# Favorite aria?



## rgz (Mar 6, 2010)

I go through phases of listening to particular arias almost exclusively for days on end, but overall O Zittre Nicht is probably my all-time favorite.


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## sospiro (Apr 3, 2010)

That's really difficult for me. I listen to a particular aria & it moves me to tears & think to myself 'this is my favourite'.

Then a few days later I am listening to another opera & think 'no _this_ is my favourite'.


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## OperaSaz (Feb 12, 2010)

One of my favourites has to be Sul from Le Nozze di Figaro.

Really powerful, and it features in one of my favourite films, The Shawshank redemption 

Sarah


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## Grosse Fugue (Mar 3, 2010)

Largo al Factotum


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## Niebolaz (Jul 9, 2009)

Wotan's farewell to Brunhilde at the end of Die Walkure - as I read somewhere 'worth sitting through 4 hours that precede it'.


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## Herkku (Apr 18, 2010)

For me it tends to vary, too. For an exceptionally long time it used to be "Scherza infida" from Ariodante, sung by David Daniels. Some twenty years earlier, it was "Dopo notte", from the same opera, sung by Janet Baker. When I heard "Chi il bel sogno" for the first time, sung by Leona Mitchell, I couldn't get enough of it. So, it hasn't been so much a particular aria, but a particular performance, that has moved me.

I agree that "Canzonetta sull' aria" in The Sawshank Redemption was a really effective touch in the movie, although by that time I could already recognize the duet and the singers.


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## rgz (Mar 6, 2010)

Grosse Fugue said:


> Largo al Factotum


Have you seen this?




Fun as hell to sing along, though I suspect my Italian isn't quite up to snuff


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## Agatha (Nov 3, 2009)

-my love for opera started from this aria


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## Leonora (Jun 5, 2010)

Il balen del suo sorriso from "Il Trovatore"


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## classidaho (May 5, 2009)

Leonora, you have extraordinary taste!


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## mamascarlatti (Sep 23, 2009)

rgz said:


> Have you seen this?
> 
> 
> 
> ...


OMG I knew the timing was hard but to this extent! As you say, loads of fun.


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## sospiro (Apr 3, 2010)

rgz said:


> Have you seen this?
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I'd love to do that on my pub's karaoke night.


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## Gneiss (Feb 3, 2009)

How do you possibly even beggin to choose between just these few, for example?

Caro Nome - Rigoletto 




Casta Dia - Norma 




Una Voce Poco Fa - Il Barbiere Di Siviglia 




I'm not sure this strictly counts, but hey I love it anyway...

Estrellita - Manuel Ponce


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## Petwhac (Jun 9, 2010)

This is a great performance of a great aria.
Talk about being 'in the zone', watch her after her last note.


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## classidaho (May 5, 2009)

OMG...........! Brava! That was wonderful Thanx for sharing, Chuck


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## classidaho (May 5, 2009)

Oh yeah, I must add "the beauty of that smile that appeared after she held that look well into the applause....."!


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## classidaho (May 5, 2009)

Mira, o Norma covers: 1 Favorite Aria

2. Favorite Duet

3. From favorite opera

Done here by my favorite duo.................Anna Netrebko and Elina Garanca


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## Chi_townPhilly (Apr 21, 2007)

sospiro said:


> That's really difficult for me. I listen to a particular aria & it moves me to tears & think to myself 'this is my favourite'.
> 
> Then a few days later I am listening to another opera & think 'no _this_ is my favourite'.


YupYupYup. I know the feeling. I can select a 'favorite composer,' favorite conductor,' favorite symphony,' possibly even "Favorite Opera,'--- but favorite _aria_??

Too many choices- let's try categorically:

Favorite Wagner aria: _Dich, Teure Halle_ from *Tannhäuser*- 
or maybe Senta's Ballad from *Der Fliegende Holländer*.

Favorite Verdi aria: _Di, Quella Pira_ from *Il Trovatore*.

Favorite Puccini aria: _Che Gelida Manina_ from *La Bohème*.

Favorite Humerous aria: _Vous qui faltes l'endormie_ from Gounod's *Faust*.

Favorite Mozart aria: Queen of Night's aria from *Die Zauberflöte*.

Favorite Mezzo aria: _Connais-tu le pays?_ from *Mignon* (Thomas)- 
or possibly Brangäne's Watch from *Tristan und Isolde*.


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## rgz (Mar 6, 2010)

Chi_townPhilly said:


> Favorite Mozart aria: Queen of Night's aria from *Die Zauberflöte*.


To be sure ... but which one?


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## Gneiss (Feb 3, 2009)

classidaho said:


> Mira, o Norma covers: 1 Favorite Aria
> 
> 2. Favorite Duet
> 
> ...


I posted that very clip elsewhere a few days back, it's just wonderful.... I could never tire of listening to it.


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## classidaho (May 5, 2009)

And back on track, for favorite aria, again, from my favorite Opera (Norma), I choose Casta Diva. Going off the track, for a Soprano, I choose Angela GHEORGHIU as my favorite performance for this part.


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## karenpat (Jan 16, 2009)

My favourites change all the time. Right now I'm very into arias from Giulio Cesare, the arias I listen to the most would have to be L'aura che spira and V'adoro pupille.

Scherza infida from Ariodante, Love sounds th' alarm from Acis & Galatea and Addio del passato from La Traviata would also make my top 10 list.


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## mamascarlatti (Sep 23, 2009)

karenpat said:


> Right now I'm very into arias from Giulio Cesare, the arias I listen to the most would have to be L'aura che spira and V'adoro pupille.


For a while my favourite aria was "Va tacito et nascosto" from that opera, but it definitely provides plenty of contenders!


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## DarkAngel (Aug 11, 2010)

I will never tire of hearing great versions of Rosina's aria *Una Voce Poco Fa* from Barber of Seville, women ususally find a way to outsmart men in Rossini's world.

Besides Callas amazing versions this *Anna Moffo* performance from TV segment is just delightful, full of confidence and swagger with imaginative delivery, a woman determined to have her way


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## Siegmund (Aug 9, 2010)

For me the two Queen of the Night Aria's (yes both of them ), "Leb Wohl!" From the end of Die Walküre, "Fliegt heim ihr Raben", end of Götterdämmerung, Siegmund heiss ich, Siegmund binn ich, end of act 1 of Die Walkure. Ah... I love too many aria's to mention here  It's extremely difficult to choose but _one_ favorite...


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## Bix (Aug 12, 2010)

Petwhac said:


> This is a great performance of a great aria.
> Talk about being 'in the zone', watch her after her last note.


Totally amazing - grazie Petwhac


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## Bix (Aug 12, 2010)

rgz said:


> Have you seen this?
> 
> 
> 
> ...


That was such good fun, ages since ive had a go at singing that.


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## Figaro78 (Aug 20, 2010)

Glück, das mir verblieb (Marietta's Lied) from Korngold's Die Tote Stadt. If there's a more beautiful 20th-century aria than this I can't imagine which it would be.


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## Charon (Sep 8, 2008)

"Non Mi Dir" from Don Giovanni. Beautiful.

I have lots of other faves though.


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## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

*It's hard to quote one favorite aria,*

it changes a lot.
Currently I believe that if I had to quote one for the female voices and one for the male voices, I'd go with Casta Diva from Norma, and Je Crois Entendre Encore from Les pêcheurs de perles.


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## Sonata (Aug 7, 2010)

Senza mama from Suor Angelica. I have never before been so moved by another piece of music.


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## sospiro (Apr 3, 2010)

Reading through the posts in Alma's *Pet peeve: what's wrong with a good aria?* (I don't have the knowledge to respond but I do love a good aria) prompted me to bump this thread.

One of my all time favourites


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## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

sospiro said:


> Reading through the posts in Alma's *Pet peeve: what's wrong with a good aria?* (I don't have the knowledge to respond but I do love a good aria) prompted me to bump this thread.
> 
> One of my all time favourites


Ah, the great di Stefano... what a sense of musical phrase! Thanks, Annie!


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## Ravellian (Aug 17, 2009)

Absolutely "Liebestod" from _Tristan und Isolde_, with Nilsson/Bohm. It's my favorite moment in all of music.

Casta Diva is my number 2 favorite, I always tear up when the chorus comes in


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## myaskovsky2002 (Oct 3, 2010)

well....of course many many...one I love is la Rondine's Doretta's dream

[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0pjtsmV7FqM/[yt]


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## charismajc (Nov 14, 2010)

Già nella notte densa from Otello
Der Hölle Rache from Magic Flute (over-exposure hasn't ruined it for me, thankfully)


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## Elgarian (Jul 30, 2008)

myaskovsky2002 said:


> well....of course many many...one I love is la Rondine's Doretta's dream


That's my favourite performance of this fabulous aria too, but I'm also haunted by this very different version by Rosanna Carteri (1958) at the moment.


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## jhar26 (Jul 6, 2008)

I love this version from Kiri Te Kanawa


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## Elgarian (Jul 30, 2008)

And very nice too. Sometime we should have a discussion about listening to arias sung in concert, compared to those sung in context as part of a performance, and how it affects our perception of them. I might even start a thread about it!


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## SalieriIsInnocent (Feb 28, 2008)

This is the exact version of my favorite Aria.


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## SalieriIsInnocent (Feb 28, 2008)

On sadder days this is my favorite Aria. But Siepi, or Furlanetto have to sing it.


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## mamascarlatti (Sep 23, 2009)

SalieriIsInnocent said:


> On sadder days this is my favorite Aria. But Siepi, or Furlanetto have to sing it.


That's really beautifully sung. Better than Furlanetto because more subtle, IMO.


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## BalloinMaschera (Apr 4, 2011)

hmm i suppose favorites can change from mood to mood and day to day... but if i had to chose which arias i would be sad never to hear again (in no particular order) ...

the Count's Act III aria- Nozze di Figaro
Posa's double arias in Verdi's Don Carlo
Wotan's Farewell in Wagner's Walkuere

I guess I'm partial to baritones...!


