# The snippets of opera you watch repeatedly



## BBSVK (10 mo ago)

Are there parts of opera recordings, which you sometimes return to, and actually watch them, instead of listening only ? It could be a pretty or interesting production, good acting, a handsome singer, helpful subtitles, whatever... The easiest thing is to link a youtube video, but a description of your favourite passage on your DVD is also wellcome.


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## nina foresti (Mar 11, 2014)

The Poker Scene with Tebaldi/Guelfi in "La fanciulla del west"
The Prison Scene from "Mefistofele" with Olivero, Campora, Hines
The Grand Inquisitor scene from "Don Carlo"
2nd act of "Tosca" with Gobbi, Callas
Lenski-Onegin duel with the aria Kuda,kuda as sung by Neil Shicoff - "Eugene Onegin"


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## BBSVK (10 mo ago)

nina foresti said:


> The Poker Scene with Tebaldi/Guelfi in "La fanciulla del west"


Is there a video of Tebaldi ?


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## ColdGenius (9 mo ago)

Final of "Les dialogues des carmelites".
"Foretes paissibles" from "Les indes galantes".
Felipe's aria and Grand Inquisitor scene and "O don fatale" from "Don Carlo".
"Son nata a lagrimar", "Se pieta de mi non senti", "Piangero la sorte mia" from "Giulio Cesare".
"O pensiero nemico di pace" from "Il trionfo di tempo e di desinganno".
" Tralalala" from "Benvenuto Cellini".
"Que facesti" from "Macbeth".
" Re del abisso afrettati" from "Un ballo in maschera".
"O smania, o furie" from "Idomeneo".
"What power art thou" from "King Arthur".
" Welche Wonne, welche Lust" from "Die Entführung aus dem Serail".


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## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

Godzilla vs Mothra... Jones and Rysanek Elektra and her mom fight
Sutherland: Maria Stuarda
Sutherland: Anna Bolena
Sutherland: Hamlet Mad Scene
Sutherland: Norma Trio from Australia
Jessye Norman: Sieglinde
Sutherland: end of Lucrezia Borgia
Nilsson: age 65 Isolde's Curse and When I was seventeen
Price; Zweite Brautnacht at 65
Sutherland: Lucia.. various ones
Astrid Varnay as Klytemnestra
Marilyn Zchau in Elektra's monologue
Sutherland and Horne duet from Semiramide
Phillipe Sly in several things... I don't know why
David Hansen in several things... I don't know why
Jessye Norman I Dreamt I Dwelt
Jones in the Bayreuth Gotterdamerung


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## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

All the snippets of Callas I can find, including those tantalising silent snippets of her in Medea.


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

The only lengthy opera videos I've watched more than once or twice are the available Callas bits and the love scene from _Boheme_ with Tebaldi and Bjorling. I've seen the Callas/Gobbi Covent garden _Tosca_ probably seven or eight times.
I'm sure I've seen many individual arias several times; Flagstad's "Ho jo to ho" and Melchior's "prize song," both in Hollywood movies, are favorites, especially since we don't have films of them in the opera house.


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## nina foresti (Mar 11, 2014)

BBSVK said:


> Is there a video of Tebaldi ?


You betcha Baby!!


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## hammeredklavier (Feb 18, 2018)

www.youtube.com/watch?v=zRyukf0YRmc&t=29s


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## Otis B. Driftwood (4 mo ago)

BBSVK said:


> Is there a video of Tebaldi ?


Here she is in a complete opera recording;


Spoiler: La forza del destino 1958


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## BBSVK (10 mo ago)

@nina foresti I meant, if you watch something instead of listening only. Do you look a the motion-less photo of Tebaldi and Guelfi in the video of La Fanciulla del West for the 8 minutes of the duet ? Anything is possible for an opera lover, I have one almost motionless video for a certain short Bellini aria that I stare at... But I assume a misunderstanding this time. Or was Tebaldi filmed in the poker scene ?


