I know this selection is not surprising but as an undergrad voice major whose world of opera and singing was still in a discovery period, I remember watching this gala live on PBS with my fellow opera nerds. Some of us were familiar with Ms. Zajick from the Met Aïda on laserdisc in our music library, some of us had never heard of her. From the moment she started to sing until the end, all of us sat in complete silence letting this voice engulf us. It was a very visceral feeling and one I will never forget. At the end I and my fellow nerds looked at each other mouths agape and said, “holy shit…”

I was able to hear Zajick live only once — as Santuzza at the Met — and had wished I was able to hear more, but as the Duke would say, I was un studente povero. This is a once in a lifetime voice!