Unnatural Acts of Opera Archives -
2005
Thais
(Massenet) Act 3 Sex meets
religion in Alexandria.
Thais (Massenet) Act 2 Sex meets religion in Alexandria.
Thais (Massenet) Act 1 Sex meets religion in Alexandria.
Norma (Bellini) Act 2 Anita Cerquetti leads the Druids in this 1958 performance of the bel canto masterpiece Norma.
Norma (Bellini) Act 1 Anita Cerquetti leads the Druids in this 1958 performance of the bel canto masterpiece Norma.
Salome (R. Strauss) Leonie Rysanek is the Daughter of Herodias in this 1972 performance of Richard Strauss's shocker.
Unnatural Acts Gala and Quiz! Listen to this gala for a chance to win opera tickets, DVDs.
Il trittico, Part 3 Leo Nucci is the wily Gianni Schicchi in this 2000 Vienna performance.
Il trittico, Part 2 Christina Gallardo-Domas is Suor Angelica.
Il trittico, Part 1 Magda Olivero stars in this 1970 performance of Puccini's one-act shocker Il tabarro.
Il Trovatore, Act 3 A golden age cast (Price, Corelli, Simionato, Bastianini) under the baton of Herbert von Karajan.
Il Trovatore, Act 4 A golden age cast (Price, Corelli, Simionato, Bastianini) under the baton of Herbert von Karajan.
Il Trovatore, Act 2 A golden age cast (Price, Corelli, Simionato, Bastianini) under the baton on Herbert von Karajan.
Il Trovatore, Act 1 A golden age cast (Price, Corelli, Simionato, Bastianini) under the baton on Herbert von Karajan.
Samson et Dalila Act 3 Tatiana Troyanos vamps it up as Saint-Saens' Biblical sexpot.
Samson et Dalila Act 2 Tatiana Troyanos vamps it up as Saint-Saens' Biblical sexpot.
Samson et Dalila Act 1 Tatiana Troyanos vamps it up as Saint-Saens' Biblical sexpot.
Don Giovanni Act 2 Cesare Siepi stars in Mozart's opera, Covent Garden 1962.
Don Giovanni Act 1 Cesare Siepi stars in Mozart's opera, Covent Garden 1962.
Aprile Millo sings again! Soprano Aprile Millo in scenes from I Lombardi and La Gioconda.
L'elisir d'amore Act 2 Carlo Bergonzi and Renata Scotto star in this 1967 performance of Donizetti's romantic comedy.
L'elisir d'amore Act 1, Part 2 Carlo Bergonzi and Renata Scotto star in this 1967 performance of Donizetti's romantic comedy.
L'elisir d'amore Act 1, Part 1 Carlo Bergonzi and Renata Scotto star in this 1967 performance of Donizetti's romantic comedy.
Die Frau ohne Schatten, Act 3 Richard Strauss's spectacular opera in a live performance from Paris, 1980.
Die Frau ohne Schatten, Act 2 Richard Strauss's spectacular opera in a live performance from Paris, 1980.
Die Frau ohne Schatten, Act 1 Richard Strauss's spectacular opera in a live performance from Paris, 1980.
La boheme, Act 4 Luciano Pavarotti and Mirella Freni star in this 1969 performance of Puccini's opera
La boheme, Act 3 Luciano Pavarotti and Mirella Freni star in this 1969 performance of Puccini's opera
La boheme, Act 2 Luciano Pavarotti and Mirella Freni star in this 1969 performance of Puccini's opera
La boheme, Act 1 Luciano Pavarotti and Mirella Freni star in this 1969 performance of Puccini's opera
Aprile Millo sings! Soprano Aprile Millo sings Rossini, Verdi, Dvorak, Beethoven and Cilea.
Have the years flown that fast? Well, you tell La Cieca. She just this
past weekend realized that it's been 25 years since Beverly
Sills retired from singing. To celebrate this silver
anniversary,
La Cieca is delighted to present a brace of podcasts celebrating
America's
Bubbliest Diva.
Sills Concert is, surprisingly enough, a concert of Sills performances 1967-1972.