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## Otis B. Driftwood (4 mo ago)

Woodduck said:


> I'm sure I've seen many individual arias several times; Flagstad's "Ho jo to ho" and Melchior's "prize song," both in Hollywood movies, are favorites, especially since we don't have films of them in the opera house.


Which movies did they appear in?


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

Otis B. Driftwood said:


> Which movies did they appear in?


Flagstad was in "The Big Broadcast of 1938," a sort of variety show hosted by Bob Hope. I don't know the title of the movie with Melchior, but you can easily find both clips on YouTube.


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## Otis B. Driftwood (4 mo ago)

Woodduck said:


> Flagstad was in "The Big Broadcast of 1938," a sort of variety show hosted by Bob Hope. I don't know the title of the movie with Melchior, but you can easily find both clips on YouTube.


Wow, thanks for sharing! 
I particularly enjoyed seeing the acoustic recording process in that Melchior clip.


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

Otis B. Driftwood said:


> Wow, thanks for sharing!
> I particularly enjoyed seeing the acoustic recording process in that Melchior clip.


Are you old enough to get the dog joke at the end?


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## Otis B. Driftwood (4 mo ago)

Woodduck said:


> Are you old enough to get the dog joke at the end?


Haha yes, I got a good laugh at the "Nipper" reference.


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## nina foresti (Mar 11, 2014)

BBSVK said:


> @nina foresti I meant, if you watch something instead of listening only. Do you look a the motion-less photo of Tebaldi and Guelfi in the video of La Fanciulla del West for the 8 minutes of the duet ? Anything is possible for an opera lover, I have one almost motionless video for a certain short Bellini aria that I stare at... But I assume a misunderstanding this time. Or was Tebaldi filmed in the poker scene ?


Of course you are right. I just loved that scene so much I conjured up an image of her live.
Mea culpa friend.


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## ColdGenius (9 mo ago)

"The flock shall live the mountain" from "Acis and Galatea".
"Agitata a due venti" from "Griselda".


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## BBSVK (10 mo ago)

ColdGenius said:


> "The flock shall live the mountain" from "Acis and Galatea".
> "Agitata a due venti" from "Griselda".


Do you mean you listen to the music, or do you actually watch these parts (visually) as I originally asked ?


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## ColdGenius (9 mo ago)

BBSVK said:


> Do you mean you listen to the music, or do you actually watch these parts (visually) as I originally asked ?


Both. Les indes galantes, for example, are on video, especially nice with Petibon and Rivenq.


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## BBSVK (10 mo ago)

ColdGenius said:


> Both. Les indes galantes, for example, are on video, especially nice with Petibon and Rivenq.


Thanks, my mother once saw a short part of Les Indes Galantes and wanted to see it again, but did not remember where from. So maybe this is the one.

If those things you listed are very watchable, can you somehow specify the recordings ?


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## ColdGenius (9 mo ago)

BBSVK said:


> Thanks, my mother once saw a short part of Les Indes Galantes and wanted to see it again, but did not remember where from. So maybe this is the one.
> 
> If those things you listed are very watchable, can you somehow specify the recordings ?


I'll look for the links.


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## ColdGenius (9 mo ago)

Watchable Les indes were conducted by William Christie. There is also a full opera video from Bordeaux or other French theater, but you must not show it your mother.


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## Op.123 (Mar 25, 2013)

Tsaraslondon said:


> All the snippets of Callas I can find, including those tantalising silent snippets of her in Medea.


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## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

ColdGenius said:


> "The flock shall live the mountain" from "Acis and Galatea".
> "Agitata a due venti" from "Griselda".


Your theme song is " I'm old fashioned" LOL Just being silly here. I actually like David Hansen in Griselda and watched him in it more than once. It is gone on Youtube now I except for this collection of snippets:


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## ColdGenius (9 mo ago)

Ulrica


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## ColdGenius (9 mo ago)

Les indes galantes


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## ColdGenius (9 mo ago)

La Callisto. One of my favorite earworms.


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## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

Woodduck said:


> Flagstad was in "The Big Broadcast of 1938," a sort of variety show hosted by Bob Hope. I don't know the title of the movie with Melchior, but you can easily find both clips on YouTube.


