# Do you know any hidden gems?



## Musicforawhile (Oct 10, 2014)

I love finding obscure and lesser known arias and songs. If we talk about them and perform them then these underrated works will get some much needed attention. I met a singer once who didn't want to tell me how she got hold of a rare aria, she seemed to think it belonged to her?! It's not like she wrote it! I think we need to share these rare musical finds, don't we? We aren't doing the composer any justice if we just keep their works to ourselves. I guess people are worried that a rare aria is going to become as commonplace as something like 'O mio babbino caro' and therefore lose its mystery. But I think there is a reason why some of these Puccini arias are so well known...they are emotionally manipulative and not that daring musically? Am I wrong?

If a piece is subtle and nuanced and unusual...it will be too unaccessible for a really wide audience anyway. If it so happens that a well known singer makes a rare aria more well known, then I think the composer deserves that and we will all benefit and pieces shouldn't be kept in the woodwork just so they can retain some rare, mystical status.

So here are some of my rare finds, the performers are in brackets:

*Thomas Arne: Love's the tyrant of the Heart from 'Alfred' (Diana Montague) 
Barbara Strozzi: Che si puo fare (Mariana Flores)
Juan García de Zespedes: Convidando está la noche (Ex cathedra)
Juan de Araujo: Los coflades de la estleya ((Ex Cathedra)
*

Some of these aren't on youtube or spotify so here are some links:

http://excathedra.co.uk/recordings/new-world-symphonies/





 (for Zespedes)

http://www.allmusic.com/album/thomas-arne-alfred-mw0001816397 (for Thomas Arne)


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## Bellinilover (Jul 24, 2013)

Well I think that, just as you suggested, "O mio babbino caro" is over-played (or, over-excerpted), but I wouldn't call it "emotionally manipulative." It would be apt to say that _the character who sings it_ is being manipulative, though.

One aria I like a lot that I'd never heard of until about a year ago is "O Richard, mon Roi" from an 18th century opera by Gretry called RICHARD, COUER DE LION. I have a recording of Sherrill Milnes singing it in a recital but haven't heard any other renditions of it.

But I'd guess that some pieces are obscure because they deserve to be. I once heard a lecture on Rossini in which the professor read off a list of unfamiliar names: composers who had all had operas performed in 1816, the same year as THE BARBER OF SEVILLE's premiere. It was a pretty long list of names. I doubt that all of those composers' works would really reward reviving.


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## Couac Addict (Oct 16, 2013)

O ma lyre immortelle from Gounod's Sapho. It's not that obscure as the aria pops up in recitals now and then but I'm sure it'll be new to someone.

...cerainly more obscure than Faust


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## nina foresti (Mar 11, 2014)

Ombre legere from "Dinorah"


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## Musicforawhile (Oct 10, 2014)

Couac Addict said:


> I'm sure it'll be new to someone


It was new to me and very beautiful, thank you.


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## Figleaf (Jun 10, 2014)

nina foresti said:


> Ombre legere from "Dinorah"


We can never have too much Meyerbeer, so thank you for that link!

I don't normally like coloratura sopranos or modern recordings- but that one is really good!


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## BalalaikaBoy (Sep 25, 2014)

yay! I get to let out my opera hipster 
anyway, I'm going to focus more on hidden _singers_ rather than hidden arias

I'll start with spinto tenor Anatolii Solovyanenko. he's a lot like a Ukrainian Franco Corelli, but a touch lighter. if you like it, I recommend his recordings of traditional Ukrainian music, because they're even better. 





the dramatic coloratura soprano Rita Shane (a REAL dramatic coloratura soprano, not a soubrette who thinks that the presence of ANY weight makes her a dramatic voice)





Marisa Galvany. like Callas, she was a true assoluta, able to sing anything from high lying, florid coloratura to full, aggressive dramatic soprano


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## schigolch (Jun 26, 2011)

Very recently, Joyce DiDonato has recorded her Belcanto CD: "Stella di Napoli". This is a collection of Belcanto arias from Rossini, Bellini and Donizetti, but also Carafa, Mercadante, Pacini... I love the idea, and if you listen to this little known aria from Carafa's _Le nozze di Lammermoor_ (based, of course, on the same Walter Scott's material that the vastly more famous opera by Donizetti), maybe you would like as much as me.






