Five Favorite Classical vocals

rubberwilli

Experimental Member
Joined
May 26, 2006
Posts
575
Media
33
Likes
14
Points
238
Location
Chicago, IL USA
Sexuality
100% Gay, 0% Straight
Gender
Male
Rubberwilli... you are simply AMAZING!!!!! I have NEVER had a recomendation like this... your knowledge of classical music is UNREAL!!!! You hit it on the head with your picks that I should check out! My mother was a Madame Butterfly nut and played it all the time when I was a little boy. Bela is right up my alley too... that concert you are going to would be INCREDIBLE... why can't I live back in Chicago??? i am such a huge Shoenberg fan... the 12 tone system is the SHIT!!!!! Stravinsky? Man... are you talkin' straight to my heart... it's sooo hard to go back to the classical period after you hear Stravinsky...

You are a classical music GOD and your knowledge is WAY better than the Penguin guide... YOU ROCK Rubberwilli!!!!!!!! :biggrin1:

Thanks Tripod. I don't know that I am better than the Penguin guide...thats alot to live up to! I just know what I like, which is a little modern and a little more theatrical. I never got my degree from Indiana, but when you spend 8 years at a school of music that has it's opera program as the central teaching system, you learn alot and alot rubs off.

When I was in college I developed "the first" online web directory of Opera Houses worldwide. You can occasionally find it still in a google search, William's Wide World of Opera, though it's been down since 1998 and easily surpassed by other resources.

Maybe we could have a LPSG night at the opera here in Chicago? Chicago Opera Theater is doing the Bluebeard/Erwartung. (If you can see the new production of Nixon In China that is making it's way around the country now, do...it's amazing! Act three makes so much more sense now.) And Lyric has some great stuff in the next season as well, Die Frau Ohne Schatten, Dr. Atomic and Eugene Onegin.
 
Joined
Apr 16, 2006
Posts
23,294
Media
0
Likes
11,402
Points
358
How wonderful to know that they are multidimensional!
On the flip side, there are many in the various genres of popular music who are avid afficionados of classical music. I used to work in a record store (Jeez, does that terminology sound out of date!) where we had on tour heavy metal bands who came in and bought nothing but classical. Let's face it: we, as human beings, are a diverse, totally unpredictable, and constantly surprising life form.
 

fortiesfun

Sexy Member
Joined
May 29, 2006
Posts
4,619
Media
0
Likes
77
Points
268
Location
California (United States)
Sexuality
60% Gay, 40% Straight
Gender
Male
Five Solos

“E lucevan le stelle” from Tosca by Puccini
Tosca has been recommended as a whole already, but I am particularly fond of this tenor aria which never fails to kick me in the guts. I think Domingo understands it better than anybody, but it is just my personal taste. I also love “Vissi d’arte” (I Live for Art), the most famous of the soprano arias from this piece, but if I listed it that would be cheating by putting me over my five.

“Alla caccia dell’alme e de’ cori,” a cantata for countertenor and continuo by Vivaldi
On the whole I think I have a greater taste for early music that is thus far represented. I especially like the reviving countertenor repertoire, of which this is a good example. This is available in a good recent recording by Phillippe Jaroussky.

“L’invitation au Voyage” a setting of Baudelaire’s poem by Henri Duparc
The words to this poem are intoxicating, especially the vision of the place that is “calm, luxurious and voluptuous,” but this setting paints these words brilliantly. Jesse Norman sings it especially well.

“When I am Laid in Earth” from Dido and Aeneas by Purcell
Another early music piece from the great English composer Henry Purcell. Norman, again, has a great recording of this piece out there.

Lia’s Aria from L’infant prodigue by Debussy
My favorite twentieth century aria for soprano. I confess that I am less impressed with the recordings available than most other things in my collection, but live it is a miracle and starts the evening off with a bang every time.

Five Ensembles:
Trio: “Soave sia il vento” (Love so Sincere) from Cosi Fan Tutte by Mozart
My choice for the most beautiful piece of music in the entire Western tradition.

