The American Opera Singer
Featuring Emma Eames, Louise Homer, Mary Garden, Geraldine Farrar, Rosa Ponselle, Lawrence Tibbett, Marian Anderson, Grace Moore, Lily Pons, Edward Johnson, Richard Crooks, Helen Traubel, Rise Stevens, Dorothy Kirsten, Patrice Munsel, Eleanor Steber, Jan Peerce, Leonard Warren, Roberta Peters, Richard Tucker, Robert Merrill, Anna Moffo, Beverly Sills, Leontyne Price, Jon Vickers, Marilyn Horne, Sherrill Milnes, Shirley Verrett, Ben Heppner, Deborah Voigt, Carol Vaness, Tatiana Troyanos, Jerry Hadley, Samuel Ramey, Frederica Van Stade, & Dawn Upshaw.
RCA; 2 discs

A very cool cd set. This features many famous American opera singers, each performing a famous aria/duet. The remastered recordings are simply wonderful, allowing you to hear good quality recordings of some of the older singers. Mary Garden is really amazing. Not the best opera compilation I have ever listened through, but very interesting to hear the different singers. There are a few Canadians and Lily Pons, but most of the singers are American. All in all, very interesting for any fan of American opera.

La Forza del Destino (1958)

La Forza del Destino
Featuring Renata Tebaldi, Franco Corelli, and Boris Christoff
1958 Teatro San Carlo, Naples performance
160 minutes; Hardy Classics DVD

This is simply fantastic viewing. You listen to the records and imagine these famous people singing, but it is so great to be able to actually see them perform on stage at the peaks of their careers. Gives you a much better feeling when you listen to a disc, knowing how they actually sing.

The quality is a little old, but so much better than I thought it would be when I ordered this DVD. The sound is absolutely wonderful, especially considering they had to remaster old TV film. I took the disc upstairs onto our 42" plasma TV and it looked and sounded great! The end scene is fabulous, worth watching twice in a row.

The staging and costumes are traditional and the acting is great (although modern viewers would consider it old-fashioned). Corelli is always convincing and, actually, this is his debut in the role of Alvaro. You would never know it, he is so natural. Tebaldi is simply breathtaking as Leonora, an opera treasure. You can really appreciate her fame and the power of her voice. You can't help but notice her. She really must have been something to hear live!

The disc has subtitles (in several languages, but I can't remember which other than English and Italian) which can be turned on or off as well as an interview with Renata Tebladi that is very fun. All in all, it is so worth the viewing time. A must for any Tebaldi or Corelli fan.

Producer's Showcase: Festival of Music Vol. 1

Producer's Showcase: Festival of Music - Volume 1
89 minutes; Video Artists Int'l

This is the complete January 30, 1956 live broadcast featuring artists Leonard Warren, Jan Peerce, Rise Stevens, Zinka Milanov, Roberta Peters, Blanche Thebom, Mildred Miller, Renata Tebaldi, Jussi Bjorling, and other classical performers.

A great way to see many of the older singers, however, the standout is Renata Tebaldi and Jussi Bjorling singing the end of Act 1 from La Boheme. It starts a little before "Che Gelida Manina" and goes until the end of the scene. Two great artists in a superb performance of a classic piece. Thrilling and beautiful.

The DVD is nicely restored and contains all the original Ford commercials. Actor Charles Laughton is host and has some very funny descriptions of opera stories!

Opera Legend Joan Sutherland Dies 1927 - 2010

Legendary coloratura soprano, Joan Sutherland died on Sunday evening at her home after a long illness. She was 83 years old. Vocally brilliant, she rose to overnight fame with her performance in Covent Garden's "Lucia di Lammermoor" in 1959. Possessing true pitch, great breath control and a powerful upper range, she became one of the foremost interpreters of the Bel Canto repetoire. Her career spanned over 40 years and she sang over 60 roles with such opera greats as Pavarotti, Marilyn Horne, and Franco Zefferelli. After her retirement in 1990, she conducted master classes and judged vocal competitions. She is survived by her husband, conductor Richard Bonynge, of 56 years; her son, Adam and his wife and two daughters.

Such an outstanding talent - who can forget her Mad Scene or her magnificent rendition of Handel's "Let the Bright Serephim" or her fantastic recording of Turandot? In 1997 she published her autobiography A Prima Donna's Progress, which is a great book filled with career information and funny stories. During her Metropolitan Opera debut in 1959 (as Lucia), she received a twelve minute standing ovation at the end of the Mad Scene alone!