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## jhar26 (Jul 6, 2008)




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## sospiro (Apr 3, 2010)

Thank you Gaston for posting those.

Mines changes frequently, depending on my mood. These two are my favourites today.


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## TxllxT (Mar 2, 2011)

The most beautiful aria for me is to be heard in Prokofiev's Semyon Kotko, where a duet of Semyon & Sofya starts: "Tsvetochek moy, moy kvitochek" (My little flower, little flower). Semyon sings with enormous arching lyrical stretches, while Sofya twitters underneath his lovesong like ... a worried chattering tweety bird.:angel::kiss:


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## Sieglinde (Oct 25, 2009)

How could I choose only one?


Soprano: 

- Brünnhilde's Immolation - it's just pure awesomeness (give me Flagstad, Varney or Nilsson for extra orgasm)


Mezzo-soprano/Alto:

- Ulrica's aria

Tenor: 

- Che'ella mi creda (Björling or Domingo, please)
- Dalla sua pace (Michael Schade is my favourite Ottavio)
- Vere's Prologue/Epilogue and "I accept their verdict" (give me Langridge and I will cry)
- Winterstürme (give me Christian Franz - he sings it as a beautiful, lyrical song, no Heldentenor yelling at all)

Baritone:

- Il balen del suo sorriso - the baritone's test for me. If he can sing it in a way I want to kick out Manrico and fall into his arms, he's doin' it right. 
- Rodrigo's death *sniff* (Milnes for extra *sniff*)
- Deh vieni alla finestra - seriously, is there any woman who wouldn't fall for this? (Gilfry or Keenlyside please)

Bass-baritone:

- Wotan's farewell, of course. Just about any real, juicy, velvety bass-baritone will do.

Bass:

- Ella giammai m'amo - someone just give poor king a hug! (especially with Székely, Furlanetto or Polgár)
- Song of the Varangian guest from Sadko (Mark Reizen is my favourite)
- O beauty, o handsomeness, goodness - you saw it coming. Soooo black and pouring with malice and yet a good bass can easily show how tormented he is. (Favourites: Clive Bayley and John Tomlinson)
- Hier sitz' ich zur Wacht - see above. Absolute king of this is Salminen.
- Vecchia zimarra - Puccini never fails to make me bawwww.


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## prettyhippo (Apr 19, 2011)

Looking at all these arias, I'm feeling a bit sheltered, but that won't stop me from admitting that my current favorite aria is Vesti La Giubba.


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## befstrat (Apr 21, 2011)

The most beautifull aria for me is "Vesti La Giubba" from I Pagliacci. I remember listening to it from a 45 vinil recording sung by Mario del Monaco (to my opinion the best performer of this aria) when I was 5 years old. Almost 40 years later I still have tears when I listen to it.
To make them 3 I will add "E lucevan le stelle" from Tosca and "Una furtiva lagrima" from L'Elisir d'Amore

And 3 soprano arias:

"Ebben ne andro lontana" from "La wally"
"Caro nome" from "Rigoletto"
"Sempre Libera" from "La Traviata"


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## World Violist (May 31, 2007)

My favorite arias aren't even from opera... this is a sad realization for me. I can't even think of an opera aria that really stands out except for the exceptionally annoying baritone from the beginning of Zauberflote about birds.

If you take this out of operatic context, my absolute favorite aria is "Erbarme dich" from Bach's St. Matthew Passion. That is all.


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## prettyhippo (Apr 19, 2011)

> The most beautifull aria for me is "Vesti La Giubba" from I Pagliacci. I remember listening to it from a 45 vinil recording sung by Mario del Monaco (to my opinion the best performer of this aria) when I was 5 years old. Almost 40 years later I still have tears when I listen to it.
> To make them 3 I will add "E lucevan le stelle" from Tosca and "Una furtiva lagrima" from L'Elisir d'Amore
> 
> And 3 soprano arias:
> ...


I love your taste!


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## mamascarlatti (Sep 23, 2009)

World Violist said:


> If you take this out of operatic context, my absolute favorite aria is "Erbarme dich" from Bach's St. Matthew Passion. That is all.


Absolutely. With Andreas Scholl singing it. Weep weep.


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## LordBlackudder (Nov 13, 2010)

probably this one


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## MAuer (Feb 6, 2011)

It would be tough to select only one favorite, since there are so many arias I really love listening to.

My top five would probably be:
"_Donna non vidi mai_" from "_Manon Lescaut_"
"_Ombra mai fu_" from "_Serse_" (preferably sung by Wunderlich)
"_Il balen del suo sorriso_" from "_Il Trovatore_" (with Milnes!)
"_Non mi dir_" from "_Don Giovanni_"
"_In diesen heil'gen Hallen_" from "_Die Zauberflöte_"


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## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

Oh, OK, you guys know that I don't like opera very much, so, I'll just quote a few arias, duets, ensembles, and instrumentals that I find relatively decent. Not by any means a complete list, you know, just for starters. By alphabetic order, to make it simpler:

Aida: Gloria all'Egitto
Aida: Ritorna vincitor 
Aida: Se quel guerrier...Celeste Aida 
Andrea Chénier: Come un bel dì di maggio 
Boris Godunov: Boris's Farewell 
Carmen: La fleur que tu m'avais jetée
Carmen: L'amour est un oiseau rebelle
Carmen: Votre toast, je peux vous le rendre
Cavalleria rusticana: Intermezzo 
Così fan tutte: Temerari...Come scoglio 
Der Fliegende Holländer: Johohoe! Traft ihr das Schiff im 
Der Rosenkavalier: Da geht er hin 
Der Rosenkavalier: Marie Therese...Ist ein Traum...Spür nur dich
Der Rosenkavalier: Mir ist die Ehre widerfahren
Dido and Aeneas: Thy hand, Belinda... When I am laid in earth
Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg: Morgenlich leuchtend in rosigem Schein
Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg: Selig, wie die Sonne 
Die Walküre: Ho-jo-to-ho
Die Walküre: Leb wohl, du kühnes, herrliches Kind 
Die Zauberflöte: Der Hölle Rache
Die Zauberflöte: O Isis und Osiris 
Die Zauberflöte: Pa, pa, pa, pa
Don Carlo: Ella giammai m'amò 
Don Carlo: Nei giardin del bello 
Don Giovanni: Deh vieni alla finestra
Don Giovanni: Don Giovanni, a cenar teco
Don Giovanni: Là ci darem la mano
Don Giovanni: Madamina! Il catalogo è questo
Don Pasquale: Com'è gentil 
Eugene Onegin: Kuda vy udalilis
Eugene Onegin: Puskai pogibnu ya, no pryezhde
Faust: Les grands seigneurs... Ah! Je ris de me voir si belle 
Fidelio: Mir ist so wunderbar
Fidelio: O welche Lust 
Gianni Schicchi: O mio babbino caro 
Giulio Cesare: Va tacito e nascosto 
Götterdämmerung: Siegfried's Funeral Music 
I puritani: A te, o cara 
Il Barbiere di Siviglia: La calunnia è un venticello 
Il Barbiere di Siviglia: Largo al factotum 
Il Barbiere di Siviglia: Una voce poco fa 
Il Trovatore: Di quella pira
Il Trovatore: Anvil chorus
L'Elisir d'Amore: Una furtiva lagrima
L'Incoronazione di Poppea: Pur ti miro 
La bohème: Che gelida manina
La bohème: O soave fanciulla 
La bohème: Si, mi chiamano Mimi 
La Damnation de Faust: Chantons... Devant la maison de celui qui t'adore
La Damnation de Faust: Une puce gentile
La Fille du Régiment: Ah! Mes amis... Pour mon âme 
La Muette de Portici: Mieux vaut mourir... Amour sacré de la patrie 
La Traviata: É strano! É strano!
La traviata: Libiamo, ne' lieti calici
La traviata: Prelude 
La traviata: Pura siccome un angelo... Dite alla giovine
La Traviata: Sempre libera
La Traviata: Tenesta la promessa...Addio del passato 
La Traviata: Un dì, felice, eterea
La Wally: Ebben? Ne andrò lontana 
Lakmé: Par les dieux inspirée... Où va la jeune Indoue
Lakmé: Sous le dôme épais
Le Nozze di Figaro: Dove sono i bei momenti 
Le Nozze di Figaro: Non più andrai 
Le Nozze di Figaro: Overture 
Le Nozze di Figaro: Porgi, Amor 
Le Nozze di Figaro: Sull'aria
Le Nozze di Figaro: Voi che sapete 
Le Postillon de Lonjumeau: Mes amis, écoutez l'histoire 
Les Contes d'Hoffmann: Belle nuit, ô nuit d'amour
Les contes d'Hoffmann: Les oiseaux dans la charmille 
Les Pêcheurs de Perles: Au fond du temple saint
Les Pêcheurs de Perles: Je crois entendre encore
Les Troyens: Je vais mourir... Adieu, fière cité 
Les Troyens: Nuit d'ivresse
Lohengrin: Einsam in trüben Tagen 
Lohengrin: In fernem Land 
Louise: Depuis le jour 
Lucia di Lammermoor: Chi mi frena
Lucia di Lammermoor: Eccola!...Il dolce suono...S'avanza Enrico!
Madama Butterfly: The Humming Chorus 
Madama Butterfly: Un bel dì
Madama Butterfly: Vogliatemi bene
Manon: Allons! Il le faut... Adieu notre petite table 
Mignon: Connais-tu le pays 
Mignon: Elle ne croyait pas dans sa candeur 
Mireille: Heureux petit berger 
Nabucco: Va, pensiero
Norma: Casta diva 
Norma: Mira, o Norma 
Orfeo ed Euridice: Che farò senza Euridice 
Orphée et Eurydice: Dance of the Blessed Spirits 
Otello: Esultate! 
Otello: Niun mi tema 
Otello: Piangea cantando... Ave Maria 
Pagliacci: Recitar!... Vesti la giubba
Parsifal: Prelude 
Porgy and Bess: Summertime 
Rigoletto: Gualtier Maldè!...Caro nome 
Rigoletto: La donna è mobile 
Rigoletto: Un dì, si ben rammentomi... Bella figlia dell'amore
Roméo et Juliette: Ah! Je veux vivre dans ce rêve 
Roméo et Juliette: L'amour, l'amour... Ah! Lève-toi, soleil 
Rusalka: Song to the Moon 
Samson et Dalilah: Mon coeur s'ouvre à ta voix 
Siegfried: Heil dir, Sonnet 
Tannhäuser: Beglückt darf nun dich, O Heimat, ich schauen
Tannhäuser: Dich, teure Halle 
Tannhäuser: Wie Todesahnung... O du mein holder Abendstern 
Thaïs: Ah! Je suis seule enfin... Dis-moi que je suis belle 
Thaïs: Méditation
The Merry Widow: Vilia Song 
Tosca: E lucevan le stelle
Tosca: Vissi d'arte
Tristan and Isolde: Liebestod 
Turandot: Nessun dorma
Turandot: Signore, ascolta 
Werther: Toute mon âme est là... Pourquoi me réveiller? 
Xerxes: Ombra mai fù