I forgot about the Flagstad clip: have seen it so many times. She was rather pretty and so excited!!!!


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

Seattleoperafan said:


> I forgot about the Flagstad clip: have seen it so many times. She was rather pretty and so excited!!!!


I always thought Flagstad had a beautiful face, very fresh and Nordic, like Scandinavian modern furniture.


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## OffPitchNeb (Jun 6, 2016)

Op.123 said:


>


Stage animal! Vickers was probably scared the **** looking into her eyes.


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## OffPitchNeb (Jun 6, 2016)

Woodduck said:


> The only lengthy opera videos I've watched more than once or twice are the available Callas bits and the love scene from _Boheme_ with Tebaldi and Bjorling. I've seen the Callas/Gobbi Covent garden _Tosca_ probably seven or eight times.
> I'm sure I've seen many individual arias several times; Flagstad's "Ho jo to ho" and Melchior's "prize song," both in Hollywood movies, are favorites, especially since we don't have films of them in the opera house.


I, too, love the Boheme bits. It proved that the Decca studio recording did no justice to Tebaldi's voice. She sounded not as vibrant in many studio recordings made around the same time they filmed these clips.


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## hammeredklavier (Feb 18, 2018)

www.youtube.com/watch?v=rXmF6h3Yd_A&t=5m15s


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

OffPitchNeb said:


> I, too, love the Boheme bits. It proved that the Decca studio recording did no justice to Tebaldi's voice. She sounded not as vibrant in many studio recordings made around the same time they filmed these clips.


I agree. She never sounded better than in that scene with Bjorling, who of course always sounded marvelous. Her acting is delightful too.


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

OffPitchNeb said:


> Stage animal! Vickers was probably scared the **** looking into her eyes.


Anyone else would be, but I'm sure Vickers didn't scare easily. He was a great Callas admirer, and if he was feeling anything, I suspect, it was a sense of privilege to be working with her.


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## Op.123 (Mar 25, 2013)

Woodduck said:


> Anyone else would be, but I'm sure Vickers didn't scare easily. He was a great Callas admirer, and if he was feeling anything, I suspect, it was a sense of privilege to be working with her.


There's actually a quote from him saying it could be a little scary at times - "To work with her, you had to really understand how _she_ saw your role, not how _you_ saw it. She had a very clear-cut understanding of _her_ role, and you had to fit into that interpretation. She was so great, [yet] she could not distance herself from a role. It was actually quite terrifying — she would at times actually cry while singing! You must only portray the emotions, not become personally involved. But *Maria always became the role.* She was such a servant of the text and the composer, she would tear her voice to ribbons to accomplish it!"


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## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

Woodduck said:


> Anyone else would be, but I'm sure Vickers didn't scare easily. He was a great Callas admirer, and if he was feeling anything, I suspect, it was a sense of privilege to be working with her.


The admiration went both ways. Callas wanted him to sing Pollione in her final Normas in Paris, but he turned it down, saying he didn't have the nigh C for his Act I aria. 
He did eventually sing the role (with Caballé in Orange), but minus the high C.


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## Otis B. Driftwood (4 mo ago)

Tsaraslondon said:


> He did eventually sing the role (with Caballé in Orange), but minus the high C.


That video was my introduction to Norma. What a great first impression.


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## ColdGenius (9 mo ago)

Op.123 said:


>


It's a crime the full opera wasn't shot.


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## BBSVK (10 mo ago)

ColdGenius said:


> It's a crime the full opera wasn't shot.


Several crimes regarding Callas performances. I have read somewhere, that her husband Meneghini objected to that, because, as a rule of thumb, the opera singers looked stupid when filmed while singing. To some extent is still true. But not for her ! :-(


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## nina foresti (Mar 11, 2014)

Woodduck said:


> The only lengthy opera videos I've watched more than once or twice are the available Callas bits and the love scene from _Boheme_ with Tebaldi and Bjorling. I've seen the Callas/Gobbi Covent garden _Tosca_ probably seven or eight times.
> I'm sure I've seen many individual arias several times; Flagstad's "Ho jo to ho" and Melchior's "prize song," both in Hollywood movies, are favorites, especially since we don't have films of them in the opera house.