Just to mention other, not so recent, CD by an American diva, Renée Fleming's recording of Korngold's incredibly beautiful aria "Ich ging du ihm", did a lot to get more attention to the piece, and even to the opera _Das Wunder der Heliane_:


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## Figleaf (Jun 10, 2014)

BalalaikaBoy said:


> yay! I get to let out my opera hipster
> anyway, I'm going to focus more on hidden _singers_ rather than hidden arias
> 
> I'll start with spinto tenor Anatolii Solovyanenko. he's a lot like a Ukrainian Franco Corelli, but a touch lighter. if you like it, I recommend his recordings of traditional Ukrainian music, because they're even better


Balalaika, what's an opera hipster? Your Ukrainian tenor is not bad at all. I like him better than Corelli. But my favourite version of that aria is by Leopoldo Signoretti- which probably disqualifies me from being any sort of hipster!


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## Chordalrock (Jan 21, 2014)

I think Liszt's songs deserve wider exposure. A few of them may be somewhat well-known (I really don't know), but most of them you never hear about.

I also recently bumped into this on spotify:

http://www.amazon.com/Debussy-Poulenc-Straube-Norddeutscher-Figuralchor/dp/B001GQJ6U2/

So far Debussy's "Quant j'ay ouy le tabourin" is a favorite. Here's a decent translation of it:

http://www.sfbach.org/text-trois-chansons-de-charles-dorleans


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## BalalaikaBoy (Sep 25, 2014)

Couac Addict said:


> O ma lyre immortelle from Gounod's Sapho. It's not that obscure as the aria pops up in recitals now and then but I'm sure it'll be new to someone.
> ...cerainly more obscure than Faust


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## Couac Addict (Oct 16, 2013)

Admittedly, Thomas' _Je suis Tatania de blond_ from Mignon is a lot better with orchestra and chorus but some may be interested in this video with a young hopeful by the name of Natalie Dessay; trying to make a career out of singing and showing off with some vocal gymnastics towards the end.

I hope she makes it!


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## Musicforawhile (Oct 10, 2014)

It sounds a lot like Fruhlingstimmen.


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## Musicforawhile (Oct 10, 2014)

schigolch said:


> Just to mention other, not so recent, CD by an American diva, Renée Fleming's recording of Korngold's incredibly beautiful aria "Ich ging du ihm", did a lot to get more attention to the piece, and even to the opera _Das Wunder der Heliane_:


I enjoyed both of these, thank you. The Renee Fleming aria is absolutely beautiful and dream-like.


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## BalalaikaBoy (Sep 25, 2014)

I knew I was forgetting one! 
spinto soprano Aprile Millo sings the Triumphal March from Aida (with high Eb!)


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## Musicforawhile (Oct 10, 2014)

Chordalrock;
I also recently bumped into this on spotify:
[URL said:


> http://www.amazon.com/Debussy-Poulenc-Straube-Norddeutscher-Figuralchor/dp/B001GQJ6U2/[/URL]


The songs sound kind of Christmasy.


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## Musicforawhile (Oct 10, 2014)

Did anyone listen to the pieces I mentioned i.e. Arne, Zespedes, Araujo and Strozzi? What are your thoughts?


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## Figleaf (Jun 10, 2014)

Musicforawhile said:


> The songs sound kind of Christmasy.


That's what my daughter said as well! Debussy did do a Christmas song, 'Noël des enfants qui n'ont plus de maisons'. (Not 100% sure of the correct spelling.) It's not really Christmassy in the Bing Crosby sense, although I see Elly Ameling did put it on her Christmas album!  Here's Pierette Alarie:


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## Badinerie (May 3, 2008)

There's a Mozart Scena and Rondo for Soprano I'm fond of. 
'Mia Speranza Adorata, Ah non sai, qual pena' 
I dont know if its well known or not.
I have an old Supraphon LP with Jana Jonasova singing it.that I particularly like. 
Well actually im on my second copy and looking for a third. These old supraphon lps seem to deteriorate at a shocking rate.

Here is an audio only clip the wonderful Natalie Dessay performing it


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## Headphone Hermit (Jan 8, 2014)

Bellinilover said:


> One aria I like a lot that I'd never heard of until about a year ago is "O Richard, mon Roi" from an 18th century opera by Gretry called RICHARD, COUER DE LION. I have a recording of Sherrill Milnes singing it in a recital but haven't heard any other renditions of it.


I seem to rmemeber that this was very popular amongst Royalists in France and was therefore banned by one of the Republican governments. I have a vague recollection of one of the old-school french singers singing it on one of my 'historic' CDs maybe Gabriel Soulacroix


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## Figleaf (Jun 10, 2014)

Headphone Hermit said:


> I seem to rmemeber that this was very popular amongst Royalists in France and was therefore banned by one of the Republican governments. I have a vague recollection of one of the old-school french singers singing it on one of my 'historic' CDs maybe Gabriel Soulacroix


LOL, is that what he's singing? I have that CD- the Symposium Harold Wayne 40- but the Amazon Marketplace seller enclosed the booklet of a totally different CD and when contacted, said that she had probably thrown the right one away!