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## mamascarlatti (Sep 23, 2009)

World Violist said:


> My favorite arias aren't even from opera... this is a sad realization for me. I can't even think of an opera aria that really stands out except for the exceptionally annoying baritone from the beginning of Zauberflote about birds.
> 
> If you take this out of operatic context, my absolute favorite aria is "Erbarme dich" from Bach's St. Matthew Passion. That is all.


Check this out:




I've got someone new to be in love with.


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## delallan (Jan 4, 2011)

This goes beyond breathtaking!!!! Thank you so much for sharing this!



Petwhac said:


> This is a great performance of a great aria.
> Talk about being 'in the zone', watch her after her last note.


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## sabrina (Apr 26, 2011)

*Bellini*
casta diva- sieger uber alles

*Verdi:*
si, vendetta, tremenda vendetta
bella figlia dell'amore
sempre libera

*half of Rossini (LOL):*
largo al factotum
una voce poco fa
la calunnia
zitto, zitto, piano, piano

*Mozart, my love:*
la ci darem la mano
Der holle rache

*Puccini* 
O mio babbino caro

I am sure I forgot a few!

Sorry no diacritics!


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## kv466 (May 18, 2011)

One of my favorites is the Aria to Zaide...ha, and I know it's not exactly what we're talking here but, well...Goldberg, heh


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## Bix (Aug 12, 2010)

Petwhac said:


> This is a great performance of a great aria.
> Talk about being 'in the zone', watch her after her last note.


ive listened to this again  - she is superb.


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## schigolch (Jun 26, 2011)

Thousands, literally...

Just to start with, this wonderful rendition of "Teneste la promessa...Addio del passato", sung by the great Claudia Muzio in 1935:


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## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

sabrina said:


> *Bellini*
> casta diva- sieger uber alles
> 
> *Verdi:*
> ...


I think the thread is making a distinction between arias, duets, and ensembles since there is a different thread for duets.


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## sabrina (Apr 26, 2011)

Almaviva said:


> I think the thread is making a distinction between arias, duets, and ensembles since there is a different thread for duets.


Sorry, I didn't understand that. Even you have an older post on this site with a long list of arias, duets, quartets etc...


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## sabrina (Apr 26, 2011)

I just had problems again trying to post an answer!


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## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

sabrina said:


> Sorry, I didn't understand that. Even you have an older post on this site with a long list of arias, duets, quartets etc...


 Oops, you are right. At the time there wasn't a thread for duets though: my reply was in April, and the thread for duets was started on May 25th. I was just trying to keep things organized and on topic (one of the functions of a moderator) but you're right that I was equally guilty of off-topic posting (even worse since my list was longer).


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## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

sabrina said:


> I just had problems again trying to post an answer!


 Can you describe the problem? We'll try to help - especially Natalie who is excellent at solving these technical problems - you can also talk to Krummhorn who is our specialist in vBulletin software problems.


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## sabrina (Apr 26, 2011)

Almaviva said:


> Can you describe the problem? We'll try to help - especially Natalie who is excellent at solving these technical problems - you can also talk to Krummhorn who is our specialist in vBulletin software problems.


This time after writing the above short answer, I clicked on Post quick Reply button. The new page opened warned me to wait 80-something seconds between posts. This happened in my first minutes I accessed this Opera website last evening. I didn't double click either. I quickly copied my text, and post it again.
Other time I was not so lucky. When I tried to elaborate a much longer post on that America-China discussion, and I clicked to post it, the new window opened had no text anymore, only a message saying my time has expired. I was quite mad. I had spent around 15-20 min to write it. I have no idea what "quick reply" means and what time you have for posting.
I guess there should *not* be 2 types of posting, I find no big advantage of using the quick post, other than having problems in case of a longer message.


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## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

sabrina said:


> This time after writing the above short answer, I clicked on Post quick Reply button. The new page opened warned me to wait 80-something seconds between posts. This happened in my first minutes I accessed this Opera website last evening. I didn't double click either. I quickly copied my text, and post it again.
> Other time I was not so lucky. When I tried to elaborate a much longer post on that America-China discussion, and I clicked to post it, the new window opened had no text anymore, only a message saying my time has expired. I was quite mad. I had spent around 15-20 min to write it. I have no idea what "quick reply" means and what time you have for posting.
> I guess there should *not* be 2 types of posting, I find no big advantage of using the quick post, other than having problems in case of a longer message.


I'm aware of a time limit between posts. It's to prevent bots from flooding the forum. I wasn't aware of a time limit to write up a post and submit it, I'll ask Krummhorn about it. In the meantime there are two solutions: you can always routinely click on "go advanced" to type up your posts, or you can type the really long ones that you don't want to risk losing on a wordprocessor, then copy and paste the text here when you are ready to post. Sometimes I do that when I'm writing up a long review and doing it as I watch an opera, because then I can save the text and prevent any trouble if the computer crashes or something.


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## MattExcell (Jun 15, 2011)

Probably relatively sheltered answers, but:

Soprano: Casta Diva, _Norma_
Mezzo: Habanera, _Carmen_
Contralto: Re dell'abisso, _Un Ballo in Maschera_
Tenor: Nessun Dorma, _Turandot_
Baritone: Votre toast, _Carmen_
Bass: La calunnia, _Il Barbiere di Siviglia_

Not big on Wagner, but if I had to pick one I'd go for Morgenlich leuchtend, _Die Meistersinger von Nurnberg_


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## sabrina (Apr 26, 2011)

Almaviva said:


> I'm aware of a time limit between posts. It's to prevent bots from flooding the forum.


I knew that, but this weird message occurred at my first post that day.


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## SixFootScowl (Oct 17, 2011)

My favorite is Gundula Janowitz singing the Abscheulicher aria in the 1978 Bernstein conducted Fidelio opera.


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## Donata (Dec 28, 2013)

My favorites are: Anna Moffo singing Chi il bel sogno di Doretta, 



 and Glück, das mir verblieb.


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## Jobis (Jun 13, 2013)

At the moment my favourites are:

Un aura amorosa from Cosi fan tutte
Al lampo dell'armi from Giulio Cesare
and Rance's Act I aria in La Fanciulla del West


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## Revenant (Aug 27, 2013)

_Amor ti vieta _from Giordano's Fedora, as sung by Bjorling. Just because I like to listen to it more often than others, and over the years. So I guess that must be it for me.


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## MAuer (Feb 6, 2011)

*Soprano*
Mozart -- "_Non mi dir_" from _Don Giovanni_
Mozart -- "_S'alto che lagrime_" from _La Clemenza di Tito_
Beethoven -- "_Abscheulicher, wo eilst du hin_?" from _Fidelio_ (with Sena Jurinac or Camilla Nylund)
*Mezzo*
Bizet -- Habanera from _Carmen_
Verdi -- "_O don fatale_" from Don Carlo(s)
Rossini -- "_Una voce poco fa_" from _Il Barbiere di Siviglia_
*Tenor*
Handel -- "_Ombra mai fu_" from _Serse_ (with Fritz Wunderlich)
Puccini -- "_Donna non vidi mai_" from _Manon Lescaut_
Verdi -- "_Di quella pira_" from _Il Trovatore_
*Baritone*
Verdi -- "_Il balen del suo sorriso_" from _Il Trovatore_
Mozart -- "_Ein Mädchen oder Weibchen_" from _Die Zauberflöte_
Puccini -- "_Tre sbirri . . . Va, Tosca_" from _Tosca_
*Bass*
Mozart -- "_In diesen heil'gen Hallen_" from _Die Zauberflöte_
Beethoven -- "_Hat man nicht auch Gold beileben_" from _Fidelio_
Gounod -- "_Le veau d'or_" from _Faust_


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## Bellinilover (Jul 24, 2013)

It would be very hard, if not impossible, for me to pick a single favorite opera aria! But here are some that I'd count among my favorites:

"Cortigiani" and "Caro nome" from _Rigoletto_; the Rondo Finale ("Nacqui all'affano...") from _La Cenerentola_; "Vary the Song, O London" from _The Rake's Progress_; Florestan's aria from _Fidelio_, especially the fast part; "Avant de quitter ce lieux" from _Faust_; "Dies Bildnis" from _Die Zauberfloete_, "Or sai chi l'onore" from _Don Giovanni_, "Vedro mentr'io sospiro" from _Le nozze di Figaro_; "Nemico della patria" from _Andrea Chenier_; "Allein" and "Ich kann nicht sitzen" from _Elektra_, "Sacra la scelta...Ah, fu giusto" from _Luisa Miller_; "Ernani, involami" and its cabaletta from _Ernani_; "Regnava nel silenzio" and "Fra poco a me recovero" from _Lucia di Lammermoor_; "Ch'ella me creda" and "Minnie, dalla mia casa son partito" from _La Fanciulla del West_

I could write a whole seperate thread about Bellini arias/melodies, but my favorite is "Ah, non credea mirarti" from _La Sonnambula_.