Duet: “Pur ti miro” from L’incoronazione Di Poppea by Claudio Monteverdi
My taste for early music pops up again here, but this is the single most sexual piece of music I know. You can hear the two voices entangled in a way that is carnal.

Sextet: Second act finale from Le Nozze di Figaro by Mozart
The finale of the entire opera is also brilliant, but the part writing is so clever in the second act finale that the music alone makes me laugh without even considering the words or their meaning.

Trio: “Hab'mir's gelobt” from the third act of Der Rosenkavalier by Richard Strauss.
Here is an insane podcast site that plays it in twelve different versions in a row. Choose your own favorite.

Quartet: "Addio, Dolce Svegliare" from the third act of La Boheme by Giacomo Puccini
What can I say? (Paraphrasing Noel Coward, “It is extraordinary how potent cheap music is.”)

Five Large Scale Works
Carmina Burina by Carl Orff
Much recommended already, but my choral favorite

Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, with the great choral Ode to Joy.
I am stunned every time.

Candide by Leonard Bernstein
Starts better than any contemporary opera I know, and finishes with a wall of sound. Great music from the best composer of the twentieth century.

Die Zauberflote (The Magic Flute) by Mozart
My whole list could probably be Mozart, but this is my favorite opera. L’Orfeo (Orfeus) by Claudio Monteverdi, runs a close second, but it would be cheating again to list it.

Lauda per la Natività del Signore (Laud to the Nativity) by Gioacchino Respighi
A piece this is fairly new to me, but one I love for the extraordinary ending, a soprano run up to a C, that floats away to nothing. Glorious.
 

rubberwilli

Experimental Member
Joined
May 26, 2006
Posts
575
Media
33
Likes
14
Points
238
Location
Chicago, IL USA
Sexuality
100% Gay, 0% Straight
Gender
Male

“When I am Laid in Earth” from Dido and Aeneas by Purcell
Another early music piece from the great English composer Henry Purcell. Norman, again, has a great recording of this piece out there.

The East Village Opera Company has a great interpretation of this aria. Their entire album is great, but they give this aria a heavy metal interpretation that is really appropriate with it's macbre text. It's the first time i've ever head banged to a classical opera!
 

naughty

Sexy Member
Joined
May 21, 2004
Posts
11,232
Media
0
Likes
38
Points
258
Location
Workin' up a good pot of mad!
Sexuality
100% Straight, 0% Gay
Gender
Female
Five Solos

“E lucevan le stelle” from Tosca by Puccini
Tosca has been recommended as a whole already, but I am particularly fond of this tenor aria which never fails to kick me in the guts. I think Domingo understands it better than anybody, but it is just my personal taste. I also love “Vissi d’arte” (I Live for Art), the most famous of the soprano arias from this piece, but if I listed it that would be cheating by putting me over my five.

“Alla caccia dell’alme e de’ cori,” a cantata for countertenor and continuo by Vivaldi
On the whole I think I have a greater taste for early music that is thus far represented. I especially like the reviving countertenor repertoire, of which this is a good example. This is available in a good recent recording by Phillippe Jaroussky.

“L’invitation au Voyage” a setting of Baudelaire’s poem by Henri Duparc
The words to this poem are intoxicating, especially the vision of the place that is “calm, luxurious and voluptuous,” but this setting paints these words brilliantly. Jesse Norman sings it especially well.

“When I am Laid in Earth” from Dido and Aeneas by Purcell
Another early music piece from the great English composer Henry Purcell. Norman, again, has a great recording of this piece out there.

Lia’s Aria from L’infant prodigue by Debussy
My favorite twentieth century aria for soprano. I confess that I am less impressed with the recordings available than most other things in my collection, but live it is a miracle and starts the evening off with a bang every time.

Five Ensembles:
Trio: “Soave sia il vento” (Love so Sincere) from Cosi Fan Tutte by Mozart
My choice for the most beautiful piece of music in the entire Western tradition.

Duet: “Pur ti miro” from L’incoronazione Di Poppea by Claudio Monteverdi
My taste for early music pops up again here, but this is the single most sexual piece of music I know. You can hear the two voices entangled in a way that is carnal.

