The singing of the young Di Stefano on these selections is magical. Faust, Boheme, Favorita, with encore, and Cor 'ngrato will stay with you forever. The Faust contains the famous diminuendo on the high C. It is one of the most talked about moments in live opera ever. Listen and hear the finest lyric tenor singing imaginable! The Great Pippo!!

Here is the great Franco Corelli in duet with the equally great Giulietta Simionato, and the equally great Robert Merrill. The Ugonotti scena is legendary, and defies description. It is some of the greatest live singing ever. Listen, and be thrilled! As a filler, I have included the famous tenor-baritone duet from Gioconda with Robert Merrill, who certainly matches Corelli decibel for decibel. Two great voices making magnificent music together. Both duets were from 1962. It was a very good year!! Please vist our website at www.premiereopera.com and check out our performances on DVD and CD. Thanks. Ed

Some of the greatest tenor singing I have ever hear is that of Richard Tucker as Johnson in Fanciulla del West. The thrust and beauty of the voice is really awesome, and the "Italianita" is palpable. Especially wonderful is Tucker's moving interpertation of the "Or son sei mesi" from Act 2. The easy transitions around the difficult passaggio area are astounding, and the entire line of high B's, "La mia vergogna, ahime!" is one of the most thrilling sounds from any singer any time. The entire line of high Bb's are as trumpet from heaven, drowning out an entire Puccini orhestra thundering full blast. Listen to these excerpts and enjoy thrilling tenor singing at it's finest. Thanks. Ed

No baritone that I heard sang Verdi better than Cornell MacNeil at his best. The voice was dark and bright at the same time. The legato was magnificent, and the soft singing was amazing for a voice of this size. As for his top notes, they had to be heard to be believed, and you will get a good idea here in these live performances. First is Luisa Miller from Palermo, 1963, with the aria and cabaletta capped by a huge high Ab. Next is an Eri tu from Ballo given in Buenos Aires in 1965, where the soft high F's are very special, and finally, MacNeil's greatest "hit" aria- the Act 3 solo from Ernani. This would always drive audiences into a frenzy, wheter in Italy, or at the Met, or anywhere else. This Rome performance from 1961 drives the Italians into delirium. Listen and enjoy. This was a very special and very great singer.

The great baritone Leonard Warren died tragically onstage at the Met during a performance of La Forza del Destino in March of 1960. On this podcast, we hear Warren in his absolute prime singing arias from Pagliacci, Rigoletto, and Forza. The dark hued voice was capped by an incredible top, as can be heard in all these selections. I had the good fortune to see Warren live about 20 times in his last few seasons. I saw him in Pagliacci, Forza, Rigoletto, Traviata, Tosca, Boccanegra, and other works. I'm sure all of you will enjoy this edition of the Premiere Opera Podcast. To check out catalog, please go to www.premiereopera.com

Tenor Jan Peerce had a long and wonderful career. Our first selection is from a somewhat noisy transcription of Peerce on the radio in 1935. The singing of the beautiful Irish song, "Macushla," is magnificent, and worth putting up with the scratchy surfaces on the original. After this we have two pristine copies of songs recorded in 1950. First of these is another Irish song, in a sort of belated St. Patrick's Day celebration. The song is "When you and I were young, Maggie." This is followed by the old chestnut "Bless this house." These songs and many others were heard by many opera singers when I was growing up. Sadly, today we rarely if ever hear them. I hope you enjoy and please leave your comments. Thanks. Ed

The great Renata Tebaldi is heard at her greatest in three arias by Puccini. Recorded live in her very prime, 1954, I don't think any soprano ever has sung these arias as beautifully as Renata Tebaldi does here. This is for you to enjoy, and download on your ipod if you have one.BTW, you do not need an ipod to listen to this podcast. Just click and make sure your computer speakers are turned on. You will never hear singing like this again. Listen and revel in the incredible singing of the truly great Renata Tebaldi. She will never be forgotten. Ed

Franco Corelli drove audiences into frenzies, as one can hear by these excerpts. First we have the great tenor aria from Forza del Destino, and the audience really goes wild at the end of the most exciting singing imaginable by Corelli. Following the Forza aria is almost the entire Act 1, scene 1 from Don Carlo. Corelli holds high notes til the cows come home, but it is so thrilling that he has the audience eating out of his hands. Joined by baritone Mario Sereni, the scene ends with the famous tenor-baritone duet, which Corelli ends with a glorious high C. Again, the audience is in a frenzy, and you wll be, too, after you have listened to this. Franco Corelli was most definitely one of a kind, and his like shall not come our way again. How lucky we were to have had him on our opera stages, and how lucky I was to have heard him live countless times. Enjoy! Ed

The song "Thine Alone" from Victor Herbert's "Eileen" was one of Tucker's favorite recordings. His voice is utterly magnificent in this incredibly taxing piece, and the second verse is trasposed UP a half tone! This is a rare recording, as it was only available as a 78rpm. "Yours is my heart Alone" was part of an album if operetta numbers recorded in stereo in 1967, and here, 17 years after the first selection the voice is identically beautiful. Enjoy this example of the great voice and great artistry of Richard Tucker.

Magnificent Zinka Milanov in two of her greatest roles: Gioconda ("Suicidio!) and Aida ("O patria mia"). The recordings were made in 1953. Enjoy!! Ed

The Epilogue from Boito's Mefistofele with Carlo Bergonzi and Nicolai Ghiaurov, from NYC in 1968. Both singers are at their absolute best!!

Villazon previews his Lenski for us in the beautiful aria from Onegin in live concert, followed by La Danza! Then we have the great Gigli is astonishing scenes from both Manon and Manon Lescaut. Listen and be thrilled!!

Renata Tebaldi and Richard Tucker in a scene from Puccini's "Manon Lescaut."

Arias from "Don Carlo" and "Pagliacci."

Ed Rosen presents the Premiere Opera Podcast.