I also have a special fondness for this aria from Verdi's _Stiffelio_, especially in this Met telecast rendition by Vladimir Chernov:


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## Bellinilover (Jul 24, 2013)

And here's my newest favorite:


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## Clayton (Nov 10, 2013)

Aria for today (I am as fickle as a two bit...)

Giulio Cesare
Act I. Scena VI: II.Aria "L'empio, Sleale, Indegno" - Tolomeo
As sung by Minneccia on the Alan Curtis recording.


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## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

"Parto...Parto...." La Clemenza di Tito, Mozart


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## deggial (Jan 20, 2013)

hpowders said:


> "Parto...Parto...." La Clemenza di Tito, Mozart


I almost posted that but then I thought what about _Deh, per questo instante solo_ or _Deh, se piacer mi vuoi_ or _Non piu di fiori_ or _S'altro che lagrime_ or _Se all'impero_ or _Tardi s'avvede_ or...  in all honesty, I lost count of how many times I listened to Parto. Must be in the hundreds.

...just for tonight, my favourite is _Furibondo spira il vento_ from Partenope, because I just saw Sonia Prina rock the hell out of it.


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## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

Probably In Questa Reggia. I love Nilsson, Alessandra Marc, Eva Turner and Tebaldi singing this. I fantasize about Milanov and Ewa Podles singing it. I mostly like Marton doing it, but she went flat on C most of the time. Of current singers I heard Lori Phillips do it perfectly with a big, beautiful dark sound that left me very happy and fulfilled here in Seattle.


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## moody (Nov 5, 2011)

Seattleoperafan said:


> Probably In Questa Reggia. I love Nilsson, Alessandra Marc, Eva Turner and Tebaldi singing this. I fantasize about Milanov and Ewa Podles singing it. I mostly like Marton doing it, but she went flat on C most of the time. Of current singers I heard Lori Phillips do it perfectly with a big, beautiful dark sound that left me very happy and fulfilled here in Seattle.


I believe that Eva Turner's tops them all but I'm not sure that it's right for Milanov.

But Milanov doing "Oh tu che in seno agli' angeli" from "Forza" is definitely one of my favourites.


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## Revenant (Aug 27, 2013)

moody said:


> I believe that Eva Turner's tops them all but I'm not sure that it's right for Milanov.
> 
> But Milanov doing "Oh tu che in seno agli' angeli" from "Forza" is definitely one of my favourites.


Wow, that Forza aria is devilishly difficult even for a tenore di forza, it must be incredibly hard for a soprano! Did she do it on a dare?


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## moody (Nov 5, 2011)

Just checking to make sure you were awake. I meant " "Madre,pietosa vergine". The tenor aria is a favourite of mine, but I prefer Jan Peerce singing it.


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## Revenant (Aug 27, 2013)

moody said:


> Just checking to make sure you were awake. I meant " "Madre,pietosa vergine". The tenor aria is a favourite of mine, but I prefer Jan Peerce singing it.


Nice save! Surprisingly Carreras did a pretty good job of it in the 1978 production on video despite his not being the ideal voice for that one. My personal favorite for that aria is Tucker.


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## Rachmanijohn (Jan 2, 2014)

It is also hard for me to pick just one, but if I had to choose I would say "E lucevan le stelle" from Tosca by Puccini. The emotional heft of that aria always gets me.


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## Autumn Leaves (Jan 3, 2014)

Favorite aria? Well, it's difficult to say… Currently my greatest favorites are Loge's monologue «Immer ist Undank Loges Lohn» from Das Rheingold and Ruslan's second-act aria from Ruslan and Lyudmila. When performed by good singers, both pieces are very touching.


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## SixFootScowl (Oct 17, 2011)

I really like this one from the Dunedin Consort's Esther. Matthew Brook could be an excellent Rocco in Fidelio.


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## alan davis (Oct 16, 2013)

"Ich ging zu ihm"...... from Korngolds "Das Wunder der Heliane." The female voice ascending to the heavens.


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## Lt.Belle (Jan 19, 2014)

Omg i have soooo much favorite aria's unbelievable. I sing them constantly daily. Sometimes only a phrase... or just in my thought. But when im feeling good compleet aria's... 

At the moment im singing constantly Coppia Inigua from Donizetti's Anna Bolena.
Deffinetly my favorite is has such spirit!!!


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## Clayton (Nov 10, 2013)

The most up to date file on this subject located by the hippocampus lists this Verdi prati.

Handel Alcina
Act 2, Scene 12
Aria: Verdi prati
As sung by Maite Beaumont, "Ruggiero"
Alan Curtis, Il Complesso Barocco recording.

Ruggiero now recognizes the illusion that surrounds him and accepts that it is to end.
This beautiful song, touched by a little sadness. It has the feeling of sincerity and purity or honesty, like the Japanese samurai word "makoto". The poetry of the situation is wonderfuly reflected in the music.

Verdant meadows, leafy woods,
you will lose your beauty.
Pretty flowers, purling brooks,
your charm, your loveliness
is about to be transformed.

Verdant meadows, leafy woods,
you will lose your beauty.
And, the charming prospect changed.
everything will re-acquire
its former horrid aspect.


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## deggial (Jan 20, 2013)

Verdi prati is wonderful and poetic indeed  it's my favourite from Alcina as well.


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## LouisMasterMusic (Aug 28, 2013)

rgz said:


> , but overall O Zittre Nicht is probably my all-time favorite.


Hi. I choose in terms of voice type. My favourite tenor aria is "E La Solita Storia" (from L'Arlesiana), and my favourite soprano aria is either "Pace, Pace Mio Dio" (from La Forza Del Destino) or Doretta's Aria (can't remember the Italian, sorry, from La Rondine). For baritones and basses it can be difficult to have favourite arias. Maybe that's just me.


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## Morrelli (Jan 26, 2014)

Nicola Porpora - Polifemo "Alto Giove" , Acis aria from act III, sc. 5


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## deggial (Jan 20, 2013)

LouisMasterMusic said:


> For baritones and basses it can be difficult to have favourite arias. Maybe that's just me.


I guess Largo al factotum, Di Provenza, Son lo spirito che nega, Finch' han dal vino, Non piu andrai, Alla vita che t'arride, La calunnia, Cinta di fiori or anything from Boris Godunov - to name a few - do not do much for you?


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## Fairyqueen (Feb 19, 2014)

What a heartbreaking ending!!! Tosca, "E lucevan le stelle".






L'ora è fuggita, e muoio disperato!
E muoio disperato!
E non ho amato mai tanto la vita,
tanto la vita!

That moment has fled, and I die in desperation.
And I die in desperation!
And I never before loved life so much,
Loved life so much!


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## LouisMasterMusic (Aug 28, 2013)

I guess Largo al factotum, Di Provenza, Son lo spirito che nega, Finch' han dal vino, Non piu andrai, Alla vita che t'arride, La calunnia, Cinta di fiori or anything from Boris Godunov - to name a few - do not do much for you?[/QUOTE]

Let's go through each of them:
1) Largo Al Factotum - fantastic
2) Di Provenza - extremely moving
3) Son lo spirito che nega - don't really like the whistling
4) Finch'han dal vino - Very amusing
5) Non piu andrai - pleasant
6) Allla vita che t'arride - don't know who wrote it or where it comes from
7) Cinta di fiori - don't know who wrote it or where it comes from
8) La calunnia - Classic Rossini.
9) Anything from Boris Godunov - have never listened or watched it

Apologies for not thinking beforehand.


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## deggial (Jan 20, 2013)

*Alla vita che t'arride* (Verdi, Un ballo in maschera)
*Cinta di fiori* (Bellini, I puritani)


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## Posie (Aug 18, 2013)

I tend to rate my favorite tenors based on their performances of Vesti La Giubba. It gets me every time!


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## LouisMasterMusic (Aug 28, 2013)

marinasabina said:


> I tend to rate my favorite tenors based on their performances of Vesti La Giubba. It gets me every time!


 And how about those thrilling tears at the end?


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## LouisMasterMusic (Aug 28, 2013)

deggial said:


> *Alla vita che t'arride* (Verdi, Un ballo in maschera)
> *Cinta di fiori* (Bellini, I puritani)


 Thanks for this.


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## Romantiker (Feb 23, 2014)

Casta diva! The most sublime of Bellini's mystical melodies. A great aria that requires a great singer.


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## Morrelli (Jan 26, 2014)

Today

*"Se pietoso il tuo labbro"* from Semiramide riconosciuta - Nicola Porpora


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## Morrelli (Jan 26, 2014)

Today

*"Pena tiranna"* from Amadigi di Gaula - Handel HWV 11


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## Morrelli (Jan 26, 2014)

Today

*"Der Holle Rache"* from The Magic Flute - Mozart


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## DavidA (Dec 14, 2012)

At the moment : Dove Sono from Figaro


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## Morrelli (Jan 26, 2014)

Today

*Ebben ? ne andrò lontana* from La Wally - Catalani


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## Posie (Aug 18, 2013)

LouisMasterMusic said:


> And how about those thrilling tears at the end?


I give extra points for omitting the fake sobs at the end.


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## QuietGuy (Mar 1, 2014)

Renee Fleming singing "Sea Air" from _A Streetcar Named Desire_ is my current favorite.


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## Bas (Jul 24, 2012)

It is not my most favourite aria, that's a very difficult question, but in the category noteworthy: Publio's Tardi S'avedde from Mozart's La Clemenza di Tito.


