[woodsyi]

La Traviata: a 1968 movie.

This is an oldie but a goodie.  Anna Moffo was arguably the hottest actress of her time.  You can safely say another Anna, Netrebko, today is what Moffo was in her days. 

The opening scene contains a famous Brindisi, a drinking song, at 8:25 mark in the movie, which goes like this. 

    Libiamo, libiamo ne'lieti calici
    che la bellezza infiora.
    E la fuggevol, fuggevol ora
    s'inebrii a voluttà
    Libiam ne'dolci fremiti
    che suscita l'amore,
    poiché quell'occhio al core onnipotente va.
    Libiamo, amore, amor fra i calici
    più caldi baci avrà

which translates to

    Let's drink, let's drink from the joyous chalices
    that beauty so truly enhances.
    And may the brief moment be inebriated
    with voluptuousness.
    Let's drink for the ecstatic feeling
    that love arouses.
    Because this eye aims straight to the heart, omnipotently.
    Let's drink, my love, and the love among the chalices
    will make the kisses warmer.

[woodsyi]

La Boheme: 2008 Movie featuring Anna Netrebko and Rolando Villazón.

I have watched this movie at least 30 times.  My daughter was cast as a street urchin in a local university production a few years ago.  She had no singing part but she had to learn the music to know when to do what on stage.  So we watched this movie and she studied where she should be doing what over and over.  This is one opera that she can practically sing along the whole first act -- which features the kids.  She also got to go to the Met last week to see it live with her grandma during the spring break.  She said it was hard not to sing along.  Indeed, the first act is just crammed with hits after hits. 

It's a good movie that captures the essence of the opera and Anna is easy to ogle at.

[woodsyi]

Norma: 1952 Covent Garden debut of Maria Callas with young Joan Sutherland in the cast as Clotilde.  Sound quality is not very good on this but you can discern the quality of Callas' voice here.  Not yet 30 and still "fat," she sounded good to me.




Norma: 1954 La Scala recording with Maria Callas and Tullio Serafin conducting.  Sound quality is really good for YouTube and you can hear her maturity and also a hint of acerbity that starts to appear in her voice post her weight loss which occurred mostly through 1953.  Still this is good Maria.

Norma: 1960 La Scala recording with Serafin conducting and the role of Pollione being sung by Franco Corelli, who debuted at La Scala in 1954 with a big help from Callas.  You can clearly hear her troubles with the top notes here.

[woodsyi]

Carmen: Jan 16, 2010 Met production with  Elīna Garanča as Carmen and Robeto Alagna as Don José.  This is on opera where the prolog and interludes may be more heard then the opera itself.  Everyone has heard bits and pieces of this opera in movies, commercials and cartoons.  It's incredible to think that it was a failure on opening night.  This production is awesome and  Elīna Garanča is gorgeous.  She seduces you with singing and her looks.  I am in love with her Carmen.

[jimdgoulding]

Britten's The Turn of the Screw (Naxos).  Something I saw in London is rather austere by Italian standards but spellbinding to me nonetheless.  Originally released on the Collins Classic label.

[jimdgoulding]

A collection of songs from the epic poem by Tasse, La Gerusaleme Liberata, composed by Claudio Monteverdi and performed by The Clementic Consort on hnh records.  Nice sound, too.

[woodsyi]

Click on the image to see the whole opera.

Here is a excellent overview of the opera.  I am actually not familiar with this production but it has English subtitles which makes it easy to follow the plot.

Leonore Overture (#3) came up on a radio and I really like the music.  It got me to think about the opera, Fidelio, and I put it on a few nights ago.  It was the Bernstein version on 3 LPs.  I actually really enjoyed this one.  Then I started listening to the other versions. 

What a music.  The more you listen, the better it gets.  It really is one of a kind opera where music carries the day more so than the voices.  More so than Wagner.  It really is a paean to liberty as unalienable right of human being.  Talk about a distilled essence of the Enlightenment.  It's goose bump city and a window to exultation of humanity -- humanistic religion, if you will.