Here is my tape of that great night in 1968, with Elinor Ross singing a great In questa reggia. She is absolutely thrilling. Tucker joins in at the end, and sings a totally blazing high C. Has to be heard to be believed!!!

Richard Tucker and Antonietta Stella sing excerpts from Meyerbeer's rarely performed opera, L'Africana in this 1972 performance. Tucker starts with a gorgeous "O Paradiso" followed by the rousing cabaletta, "Deh ch'io ritorni," with an incredible interpolated high B natural near the end. He brings down the house twice within 10 minutes. The long duet with Stella finds both singers in thrilling form. The tenor music is particularly high and for the most part, lyrical, with high B naturals and high Bb's aplenty. In the part that begins "O mia Selika," Tucker does some of the most gorgeous lyric singing I have ever heard him do. He was about 60 at the time, but the voic still had it's usual golden sound. He handles the very high tessitura with ease, and his soaring high B near the end is so easily produced, that it's hard to believe it is a B natural! This is lovely music, and makes one wish for a revival of this opera. The role Vasco DaGama would seem like a natural for Marcello Giordani!!

 

Here are two selections from the return recital of tenor Rolando Villazon. He first sings Massenet's "Ouvre tes yeux," followed by Tosti's "Ideale." Rolando's voice sounds as beautiful as ever!

Richard Tucker sang a recital at the Brooklyn Academy of Music in November of 1967 which still stands as the greatest evening of singing I have ever heard from any singer ever. The program is staggering in it's length and difficulty, and I knew I was in the presence of true greatness that night. He began the evening with a long and difficult Mozart concert aria, and ended the evening with Richard Rodgers "You'll never walk alone!"  In between he sang countless difficult arias (how many tenors have ever included the Forza aria in a piano recital!!!) and many Italian songs. Also a few selections from the Yiddish and Hebrew literature, including a long cantorial piece. Neopolitan songs, English songs, and on and on. Every note was perfect, and I want to post the entire concert for you to listen to and marvel at. The selections:

1. Misero, o sogno

2. Invocation of Orfeo- Peri

3. Dilli, non t'amo piu

4. Nina

5. Che fiero costumi

6. Lamento di Federico

7. O tu che in seno

8. Addio alla Madre

9. The Shepard

10. Ura dor

11. Dudele

12. Hebrew Song

13. Cantorial selection

14. The Abbott of Derry

15. The Abbott of Derry (encore)

16. Hanging Hill

17. Do you remember

18. Dicentacella vuie

19. Mamma mia che vo sape

20. Mattinata

21. De miei bollenti spiriti

22. You'll never walk alone

From Buenos Aires in the summer of 1968, here are Cornell MacNeil and Renata Scotto driving the audience to an absolute frenzy with their incredible singing to end Act 3, as I was brought up to learn, of Rigoletto. Their "Si, vendetta" duet is what legends are indeed made of!

The beautiful Cherry Duet from Mascagni's lovely "L'Amico Frirz is performed by a young tenor and soprano. Can you name the voices?

The gorgeous Cherry Duet from Mascagni's lovely "L'Amico Frirz is performed Ailyn Perez and Stephen Costello in a concert given early this year. It is beautifully sung by the young soprano and tenor

Listen to the young Renata Scotto and Luciano Pavarotti sing this beautiful duet from Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor. In 1967, Scotto was a much bigger name than Pavarotti. Their singing is wonderful in this excerpt from an RAI broadcast of October 10, 1967. Francesco Molinari-Pradelli is the conductor.

Zinka Milanov sings two great arias from Verdi's La Forza del Destino. Recorded in her very peak years, the Croatian soprano is simply magnificent in two arias from one of her greatest roles, that of Leonora in Forza.

1. Madre pietosa Vergine

2. Pace mio Dio

The beautiful voice of Zinka Milanov is heard to wonderful effect in a song by Hageman, "Do not go my love." Simply gorgeous!

Young tenor Stephen Costello sings Salut! demeure from Faust, from his very recent recital in London.

From the film "Aaron Slick from Punkin Crick," the gorgeous voice of Robert Merrill is heard singing Still Water. This song is unfamiliar to me, but is very beautiful.

Name the voice of this soprano heard in My Lord and Master, from The King and I, and the entire "bench" scene from Carousel, where she is joined by a mystery baritone!!

A very strange sounding duet, with Vivian della Chiesa and Robert Merrill!! To me, it sounds as if two men are singing!!

Listen to Richard Tucker as Manrico in 1969, at the Blossom May Festival, under the young James Levine. In particular, listen to what Tucker does at the end of the "Ah si, ben mio." Usually this scene is taxing enough, but this ending is spectacular. Tucker is in magnificent voice, in his 57th year. I'm sure you will enjoy this.

Best wishes,

Ed

Dramatic Verdi singing at its finest is featured in this pairing of Maria Callas and baritone Giuseppe Taddei. This is the famous Mexico performance from 1951.

From RAI in 1960, a young Alfredo Kraus is joined by the great Italian baritone, Giuseppe Taddei in an Italian language verson of the beautiful Pearlfishers duet, with the "Italian ending," as recorded by such as Gigli'De Luca. This is lyrical singing at its best!!

Here are the great singers, Renata Tebaldi and Giuseppe Taddei in the Garden Duet from Verdi's La Traviata. The performance is from San Carlo di Napoli and was given on January 17, 1952. Both great Italian singers were young and in their prime. This performance is quite rare and difficult to find. It is a treasure.

Name the voice! The beautiful "Arrigo, a parla ancor" sung in the original French in a remarkable performance!!

Here is the magnificent love duet from Verdi's Un Ballo in Maschera.Our mystery soprano and Tucker deliver a thrilling and beautifully sung performance of this famous and difficult, capped with a great high C. Tucker, amazingly, was 60 years old at the time of this performance! Simply amazing!!

Here is the magnificent love duet from Verdi's Un Ballo in Maschera.Cruz-Romo and Tucker deliver a thrilling and beautifully sung performance of this famous and difficult, capped with a great high C. Tucker, amazingly, was 60 years old at the time of this performance! Simply amazing!!

Here is the magnificent love duet from Verdi's Un Ballo in Maschera. Nilsson and Tucker deliver a thrilling and beautifully sung performance of this famous and difficult duet, capped with a great high C.