.


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## kv466 (May 18, 2011)

I'm actually a big fan of Huey and Gwyneth doing Cruisin'!


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## Il_Penseroso (Nov 20, 2010)

classidaho said:


> Hands down, Barcarolle from Offenbach's 'Tales of Hoffmann'.


:clap::clap::clap:


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## MAuer (Feb 6, 2011)

Carlo/Posa "friendship" duet from "_Don Carlo_"
Butterfly/Pinkerton duet from the first act of "_Madama Butterfly_"
Butterfly/Sharpless duet from the second act of "_Madama Butterfly_"
Contessa/Susanna "Sull'aria" from "_Le Nozze di Figaro_"
Servilia/Annio duet from the first act of "_La Clemenza di Tito_"
Leonore/Marzelline "Um froh im Ehestand" from the original version of "_Fidelio_"
Pamina/Papageno duet "Bei Männern" from "_Die ZaZauberflöte_"
Papageno/Papagena "Pa-Pa-Pa" from "_Die Zauberflöte_"

Dear Wolfgang certainly could write lovely duets . . . and the other parts of his operas weren't too shabby, either!


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## CaptainAzure (May 2, 2011)

Polionne/Norma
Mimi/Rodolfo

/thread


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## karenpat (Jan 16, 2009)

Probably my favourite although it's kind of an aria first and then turns into a duet:





I also love this one:





Pur ti miro from Poppea can be great if performed by good singers (and preferably a man and a woman in my opinion) - I have a radio recording from a concert version in Paris with Philippe Jaroussky and Danielle DeNiese, it's magical.


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## sabrina (Apr 26, 2011)

Rigoletto, Si Vendetta... with Gavanelli and Schafer






Rigoletto: Bella figlia dell'amore (Cotrubas, Domingo, Macneil, Jones)






Rossini: La Cenerentola, Zitto, zitto, piano, piano






Rossini, Il Barbiere, Dunque io son, Maria Callas and Tito Gobbi:


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## sabrina (Apr 26, 2011)

Ofenbach, Les Contes d'Hoffman; Barcarolle (Montserrat Caballé and Marilyn Horne)






And a duet only Rossini could have written:






OMG! I know Caballé loved Callas, and her daughter just looks amazingly like Callas!


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## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

I just watched Eugene Onegin again yesterday, and was reminded of how beautiful the final scene duet is.


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## sospiro (Apr 3, 2010)

Almaviva said:


> I just watched Eugene Onegin again yesterday, and was reminded of how beautiful the final scene duet is.


The 'beautiful' scene sung by that 'beautiful' guy _you threw in the trash_?? Don't think I could ever forgive someone for throwing Dima in the trash. :scold:


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## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

sospiro said:


> The 'beautiful' scene sung by that 'beautiful' guy _you threw in the trash_?? Don't think I could ever forgive someone for throwing Dima in the trash. :scold:


Oh well, different opera. Besides, lovely Renée Fleming was on this one. I was paying more attention to her rather than to him, hehehe.


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## Il_Penseroso (Nov 20, 2010)

sabrina said:


> Rossini, Il Barbiere, Dunque io son, Maria Callas and Tito Gobbi:


Maria Callas and Tito Gobbi ! :tiphat:

---------------

Pelléas et Mélisande , Acte II , Scène I , Une fontaine dans le parc.

Pelléas et Mélisande , Acte IV , Scène IV

Madama Butterfly , Atto II , Scuoti quella fronda di ciliego (Butterfly/Suzuki)


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## mamascarlatti (Sep 23, 2009)

One of my favourite duets is between a singer and a violin.

Here is the cooperative version:






and a more combative rendition:


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## Aramis (Mar 1, 2009)

I think I forgot to mention pretty kewl duet from Traviata (did anyone else mention it?) in second act when, at the ball, Violetta meets Alfredo alone and he enters with "Mi chiamaste? che bramate?" and then starts the dialogue - there is no polyphony at all but in category of duets with plain, dynamic dialogue without going polyphonic it's one of best - it's both witty musically and expressive. Ah, comprendo! Basta, basta! E sì vile mi credete?


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## wagner4evr (Jul 10, 2010)

I'll have to go with "O sink hernieder, Nacht der Liebe." Tristan's love duet gets me like nothing else, especially Brangäne's background aria, immediately after.


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## MattExcell (Jun 15, 2011)

Would definitely agree with a lot of what has already been mentioned. I would add Via resti servita from Marriage of Figaro:





Lovely (and funny) duet, often gets overshadowed by Sull'aria (which I also love)


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## rgz (Mar 6, 2010)

MattExcell said:


> Would definitely agree with a lot of what has already been mentioned. I would add Via resti servita from Marriage of Figaro:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Via Resti Servita is the first duet I really fell in love with. So damn funny when performed well. Have to admit I'm not a fan of the one you linked (or that Nozze in general) as I think the staging is abominable. My favorite version:





And this one is great too


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## mamascarlatti (Sep 23, 2009)

rgz said:


> And this one is great too


I'd forgotten that, it is so hilarious, and so scary to think they are DRIVING while doing this.


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## MattExcell (Jun 15, 2011)

Aaaaahahaha - that is absolutely brilliant! I bow to your clearly far advanced youtube skills.

Loved the Battle version too.

Just remembered Solenne in quest'ora from Forza Del Destino between Carlo and Alvaro, before they recognise and resume trying to kill each other:





Favourite has to be Dio che nell'alma infondere from Don Carlo, however:


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## mamascarlatti (Sep 23, 2009)

MattExcell said:


> Favourite has to be Dio che nell'alma infondere from Don Carlo, however:


Haha this picture is currently my desktop background!


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## MAuer (Feb 6, 2011)

mamascarlatti said:


> Haha this picture is currently my desktop background!


A pair of gorgeous gentlemen -- vocally and visually!


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## amfortas (Jun 15, 2011)

Aramis said:


> . . . there is no polyphony at all but in category of duets with plain, dynamic dialogue without going polyphonic it's one of best . . .


In a similar vein, I would add Siegmund and Sieglinde's great love scene that ends the first act of Die Walküre--even though they never blend their voices together.

Nearly the same can be said of one of the greatest love duets in all of opera (surprised no one's mentioned it yet): Già nella notte densa from Otello.


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## GoneBaroque (Jun 16, 2011)




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## schigolch (Jun 26, 2011)

The soprano-tenor duet "Glück, Das Mir Verblieb" is perhaps the most celebrated fragment from Korngold's masterpiece _Die Tote Stadt (The Dead City)_.

In 1951, the composer himself directed this recording, with two splendid singers, Hilde Zadek and Anton Dermota.

Just irresistible music, and superb singing:


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## Bix (Aug 12, 2010)

Il_Penseroso said:


> Dite alla Giovine (La Traviata)


This is gorgeous and under-rated, its certainly on my list.


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## Il_Penseroso (Nov 20, 2010)

Bix said:


> This is gorgeous and under-rated, its certainly on my list.


Yes, I love this Duet ...

Another one : Dio, che nell'alma (Don Carlos, Act 2)

Never heard such a victorious song before ...


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