Beverly! offers highlights from the diva's farewell gala, October 27, 1980.
La
Cieca is proud
and
delighted
to present as our next "Unnatural Act of Opera" one of the most
full-blooded
Tristans ever recorded, the 1952 Bayreuth Festival
broadcast starring
Ramon Vinay and Martha Moedl as
the death-devoted pair; also
featured are Ludwig Weber (Marke), Hans
Hotter (Kurwenal),
Hermann Uhde (Melot), Ira Malaniuk
(Brangaene), Gerhard Stolze
(Shepherd), Werner Faulhaber (Steersman), and Gerhard
Unger
(Sailor). Bayreuth Festival Chorus and Orchestra, conducted by Herbert
von Karajan.
Voluptuous vocalism featuring stimmdivas Ghena Dimitrova and Alessandra Marc in selections from Verdi, Puccini, Strauss, Ponchielli, Rossini, Mascagni, Giordano. Berlioz, Charpentier and Barber.
Renata Scotto stars as Duchess Elena in Verdi's I vespri siciliani in this 1970 performance from La Scala! Also starring are Piero Cappuccili, Gianni Raimondi and Ruggiero Raimondi; Gianandrea Gavazzeni conducts.
La
Cieca has declared this "Mario del Monaco Week" at
Unnatural Acts of Opera. The celebration begins with a podcast of the
first act of Puccini's La fanciulla del West,
the 1954 Florence
May Festival performance, starring del Monaco as Dick Johnson. Also
featuring Eleanor Steber (Minnie), Gian
Giacomo Guelfi (Jack
Rance), Piero di Palma (Nick), Vito
Susca (Ashby),
Enzo Viaro (Sonora), Brenno Ristori (Trin),
Lido
Pettini (Sid), Virgilio Carbonari (Bello),
Valiano Natali
(Harry), Enzo Guagni (Joe), Agostino
Ferrin (Happy),
Giorgio Giorgeti (Larkens), Paolo
Washington (Billy Jackrabbit),
Laura Didier (Wowkle), Giorgio Tozzi (Jake
Wallace), Mario
Frosini (Jose Castro), Alberto
Lotti Camici (Un postiglione).
Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, June 15, 1954; Dimitri Mitropoulos.
Maria Tudor (Elaine Coehlo) is regal, highly conflicted and given to sudden plunges into open chest voice. It's one of those "I love him, but, alas, I am such a a queen" stories so beloved of Bette Davis fans. This queen is in love with a hunky aristocrat named Fabiano Fabiani (Kostadin Andreev), but he's been sniffing around a local peasant girl named Giovanna (Elena Chavdarova-Isa). Fabiano's extracurricular nooky arouses the suspicions of Giovanna's guardian Gilberto (Svetozar Ranguelov) and the scheming Spanish ambassador Don Gil (Franco Pomponi) -- and you can bet that the queen will be furious!
Montserrat
Caballe stars in a rare performance of Massenet's
Manon, from the New Orleans
Opera in 1967. Also
starring John Alexander (Des Grieux) and Louis
Quilico
(Lescaut). After the act, Franco Corelli
electrifies another
"provincial" performance.
Virginia
Zeani and
Giuseppe
Gismondo scale the verismo heights of Mascagni's Il
piccolo Marat. This 1962 performance also stars Nicola
Rossi-Lemeni and Afro Poli; Ottavio
Ziino conducts. The opera ends happily (for everyone except
L'Orco!) but La Cieca just can't get enough of Virginia Zeani. On the
"Zeani sings" episode, the soprano performs selections from L'elisir
d'amore, Louise, La rondine, Maria di Rohan, La forza del destino, La
traviata and
Mefistofele. Joining her is, naturally,
Rossi-Lemeni.
Leyla
Gencer defines
grandezza in this
live 1971 performance of Ponchielli's La gioconda
from La Fenice. Also starring Umberto Grilli
(Enzo),
Maria Luisa Nave (Laura) and Mario Zanasi
(Barnaba);
Oliviero de Fabriitis conducts.
Act 3 of Die Walkuere (Wagner) at the first postwar Bayreuth Festival (1951). Astrid Varnay, Leonie Rysanek, Sigurd Bjoerling / Herbert von Karajan.
