Instrumental & vocal music

[BillM]

 

[Nexolaris]

 

[Nexolaris]

 

[malakos]

 

[malakos]

 

[malakos]

 

[thirteenbyseven]

Franco Bonisolli (05/25/1938-10/30/2003) is perhaps the best tenor you've never heard of. Even at the peak of his powers he lived in the immense shadows of Luciano Pavarotti and Placido Domingo, due in large part to his wildly eccentric antics that earned him the nickname il pazzo. He once got into an argument with renown Austrian conductor Herbert von Karajan, which pitted his Italian volatile temper against von Karajan's fire and ice. When he could take von Karajan's demands for perfection no longer-- Bonisolli had a tendency to go "off-script" with his operatic aria interpretations-- he tossed a rubber sword into the orchestra pit and stormed offstage. On another occasion, during a live opera performance, Bonisolli refused to exit stage-right after his aria had completed, and comically roamed around even as his confused soprano and other performers continued to sing. The audience howled, while offstage a frantic director searched for someone to go fetch a hook.

All this invariably took a toll; opera bookings fell as his notoriety for wild-and-crazy behavior increased. But there is a degree of sadness intertwined with this Hollywood sit-com stereotype of an Italian tenor. The vocal talent was there as was the charisma, not at the Herculean levels of a Franco Corelli, but Franco Bonisolli nevertheless deserves to be mentioned among the upper echelon of twentieth-century tenors.

In this seldom heard interpretation of operatic literature's most popular aria Bonisolli's phrasing, power and pace are astonishing, unlike Luciano Pavarotti late in his career who used to set new land speed records through Nessun Dorma. And unlike Placido Domingo, at heart a converted Spanish baritone, the aria's signature high B-natural in the upper reaches of the tissitura is full-throated, molten and not pinched.

 

[BillM]

 

[malakos]

More intelligent individuals are more likely to enjoy instrumental music, study finds

 

[thirteenbyseven]

Turn-up your Bose speakers or put a headset on for this live symphonic performance from Budapest.

 

[willow78]

Sorry if this is a repost...

ABBA "Arrival"

 

[malakos]

 

[malakos]

 

[malakos]

 

[malakos]

 

[malakos]

 

[deleted1030587]

 

[1578231]

Probably already been posted, but, well, here it anyway.

 

[malakos]

 

[malakos]

On second thought, I like the whole album: