Jan Peerce, presented here before his Met debut, in live radio appearances. Here the Peerce voice is truly lovely, with fine soft singing, and a soaring top voice, as is demonstrated especially in the opening piece, the beautiful Irish song, "Macushla."

The program is all from 1935, which was a full six years before Peerce's Met debut.

1. Macushla

2. La donna e mobile

3. Vesti la giubba

4. O sole mio

5. The Bluebird of Happiness

Here is the best of the best, IMO. Richard Tucker shone as Andrea Chenier, and his four big arias, all contained here, show exactly why. His golden voice, along with that deep emtional attachment, and that thrilling delivery are something I never seem to hear among tenors any longer. He is joined in the two big duets by the supremely great Renata Tebaldi. Together they will thrill you!

A note of interest: these excerpts are taken from various venues, and perhaps one of the most interesting is the Improviso, which is the very first selection. This is conducted by Leonard Bernstein, during a concert given in Tel Aviv with the Israeli Philharmonic. It's is most probably the only time Bernstein ever conducted this music in public.

Best wishes,

Ed Rosen