Thais (Massenet) Act 2 Sex meets religion in Alexandria.
Thais (Massenet) Act 1 Sex meets religion in Alexandria.
Norma (Bellini) Act 2 Anita Cerquetti leads the Druids in this 1958 performance of the bel canto masterpiece Norma.
Norma (Bellini) Act 1 Anita Cerquetti leads the Druids in this 1958 performance of the bel canto masterpiece Norma.
Salome (R. Strauss) Leonie Rysanek is the Daughter of Herodias in this 1972 performance of Richard Strauss's shocker.
Unnatural Acts Gala and Quiz! Listen to this gala for a chance to win opera tickets, DVDs.
Il trittico, Part 3 Leo Nucci is the wily Gianni Schicchi in this 2000 Vienna performance.
Il trittico, Part 2 Christina Gallardo-Domas is Suor Angelica.
Il trittico, Part 1 Magda Olivero stars in this 1970 performance of Puccini's one-act shocker Il tabarro.
Il Trovatore, Act 3 A golden age cast (Price, Corelli, Simionato, Bastianini) under the baton of Herbert von Karajan.
Il Trovatore, Act 4 A golden age cast (Price, Corelli, Simionato, Bastianini) under the baton of Herbert von Karajan.
Il Trovatore, Act 2 A golden age cast (Price, Corelli, Simionato, Bastianini) under the baton on Herbert von Karajan.
Il Trovatore, Act 1 A golden age cast (Price, Corelli, Simionato, Bastianini) under the baton on Herbert von Karajan.
Samson et Dalila Act 3 Tatiana Troyanos vamps it up as Saint-Saens' Biblical sexpot.
Samson et Dalila Act 2 Tatiana Troyanos vamps it up as Saint-Saens' Biblical sexpot.
Samson et Dalila Act 1 Tatiana Troyanos vamps it up as Saint-Saens' Biblical sexpot.
Don Giovanni Act 2 Cesare Siepi stars in Mozart's opera, Covent Garden 1962.
Don Giovanni Act 1 Cesare Siepi stars in Mozart's opera, Covent Garden 1962.
Aprile Millo sings again! Soprano Aprile Millo in scenes from I Lombardi and La Gioconda.
L'elisir d'amore Act 2 Carlo Bergonzi and Renata Scotto star in this 1967 performance of Donizetti's romantic comedy.
L'elisir d'amore Act 1, Part 2 Carlo Bergonzi and Renata Scotto star in this 1967 performance of Donizetti's romantic comedy.
L'elisir d'amore Act 1, Part 1 Carlo Bergonzi and Renata Scotto star in this 1967 performance of Donizetti's romantic comedy.
Die Frau ohne Schatten, Act 3 Richard Strauss's spectacular opera in a live performance from Paris, 1980.
Die Frau ohne Schatten, Act 2 Richard Strauss's spectacular opera in a live performance from Paris, 1980.
Die Frau ohne Schatten, Act 1 Richard Strauss's spectacular opera in a live performance from Paris, 1980.
La boheme, Act 4 Luciano Pavarotti and Mirella Freni star in this 1969 performance of Puccini's opera
La boheme, Act 3 Luciano Pavarotti and Mirella Freni star in this 1969 performance of Puccini's opera
La boheme, Act 2 Luciano Pavarotti and Mirella Freni star in this 1969 performance of Puccini's opera
La boheme, Act 1 Luciano Pavarotti and Mirella Freni star in this 1969 performance of Puccini's opera
Aprile Millo sings! Soprano Aprile Millo sings Rossini, Verdi, Dvorak, Beethoven and Cilea.
Have the years flown that fast? Well, you tell La Cieca. She just this
past weekend realized that it's been 25 years since Beverly
Sills retired from singing. To celebrate this silver
anniversary,
La Cieca is delighted to present a brace of podcasts celebrating
America's
Bubbliest Diva. Sills Concert is, surprisingly enough, a concert of Sills performances 1967-1972.
Beverly! offers highlights from the diva's farewell gala, October 27, 1980.
