This is a brief excerpt from a DVD of a performance
by Mario del Monaco with La Scaala in Japan (available from VAI).
I have zoomed in on the tenor's face so that one
could see and study just how he sings the high Bb.
Tosc: Vissi d'arte
Renata Tebaldi, soprano
Dmitri Mitropoulos, conductor
January 4, 1956
The Galatea of Poulenc, Denise Duval, sings
an excerpt from La voix humaine in the role of the suicidal broken woman,
written for her and accompanied here by the composer, Francis Poulenc,
from a concert at Paris' Salle Gaveau in 1959.
One may find fault with her technique but
her style, declamation, spontaneity and commitment in her performance
are incredibly moving. It's as if
she is creating the music as she sings.
Götterämmerung: Immolation Scene finale
Dame Gwyneth Jones, soprano
Pierre Boulez, conductor
Bayreuth Festspiele
This organic singing coming from
one of the largest voices
I've ever heard
The Truth
Variations on a theme from
Bizet's Carmen
Arranged/performed by
Vladimir Horowitz
Carnegie Hall, 1968
Astrid Varnay, Klytemnestra
Leonie Rysanek, Elektra
Karl Bohm/Vienna Philharmonic
The Snake Bite
Rosa Ponselle sings and accompanies herself
in "Senza mamma" from Suor Angelica
> Telephone Remake
Beverly Sills sings
"The Willow Song" from
The Ballad of Baby Doe
Introduction by composer Douglas Moore
Verdi Requiem: Libera me
Renata Tebaldi, soprano
Victor de Sabata, conductor
La Scala Orchestra & Chorus - 1951
One always wants this movement perfectly sung
but that's rare.
Here's one of those rare performances.
Puccini: Tosca:
Catherine Malfitano as Tosca
Amsterdam, 1999
An example of how a non-realistic production can work.
Malfitano's jump is breathtaking
Chopin: Etude in c# minor
Op. 10, No. 4
Sviatoslav Richter, piano