Sextet: Second act finale from Le Nozze di Figaro by Mozart
The finale of the entire opera is also brilliant, but the part writing is so clever in the second act finale that the music alone makes me laugh without even considering the words or their meaning.

Trio: “Hab'mir's gelobt” from the third act of Der Rosenkavalier by Richard Strauss.
Here is an insane podcast site that plays it in twelve different versions in a row. Choose your own favorite.

Quartet: "Addio, Dolce Svegliare" from the third act of La Boheme by Giacomo Puccini
What can I say? (Paraphrasing Noel Coward, “It is extraordinary how potent cheap music is.”)

Five Large Scale Works
Carmina Burina by Carl Orff
Much recommended already, but my choral favorite

Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, with the great choral Ode to Joy.
I am stunned every time.

Candide by Leonard Bernstein
Starts better than any contemporary opera I know, and finishes with a wall of sound. Great music from the best composer of the twentieth century.

Die Zauberflote (The Magic Flute) by Mozart
My whole list could probably be Mozart, but this is my favorite opera. L’Orfeo (Orfeus) by Claudio Monteverdi, runs a close second, but it would be cheating again to list it.

Lauda per la Natività del Signore (Laud to the Nativity) by Gioacchino Respighi
A piece this is fairly new to me, but one I love for the extraordinary ending, a soprano run up to a C, that floats away to nothing. Glorious.


Did I tell you that my uncle made is Met debut singing Tamino in "Die Zauberflote?"
 
Joined
Apr 16, 2006
Posts
23,294
Media
0
Likes
11,402
Points
358
Five Solos

“Do not utter a word” from Vanessa by Samuel Barber
Stunning soprano aria. Originally written for Maria Callas, the role eventually went to Eleanor Steber. Rosalind Elias and Regina Reznik, two of my all-time favorites, also starred in the original production.

“Sibillar gli angui d'Aletto” from Rinaldo by George Frederick Handel
A bravura aria for bass. The great American basso Samuel Ramey recorded it. Spectacular!

“Cara sposa, amante cara” from Rinaldo by George Frederick Handel
Gorgeous aria beautifully performed by Marilyn Horne in my favorite version. It's hawt! Originally written for the castrato. "Eviva il cotello"

"Il dolce suono" The Mad Scene from Lucia di Lammermoor by Gaetano Donizetti.
Two words: Maria Callas.

Kindertotenlieder
by Gustav Mahler
Based on four of 104 poems by Rückert on the death of his children, these are some of the most haunted and devastatingly beautiful pieces of music written. I had the opportunity to perform them once. I had nightmares the entire week before performing them. Singers with children usually will not do them as there are tales of performers who have lost children after performing them. I love the recording of my favorite baritone, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau.

Songs and Proverbs of William Blake by Benjamin Britten
One of the most challenging and difficult song cycles for baritone, but well worth the challenge. If you can sing these, you can sing anything.


For Fun

“Der Hölle rache kocht in meinem Herzen” from the first act of Die Zauberflöte by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Undoubtedly the most unforgettable rendition of this coloratura showpiece was given by the infamous Florence Foster Jenkins. You just have to love her for the smiles she has provided over the years with her unique style of singing. She is a classic unto herself.

A Faust Travesty (sung in English) by Charles Gounod
  • Valentine's Aria—"Ere I leave my native land"
  • Jewel Song—"O heavenly jewels"
  • Salut, demeure chaste et pure—"Emotions Strange"
  • Final Trio—"My Heart Is Overcome With Terror" (sung as a duet)
This is from from the recording, The Glory (????) of the Human Voice. Florence Foster Jenkins is on side one, this takes up side two. You have to hear it to believe it. The artists are [SIZE=-1]Jenny Williams, soprano; and Thomas Burns, baritone.

[/SIZE]

Five Ensembles

Trio: “Now, o lips” from The Consul by Gian Carlo Menotti
Originally performed on Broadway, The Consul is a challenging piece for the singing actor. This farewell trio is achingly beautiful.

