La Cieca is thrilled to note that VAI have continued their series of releases from the NHK Lirica Italiana telecasts of the 1960s and 1970s. These DVDs, remastered from original broadcasts on Japanese television, preserve performances by some of the greatest Italian artists of the mid-20th century. The most recent treasure to be unearthed is a 1967 video of Un ballo in maschera starring Carlo Bergonzi and Antonietta Stella. 

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Unfortunately the time constraints of YouTube prevent the inclusion of the elaborate series of bows taken by Bergonzi and Stella in response to the audience’s thunderous ovation. This metaperformance goes on almost as long as the duet itself!

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