I am slowly starting to understand more about opera in the sense of the repertoire itself, rather than just as a vehicle for famous singers (although the latter view was probably commoner among Soulacroix's audience than it is now.) It says something about me that I've enjoyed that performance many times and in a sense knew it well, but without having felt any curiosity about what was being sung and in what dramatic/musical context. Anyway thanks very much for the info- I should probably go and download that booklet from the Symposium site now. (Ironically I bought the used CD because their stuff is now download only and I like to have the physical object.)


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## Couac Addict (Oct 16, 2013)

Musicforawhile said:


> Did anyone listen to the pieces I mentioned i.e. Arne, Zespedes, Araujo and Strozzi? What are your thoughts?


I have recordings of the Strozzi and Zespedes pieces at home. Flores' voice has a kind of purity that makes her ideal for Strozzi. I have an older recording of Zespedes but I heard a new one not long ago by a Swedish ensemble. Latin music by Swedes?!? That's why I remember it. It was quite good.


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## Couac Addict (Oct 16, 2013)

Nothing obscure about Rimsky-Korsakov's Sadko unless you were hoping to actually see it performed outside of Russia. 
It's a shame because it has quite a few good arias in it.


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## Metairie Road (Apr 30, 2014)

One of the highlights (among many) Of the Philippe Jaroussky CD 'Carestini: A Castrato's Story' is the Gluck aria 'Sperai vicino il lido' from his opera Demofoonte based on a libretto by Metastasio.

I did a search on the internet to find out more about this opera and found..... mmm, not much.

The only available complete opera (on CD) based on the Metastasio libretto is by Joseph Schuster. The reviews have been enthusiastic so I'm going to order it.

Apparently this libretto was extremely popular in the 18th century with over seventy composers writing operas based on it. Even Mozart Composed several arias for Demofoonte but did not complete his version opera.

However, I did find some excellent recordings on Youtube of the aria 'Sperai vicino il lido' by different composers.
I think they're all brilliant, I recommend you listen to them all.

Hidden Gems

*Gluck - Sperai vicino il lido*





*Mozart - Sperai vicino il lido*





*Vivaldi - Sperai vicino il lido*





*Lionardo Leo - Sperai vicino il lido*





*Niccolò Jommelli - Sperai vicino il lido*





Best wishes
Metairie Road


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## BalalaikaBoy (Sep 25, 2014)

Martina Arroyo is, imo, possibly the most underrated soprano of the 20th century (because, apparently, big voices are supposed to be shriek-y, steely and sing with zero femininity  )


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## Headphone Hermit (Jan 8, 2014)

I suspect that I shall be shot down by some, but one of the best ways to discover 'hidden gems' of the vocal world is to start collecting historical CDs ... especially things like the box sets _Les Introuvables Du Chant Francais_ http://www.amazon.co.uk/Les-Introuvables-Du-Chant-Francais/dp/B00014EJ52 or _The Record of Singing_http://www.amazon.co.uk/Very-Record...=1413448575&sr=1-1&keywords=record+of+singing (currently £20 for 10 CDS - a bargain!)

That way, you get to hear new pieces that were once popular but have fallen out of favour, new singers that you didn't know about before, and new ways of singing that have largely disappeared. Its a good exploration into new territory .... all of it isn't 'new' so much as 'previously unkown by me'


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## Figleaf (Jun 10, 2014)

Headphone Hermit said:


> I suspect that I shall be shot down by some, but one of the best ways to discover 'hidden gems' of the vocal world is to start collecting historical CDs ... especially things like the box sets _Les Introuvables Du Chant Francais_ http://www.amazon.co.uk/Les-Introuvables-Du-Chant-Francais/dp/B00014EJ52 or _The Record of Singing_http://www.amazon.co.uk/Very-Record...=1413448575&sr=1-1&keywords=record+of+singing (currently £20 for 10 CDS - a bargain!)
> 
> That way, you get to hear new pieces that were once popular but have fallen out of favour, new singers that you didn't know about before, and new ways of singing that have largely disappeared. Its a good exploration into new territory .... all of it isn't 'new' so much as 'previously unkown by me'


Hear hear! 'Les introuvables' looks especially mouthwatering but Amazon has no track listing for it so I'm not sure if it would be worth my ordering or not, as I'm not sure how much it I already have on various other CDs.