Opera Australia's artistic director a simple statement that is conveys the perfect feelings. "We won't see her like again. She had a phenomenal range, size and quality of voice. We simply don't hear that any more."

To read an obituary with a full bio, click the links below:

NYTimes

Metropolitan Opera

Telegraph.co.uk

Joan Sutherland: The Reluctant Prima Donna

Joan Sutherland: The Reluctant Prima Donna
60 minutes; 2007 Kultur Video DVD

A look at the career of opera legend, Dame Joan Sutherland, as told through interviews with her and her contemporaries (including Franco Zefferelli, Luciano Pavarotti, and her husband, Richard Bonynge). Really fun DVD that gives a nice glimpse into a legendary ladies' career. This does include a clip of her guest appearance on "The Dinah Shore Show" where she sang two trios with Dinah Shore and Ella Fitzgerald! A very fun DVD for fans of Dame Joan.

Lucia di Lammermoor

Lucia di Lammermoor
Featuring Montserrat Caballe, Jose Carreras, and Samuel Ramey
New Philharmonia Orchestra, conducted by Jesus Lopez-Cobos
Decca; 2 discs

Unusual interpretation by Caballe. The “Mad Scene” is very different from Joan Sutherland’s style, closer to Callas’ interpretation. Caballe’s famous pianissimo high notes are nowhere to be found and she is somewhat strained on the high-C’s. If you are a fan of Caballe or “Lucia”, this is worth listening to. Carreras is wonderful and his ending aria, which is sometimes an anti-climax, is superb.

The Great Singers

The Great Singers: From the Dawn of Opera to Caruso, Callas, and Pavarotti

by Henry Pleasants
Illustrated history of great singers, including Jenny Lind, Caruso, Flagstad, Sills, Callas and Pavarotti. Gives the reader a nice overview on many of the great singers, along with photographs and personal stories about them.

Deep In My Heart (1954)

Deep In My Heart (1954)
Starring Jose Ferrer, Merle Oberon, and Helen Traubel.
132 minutes; MGM Studios

A bio-pic of operetta composer Sigmund Romberg, this film shines from the presence of Wagnerian Soprano Helen Traubel, who steals the show as Romberg's lifelong friend. She sings five numbers; "Softly, as in a Morning Sunrise", "Auf Wiedersehn", "You Will Remember Vienna", Stouthearted Men", and "Leg of Mutton". Wonderful to be able to see such a great operatic personality in a role that is more than a walk-on appearence. Here are video clips of two of her numbers. She is fantastic!

Here she is singing "Auf Wiedersehn" as Merle Oberon, Jose Ferrer, and Doe Avedon listen.

Singing "Softly, as in a Morning Sunrise" while Merle Oberon listens in raptures (as I do!).

Korngold: Orchestral Works

Korngold
Featuring Willy Mattes, Thomas Hampson, and Kiri Te Kanawa
EMI Classics; 2 discs

Beautiful, top quality recordings of some of Erich Wolfgang Korngold's orchestral works. Includes the Symphony in F Sharp, a violin concerto, "Much Ado About Nothing" Suite, a piano trip, and two arias from his opera "Die Tote Stadt". The instrumental pieces are beautiful and very different from his well-known swashbuckling film scores. However, the final track is so stupendous that the cd is worth getting for it alone. Famed opera baritone, Thomas Hampson, sings the gorgeous aria "Mein Sehnen, Mein Wahnen" from "Die Tote Stadt" so beautifly that the listener can't help but be enthralled.

The Art of Singing

The Art of Singing: Golden Voices of the Century
116 minutes; Nvc Arts DVD

Fantastic viewing. Footage of 28 great singers, beginning with Caruso and ending with Callas. Features other greats, such as Tebaldi, Bjorling, di Stefano, Tetrazini, Corelli, Sutherland, Price, Stevens, and Ponselle. Some newsreel footage of Caruso. Rosa Ponselle's Hollywood screen tests. A bit of Callas singing "Parigi, o cara" with Alfredo Kraus, from the famous Lisbon "Traviata". Many other rare and fascinating film clips. Interviews with Rosa Ponselle, Magda Olivero, Thomas Hampson, and others. This DVD offers one of the best ways to become familiar with the great opera singers from the golden era and would be a great introduction video for an opera newcomer. Consider this a quick Historical Opera Performers 101.