Duet: “Papageno! Papagena!” from Act II of Die Zauberflöte by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
I am in a final dress rehearsal in front of an audience and the orchestra launches in on this duet. Not once, but three times, we had to start over. Some of the players forgot to play it in cut time. Embarrassing. I also had a large Papagena. Magnificent singer, but quite magnificently zaftig, too. Instead of me carrying her off at the end of the duet, she carried me off. Just a fun, charming duet.

Quintet: "Hm, hm, hm, hm!" from the first act of Die Zauberflöte by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
How often does a singer get to perform with their mouth locked shut? Just for the sheer fun of it, I included this.

Trio: “Hab'mir's gelobt” from the third act of Der Rosenkavalier by Richard Strauss.
I have to include this one, too. I included it in my list in the other thread. I was absolutely blown away by this the first time I heard it, along with the duets that preceed and follow it.

Sextet: "Addio, dolce svegliare" from the finale of Act II of Lucia di Lammermoor by Gaetano Donizetti
What can I say? The “Lucia Sextet” melody is probably best known today from its use by the Three Stooges in their shorts “Micro-phonies” (1945) and “Square Heads of the Round Table” (1948), sung in the latter with the lyrics “Oh, Elaine, can you come out tonight…” Now you know why I included it. A guilty pleasure.


Five Large Scale Works

The Sea Symphony by Ralph Vaughan WIlliams
Vaugan Wiliiam's first and longest symphony, it is perhaps the first true "choral" symphony. Written for baritone and chorus. Great!

Le Nozze di Figaro (The Marriage of Figaro) by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
I am surprised Doc did not include this just for "Dove sono." While that is one of the jewels of this masterpiece, there is so much treasure to choose from. One of the great experiences of my life was to perform the Count.

Sweeney Todd by Stephen Sondheim
If Doc can include Candide, then I can include my favorite. Like Candide, Sweeney Todd has swiftly moved into the repertoire of the world of opera houses. Dark, frightening, and wickedly fun, Sweeney Todd will long reign as Sondheim's masterpiece.

Die Zauberflöte (The Magic Flute) by Mozart
What Doc said. Papageno is a favorite role of mine. Just a marvelous piece of music to sing and to perform. Julie Taymor's new production with Nathan Gunn as Papageno is stunning.

Magnificat in D by Johan Sebastian Bach
I heard this at the first choral concert I ever went to at the age of 17 and have loved it ever since. It is my favorite choral piece and is now often performed with four extra pieces that were written for the Magnificat in E flat.


POST 3000
Friday, March 30, 2007, 10:30 P.M.
 

fortiesfun

Sexy Member
Joined
May 29, 2006
Posts
4,619
Media
0
Likes
77
Points
268
Location
California (United States)
Sexuality
60% Gay, 40% Straight
Gender
Male
The East Village Opera Company has a great interpretation of this aria. Their entire album is great, but they give this aria a heavy metal interpretation that is really appropriate with it's macbre text. It's the first time i've ever head banged to a classical opera!
Their stuff is really fun, isn't it. I like their overwrought "E lucevan le stelle" also, which sort of out-Puccinis Puccini!

Did I tell you that my uncle made is Met debut singing Tamino in "Die Zauberflote?"
I had no idea. You are from musical royalty!

Five Solos Isn't this six???

“Do not utter a word” from Vanessa by Samuel Barber
“Sibillar gli angui d'Aletto” from Rinaldo by George Frederick Handel
“Cara sposa, amante cara” from Rinaldo by George Frederick Handel
"Il dolce suono" The Mad Scene from Lucia di Lammermoor by Gaetano Donizetti.
Kindertotenlieder by Gustav Mahler
Songs and Proverbs of William Blake by Benjamin Britten

Five Ensembles

Trio: “Now, o lips” from The Consul by Gian Carlo Menotti
Duet: “Papageno! Papagena!” from Act II of Die Zauberflöte by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Quintet: "Hm, hm, hm, hm!" from the first act of Die Zauberflöte by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Trio: “Hab'mir's gelobt” from the third act of Der Rosenkavalier by Richard Strauss.
Sextet: "Addio, dolce svegliare" from the finale of Act II of Lucia di Lammermoor by Gaetano Donizetti

