Today, August 28, we celebrate the birthday of the great tenor, Richard Tucker. Many call Tucker the greatest American tenor ever. I agree, but go on to state that for me, he was the greatest tenor ever, of any nationality, and many agree with this sentiment.

Here, in the final year of his life, Tucker is still in top, golden form as he gives his all in a recital filled with arias, Jewish and Hebrew songs, French Songs, Italian songs, and Handel, Mehul, and Peri, among others! There are 23 selections to this Podcast, and I will list the program now:

1.  Handel- Floridante- Alma mia

2.  Mehul- JOSEPH- Champs paternal

3.  Peri- EURIDICE- Invocazione di Orfeo

4.  Torelli- Tu lo sai

5.  Durante- Danza, danza fanciulla

6.  Donizetti- L'ELISIR D'AMORE- Una furtiva lagrima

7.  Mascagni- CAVALLERIA RUSTICANA- Addio alla madre

8.  Meyerbeer- L'AFRICANA- O Paradiso

9.  Leoncavallo- Mattinata

10. Shir Hocherut- (Son of Liberation-) arr. Secundo

11. Issachar Miron- Ura Dor- (Come along)

12. A Du, Du, Du- (Jewish folk song) arr. Secundo

13. A Din Torah mit Gott- (A Plea with God) arr. Low

14. Fourdrain- Carnaval

15. Robey- Tes Yeux

16. Bizet- THE PEARLFISHERS- Je crois entendre encore

17. Falvo- Dicitencello Vuie

18. Nutile- Mamma mia che vo sape

19. Puccini- TURANDOT- Nessun Dorma

20. Raisins and Almonds- Traditional Jewish Folk Song

21. Puccini- TOSCA- Recondita armonia

22. Cilea- L'ARLESIANA- Lamento di Federico

23. Verdi- LUISA MILLER- Quando le sera al placido

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To end, I wish to say how fortunate I was to live in an era when I could hear Richard Tucker sing and bestow his great gift on us all countless times.

Best wishes,

Ed

My favorite tenor, Richard Tucker, is heard here in two rare audio clips.

First we have the beautiful Pearlfishers Duet, as sung in English from a radio concert in 1946 with the wonderful baritone, Robert Weede.

This is followed by an Improviso from a Gala Concert with Leonard Bernstein conducting the Israeli Philharmonic in 1963. I would imagine this is the only time Bernstein conducted the music of Giordano, but I certainly could be wrong.

Enjoy this interesting Podcast.

Direct Link: premiereopera.libsyn.com

This and every Podcast can be found at http://www.premiereopera.com

Please listen and comment! Thanks.

Best wishes,

Ed

The young Renata Tebaldi, still in her 20's here, sings two arias associated with her career. The voice is all beauty and velvet, with the tone lush and gorgeous. These performances were taken from her American broadcast debut, during her run of operas in San Francisco in the Fall of 1950. These radio concerts, with Merola conducting, seem to exist in wonderful sound quality, as heard here. Brava Renata!!

1. Io son l'umille ancella- Adriana- 1950

2. Un bel di- Madama Butterfly- 1950

Direct link: premiereopera.libsyn.com

This and every Podcast are available at http://www.premiereopera.com

Enjoy this beautiful voice at its best!

Best wishes,

Ed

This is a two minute selection from Verdi's Un Ballo in Maschera. It is Richard Tucker as Riccardo, in his entrance aria, "La rivedra in estasti."

If it has ever been sung better, I have not heard it. The elan, and the musicianship is remarkable, as is the expansive high Bb (alright, high A# for the purists out there) to cap this wonderful piece.

Often famous arias are recorded by famous artists in the "wrong" language, meaning a language other than the language the aria was originally written in. Here are two fine examples by young Mario del Monaco.

1. Carmen- Il fior che avevi a me to dato- recorded 12/20/51

2. Lohengrin- Da voi lontan- recorded 11/22/48- as a 78 rpm!

This and all Podcasts can be found at http://www.premiereopera.com

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Enjoy and please comment on this Podcast!

