Oberon's Grove

Discoveries ~ VII

Things I found by chance on YouTube during the pandemic.

Mezzo-soprano Nell Rankin sings a slightly truncated  "Pace, pace mio dio" from Verdi's LA FORZA DEL DESTINO - an aria usually sung by a soprano - on the Ed Sullivan Show in 1958. 

Watch and listen here.

Bass-baritone Yi-Kwei Sze sings Franz Schubert's "An die Musik" as an encore at a 1978 recital at the Eastman School. The pianist is Robert Freeman. Listen here.

A brief clip of contralto Ortrun Wenkel rehearsing the final section of Brahms' Alto Rhapsody.

Watch and listen here.

Apollo Granforte sings Cascart's brief and beautiful aria "Zaza, piccola zingara" from Leoncavallo's ZAZA. Listen here.

I was surprised to find this rendition of "Mira, O Norma" from Bellini's NORMA sung by Claire Watson (above) and Hertha Töpper. I was not aware that either singer had sung any Bellini; this is from a Munich radio concert in 1966. Listen here.

Alice Coote gives a wonderfully distinctive rendering of Gustav Mahler's "Ich bin der Welt Abhanden Gekommen" with the Radio Filharmonisch Orkest conducted by Ingo Metzmacher

Watch and listen here.

New York City-born tenor Arturo Sergi sings "Celeste Aida" in German with the orchestra of the Frankfurt Opera, conducted by Carl Bamberger. Listen here.

Sergi was a mainstay at Frankfurt Opera, and he sang at Covent Garden, Hamburg, Bayreuth, and Cologne. He appeared at both the Old and New Mets, and at New York City Opera. He was also a notable cantor.

Anneliese Rothenberger sang in the first Met broadcasts of ARABELLA, BALLO IN MASCHERA, and ROSENKAVALIER that I heard as a fledgling opera fan. She was a mega-star in Germany. Mezzo-soprano Elisabeth Steiner was a member of the Hamburg Opera for 40 years; despite a career beset by allergies, she won great acclaim in roles like Carmen, Octavian, and Mignon. As far as I can ascertain, she never sang in the USA.

The two women sing the Barcarolle from TALES OF HOFFMANN on German TV here.

Renata Scotto, Nicolai Gedda, and Samuel Ramey sung the final trio from Gounod's FAUST at the 1982 Gala of Stars. James Levine is on the podium.

Watch and listen here.

Louis Hagen-William

Above: Louis Hagen-William as Mephistopheles in FAUST

There are lots of singers I've never heard, but not so many that I have never heard of. One such name popped up while I was checking out a 1990 performance of AIDA from Oviedo on YouTube: Louis Hagen-William. Mr. Hagen-William plays the King of Egypt in that performance.

Born in New Orleans, Louisiana, Louis Hagen-William originally studied medicine. But then his love of singing took over, and he entered the National Conservatory in Paris, where he attained top honors prizes in both opera and concert singing. Then he won the international singing contests in S'hertogenbosch, Holland, and Toulouse, France.

His operatic career began at the Lyon Opera, run by Louis Erlo, and continued at L'Opéra, Paris. Louis Hagen-William sang such roles as Mephistopheles (FAUST), Nilankantha (LAKME), Dr. Bartolo (BARBIERE DI SIVIGLIA), Zaccaria (NABUCCO), Timur (TURANDOT), and the Four Villains (CONTES D'HOFFMANN). He also performed regularly in recitals and concerts, and he made am LP recording of spirituals, from which comes this sample.

Mr. Hagen-William passed away in December 2020 at the age of 82.

 

Opera Gala @ Detroit ~ 1990

Ghena Dimitrova (above), Aprile Millo, Dolora Zajick, Francesca Patané, Vladimir Popov, Emil Ivanov, and Valentin Peytchinov perform in a gala concert given at Detroit in 1990.  Isaiah Jackson is the conductor.

Watch and listen here.

La Scala in Japan ~ Verdi REQUIEM 1981

Above: soprano Anna Tomowa-Sintow

Maestro Claudio Abbado conducts the orchestra and chorus of La Scala in a performance of the Verdi REQUIEM given at Tokyo in 1981. The soloists are Anna Tomowa-Sintow, Lucia Valentini-Terrani, Veriano Lucchetti, and Nicolai Ghiaurov.

Watch and listen here.

Mildred Miller ~ Frauenliebe und -leben

Mildred Miller sings Robert Schumann's Frauenliebe und -liebe, recorded in 1977 with John Wustman at the piano. Listen here.

Ms. Miller was my first Magdalene in MEISTERSINGER and my first Annina in ROSENKAVALIER. And I have a special affection for her recording of the Brahms Alto Rhapsody.