At the time of the recording’s release, Kathleen Battle was getting established.

Instead of giving laurels to a performance already praised since a long time, my choice will be Don Giovanni, Metropolitan Opera, May 2023.

Eleanor Steber shows us how it’s done.

Edita Gruberova as Donn’Anna — “Crudele? Ah no, mio bene … Non mi dir”

Lorraine Hunt Lieberson sings Mozart’s great K 523, ‘Abendempfindung an Laura’ live at Ravinia with Peter Serkin, August 2004

For many opera lovers of the Baby Boomer generation, German bass Kurt Moll (1938-2017) was Sarastro, exuding wisdom and kindness through his unaffected bearing and incomparably rich, homogeneous sound.

Così is an almost post-modern opera, in that it mocks the bourgeois construction of ‘love’ as a socially-sanctioned precursor to matrimony.

On 23 July 1986, almost certainly more people simultaneously experienced a Mozart aria than ever had before or since when Arleen Auger sang at Andrew and Fergie‘s wedding.

No one in recording history short of Hermann Jadlowker could do these florid Mozart tenor roles like Michael Spyres

It’s daring, it’s risky, it’s ever so much fun.

“D’Oreste d’Ajace” – Carol Vaness

Ponnelle directing and Böhm conducting Le Nozze di Figaro with Prey, Freni, Fischer-Dieskau, Te Kanawa, and Ewing leading the cast. A classier performance of the piece can hardly be imagined.

Fritz Wunderlich‘s singing is so wonderful and effortless that no further commentary is needed.

This took a lot of thought and consideration and there are just TOO many to choose from. But when it comes to vintage performances…