Five Large Scale Works

The Sea Symphony by Ralph Vaughan WIlliams
Le Nozze di Figaro (The Marriage of Figaro) by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Sweeney Todd by Stephen Sondheim
Die Zauberflöte (The Magic Flute) by Mozart
Magnificat in D by Johan Sebastian Bach

POST 3000
Friday, March 30, 2007, 10:30 P.M.
What a great list, and fitting 3000th post! Sam in all his colors. Witty, erudite, musical, personable and funny. He is my role model. And to think he can sing his list, instead of just listen to it. Amazing.
 

rubberwilli

Experimental Member
Joined
May 26, 2006
Posts
575
Media
33
Likes
14
Points
238
Location
Chicago, IL USA
Sexuality
100% Gay, 0% Straight
Gender
Male
As I don't have an IPOD, these two threads are going to be dangerous to my wallet! There are so many things here I'd forgotten about or would like to add to my CD collection!
 

rubberwilli

Experimental Member
Joined
May 26, 2006
Posts
575
Media
33
Likes
14
Points
238
Location
Chicago, IL USA
Sexuality
100% Gay, 0% Straight
Gender
Male
So as I feared I just went a little crazy on Amazon ordering 15 cd's on a buying spree started by these two threads....sigh.

I bought some of the items from this list but also used the opportunity to replace some CD's that were stolen from my car in College. While I was home at Christmas I found the list of the CD's that were stolen and I decided it was time to replace some of them.

Here's what's on it's way:

  • Barbara Streisand and Other Music Instruments
  • An Evening with PDQ Bach [Live]
  • Gershwin: Rhapsody in Blue and An American in Paris (Bernstein)
  • Combustible Edison: I, Swinger
  • Deee-Lite: Infinity Within
  • Walton: Belshazzar's Feast; Bernstein: Chichester Psalms & Missa Brevis
  • Copland: Applachian Spring, Fanfare for the Common Man, Rodeo
  • Copland: Lincoln Portrait, Old American Songs
  • Mahler: Des Knaben Wunderhorn & Kindertotenlieder (Fisscher-Dieskau)
  • Berlioz: Symphony Fantastique and "Berlioz takes a trip" from the Bernstein Young Peoples Concerts/Lectures
  • Finzi: Lo! the Full Final Sacrifice and other Choral Works
  • Stravinsky: The Rite of Spring and Symphony in Three Movements
  • Marx: Avenue Q Original Cast Album
  • Schoenberg: Erwartung & Stravinsky: Oedipus Rex (Double CD with Jessye Norman)
  • Weill: Aufstieg und Fall Der Stadt Mahagonny
Ugh...and I forgot to get the Markropolis Case..I know there was one I was missing. I'll get it with Salome in the next few days I think.
 
Joined
Apr 16, 2006
Posts
23,294
Media
0
Likes
11,402
Points
358
So as I feared I just went a little crazy on Amazon ordering 15 cd's on a buying spree started by these two threads....sigh.
What a great buying spree, RW! I can only begin to imagine how much enjoyment you are going to get with that order.

Thanks again for the 3000th post thread. What a nice thing you did! Sam
 

DC_DEEP

Sexy Member
Joined
Apr 13, 2005
Posts
8,714
Media
0
Likes
93
Points
183
Sexuality
No Response
They ought to give awards to those that keep the classical recording industry alive. Rubberwilli would be the first recipient. I recommend he accept it in full rubber.
I may run a close second... when Tawse and I decided to shop for a CD "jukebox", I suggested we get a 400-disc model, he insisted that the 300 would be ok. I filled it up, we went back and got the 400 model, and almost have it filled now. Probably 300 of those are classical music... and more currently on order from Amazon as I'm typing this. We'll probably have to get a third jukebox before long.

As an aside, there's much talk about the music industry pretty much going to all-MP3-or-iPod-type distribution... but I like having hard copy, just in case a disk crashes or otherwise fails...

Now, back on topic. Of course, now that I'm trying to think of my top 5 list, my mind goes blank.