Best wishes,

Ed

The magnificent Italian tenor, Mario del Monaco, is heard here in the very prime early years of his international career. His voice as heard here in magnificent monophonic sound conveys the steel, or, as I heard it live, the "buzz" in his sound that helped it to carry so well, and, if possible, sound ever bigger than it already was. Of interest is his soft singing in each selection. We hear del Monaco in both Mascagni and Leoncavallo operas, but not Cav & Pag! Here are the selections:

1. La Boheme- Leoncavallo- Testa adorata- recorded 9/51

2. L'Amico Fritz- Mascagni- Ed anche Beppe amo- recorded 12/20/51

3. Werther- Ah! Non mi ridestar- recorded 1/9/52

The conductor in all selections is Argeo Quadri, conducting the Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano.

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This and all Podcasts can also be accessed at http://www.premiereopera.com

This is surely thrilling tenor singing, when tenors were tenors!!

Best wishes,

Ed

It's Te Kanawa and Placido, and it's good!! This is among my favorite Puccini.

Ed

Early in his career, tenor sensation Franco Corelli recorded many arias from operas that were not in his repertoire. Here are three arias, only one of which, Trovatore, is from a role Corelli sang.

1.  I Lombardi- La mia letizia infondere- 1955

2.  Il Trovatore- Di quella pira- 1955

3.  Otello- Esultate!- 1954

Surely Corelli would have made a great Otello, and it is a shame that he never sang the role. His Pira has two of the most ringing high C's ever recorded by any tenor. Enjoy this podcast!

This and all Podcasts are also available at www.premiereopera.com

Best wishes,

Ed

Truly great Swedish tenor Jussi Bjoerling is at his incredible best in two arias taken from a live concert given in Hilversum, Holland on June 8, 1939. First we hear a gorgeous Flower Song from Carmen, sung in French, from an opera that Bjoerling never sang. Listen especially to what the Swedish tenor does on the high Bb.

This is followed by a magnificent Faust aria, sung in Swedish, from the same concert. The high C is a thing of wonder. Bjoerling attacks it a bit softly and swells to a tremendous, forte high C.

This and all Podcasts may be found at http://www.premiereopera.com

Best wishes,

Ed

The great American baritone, Leonard Warren, sings some lighter fare here.

His delivery of three beautiful Irish songs have long been favorites of mine, and I wanted to share this with all of the Podcast audience. The singing is ravishing, controlled, and both soft and ringing, when called for.

All Podcasts can also be accessed at http://www.premiereopera.com

1.  Danny Boy- recorded September 3, 1947

2.  Mother Machree- recorded September 26, 1950

3.  A Little Bit of Heaven- recorded September 26, 1950

I'm sure you will enjoy this Podcast!

Best wishes,

Ed

The great Yugoslavian soprano, Zinka Milanov, is heard here in four arias recorded in her very prime. The voice is gorgeous and the singing is beautiful. I hope you enjoy this podcast of rare Milanov recordings. Here is the listing or arias, with date recorded.

1. Suicidio- La Gioconda- February 14, 1946

2. Voi lo sapete- Cavalleria Rusticana- May 17, 1945

3. Pace mio Dio!- La Forza del Destino- May 17, 1945

4. Ritorna vincitor- Aida- February 14, 1946.

And interesting coincidence is that the Cavalleria and the Forza arias were recorded on her birthday. I believe she was celebrating her 41st birthday in 1945.

This and all podcasts can also be found at http://www.premiereopera.com

Thanks, and I hope you enjoy this podcast.

Best wishes,

Ed

Many opera lovers know about the Mexico Aida, and the Lisbon Traviata. I call this the Tel Aviv Trovatore.

Performed in Tel Aviv on July 9, 1973, it features the following cast:

Manrico...............Richard Tucker

Leonora...............Gilda Cruz-Romo

Azucena...............Mignon Dunn

Di Luna................Sigmund Nimsgern

The conductor is Zubin Mehta. This was the next to last Manrico of Tucker's life, the final performance being in Hartford, CT, about 6 weeks before his passing, and also featuring the truly wonderful Gilda Cruz-Romo as Leonora. Tucker's voice knew no years, as can be heard here. The freshness of his singing, and his enthusiasm, and, of course, his golden voice, remained untarnished by time.

I am proud to present the complete Act 4, Scene 2 of Il Trovatore, dedicated, with love and admiration, for my friend, Richard Tucker.

This and all Podcasts can also be found at http://www.premiereopera.com

Best wishes,

Ed

The great tenor, Beniamino Gigli, is heard in all of Pinkerton's solo parts in this historical Podcast. The recording was made in Rome in July of 1939, and Gigli was in the 25th year of his career, with an amazing 16 years still to go! As always, his singing is golden and caressing to the ear.

The role of Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly is sometimes thought of as not worth the effort of a truly first rank tenor, but it is, IMO. The role is long- since he sings for about an hour with little break in Act 1, and comes back in Act 3 for a beautiful trio and his big aria.

Surely the major recording companies have always cast the role of Pinkerton from strength. Tenors who have recorded the role complete have been, in addition to Gigli, such as Tagliavini, Tucker (twice,) Bergonzi (twice,) Pavarotti, Domingo (twice,) Carreras. These are certainly all first rank tenors. In the theater, the two best Pinkertons I ever heard live were Bergonzi, in 1962 with Tucci at the Met, and Carreras in 1975, with Teresa Kubiak, in London.

We have the entire opening scene, starting with "Dovunque al mondo" right up to the entrance of Butterfly, followed by the gorgeous trio in Act 3 and the famous tenor aria, "Addio, fiorito asil." The Sharpless is Mario Basiola, and Suzuki is sung by mezzo Vittoria Polomgini. The few lines we hear of Goro are sung by tenor Adelio Zagonara. The wonderful conductor is the legendary Oliviero de Fabritiis, who seemed to conduct forever. His career spanned at least 5 and  possibly 6 decades.

This and every Podcast can be found at http://www.premiereopera.com

Enjoy this great tenor singing!

Best wishes,

Ed

Tenor sensations Juan Diego Florez and Rolando Villazon teamed up for a rare, first ever joint concert in Paris about a month ago.

Here are three excerpts from this exciting event.

1.  Ah! leve toi- Romeo- Florez

2.  O Souverain- Le Cid- Villazon

3.  Otello duet- Rossini- Florez & Villazon

This and all podcasts may also be accessed at http://www.premiereopera.com

Best wishes,

Ed

On October 14, 1975, the great tenor Jose Carreras gave his very first solo American recital. The venue was beautiful Carmel, California, and I was privileged to accompany Jose both at the recital, and on the ride to and from San Francisco, where he was appearing as Nemorino in L'Elisir d'amore. The recital was a great success, and the voice is at it's youthful best. The four selections here are:

1.  Ideale- Tosti

2.  Malia- Tosti

3. L'albe separe dalla luce lombra- Tosti

4. Nessun dorma- Turandot- Puccini

This and all podcasts are also accessible at http://www.premiereopera.com

I know you all will enjoy this beautiful Podcast.

Best wishes,

Ed

The great American baritone, Robert Merrill, sings Songs you Love, from a 78 rpm album recorded in 1950. Gorgeous is the adjective that comes immediately to mind. Here is the program:

1. I'm falling in love with someone- Herbert

2. Ah! Sweet Mystery of Life- Herbert

3. Yours is my heart alone- Lehar

4. Sylvia- Speaks

5. Trees- Rasbach

6. Always- Berlin

Here are seven diverse that represent among the best of tenor great Richard Tucker. Tucker was as versatile as he was great, and his singing through the years remained golden and gorgeous. Here is the program of this Podcast:

1.  Thine Alone- Eileen- Herbert- 1950

2.  Song of Songs- 1949

3.  For you Alone- 1949

4.  Core 'n grato- 1954

5.  La riverdra- Ballo- Verdi- 1974

6.  Lamento di Federico- L'Arlesiana- Cilea- 1966

7.  O tu che in seno- Forza- Verdi- 1969

Tenor Stephen Costello sings the beautiful Tomb Scene in a recent performance of Lucia di Lammermoor. Costello sings with great beauty and feeling, as well as the great emotion that this music calls for.

I am sure you will enjoy this wonderful performance by Costello.

We are back and up and running with our Podcasts again, and I wish to thank all of you who have written me about them.

All poscasts can also be enjoyed at http://www.premiereopera.com

Best wishes,

Ed