Guru:
I can tell you never saw the heart-rending, well-acted beautifully sung Boheme with Shicoff and Cotrubas.


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## ColdGenius (9 mo ago)

Les dialogues des carmelites


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## ColdGenius (9 mo ago)

O pensiero nemico di pace


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## ColdGenius (9 mo ago)

Purcell


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## LKB (Jul 27, 2021)

This:






Having seen both Ramey and Moll at their best ( though not together ), the excerpt provides a nice dose of nostalgia, as well as an effective reminder of Moll's prodigious instrument.


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

nina foresti said:


> Guru:
> I can tell you never saw the heart-rending, well-acted beautifully sung Boheme with Shicoff and Cotrubas.


You're right. I have very little interest in _Boheme_ nowadays, so I don't look for performances. It's only the sublime singing of Bjorling and Tebaldi that makes me love the opera again.


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## nina foresti (Mar 11, 2014)

Woodduck said:


> You're right. I have very little interest in _Boheme_ nowadays, so I don't look for performances. It's only the sublime singing of Bjorling and Tebaldi that makes me love the opera again.


When I am off this mortal coil, do try it. I will see your smile and be content once again.


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## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

Op.123 said:


>


I've never seen this. O M G!!!!


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

Seattleoperafan said:


> I've never seen this. O M G!!!!


She needs only a few seconds, doesn't she?


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## CopistaSignorGomez (Dec 9, 2021)




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## OffPitchNeb (Jun 6, 2016)

Act 4 of La Boheme with Stratas and Carrerras. It never fails to make me cry. Everyone on stage was amazing and looked believable that night. Scotto (I am surprised that she agreed to settle as a Musetta for Stratas) further added a touch of _verismo _to this moving performance.


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## hammeredklavier (Feb 18, 2018)

hammeredklavier said:


>


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## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

Op.123 said:


>


It's not only when she sings. She listens with such intensity too. I think it was Bing who said that when he saw her as Leonora with Bjoerling in Chicago, you couldn't take your eyes off her and one of the things he commented on was how she listened. He said that when Bjoerling sang _Ah si ben mio_, "He didn't know what he was singing about, but she did."


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## ColdGenius (9 mo ago)

OffPitchNeb said:


> Act 4 of La Boheme with Stratas and Carrerras. It never fails to make me cry. Everyone on stage was amazing and looked believable that night. Scotto (I am surprised that she agreed to settle as a Musetta for Stratas) further added a touch of _verismo _to this moving performance.


Stratas actually looks ill.


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## jackpoint188 (3 mo ago)

BBSVK said:


> Are there parts of opera recordings, which you sometimes return to, and actually watch them, instead of listening only ? It could be a pretty or interesting production, good acting, a handsome singer, helpful subtitles, whatever... The easiest thing is to link a youtube video, but a description of your favourite passage on your DVD is also wellcome.


I rewatch "The Magic Flute" scene with Diana Damrau, as The Queen Of The Night, forcing a dagger on her daughter to slay Sarastro. It transcends popular entertainment and goes into psychological drama, with all the acting touches that bring these characters to life as real people.


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## OffPitchNeb (Jun 6, 2016)

ColdGenius said:


> Stratas actually looks ill.


She did. What an amazing actress. I like her as a singer as well. The voice might not be very attractive, but she had a decent lyric voice. Where can you hear a Mimi like this nowadays?


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## ScottK (Dec 23, 2021)

OffPitchNeb said:


> Act 4 of La Boheme with Stratas and Carrerras. It never fails to make me cry. Everyone on stage was amazing and looked believable that night. Scotto (I am surprised that she agreed to settle as a Musetta for Stratas) further added a touch of _verismo _to this moving performance.


At the time Scotto taking Musetta did not have amy negative second role associations. Her Mimi was well established and amidst the flurry of bravura roles she got in those years this felt like ....I don’t know, Dustin Hoffman doing Ratzo Rizzo, an artistic choice!


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