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## Donata (Dec 28, 2013)

Currently, Joan Sutherland singing "Idole de ma vie" from _Robert le Diable_


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## messadivoce (Apr 18, 2014)

Leonora said:


> Il balen del suo sorriso from "Il Trovatore"


Have you heard this version of it yet?


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## messadivoce (Apr 18, 2014)

My favorite is probably "A te o cara" from Bellini's I puritani


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## Lt.Belle (Jan 19, 2014)

My favorite aria at the moment is: Se di regnar sei vago, from Mozarts Mitridate.
Trying hard to master the aria and im so glad i think i'm able too!
But as beautifull sung as Juan Diego Flórez, that will never happen, and he's so sexy too...

Se di regnar sei vago,
già pago è il tuo desìo,
e se vendettà vuoi
di tutti i torti tuoi
da te dipenderà.
Di chi ti volle oppresso
già la superbia è doma, mercè il valor di Roma
mercè quel fatto istesso
che ognor ti seguirà.


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## nina foresti (Mar 11, 2014)

sopranos: D'amor sull' ali rosée - Sondra Radvanovsky
L'altra note - Magda Olivero
tenor: Kuda kuda - Neil Shicoff
Lamento di Federico - Jose Carreras


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## Posie (Aug 18, 2013)

Isoldes Liebestod - Waltraud Meier


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## Badinerie (May 3, 2008)

Couldnt really pick one as it depends on the mood Im in, but arias I always love are

Mascagni's Voi lo sapete o mamma from Cav. Elena Obraztsova Preferebly tho Tebaldi will do at a pinch.

Falla La vida breve Vivan los que rien. De Los Angeles or Berganza oo yeah!

Camille Saint-Saëns Samson et Dalila either Printemps qui commence or samson recherchant ma presence. Callas or Obraztsova.

Verdi Il Trovatore, 'Condotta ell'era in ceppi Stunning! Ebe Stignani yep!

Puccini Tosca Qual occhio al mondo. I just love the way Mario smooth talks his way out of that one.

Better stop now!


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## JohnGerald (Jul 6, 2014)

This is a moving target, but for the last few weeks,

Sombre foret from Guillaume Tell with Caballe and

O mon Fernand from La Favorite with Jamie Barton


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## BaronScarpia (Apr 2, 2014)

Favourite aria of the day for me is Tristes apprêts, pâles flambeaux from Rameau's Castor et Pollux.


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## Bellinilover (Jul 24, 2013)

For the last month: "Piangero la sorte mia" from GIULIO CESARE.


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## deggial (Jan 20, 2013)

JohnGerald said:


> O mon Fernand from La Favorite with Jamie Barton


one of my favorites! great dramatic build up.


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## marienbad (Aug 10, 2014)

Right now 



 Phillippe Jaroussky Scherza Infida


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## Philmwri (Apr 8, 2011)

Zelmira-Terra Amica


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## alan davis (Oct 16, 2013)

Figaro78 said:


> Glück, das mir verblieb (Marietta's Lied) from Korngold's Die Tote Stadt. If there's a more beautiful 20th-century aria than this I can't imagine which it would be.


Agreed this is a wonderful aria. My favourite is from Korngold's "Das Wunder der Heliane", "Ich ging zu ihm".


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## Marcel (Aug 14, 2014)

I like this arias, today 170814, I remember:

E lucevan l'estelle
Dalla sua pace
Sorge nel petto
Oh Lord whose mercies numberless
Nessum dorma
Ombra mai fu
Avant de quitter ces lieux
Recondita armonia


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## Koala (Sep 1, 2013)

Hello, one of my most favorited is "Que l'Enfer, la Terre et les Cieux" from Persée by Jean-Baptiste Lully. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persée


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## MoonlightSonata (Mar 29, 2014)

My two favourites: La donna é mobile from Rigoletto and the famous second Queen of the Night aria from The Magic Flute.


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## DiesIraeCX (Jul 21, 2014)

1. Che Gelida Manina 
2. Una Furtiva Lagrima
3. Je Crois Entendre Encore
4. Prendi L'Anel Ti Dono
5. Recondita Armonia
6. Vesti La Giubba

Beniamino Gigli is my favorite tenor.


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## BaronScarpia (Apr 2, 2014)

_Glück, das mir verblieb_ (Marietta's Lied) is just wonderful. But I am a verismo lover, so my absolute favourite is probably _Ebben? Ne andrò lontana_ from La Wally. That said, Desdemona's arias from the last act of Otello (Verdi not Rossini) are just as incredible. Although... I do love _Ruhe sanft_ from Zaide - it's so unbelievably lyrical, transcendent at times. My favourite baroque aria would be Cara sposa.


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## Donata (Dec 28, 2013)

My favorite right now is "Amor, celeste ebbrezza" by Maria Chiara


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## MoonlightSonata (Mar 29, 2014)

I have added Bizet's Seguidilla to my previous list of 'Der Hölle Rache' and 'La donna e mobile'.


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## yoyo (Aug 13, 2014)

Mine is "quando men vo" in La Boheme


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## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

After so many years of listening, it all boils down to "Che Gelida Manina" from La Boheme.


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## Reedmeadow (Sep 2, 2014)

No doubt "Non so piu cosa son" from Le Nozze di Figaro, or as one of my CDs put it: "Cherubino's little ditty" I love how pathetically dramatic it is! Mozart wonderfully captures the intense urgency of this young boy's desire for love and I can't help but smile when he proudly declares "Parlo d'amor con me!" Now that's how you end an aria.


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)




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## Zabirilog (Mar 10, 2013)

Starke Scheite schichtet mir dort


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## Kenp (Sep 17, 2014)

Casta Diva, the pain, the longing!


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## Figleaf (Jun 10, 2014)

rgz said:


> Have you seen this?
> 
> 
> 
> ...


That's what Peter Dawson's fine English language version is for! Who needs Italians, anyway?


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## BalalaikaBoy (Sep 25, 2014)

Santo di Patria from Verdi's Attila, sung by the Legendary Dame Joan Sutherland


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## LouisMasterMusic (Aug 28, 2013)

myaskovsky2002 said:


> well....of course many many...one I love is la Rondine's Doretta's dream
> 
> [yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0pjtsmV7FqM/[yt]


Probably my favourite soprano aria along with ''Pace, Pace'' (from La Forza Del Destino. Just swatched Ainhoa Arteta singing it (your link). Very impressive, though I remember it from Leontyne Price's version. She sings both arias like no one else!


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## LouisMasterMusic (Aug 28, 2013)

deggial said:


> I guess Largo al factotum, Di Provenza, Son lo spirito che nega, Finch' han dal vino, Non piu andrai, Alla vita che t'arride, La calunnia, Cinta di fiori or anything from Boris Godunov - to name a few - do not do much for you?


 Since I originally posted, I listened to ''Cinta di fiori'' on Friday as posted by someone on a thread (can't remember which) from the recording of I Puritani by Pavarotti, Sutherland and Ghiaurov. Was really moved by the beauty of the music and the voice...first time for me. I also love ''Il lacerato spirito'' from Simon Boccanegra (listened both to Pinza and Ghiaurov on YouTube today).


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

Renee Fleming - Armida - D_amore al dolce impero - 2010 Apr 16 :clap:


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## LouisMasterMusic (Aug 28, 2013)

Posie said:


> I give extra points for omitting the fake sobs at the end.


OK. Each to their own. Placido Domingo moves me so much in this aria and I appreciate the tears. When done well, they can enhance one's appreciation of the aria and make one aware of its context.


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## Bettina (Sep 29, 2016)

My top five favorite arias:

1. Tristan und Isolde: O Sink Hernieder (does this actually count as an aria? I know that Wagner didn't really use that form...)
2. Don Giovanni: Leporello's Catalogue Aria
3. Carmen: L'amour est un oiseau rebelle (I'm not sure if I spelled that correctly and I'm too lazy to check)
4. Magic Flute: Der Hölle Rache
5. Samson et Dalila: Mon coeur s'oeuvre a ta voix (again I'm not sure of the French spelling!!)


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## Sloe (May 9, 2014)

My favourite arias are:

Don Carlo:Tu che le vanita
Iris: Un di ero piccina
Madama Butterfly: Un bel di vedremo


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## Lensky (May 8, 2016)

1. Norma: Casta Diva
2. Macbeth: Una Macchia e qui tuttora ( Lady Macbeth)
3. Lecouvreur: Io son l’umile ancella (Adriana )
4. Rusalka: Song to the moon (Rusalka) 
5. Arabella: Aber der Richtige ( Bella)


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

Not sure what counts as an aria, so I'll count whatever I want to. Five favorites, in some great old performances:

Handel: Atalanta - "Care selve" 



 (Florence Quartararo, 1947)

Bellini: I Puritani - "Qui la voce" 



 (Maria Callas, 1949)

Verdi: Otello - "Dio mi potevi" 



 (Mario del Monaco, 1958)

Wagner: Tristan und Isolde - "Mild und leise" 



 (Kirsten Flagstad, 1936)

Wagner: Die Walkure - "Leb wohl, du kühnes herrliches Kind" 



 (Hans Reinmar, 1933)


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

Sloe said:


> My favourite arias are:
> 
> Don Carlo:Tu che le vanita
> Iris: Un di ero piccina
> Madama Butterfly: Un bel di vedremo


And if it's counting, the following duet after that aria


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## Azol (Jan 25, 2015)

Verdi: Tu che le vanita
Wagner: Mild und leise
Puccini: In questa reggia
Rossini: Giusto ciel
Puccini: Tre sbirri una carozza... Va Tosca


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## Tuoksu (Sep 3, 2015)

"Tu che invoco con orrore... Poi sommessa alla vostra possanza" (Spontini, La Vestale) 




"Oh! S'io potessi dissipar le nubi..Col sorriso d'innocenza..Oh, sole! Ti vela!"(Bellini, Il Pirata) 




"Piangete voi.. Al dolce guidami...Coppia Iniqua" (Donizetti, Anna Bolena) 




"Casta Diva" (Bellini, Norma) 




"Il balen del suo sorriso" (Verdi, Il Trovatore): 




"D'amor sull'ali rosee" (Verdi, Il Trovatore)


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## StDior (May 28, 2015)

Monteverdi: L' Incoronazione di Poppea - Poppea's Aria: "Or Che Seneca è Morto"


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

Raina Kabaivanska "D'amor sull'ali rosée" Il Trovatore


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## Sloe (May 9, 2014)

Pugg said:


> And if it's counting, the following duet after that aria


That belongs to favourite duets.

