Sabine Devieilhe sings a lot of stellar Mozart — Ilia, Susanna, Blonde, a fierce Queen of the Night — but it’s her 2015 concert-aria recording, featuring hubby Raphael Pichon and his period ensemble Pygmalion, to which I return most often. Stick around until the VERY end of the final track for an ass-kicking surprise. (Or should I say…ass-licking? ;)

The combination of a young opera director who is a little bonkers and a seasoned Mozart soprano (this was Lenneke Ruiten‘s 13th Mozart role on stage) resulted in one of the best performances of Nozze di Figaro I’ve ever seen.

As most of you probably know, I worship at the altar of Moffo the way some worship Callas. She has so many great complete recordings, including Falstaff, Luisa Miller, Lucia, Rigoletto, etc. But one of her very best is this Nozze. Carlo Maria Giulini leads an absolutely perfect cast.

I was so beguiled by Erika Baikoff when I saw her perform at the Sag Harbor Song Festival back in September. Such a lovely and musical voice that just flows and when she sang this, she got mid-note applause during the final sustained B.

Sometimes–to negotiate the High Gee!s, as it were–you just need to call in Edda Moser.

Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro, Paris 1980: Georg Solti, Lucia Popp, José Van Dam, Gundula Janowitz, Gabriel Bacquier, Frederica Von Stade.

Sing High, Sing Low – My favorite Fiordiligi

I’ve shared this before but this is one of the most perfect pieces of Mozart singing and acting I’ve ever come across.

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…