classical/opera

[lapietra]

Anybody else into it? God, I hope so, otherwise I'm out of a job...

My fave recordings:

Leonard Bernstein's recordings of Barber's "Adagio", Mahler's "Adagietto" and Vaughan Williams' "Fantasia on a Theme of Thomas Tallis"

"Hab' mir's gelobt, ihn lieb zu haben" from Strauss' "Der Rosenkavalier, sung by Hilde Konetzni, Emmy Loose, and Elisabeth Hoengen of the Vienna Opera House, 1944 (makes me cry *every time*)

Jessye Norman: All of her art song work, especially Strauss' "Vier Letzte Lieder", Berg's "Seven Early Songs" and Schoenberg's Cabaret Songs. Not quite as excited about her opera work, which is, you know, really good. Just not as entrancing for *me*.

Kirsten Flagstad: Anything, especially her Leonora in Beethoven's Fidelio, her "Dich, teure halle," from Wagner's Tannhauser and her "Mild und leise" from Wagner's Tristan und Isolde

Rosa Ponselle: Anything, especially her "Ernani, involami" from Verdi's "Ernani", her "Suicido!" from Ponchielli's Gioconda, and her "En vain pour e'viter les re'ponses am'eres" from Bizet's Carmen.

Beethoven's 5th as performed by the Berlin Phil under von Karajan

Brahms' German Requiem as performed by the Berlin Phil under Claudio Abbado

Anything and everything by Claude Debussy

I could go on, but that would leave no music for anyone else...