Non pianger, mia compagna also from Don Carlo is another favourite.

Come in quest'ora bruna from Simon Boccanegra is also a favourite. When I saw the opera live it had a huge applaud and an encore.


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## Annied (Apr 27, 2017)

I don't have an all time favourite, but I do remember "In cielo benedetto" with great affection. "I Lombardi" with José Carreras was one of the first operas I watched on video, right at the beginning of my venture into opera. I thought both the aria and the voice were absolutely stunning. It had a lot to do with my continuing interest, because it made me want to explore further. (It's about 5 minutes into the clip.)


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

Talking about Don Carlo:






Agnes Baltsa-"O don fatale..."; Don Carlo, Giuseppe Verdi


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## SixFootScowl (Oct 17, 2011)

I have a lot of favorite arias. Here is one of them:


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

Mirella Freni: «Tu che la vanità», de Don Carlos, de G. Verdi.
Rises above all. :angel:


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

Allein! Weh, ganz allein - Birgit Nilsson


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

Elena Souliotis; "Tu puniscimi, O Signore; Luisa Miller; Giuseppe Verdi


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

Fiorenza Cossotto - Don Carlo - O Don Fatale


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

Cristina Deutekom: Bellini - La Sonnambula, 'Ah! non credea mirarti... Ah! non giunge uman pensiero'


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

Vladimir Chernov - "Lina, pensai che un angelo" - Stiffelio Met 1994


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## SixFootScowl (Oct 17, 2011)

Here is another favorite and probably the spookiest Senta on DVD:


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

Beverly Sills Sings "O, Luce di Quest' Anima," From Donizetti's Linda di Chamounix


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

Mirella Freni sings "Si mi chiamano Mimi", Scala, 1965


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

Lucia Popp - Solitudini amiche...Zeffiretti lusinghieri (Mozart: Idomeneo)


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

Joan Sutherland-Beatrice di Tenda-Finale-"Deh! se un'urna è a me concessa..."


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## Vahe Sahakian (Mar 9, 2018)

My favorite is:
Anne Sofie von Otter sings Marietta’s song - YouYube


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

Elina Garanca - Bellini. Adelson e Salvini. Dopo l'oscuro nembo


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

Donizetti, "Il mio destin dipende" (Gianni di Parigi)


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

Margreta Elkins. Imelda de´Lambertazzi. G. Donizetti.


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

Mariella Devia - Adelia - Donizetti - final scene


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

Joan Sutherland; "Par che mi dica...Fuggì l'immagine"; Il castello di Kenilworth; G. Donizetti


----------



## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

Cossotto "Stride la Vampa" Vienna 1978


----------



## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

Dame Joan Sutherland. Les oiseaux dans la charmille. Les Contes d´Hoffmann. Offenbach.


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## gellio (Nov 7, 2013)

I'm not the biggest _Gioconda_ fan, but my single favorite moment in the hundreds of opera recordings I own is Callas _Suicidio!_ from the '52 recording. I think that is the single most riveting performance I have ever heard.


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## ldiat (Jan 27, 2016)

Pugg said:


> Dame Joan Sutherland. Les oiseaux dans la charmille. Les Contes d´Hoffmann. Offenbach.


like this version!


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

Mort de Didon - Tatiana Troyanos - Les Troyens Berlioz


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

"Caro nome" - Rigoletto - Ileana cotrubas


----------



## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

Montserrat Caballé "Pronta sono" from Verdi´s Giovanna D´arco


----------



## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

Renée Fleming sings Marietta's Lied LIVE (2009)


----------



## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

Teresa BERGANZA sings Tancredi


----------



## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

Dame Joan Sutherland: Handel - Alcina, 'Tornami a vagheggiar'


----------



## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

Turandot - "In questa reggia" - Birgit Nilsson (Italian TV)


----------



## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

Hvorostovsky - Valentin's aria from Faust (Gounod)


----------



## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

Della Jones - Al mio core oggetti amati ( L'Assedio di Calais - Gaetano Donizetti


----------



## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

Beverly Sills: Donizetti - Linda di Chamounix, 'Ah! tardai troppo... O luce di quest'anima'


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## AeolianStrains (Apr 4, 2018)

Add another vote to Der Hölle Rache from me. Like Siegmund says, though, so many to list them all.

Listening to this now, though:


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

Placido Domingo - Tosca - E lucevan le stelle


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

Sherrill Milnes-Il Trovatore-"Tutto è deserto!...Il balen del suo sorriso"


----------



## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

Ein Schwert Verhieß Mir Der Vater - Jonas Kaufmann


----------



## EddieRUKiddingVarese (Jan 8, 2013)




----------



## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

Joseph Calleja; "Donna non vidi mai"; Manon Lescaut; Giacomo Puccini


----------



## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

Oberon, Ocean! You Monster! von Weber. Gundula Janowitz, soprano


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## AeolianStrains (Apr 4, 2018)

EddieRUKiddingVarese said:


>


A tone poem without words is your favorite aria?


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## EddieRUKiddingVarese (Jan 8, 2013)

AeolianStrains said:


> A tone poem without words is your favorite aria?


Yes, when you put vocals to music bad things happen..........


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

Lucia Popp; "Solveig's Song"; Peer Gynt; Edvard Grieg


----------



## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

Verdi - Macbeth - Lady's First Aria - Elena Souliotis


----------



## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

Nelly Miricioiu sings an alternative finale in one of the master pieces of Gaetano Donizetti:Caterina Cornaro ossia La Regina di Cipro (Naples1844)


----------



## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

Christa Ludwig - Fidelio - Abscheulicher...Komm Hoffnung


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## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

AeolianStrains said:


> A tone poem without words is your favorite aria?


That puts a strain on credulity. :lol:


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

Quando le sere al placido" - Domingo - Luisa Miller (1979)


----------



## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

Mozart - Concert Aria K505 "Chio mi scordi di te"

T.Berganza
J.Pritchard
G. Parsons
London Symphony Orchestra


----------



## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

Luciano Pavarotti. O muto asil... Corriam! Voliam! Gulielmo Tell. Rossini.


----------



## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

Joan Sutherland - Son vergin vezzosa


----------



## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

Luciano Pavarotti La Mia Letiza Infondere from I Lombardi.


----------



## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

Joyce DiDonato - Tanti Affetti - Donna del Lago, Paris 2010


----------



## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

Marilyn Horne: Meyerbeer - Le prophète, 'O pretres de Baal'


----------



## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

Fin ch'han dal vino. Don Giovanni. Metropolitan Opera. Bryn Terfel


----------



## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

Pirata , Col sorriso d'innocenza Bellini Rosalind Plowright Imogene's aria Il Pirata


----------



## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

Daniela Dessi - Che vai ricchezza ( Alina regina di Golconda - Gaetano Donizetti )


----------



## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

Christina Deutekom sings Armida Finale "Se al mio crudel...Dove son io?"(Bregenz, 1973)


----------



## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

Massenet: Cendrillon: Enfin, je suis ici (*Frederica von Stade*/John Pritchard)


----------



## Rogerx (Apr 27, 2018)

Bel raggio lusinghier"; Semiramide; Gioachino Rossini sung by Frederica von Stade.


----------



## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

Leonie Rysanek: In questa reggia, Turandot 1959


----------



## ldiat (Jan 27, 2016)




----------



## Rogerx (Apr 27, 2018)

Leyla Gencer - Verdi - Don Carlo - Tu che le vanita


----------



## nina foresti (Mar 11, 2014)

Neil Shicoff singing "Kuda kuda"
Sondra Radvanovsky singing "D'amor sull ali rosee"
Franco Corelli singing "E lucevan le stelle" (Parma version)
Magda Olivero singing " "L'altra notte" & "Vissi d'arte"
Mario Lanza singing "Vesti la giubba"
Dmitri Hvorostovsky singing "Eri tu"
Rolando Villazon singing "E la solita storia"
Richard Tucker singing "Che gelida manina"


----------



## Rogerx (Apr 27, 2018)

Joan Sutherland. Ah! non credea mirarti-Ah non giunge. La Sonnambula.