I'm not sure of my favorite artist singing it, but Der Hölle rache kocht in meinem Herzen from The Magic Flute amazes me every time I hear it sung well. I have two different recordings of it. One older recording is technically flawless, but her voice quality is just not that pleasant. In the other, the singer barely misses the mark in the first arpeggio up to the high F, but is otherwise phenomenal.

Jessye Norman singing Liebestod is hard to beat (vocally, anyway. She sure does make a funny-looking Brunhilde, though.)

Joan Sutherland singing anything is breathtaking.

I also love Carmina Burana, it's just sad that O Fortuna has been so shamelessly abused. Has there ever been a movie, with a demon in the cast of characters, that didn't use it? So much of the rest of the whole work is so good, though. Amor volat undique is exquisite.

I will probably come up with something less scattered, if I have time to think about it.
 

rubberwilli

Experimental Member
Joined
May 26, 2006
Posts
575
Media
33
Likes
14
Points
238
Location
Chicago, IL USA
Sexuality
100% Gay, 0% Straight
Gender
Male
I do love her sound, but can no longer hear her without thinking of the wit's reply when asked if anything was cut in her performance of one of the Bellini operas. "The consonants," he replied.

So true...I was listening to here "greatest hits" album yesterday. It's a beautiful tone, very distinctive, but the roundness makes it impossible to get the diction needed to make it intelligible.

Jessye Norman singing Liebestod is hard to beat (vocally, anyway. She sure does make a funny-looking Brunhilde, though.)

She's not "Just Enourmous" anymore. She gave up the stage and has lost a great amount of the weight. I saw an interview with her a while back and was slack jawed...she finally got it together and now she's only doing recitals.

They ought to give awards to those that keep the classical recording industry alive. Rubberwilli would be the first recipient. I recommend he accept it in full rubber.
If they call me to the stage as Rubberwilli, then it's obligatory. Anytime I appear onstage in jeans and a t-shirt my local bar they all say I'm naked!
 

headbang8

Admired Member
Joined
May 15, 2004
Posts
1,618
Media
12
Likes
809
Points
333
Location
Munich (Bavaria, Germany)
Sexuality
80% Gay, 20% Straight
Gender
Male
I'm no huge music buff, but let me suggest:
  • Allegri's Miserere. The Catholic Church thought this music so beautiful that they wouldn't allow it played outside a church. Mozart went to service one day, and with his musical memory, transcribed it. My version is the Choir of King's College, Cambridge.
  • The For unto us a child is born Chorus of the Messiah. Such light, gentle parrying back and forth of male and female choruses, until they rejoice that this little baby shall have the covenant upon his shoulders. The music lifts skyward. My fave recording of it is the Stockholm Kammerchor, which, I guess, means chamber choir.
  • The Habanera, not from Carmen, but from Carmen Jones. The saxophones playing in close harmony in the background, with the rich voice of a mezzo in the foreground. Very sexy. My recording is of the London revival.
  • Almost anything from Jerry Springer, the Opera. Brilliant. Especially where a full opera chorus sings arpeggios of Beelzebub: He's a cunt! He's a cunt! He's a cunty cunty cunty cunty cunty cunty cunty cunt! I may have left out a few cunties.
HB8
 

DC_DEEP

Sexy Member
Joined
Apr 13, 2005
Posts
8,714
Media
0
Likes
93
Points
183
Sexuality
No Response
She's not "Just Enourmous" anymore. She gave up the stage and has lost a great amount of the weight. I saw an interview with her a while back and was slack jawed...she finally got it together and now she's only doing recitals.
Hahah, well, one sort of expects a large Brunhilde, but not a black Brunhilde. Wagner would have shit his lederhosen to see her as one of his Valkyrie, but I'm sure he would have also been mesmerized to hear her.
 

fortiesfun

Sexy Member
Joined
May 29, 2006
Posts
4,619
Media
0
Likes
77
Points
268
Location
California (United States)
Sexuality
60% Gay, 40% Straight
Gender
Male
Hahah, well, one sort of expects a large Brunhilde, but not a black Brunhilde. Wagner would have shit his lederhosen to see her as one of his Valkyrie.
The irony is so delicious, isn't it? It is one of the things that makes her performance of the piece so wonderful.