There must be a lot of repertoire which exists only on recordings from the 78 era. My mind has temporarily gone blank. But I did immediately think of one unique recording of an aria which must stand pretty supreme as an excellent record of a singer, style and a piece of music which have all fallen unaccountably and undeservedly out of fashion:






Sorry, I get a bit evangelical on occasion


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## BalalaikaBoy (Sep 25, 2014)

a hidden gem sung by the *soulful* boy soprano voice of Bobby Breene. ironic that a Canadian white boy has was is, imo, the most moving rendition of this piece to date.


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## Metairie Road (Apr 30, 2014)

Two beautiful songs. I don't know if they qualify as hidden, but they sure qualify as gems.

*Alessandro Scarlatti - Le violette*





*Giulio Caccini - Dolcissimo Sospiro*





Best wishes
Metairie Road


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

Couac Addict said:


> O ma lyre immortelle from Gounod's Sapho. It's not that obscure as the aria pops up in recitals now and then but I'm sure it'll be new to someone.
> 
> ...cerainly more obscure than Faust


Absolutely the finest singing of this aria I have ever heard. The perfectly focused tone, the intense, beautifully shaped phrasing, the breathtaking control of dynamics, the seamless legato and portamento - a lesson in what singing should be. I would normally be saying "If only Callas had recorded this!" Well, if only she had - it would not have been finer than this. That's the highest compliment I can give.


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## dgee (Sep 26, 2013)

Really enjoyed that Gounod! He wrote some great arias even though the whole operas don't really appeal to me

Here some Korngold - from Das Wunder der Heliane and Die Tote Stadt









Roxana's song from Krol Roger





Messiaen's Poemes pour mi - the whole jolly thing





Nothing particularly hidden about these, although they may be slightly off the beaten track for some listeners


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## Marschallin Blair (Jan 23, 2014)

Woodduck said:


> Absolutely the finest singing of this aria I have ever heard. The perfectly focused tone, the intense, beautifully shaped phrasing, the breathtaking control of dynamics, the seamless legato and portamento - a lesson in what singing should be. I would normally be saying "If only Callas had recorded this!" Well, if only she had - it would not have been finer than this. That's the highest compliment I can give.


I absolutely loved this: finesse, passion, and horsepower.


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## Headphone Hermit (Jan 8, 2014)

Figleaf said:


> Hear hear! 'Les introuvables' looks especially mouthwatering but Amazon has no track listing for it so I'm not sure if it would be worth my ordering or not, as I'm not sure how much it I already have on various other CDs.


 Complete track list at http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/les-introuvables-du-chant-fran-ais/10729919?ean=724358582826 :tiphat:


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## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

Woodduck said:


> Absolutely the finest singing of this aria I have ever heard. The perfectly focused tone, the intense, beautifully shaped phrasing, the breathtaking control of dynamics, the seamless legato and portamento - a lesson in what singing should be. I would normally be saying "If only Callas had recorded this!" Well, if only she had - it would not have been finer than this. That's the highest compliment I can give.


This is from a fabulous recital disc, called simply "In Opera". It also includes a wonderful recording of Margeurite's _d'amour l'ardente flamme_, which is almost the equal of Callas, so the above comparison is not inapposite. Hard to get hold of now, I've just ordered a second hand copy at £16.82 ($27).

I used to have a recording of Crespin singing this, but it doesn't have anything like this level of passion. As usual, Crespin is a bit too civilised.


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## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

BalalaikaBoy said:


> Martina Arroyo is, imo, possibly the most underrated soprano of the 20th century (because, apparently, big voices are supposed to be shriek-y, steely and sing with zero femininity  )


I don't think the voice was in the least bit shreeky or steely. It was actually a very warm sound. However I find her a rather uncommunicative singer. The voice itself is a pleasure to listen to, but she never brings in any of those personal touches with which a singer can draw you in.


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## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

Couac Addict said:


> Admittedly, Thomas' _Je suis Tatania de blond_ from Mignon is a lot better with orchestra and chorus but some may be interested in this video with a young hopeful by the name of Natalie Dessay; trying to make a career out of singing and showing off with some vocal gymnastics towards the end.
> 
> I hope she makes it!


This one is even rarer. Julie Andrews at the age of 12!






Not sure if it's a gem, but, it's still recognisably Julie, who of course went on to have a career in musicals rather than opera.