----------



## Rogerx (Apr 27, 2018)

Frederica von Stade; "D'amour l'ardente flamme"; Le Damnation de Faust; Hector Berlioz


----------



## SixFootScowl (Oct 17, 2011)




----------



## Sloe (May 9, 2014)

Un bel di vedremo from Madama Butterfly:


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## ScottK (Dec 23, 2021)

Don't have an all around favorite but I do have a favorite lyric soprano aria. Thirteen years old, two years into listening and fully hooked and my Dad says lets go to the Met! We'll see if we can get tickets for The Marriage of Figaro, already (and still) my favorite opera (going Jan.12, Gerhaher!!). He gets us tickets...Siepi, Prey, Plishka...Zylis-Gara, Stratas, Von Stade...Bohm! One of the great nights of my life. Two orchestra seats not next to each other. Act three I'm sitting alone in the 12th row dead center and that beautiful Countess is alone on stage singing/talking, so beautiful and she comes to a pause. And out of all the endless opera talk between my Dad and Me, something he'd mentioned many times without me really knowing what it was he was saying, came to me. And before she sang, in my head I said, "She's going to say 'Dove Sono'". And out came those words in the simplest, the most beautiful sound I've ever heard. Now I'm far too melodramatic to spoil my ending by pasting in the aria so if somehow you're opera geek enough to be on here and reading this and somehow don't know "Dove Sono", go listen to Schwarzkopf or Popp or if you can find her Zylis-Gara (she's on the broadcast CD from that season) and have a first listen. If my experience weren't so essential to who I am I'd go so far as to say I envy you


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## The Conte (May 31, 2015)

ScottK said:


> Don't have an all around favorite but I do have a favorite lyric soprano aria. Thirteen years old, two years into listening and fully hooked and my Dad says lets go to the Met! We'll see if we can get tickets for The Marriage of Figaro, already (and still) my favorite opera (going Jan.12, Gerhaher!!). He gets us tickets...Siepi, Prey, Plishka...Zylis-Gara, Stratas, Von Stade...Bohm! One of the great nights of my life. Two orchestra seats not next to each other. Act three I'm sitting alone in the 12th row dead center and that beautiful Countess is alone on stage singing/talking, so beautiful and she comes to a pause. And out of all the endless opera talk between my Dad and Me, something he'd mentioned many times without me really knowing what it was he was saying, came to me. And before she sang, in my head I said, "She's going to say 'Dove Sono'". And out came those words in the simplest, the most beautiful sound I've ever heard. Now I'm far too melodramatic to spoil my ending by pasting in the aria so if somehow you're opera geek enough to be on here and reading this and somehow don't know "Dove Sono", go listen to Schwarzkopf or Popp or if you can find her Zylis-Gara (she's on the broadcast CD from that season) and have a first listen. If my experience weren't so essential to who I am I'd go so far as to say I envy you


This would probably be my favourite Mozart aria, it's truly sublime. Te Kanawa would possibly be my favourite singer of it, but Schwarzkopf's version is very good too.

N.


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## Rogerx (Apr 27, 2018)

From a wonderful "Le Nozze di Figaro" conducted by Georg Solti at Paris Opera Garnier in 1980.
The very famous stage production by Giorgio Strelher.
Fabulous cast : Jose Van Dam (Figaro), Lucia Popp (Susanna), Gundula Janowitz (Contessa Almaviva), Gabriel Bacquier (Almaviva), Federica Von Stade (Cherubino), Jane Berbié (Marcellina).
All star cast, we had a wonderful evening.


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## ScottK (Dec 23, 2021)

Te Kanawa is a dream countess! Remembering...isn’t there a movie version with her and Fischer Dieskau as Count and Countess?


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## ScottK (Dec 23, 2021)

Popp, Janowitz and Von Stade...If the sublime in Mozart does it for you, you had something very special!


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## nina foresti (Mar 11, 2014)

Favorite aria?
Impossible!

Close as I can get (and they might change with the weather):
Tenor aria: Kuda, kuda (Eugene Onegin) Runner up: E lucevan le stelle (Tosca)
Soprano aria: D'amor sull ali rosee (Il trovatore) Runner up: L'altra notte (Mefistofele)
Baritone aria: Eri tu (Ballo in Maschera) Runner up: Il balen (Il trovatore)
Mezzo aria: O Don fatale (Don Carlo) Runner up: Acerba voluta (Adriana Lecouvreur)
Bass aria: Ella giamma m' mo (Don Carlo) Runner up: Gremin's aria (Eugene Onegin)


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## ldiat (Jan 27, 2016)

Giulio Cesare: 'Da tempeste il legno infranto'


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## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

nina foresti said:


> Favorite aria?
> Impossible!
> 
> Close as I can get (and they might change with the weather):
> ...


I like your Soprano and Mezzo arias.


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## Rogerx (Apr 27, 2018)

ScottK said:


> Te Kanawa is a dream countess! Remembering...isn't there a movie version with her and Fischer Dieskau as Count and Countess?




:angel:


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## Rogerx (Apr 27, 2018)

ScottK said:


> Popp, Janowitz and Von Stade...If the sublime in Mozart does it for you, you had something very special!


It did believe me, we hadn't travelled there otherwise.


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## Rogerx (Apr 27, 2018)

Puccini: Tosca / Act 2 - "Vissi d'arte, vissi d'amore" ·
Leontyne Price · Giuseppe Taddei · Wiener Philharmoniker · Herbert von Karajan · Giacomo Puccini


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## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

I likely did this ages ago when this thread was young but I feel like doing it again. 
Zweite Brautnacht, Immolation Scene,D' amore al dolce impero - Armida ,Hamlet Mad Scene for soprano, final aria from Lucretia Borga. For mezzo O mon fermand, Oh la tromba by Handel, Amour viens aider ma faiblesse from Samson et Dalila


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## Rogerx (Apr 27, 2018)

Il trovatore, Act I: "Tacea la notte placida" · Eileen Farrell · Giuseppe Verdi · Max Rudolf · Columbia Symphony Orchestra


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## nina foresti (Mar 11, 2014)

Seattleoperafan said:


> I like your Soprano and Mezzo arias.


Seattle luv:
Would you ever consider those deep down bass singers like this historic one at age 90 (if you can believe it!)?


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## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

nina foresti said:


> Seattle luv:
> Would you ever consider those deep down bass singers like this historic one at age 90 (if you can believe it!)?


I'm doing a bass contest soon but I got Woodduck to help me. I am out of my depth with baritones and basses so I ask for help. If you come up with an aria and singers I will post it sometime soon.


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## nina foresti (Mar 11, 2014)

Seattleoperafan said:


> I'm doing a bass contest soon but I got Woodduck to help me. I am out of my depth with baritones and basses so I ask for help. If you come up with an aria and singers I will post it sometime soon.


If you will simply click on my above url you will get all the ammunition you need for perfection of a bass voice. (and thanks to Woodduck for your kind support in this sometimes forgotten area of fine singing)


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## ScottK (Dec 23, 2021)

Rogerx said:


> :angel:


Thanks for putting that up! It's been a million years but I've got to give that a listen.


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## Rogerx (Apr 27, 2018)

Verdi: Un ballo in maschera - "Ecco l'orrido campo"


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## The Conte (May 31, 2015)

I don't really have a favourite aria (there are too many to choose from), but one of my favourites would be the whole of Imogene's aria from the last scene of Il Pirata. It's one of the most consistent cavatina/cabaletta pairings.

N.


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## Guest (Dec 27, 2021)

This is one aria I actually really like: at 14:30 here and following


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## Rogerx (Apr 27, 2018)

Joan Sutherland Sings Ophelia's Mad Scene (NY, 1979)


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## Rogerx (Apr 27, 2018)

Agnes Baltsa; "Una voce poco fa"; IL BARBIERE DI SIVIGLIA; Gioachino Rossini


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## Rogerx (Apr 27, 2018)

Verdi: Nabucco / Act 2 - "Ben io t'invenni... Anch'io dischuiso un giorno... Salgo già del..


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## MAS (Apr 15, 2015)

Most people may not appreciate Miss Lindholm in this opera, but I loved her from the first.


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## Rogerx (Apr 27, 2018)

Kiri Te Kanawa Sings "Come Scoglio" from Mozart's Cosi Fan Tutte.


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## ldiat (Jan 27, 2016)

this one also: M'adora l'idol mio - Handel, Teseo; Sharon Rostorf-Zamir


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## Rogerx (Apr 27, 2018)

Waltz Song: Je veux vivre (from Roméo et Juliette) ·
Dame Joan Sutherland, 
Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden & Francesco Molinari-Pradelli


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## MAS (Apr 15, 2015)

This was one of my first Callas arias that I kept listening to repeatedly - I just couldn't get over the sounds she could make and the way the voice was used. Thrilling that she could hurl herself into the chest register - and the intensity! Unmatched.


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## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

Rogerx said:


> Joan Sutherland Sings Ophelia's Mad Scene (NY, 1979)


I LOVE both the early video version and this. She sang this well over the course of her career. What I love about this is the music is constantly changing and there is a touch of the exotic East in some of the middle music. She and Callas excelled in this aria. Can't pick a winner. My favorite bit is where she is singing very dreamily and suddenly her voice erupts in Fourth of July Fireworks before that exotic tune bit,


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## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

MAS said:


> This was one of my first Callas arias that I kept listening to repeatedly - I just couldn't get over the sounds she could make and the way the voice was used. Thrilling that she could hurl herself into the chest register - and the intensity! Unmatched.


Her shifting of gears really works in this aria. Only Obratzsova and Ponselle were in her league down low out of tons of singers and the way Callas sings her chest notes was even more exciting than their versions.


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## ldiat (Jan 27, 2016)

ok i like this one to: Per quell'affetto


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## MAS (Apr 15, 2015)

The astonishing final aria of Cherubini's *Medea* in the voice of her ultimate interpreter: Maria Callas. Lesser sopranos need not apply. From the La Scala production 1953.


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## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

MAS said:


> The astonishing final aria of Cherubini's *Medea* in the voice of her ultimate interpreter: Maria Callas. Lesser sopranos need not apply. From the La Scala production 1953.


It is curious to me why this opera virtually died out after Callas. Did it need her unique gifts to make it work?????? Eileen Farrell recorded it but I don't know if she actually ever did it onstage.


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## Rogerx (Apr 27, 2018)

Lucia Popp: Bethoveen - Fidelio, 'Oh war' ich schon mit dir vereint'


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## 89Koechel (Nov 25, 2017)

NICE, Rogerx, in that Fidelio excerpt, of Ms. Popp! Well, maybe one could name others, of excellent sopranos, in that pivotal role ... maybe Gundula Janowitz, or others.


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## ScottK (Dec 23, 2021)

Rogerx said:


> From a wonderful "Le Nozze di Figaro" conducted by Georg Solti at Paris Opera Garnier in 1980.
> The very famous stage production by Giorgio Strelher.
> Fabulous cast : Jose Van Dam (Figaro), Lucia Popp (Susanna), Gundula Janowitz (Contessa Almaviva), Gabriel Bacquier (Almaviva), Federica Von Stade (Cherubino), Jane Berbié (Marcellina).
> All star cast, we had a wonderful evening.


