Program

Manuel de Falla, La vida breve

"Vivan los que rien"

Giacomo Meyerbeer, Les Huguenots

II: "Oh beau pays de la Touraine"

Giacomo Puccini, La Bohème

I: "Che gelida manina" (Rodolfo)

I: "O soave fanciulla"

Giuseppe Verdi, Aida

III: "O patria mia"

Modest Mussorgsky, Boris Godunov

IV: "Proschay, moy syn"

Giacomo Puccini, Tosca

II: "Vissi d'arte" (Tosca)

III: Amaro sol per te

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Die Zauberflöte, K. 620

I, 1: "Dies Bildnis ist bezauberndt schön"

Ludwig van Beethoven, Fidelio, Op. 72

II : "Gott! Welch Dunkel hier! - In des Lebens Frühlingstagen"

Giacomo Puccini, Turandot

I: "Non piangere, Liù!"

Ruggero Leoncavallo, Pagliacci

I: "Recitar!" - "Vesti la giubba"

Giuseppe Verdi, La Traviata

III: "Addio, del passato"

Giacomo Puccini, Tosca

II: "Vissi d'arte" (Tosca)

the Art of Singing II/II

Golden Voices of the Century

Subscribers

Cast

Christopher Lee — Narrator

Victoria de los Ángeles — Soprano

Schuyler Chapin — General Manager

Kirk Browning — Movie director

Joan Sutherland — Soprano

Charles Laughton — Actor

Jussi Björling — Tenor

Renata Tebaldi — Soprano

Program notes

The Art of Singing, a treasure trove of priceless archival footage narrated by actor Christopher Lee, takes you on a whirlwind tour to meet the greatest singers of the last century—through their golden voices in opera’s most beloved masterpieces, and through their lively personalities off stage. Marvel at the arias you love by Handel, Rossini, Donizetti, and Wagner in the voices of legendary opera stars, who also open up in front of the camera, sharing reflections on their art and memories of their storied careers.

This second of two volumes opens on an aria from Spanish composer De Falla's La vida breve in the heavenly tones of Victoria de los Ángeles, and the hits never stop coming—from the crystalline coloratura of Joan Sutherland, who navigates the highest runs with spellbinding ease in Meyerbeer's Les Huguenots, to the smooth legato of Fritz Wunderlich in his impeccable rendition of Tamino's aria, "Dies Bildnis," from The Magic Flute, as well as La Divina herself, Maria Callas, dazzling on stage in the title role of Puccini's Tosca.