Here are some of my most favorite hand picked operas! Just beautiful in every way, from choirs of exuberant colors, to fast tempo Italian plays, which I'm sure you're heard before. Surprisingly helpful for artistic development, or studying.

"If you hear a voice within you say 'you cannot paint,' then by all means paint, and that voice will be silenced." ~ Vincent Van Gogh

Opera

Carrie Hall - Soprano
University of Minnesota Orchestra
Maestro Mark Russell Smith

Gustav Mahler - Symphony no.4 - IV

In the famous “Rigoletto” quartet the voices of Liparit Avetisyan (the Duke), Emily Fons (Maddalena), Madison Leonard (Gilda), and Lester Lynch (Rigoletto) come together in one of opera’s greatest ensembles. The Duke woos Maddalena, who laughs at him; unseen by them, his ex-lover, Gilda, wails and her father, Rigoletto, mutters words of vengeance. Carlo Montanaro conducts the orchestra of Seattle Opera. Photo by Sunny Martini.
Elise Bakketun, photo

RIGOLETTO Quartet

Beethoven - Symphony No. 4 in B-flat, Op. 60 - Claudio Abbado

"Libiamo ne' lieti calici" da La Traviata di Giuseppe Verdi diretta da Carlos Kleiber con l'Orchestra e il Coro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, Cecilia Gasdia, Peter Dvorský, Giorgio Zancanaro, il 20 dicembre 1984.

"Libiamo ne' lieti calici" da La Traviata - di Giuseppe Verdi

Giuseppe Verdi - "Evviva Beviam", Coro di Introduzione (Ernani)

Outstanding tragic poem by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, with the piano of Franz Schubert.

Deutsch songtext:

Wer reitet so spät durch Nacht und Wind?
Es ist der Vater mit seinem Kind;
Er hat den Knaben wohl in dem Arm,
Er faßt ihn sicher, er hält ihn warm.

"Mein Sohn, was birgst du so bang dein Gesicht?" –
"Siehst, Vater, du den Erlkönig nicht?
Den Erlenkönig mit Kron und Schweif?" –
"Mein Sohn, es ist ein Nebelstreif."

"Du liebes Kind, komm, geh mit mir!
Gar schöne Spiele spiel' ich mit dir;
Manch' bunte Blumen sind an dem Strand,
Meine Mutter hat manch gülden Gewand." –

"Mein Vater, mein Vater, und hörest du nicht,
Was Erlenkönig mir leise verspricht?" –
"Sei ruhig, bleibe ruhig, mein Kind;
In dürren Blättern säuselt der Wind." –

"Willst, feiner Knabe, du mit mir gehn?
Meine Töchter sollen dich warten schön;
Meine Töchter führen den nächtlichen Reihn,
Und wiegen und tanzen und singen dich ein." –

"Mein Vater, mein Vater, und siehst du nicht dort
Erlkönigs Töchter am düstern Ort?" –
"Mein Sohn, mein Sohn, ich seh' es genau:
Es scheinen die alten Weiden so grau. –"

"Ich liebe dich, mich reizt deine schöne Gestalt;
Und bist du nicht willig, so brauch' ich Gewalt." –
"Mein Vater, mein Vater, jetzt faßt er mich an!
Erlkönig hat mir ein Leids getan!" –

Dem Vater grauset's, er reitet geschwind,
Er hält in Armen das ächzende Kind,
Erreicht den Hof mit Müh' und Not;
In seinen Armen das Kind war tot.

English lyrics:

Who rides there so late through the night dark and drear?
The father it is, with his infant so dear;
He holdeth the boy tightly clasp'd in his arm,
He holdeth him safely, he keepeth him warm.

"My son, wherefore seek'st thou thy face thus to hide?"
"Look, father, the Erl-King is close by our side!
Dost see not the Erl-King, with crown and with train?"
"My son, 'tis the mist rising over the plain."

"Oh, come, thou dear infant! oh come thou with me!
For many a game I will play there with thee;
On my strand, lovely flowers their blossoms unfold,
My mother shall grace thee with garments of gold."

"My father, my father, and dost thou not hear
The words that the Erl-King now breathes in mine ear?"
"Be calm, dearest child, 'tis thy fancy deceives;
'Tis the sad wind that sighs through the withering leaves."

"Wilt go, then, dear infant, wilt go with me there?
My daughters shall tend thee with sisterly care;
My daughters by night their glad festival keep,
They'll dance thee, and rock thee, and sing thee to sleep."

"My father, my father, and dost thou not see,
How the Erl-King his daughters has brought here for me?"
"My darling, my darling, I see it aright,
'Tis the aged grey willows deceiving thy sight."

"I love thee, I'm charm'd by thy beauty, dear boy!
And if thou'rt unwilling, then force I'll employ."
"My father, my father, he seizes me fast,
For sorely the Erl-King has hurt me at last."

The father now gallops, with terror half wild,
He grasps in his arms the poor shuddering child;
He reaches his courtyard with toil and with dread, –
The child in his arms finds he motionless, dead.

Erlkoenig

The young Chevalier Des Grieux falls madly in love at first sight with the pretty young Manon Lescaut, bound for a convent, and remembers how she told him her name in the beautiful tenor aria "Donna non vidi mai" from Act 1 of Puccini's MANON LESCAUT. Ted Lee sang this role at Seattle Opera in 2005, under the baton of Antonello Allemandi.
Photo by Rozarii Lynch

MANON LESCAUT "Donna non vidi mai"

David Loebel leads the new England Conservatory Philharmonia in a performance of Shostakovich: Symphony no 8 in C minor, Op. 65. Recorded live in Jordan Hall, Boston, December 2, 2015 by Jeremy Sarna.

NEC Philharmonia, Loebel / Hay

Shostakovich: Symphony no 8 in C minor, Op. 65 Allegro non troppo

Australian baritone José Carbo sang the beloved baritone aria “Largo al factotum” in Seattle Opera’s 2011 BARBER OF SEVILLE. The self-satisfied barber bounds onstage and proceeds to sing his own praises in this delightful music, climaxing in his imitation of all the people of Seville clamoring for him. Dean Williamson conducted the orchestra of Seattle Opera. 

Photo by Rozarii Lynch

Figaro’s Entrance from THE BARBER OF SEVILLE

In Rossini’s whimsical take on the Cinderella story, Dandini, the Prince’s valet, makes a show-stopping entrance in the first-scene, pretending to be the Prince (who, disguised as a valet, has already fallen for pretty Cenerentola). In Seattle Opera’s 2013 LA CENERENTOLA, Brett Polegato as Dandini simultaneously ridiculed the Prince (René Barbera), Don Magnifico (Patrick Carfizzi), and Cenerentola (Daniela Pini)’s wicked step-sisters Clorinda (Dana Pundt) and Tisbe (Sarah Larsen). Giacomo Sagripanti conducted the chorus and orchestra of Seattle Opera.

Photo by Alan Alabastro 

LA CENERENTOLA: Dandini Impersonates the Prince

A. VIVALDI: Viola d'amore Concerto in A minor RV 397, Accademia Bizantina

La Traviata -  E Strano! Ah, fors' e lui...Sempre libera

The Sunday Independent is offering readers “A Night at the Opera” – an exclusive recording by Regina Nathan. Featuring songs from The Marriage of Figaro, La Boheme, La Traviata, Tosca and many more.

Addio Del Passatto La Traviata (Verdi)

Complete Recordings on Deutsche Grammophon 1973-1975 CD118

Beethoven - Symphony No. 1 in C Major Op. 21 - Herbert Von Karajan

One of Verdi’s most beloved melodies, the famous chorus “Va, pensiero” from “Nabucco” serves as a sort of unofficial national anthem in Italy. In the opera the Hebrews, languishing in captivity in Babylon, remember their beloved homeland in Zion with longing and seek the strength to endure their suffering and exile. Carlo Montanaro conducted the chorus and orchestra of Seattle Opera on opening night of the Seattle premiere of "Nabucco," August 8, 2015. Photo by Philip Newton.


“Va, pensiero” - from NABUCCO

Richter - Concerto Edition - CD1 - J.S.Bach

J.S. Bach - Piano Concerto in G minor BWV 1058 - Sviatoslav Richter

오늘은 내 인생에서 나에게 친절하게만 대했던 사람들을 차단하기 시작한 시간입니다. 기억되지 않는 시간, 그러나 잊혀지는 시간. 내 얼굴. 내 자존심. 내 심장. 

Erlkoenig

Mr Euphoria

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