First time through it somehow didn't register with me that the Janowitz rendition was here. The sound she makes, when she returns for the second time singinging the opening lines of the aria...oh my god!!!


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## ScottK (Dec 23, 2021)

Rogerx said:


> Joan Sutherland Sings Ophelia's Mad Scene (NY, 1979)


This was fun! I don't know the piece but Joanie seemed to be much more connected and invested than I've some times heard! At the same time, whether it was the recording or her, it didn't seem to gave that mid-sixties level perfection. Sounds like a good question for La Stupenda fans!


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## Rogerx (Apr 27, 2018)

Massenet: Werther - Pourquoi me réveiller (Jonas Kaufmann)


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## Rogerx (Apr 27, 2018)

Verdi: Rigoletto / Act 2 - "Cortigiani, vil razza dannata... Ebben piango"


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## hammeredklavier (Feb 18, 2018)

1:11, 1:49, 3:42 (the elaborations/transformations on the melody and the sense of longing they create)


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## Rogerx (Apr 27, 2018)

The great American Soprano Leontyne Price singing "Pace, pace, mio Dio" from Italian opera La Forza del Destino by Giuseppe Verdi (The Power of Fate) - 
Bell Telephone Hour performances (1967).:angel:


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## Rogerx (Apr 27, 2018)

Sherrill Milnes (born January 10, 1935) is an American operatic baritone most famous for his Verdi roles. From 1965 until 1997 he was associated with the Metropolitan Opera.


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## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

ScottK said:


> This was fun! I don't know the piece but Joanie seemed to be much more connected and invested than I've some times heard! At the same time, whether it was the recording or her, it didn't seem to gave that mid-sixties level perfection. Sounds like a good question for La Stupenda fans!


She sang this scene spectacularly throughout her career. She was still much better than anyone today could sing this piece at the time of this recording but she was in her mid fifties in 1979, so the voice had changed from The Art of the Prima Donna in 1960. I have heard her sing it marvelously when she was over 60. Because it is French it never goes above a D6, and that only briefly, so she never had to transpose the piece. My very favorite version is a live black and white TV version in costume where she is very lovely and her singing is jaw dropping. It was around the time of The Art of the Prima Donna.


----------



## Rogerx (Apr 27, 2018)

Jonas Kaufmann - Beethoven - Fidelio - 'Gott! welch Dunkel hier!'


----------



## Bernamej (Feb 24, 2014)

I don't know if it's been mentioned here but Alma Oppressa from Vivaldi's Fida Ninfa.
Here's my favorite version of my favorite aria:


----------



## Meyerbeer Smith (Mar 25, 2016)

Which is almost head-banging rock music!


----------



## ldiat (Jan 27, 2016)

i like this one too


----------



## Rogerx (Apr 27, 2018)

George London sings Bartolo's aria La vendetta from Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro

Time for some Mozart .


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## MAS (Apr 15, 2015)

Seattleoperafan said:


> It is curious to me why this opera virtually died out after Callas. Did it need her unique gifts to make it work?????? Eileen Farrell recorded it but I don't know if she actually ever did it onstage.


Farrell's version is extremely disappointing- she has no idea what she's singing so does not inflect the words. I think she sang it in concert a time or two. Just singing the notes does not count.


----------



## MAS (Apr 15, 2015)

One of my favorite recordings of Ambroise Thomas aria from *Hamlet* (1958) by Maria Callas


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## MAS (Apr 15, 2015)

Callas's demented performance of _Ah non giunge_ from *La Sonnambula* never equaled in the history of the opera.
Cologne, 1957


----------



## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

MAS said:


> Callas's demented performance of _Ah non giunge_ from *La Sonnambula* never equaled in the history of the opera.
> Cologne, 1957


That spectacular cadenza which takes her up to a fortissimo Eb on which she does a diminuendo before cascading down a perfect string of pearls chromatic scale. Words fail me!


----------



## The Conte (May 31, 2015)

MAS said:


> Farrell's version is extremely disappointing- she has no idea what she's singing so does not inflect the words. I think she sang it in concert a time or two. Just singing the notes does not count.


A number of people sang it and/or recorded it but it is still very much a rarity. Olivero sang it when it was revived in Dallas and sang it in Holland and Mantova and she gets close to Callas. Gwyneth Jones recorded it as well. More recently Dimitra Theodossiou and Sonya Yoncheva have given it a go. It is occasionally revived, but it needs a strong lead soprano and nobody matches the intensity of Callas' performances. I really like it and find it dramatically engaging and satisfying.

N.


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## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

The Conte said:


> A number of people sang it and/or recorded it but it is still very much a rarity. Olivero sang it when it was revived in Dallas and sang it in Holland and Mantova and she gets close to Callas. Gwyneth Jones recorded it as well. More recently Dimitra Theodossiou and Sonya Yoncheva have given it a go. It is occasionally revived, but it needs a strong lead soprano and nobody matches the intensity of Callas' performances. I really like it and find it dramatically engaging and satisfying.
> 
> N.


True, there have been occasional revivals and performances with other singers, but it became one of Callas's signature roles, and, though the opera was virtually unknown when she first sang it in Florence in 1953, she sang it as many times as she sang Aida. After Florence, productions were mounted for her at La Scala (twice), in Venice, Rome, Dallas, London and Epidaurus in Greece and in 1957 she made a studio recording. No other singer has had such a close association with the role.

Shirley Verrett sang it in French in Florence in 1986. The final scene is on youtube but the whole performance doesn't seem to have survived. What we do have suggests that she was a very fine Medea.


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## Aerobat (Dec 31, 2018)

One of the better recordings of this, although I think Kasarova / Mei is still my favourite (at the moment).


----------



## MAS (Apr 15, 2015)

Tsaraslondon said:


> True, there have been occasional revivals and performances with other singers, but it became one of Callas's signature roles, and, though the opera was virtually unknown when she first sang it in Florence in 1953, she sang it as many times as she sang Aida. After Florence, productions were mounted for her at La Scala (twice), in Venice, Rome, Dallas, London and Epidaurus in Greece and in 1957 she made a studio recording. No other singer has had such a close association with the role.
> 
> Shirley Verrett sang it in French in Florence in 1986. The final scene is on youtube but the whole performance doesn't seem to have survived. What we do have suggests that she was a very fine Medea.


Sorry, I don't like anyone in this rôle but Maria Callas. For some reason people thinking Verrett is a good sub for Callas or even close to her (in *Macbeth* or *Medea*) gets my goat. Callas is leagues ahead of anyone and I don't give a _merde_ for cuts.


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## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

MAS said:


> Sorry, I don't like anyone in this rôle but Maria Callas. For some reason people thinking Verrett is a good sub for Callas or even close to her (in *Macbeth* or *Medea*) gets my goat. Callas is leagues ahead of anyone and I don't give a _merde_ for cuts.


I actually agree with you, but, in the absence of Callas, Verrett is just about the only Lady Macbeth I can listen to. I thought the Medea clip was interesting, and Verrett is better than anyone else I've heard in that scene, but she isn't Callas, who has a range of expression and grasp of the classical style second to none.


----------



## ldiat (Jan 27, 2016)

like this one also


----------



## Rogerx (Apr 27, 2018)

Ewa Podleś: Rossini - Il barbiere di Siviglia 'Una voce poco fa'


----------



## ldiat (Jan 27, 2016)




----------



## Rogerx (Apr 27, 2018)

Frederica von Stade; "Va! Laisse couler mes larmes"; WERTHER; Jules Massenet


----------



## nina foresti (Mar 11, 2014)

Being that I don't believe I saw anyone mention any singer currently performing Lady Macbeth, it would be unfair not to mention the spectacular performance given by Netrebko recently.


----------



## Rogerx (Apr 27, 2018)

Gaetano Donizetti - Emilia di Liverpool - "Confusa e alma" (Joan Sutherland) (1957)


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## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

Rogerx said:


> Gaetano Donizetti - Emilia di Liverpool - "Confusa e alma" (Joan Sutherland) (1957)


The thread is "favorite aria" but you keep posting arias. Are you trying to make up your mind which is your favorite? I don't understand.


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## Rogerx (Apr 27, 2018)

Seattleoperafan said:


> The thread is "favorite aria" but you keep posting arias. Are you trying to make up your mind which is your favorite? I don't understand.


I do think it's a lovely aria , nothing more nothing less. :angel:


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## ldiat (Jan 27, 2016)

i like this one
[


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## Rogerx (Apr 27, 2018)

Aprile Millo: Verdi - Don Carlo, 'Tu che le vanita'


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## Art Rock (Nov 28, 2009)

The thread asked for the members' favorite aria (not arias). Instead it is turning into a post a video a day thread once more. When we deleted the opera videos sub-forum, we posted:



Art Rock said:


> In August 2020 we created an Opera sub-forum for threads focusing on YouTube videos. This was done at the request of a group of users of the Opera forum, who considered the daily updating of about ten of these threads was detrimental to the general opera discussion.
> 
> After a year we evaluated the situation. We found that the new sub-forum is used by almost no-one. An attempt to get more people involved in the sub-forum failed completely - no new posts have appeared at all since then. Given the current situation, we have decided that there is no reason to keep this sub-forum.
> 
> This does not mean that 'videos only' threads can now appear on the main Opera forum once more. Given the developments of the past year, we conclude they have no function on this site, since they do not stimulate any interaction between our members. Starting a 'videos only' thread will therefore not be allowed without prior permission of the moderating team.


Obviously, the same holds for using existing threads for this purpose - even more when posters are not adhering to the thread's intention. The thread has run for almost 12 years, and we think there has been ample time for TC members to post their favorite aria. We're closing it.


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