[Audiovista]

Very, very surprising!!!!

http://video.yahoo.com/video/play?vid=646496&cache=1

[WEEZ]

He chose one of the most beautiful pieces of music ever written....IMO

 

[Audiovista]

What is the piece? Can you recommend a specific performance?
Thanks,
Boris

[woodsyi]

Nessun Dorma from Turandot by Puccini.  It's Pavarotti's signature aria. 

[WEEZ]

yeah....what woodsyi said..

[Audiovista]

Great, thanks 

Hmmm, don't see a DVD with Pavarotti, but here is one with Domingo:




Just getting into the opera thing, I really enjoyed this one:

[woodsyi]

If you want a good Nessun Dorma, Pavarotti does it well here.
http://www.amazon.com/Puccini-Turandot-Sutherland-Pavarotti-Ghiaurov/dp/customer-reviews/B0000041Q3
Sutherland is too weak for Turandot but Pavarotti is young and strong as Calaf.  I also like Caballe as Liu.  It's a studio recording which usually gives better product then live recordings.  I like older recordings of older singers on LPs but the remastered historic recording CDs of these tend not to be very good sonically. Something about human voices -- you can still hear the vocal alure in the old recordings on vinyl but not on CDs. 

[Audiovista]

Thanks! 

I'm afraid that I'm still not able to just listen to the opera. I guess I need to grow into it. DVDs work better for me (and my 3 1/2 year old son likes it better that way - believe it or not, he can sit through it all, unlike any other type or program).

  Actually, I should start a thread asking for recommendations for operas on DVD

[ctviggen]

You should, because I'd be interested in that too.  My wife loves musicals, so perhaps some opera would be good.

[Audiovista]

You should, because I'd be interested in that too.  My wife loves musicals, so perhaps some opera would be good.

Cool,

I'm just going to quickly check around, we may already have (or had) a thread....

[Audiovista]

New thread!

WEEZ and woodsyi please help!

http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=42149.new#new

[Russell Dawkins]

Surprising how addictive (or at least enjoyable) opera can become. 15 years ago, at a time when I wouldn't think of going out to an opera, I  supplied the thunder sound for a local production of La Boheme and had to run the sound.
Some friends came down on my urging to hear the performance (I was impressed and didn't expect to be). They have been regular opera-goers ever since and, like so many others, had never gone before.

I think there is a certain style of singing that turns me and probably others off, and that is the "helden tenor" or shrieking soprano voice which seems to be about power more than tone. The same applies to the other ranges, both male and female. To me a good voice can get loud, but that is never the primary intent, or everything else is compromised.

Reminds me of industrial grade PA speakers that get real loud, but who cares - they sound ugly.

I do think the visual component is very important, though, as it is almost as much theatre as music.

[Voodoo Rufus]

I never was much impressed with opera, but he has one heck of a voice. That was nice to listen to.

[Rob Babcock]

Anna Netrebko was born to play Turandot, btw!  aa 

I'd really like to get that version recorded in The Forbidden City.  While I'm not an opera expert by any means, Turandot is probably my very favorite.

[Tweaker]

Electrifying performance. It had my wife and I weeping and it was all we could talk about for awhile. By the way, he won!
http://talent.itv.com/page.asp?partid=354

[Russell Dawkins]

Here is his semi-final performance:

http://video.google.ca/videoplay?docid=-6039188772135392225

[ctviggen]

That was another outstanding performance.  Who'd have thunk it that a guy who sells cellular phones would have such a voice?  Plus, he's so unassuming.  I wonder how far he would make it in the U.S.'s version of this competition? 

[Tweaker]

Here's a vid of the Final with all of the finalists introduced and the winner announced. Have to wait until the end to hear Paul sing but he sings Nessum Dorma (the whole song). Pretty incredible. Next week he will be in the recording studio plus he has the honor of singing for the Queen. God, has this man's life ever changed. He's overcome a lot including a motorcycle accident, a burst appendix, and an adrenal gland tumor. I hope his life is wonderful from this moment on, he's a decent unassuming guy and you have to wish him nothing but the best.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=SAo38iCRg20