La
Cieca is proud
and
delighted
to present as our next "Unnatural Act of Opera" one of the most
full-blooded
Tristans ever recorded, the 1952 Bayreuth Festival
broadcast starring
Ramon Vinay and Martha Moedl as
the death-devoted pair; also
featured are Ludwig Weber (Marke), Hans
Hotter (Kurwenal),
Hermann Uhde (Melot), Ira Malaniuk
(Brangaene), Gerhard Stolze
(Shepherd), Werner Faulhaber (Steersman), and Gerhard
Unger
(Sailor). Bayreuth Festival Chorus and Orchestra, conducted by Herbert
von Karajan.Voluptuous vocalism featuring stimmdivas Ghena Dimitrova and Alessandra Marc in selections from Verdi, Puccini, Strauss, Ponchielli, Rossini, Mascagni, Giordano. Berlioz, Charpentier and Barber.
Renata Scotto stars as Duchess Elena in Verdi's I vespri siciliani in this 1970 performance from La Scala! Also starring are Piero Cappuccili, Gianni Raimondi and Ruggiero Raimondi; Gianandrea Gavazzeni conducts.
La
Cieca has declared this "Mario del Monaco Week" at
Unnatural Acts of Opera. The celebration begins with a podcast of the
first act of Puccini's La fanciulla del West,
the 1954 Florence
May Festival performance, starring del Monaco as Dick Johnson. Also
featuring Eleanor Steber (Minnie), Gian
Giacomo Guelfi (Jack
Rance), Piero di Palma (Nick), Vito
Susca (Ashby),
Enzo Viaro (Sonora), Brenno Ristori (Trin),
Lido
Pettini (Sid), Virgilio Carbonari (Bello),
Valiano Natali
(Harry), Enzo Guagni (Joe), Agostino
Ferrin (Happy),
Giorgio Giorgeti (Larkens), Paolo
Washington (Billy Jackrabbit),
Laura Didier (Wowkle), Giorgio Tozzi (Jake
Wallace), Mario
Frosini (Jose Castro), Alberto
Lotti Camici (Un postiglione).
Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, June 15, 1954; Dimitri Mitropoulos.Maria Tudor (Elaine Coehlo) is regal, highly conflicted and given to sudden plunges into open chest voice. It's one of those "I love him, but, alas, I am such a a queen" stories so beloved of Bette Davis fans. This queen is in love with a hunky aristocrat named Fabiano Fabiani (Kostadin Andreev), but he's been sniffing around a local peasant girl named Giovanna (Elena Chavdarova-Isa). Fabiano's extracurricular nooky arouses the suspicions of Giovanna's guardian Gilberto (Svetozar Ranguelov) and the scheming Spanish ambassador Don Gil (Franco Pomponi) -- and you can bet that the queen will be furious!
Montserrat
Caballe stars in a rare performance of Massenet's
Manon, from the New Orleans
Opera in 1967. Also
starring John Alexander (Des Grieux) and Louis
Quilico
(Lescaut). After the act, Franco Corelli
electrifies another
"provincial" performance. Virginia
Zeani and
Giuseppe
Gismondo scale the verismo heights of Mascagni's Il
piccolo Marat. This 1962 performance also stars Nicola
Rossi-Lemeni and Afro Poli; Ottavio
Ziino conducts. The opera ends happily (for everyone except
L'Orco!) but La Cieca just can't get enough of Virginia Zeani. On the
"Zeani sings" episode, the soprano performs selections from L'elisir
d'amore, Louise, La rondine, Maria di Rohan, La forza del destino, La
traviata and
Mefistofele. Joining her is, naturally,
Rossi-Lemeni. Leyla
Gencer defines
grandezza in this
live 1971 performance of Ponchielli's La gioconda
from La Fenice. Also starring Umberto Grilli
(Enzo),
Maria Luisa Nave (Laura) and Mario Zanasi
(Barnaba);
Oliviero de Fabriitis conducts.Act 3 of Die Walkuere (Wagner) at the first postwar Bayreuth Festival (1951). Astrid Varnay, Leonie Rysanek, Sigurd Bjoerling / Herbert von Karajan.