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## BalalaikaBoy (Sep 25, 2014)

GregMitchell said:


> I don't think the voice was in the least bit shreeky or steely. It was actually a very warm sound. However I find her a rather uncommunicative singer. The voice itself is a pleasure to listen to, but she never brings in any of those personal touches with which a singer can draw you in.


my point was that she is NOT shreeky or steely.


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## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

BalalaikaBoy said:


> my point was that she is NOT shreeky or steely.


OK keep your hair on. I was agreeing with you.


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## BalalaikaBoy (Sep 25, 2014)

GregMitchell said:


> OK keep your hair on. I was agreeing with you.


my hair is just fine


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## Camillorf (Jul 18, 2014)

As someone already mentioned, a lot of the arias from DiDonato's latest album, Stella di Napoli. I particularly like the opening track "Ove t'aggiri o barbaro" from Pacini's Stella di Napoli. A real show-piece for a coloratura and I had the pleasure of hearing her perform it live. Loved it!


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

GregMitchell said:


> Julie Andrews at the age of 12!
> 
> 
> 
> ...


God, is this a hoot! Maybe not a performance for the ages, but for her age? Wow. I can't stop smiling.

Andrews just grew lovelier, in face and voice, with age. I _love_ Julie! :kiss:


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## BalalaikaBoy (Sep 25, 2014)

BalalaikaBoy said:


> yay! I get to let out my opera hipster
> anyway, I'm going to focus more on hidden _singers_ rather than hidden arias
> 
> I'll start with spinto tenor Anatolii Solovyanenko. he's a lot like a Ukrainian Franco Corelli, but a touch lighter. if you like it, I recommend his recordings of traditional Ukrainian music, because they're even better.


to compliment the "Ukrainian Franco Corelli", we have the "Ukrainian Robert Merrill", Dmytro Hnatyuk


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## Musicforawhile (Oct 10, 2014)

'Sleep' by Peter Warlock






Not sure how well known this is.


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## silentio (Nov 10, 2014)

Not sure if it should be considered a "hidden gem". This one is actually very famous, but many of my opera friends never heard it before. Given my love for Callas, Schwarzkopf, and de Los Angeles, I still definitely pick this one if I have to nominate a single recording to be the summit of the art of singing. Her use of vibrato and pianissimo is almost supernatural:






Recently, Renee Fleming and Jonas Kaufmann also performed and popularized the song (available on youtube). Theirs are lovely singing, but just like surfing on the surface. With La Divina Muzio, we can feel a sort of paranoid and sadness hidden somewhere. The great soprano Aprile Millo, who is a great fan of Claudia Muzio, described it much better than I did:

"Not a casual hearing from her ever. This woman involves you from the very first note. Heartbreaking, full of an emotion that she never really apologizes for. Should she? NO!
These words have always had a double meaning for me. So appropo of today's "use and lose" philosophy- this is all that is beauty all that is intangible truth, begging not to be cast aside. But it also speaks on a personal level, of a human desire not to be put aside, left behind, a hope for one's sun never to set.
The line that often brings me to tears is, "*Ombra di nube,* _non mi offuscare della vita non velarmi la belta_'". Isn't that everyone's hope in life? Especially those of us who have served in music and been arrested by it's beauty.
Followed by the words, which we all have wished at one time or another in our own lives, pleading that all clouds depart from her. flying far away and taking with it an old torment.
As I believe she is praying at the end of her life, as will I, -Cecilia dying sees _"abissi di luce, oceans of light"_-…. so here Refice recalls in this prayer as well, "_Ancora luce, ancora azzurro….. il sereno vegga per l'eternita!_" "Still there is light, still there is blue….(skies) a serene vision for eternity!" "


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## silentio (Nov 10, 2014)

Another one. Irène Joachim sings Fauré's *Le Secret.*






Irène Joachim is the Mélisande for the iconic 1942 Pelléas et Mélisande under Roger Désormière. My gold standards for French melodies are Dame Janet Baker and Dame Maggie Teyte, but I have to say that this single performance of Irène eclipsed almost everything those two ladies ever sung.


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## Albert7 (Nov 16, 2014)

Any Vivaldi opera is going to be a gem. After my Wagner obsession I plan to study some Vivaldi operas later on next year.


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## SixFootScowl (Oct 17, 2011)

I HIGHLY recommend the Abbado DVD of Rossini's La Cenerentola featuring Frederica von Stade as Angelina (Cinderella). Every singer in this opera is fantastic, and the comedy is wonderful throughout. For CD get Theresa Berganza with Abbado because three of the singers are the same.

Here is the whole opera (though it is worth getting the DVD for English subtitles):


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## Meyerbeer Smith (Mar 25, 2016)




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