Samuel Hasselhorn sings Franz Schubert's Erlkönig with the Orchestre Régional de Normandie, conducted by David Wroe.
Watch and listen here.
I've had the pleasure of hearing Mr. Hasselhorn in two recitals here in New York City. As a Young Concert Artists winner, he sang at Merkin Hall in 2017, and at The Morgan Library in 2018.
Patricia Kern sings Schubert's Ave Maria. Listen here.
Born in Wales in 1927, Patricia Kern was a child star in music halls from age 5. She later studied voice at the Guildhall School in London, and after gaining stage experience singing with Opera For All, she joined Sadler's Wells in 1959, where she made her mark in the Rossini mezzo-soprano roles.
Her Covent Garden debut came in 1967 as Zerlina. She also appeared at Scottish Opera, Canadian Opera, and in Washington DC. Aside from her operatic roles, she sang in oratorio, excelling in the works of Handel.
In 1968, I was present at Ms. Kern's debut as Cherubino at New York City Opera:
In 1980, Patricia Kern began teaching at the University of Toronto. She passed away in 2015 at the age of 88.
Listen to Ms. Kern singing the lovely 'Premiers transports' from Hector Berlioz's ROMEO ET JULIETTE:
Patricia Kern - Premiers transports from Berlioz's Roméo et Juliette
Maria Chiara and Placido Domingo sing the final duet from Umberto Giordano's ANDREA CHENIER from a 1970 televised concert conducted by Nello Santi.
Watch and listen here.
It's always nice to have souvenirs of Maestro Santi, who passed away in 2020.
Above: Carlo Maria Giulini, photo by Gary Friedman
Carlo Maria Giulini conducts the Orchestra Sinfonica Nazionale della Rai and the Chorus of the Orchestre de Paris in the a performance of the Verdi REQUIEM given at Turin in 1998. The soloists are Maria Dragoni, Katia Lytting, Stuart Neill, and Peter Mikulas.
Watch and listen here.
I've been listening to Leona Mitchell a lot these past few days. She was one of my favorite sopranos during her seasons at The Met - a singer I would make special trips to New York City to see.
Her Met debut in 1975 was as Micaela, and at first she sang lyric roles like Lauretta, Pamina, Musetta, and even several performances as the Celestial Voice in DON CARLO. As the voice grew richer and more powerful, she took on Madame Lidoine, the FORZA and TROVATORE Leonoras, Cio-Cio-San, Elvira in ERNANI, Delilah in Handel's SAMSON, Aida, Manon Lescaut, Mimi, Liu, Gershwin's Bess, and Amelia in BALLO IN MASCHERA.
Listen to Leona in TROVATORE here and here, and an aria from BALLO IN MASCHERA here.
And watch her here singing Liu's Act I aria from TURANDOT at The Met in 1988.