đ¶ Celebrating a year of Opera Daily đ¶
Most popular selections and a reflection on the year
Hi friends! Yes, itâs been a year of opera!
I want to start by saying thanks to all of you who made this year one full of fascinating conversations and beautiful music. I started this newsletter last July as a simple way for anyone to explore the world of opera. I didnât do it on my own, though. I convinced my friends to help along the way (some took over the reins and wrote some posts đ, others allowed me to interview them) and I had all of you contributing via the community posts and the comment sections each week.
âLooking at life from a different perspective makes you realize that itâs not the deer that is crossing the road, rather itâs the road that is crossing the forest.â
â Muhammad Ali
Life can get lonely â especially after the year weâve had. Thereâs an interesting antidote to loneliness, though: One of the most effective ways to break the cycle of loneliness is to pursue a goal or a sense of purpose larger than yourself. For me, that has been Opera Daily. I am not sure what the future holds for this newsletter after our one year experiment, but the one thing I do know for sure is that knowing you all were on the other end of these emails has helped me tremendously this year. I hope in a small way weâve been able to help each other.
To celebrate a year of Opera Daily, we are listening to the most loved pieces weâve covered since we started. Iâve also consolidated all 170+ selections that weâve shared since last July in one easy-to-access playlist on YouTube.
Thank you so much for sticking around and for being a thoughtful, supportive audience Iâm genuinely proud of.Â
Cheers to one year! đ„
Franco Corelli, Virginia Gordoni, âVittoria! Vittoria!â, Tosca by Giacomo Puccini , Teatro Regio di Parma, 1967Â
Cecilia Bartoli singing the aria âNon piĂč mesta,âfrom the Italian opera La Cenerentola by Gioachino Rossini
Mirella Freni and Luciano Pavarotti singing âSuzel, buon dĂŹâŠTutto tace,â from Act II of the Italian opera Lâamico Fritz by Pietro Mascagni
Shirley Verrett and Nicolai Gedda singing the love duet, âNuit d'ivresse et d'extase infinieâ, from Act IV of Hector Berliozâs Les Troyens
âBella figlia dell'amoreâ the quartet from Act III of the Italian opera Rigoletto by Giuseppe Verdi with Luciano Pavarotti, Joan Sutherland, Isola Jones, and Leo Nucci
Claudio Monteverdi, L'incoronazione di Poppea, âPur ti miro, pur ti godoâ with Sonya Yoncheva and Kate Lindsey
Tenor Lawrence Brownlee singing âJe crois entendre encoreâ from Georges Bizet's Les pĂȘcheurs de perles
Cecilia Bartoli singing âAgitata da due ventiâ from Vivaldiâs GriseldaÂ
âBel raggio lusinghierâ from Semiramide sung by dramatic coloratura soprano, Joan Sutherland
Act 2 duet, âDio, che mi vedi ⊠Sul suo capoâ between Anna and Giovanna from Anna Bolena sung here by soprano Leyla Gencer and mezzo soprano Giulietta SimionatoÂ
Anna Moffo singing âChi il bel sogno di Dorettaâ a soprano aria from Act I of the Italian opera La Rondine by Giacomo Puccini
Maria Callas singing âErnani! Ernani, involamiâ Elviraâs aria from Act I of the Italian opera Ernani by Giuseppe Verdi
Placido Domingo and Sherrill Milnes singing âDio, che nellâalma infondere,â the duet from Act I of the 19th-century opera Don Carlo, composed by Giuseppe Verdi
The Letter Duet from Act III of Mozartâs opera Le Nozze di Figaro. VĂ©ronique Gens is singing the role of Countess Almaviva and Patrizia Ciofi is singing Susannaâs role
Victoria de los Ăngeles, Habanera, Carmen
RenĂ©e Fleming singing âPuskai pogibnu yaâ also known as Tatyanaâs Letter Scene from Act I of the Russian opera Eugene Onegin by Peter Illyich Tchaikovsky
Soprano Mirella Freni, mezzo-soprano Christa Ludwig singing âThe Flower Duetâ in the 1975 movie of Madame Butterfly
The Easter Hymn from Pietro Mascagni's opera Cavalleria Rusticana, Maria CallasÂ
Trio from Act III of Straussâs Der Rosenkavalier, RenĂ©e Fleming (Marschallin), Christine SchĂ€fer (Sophie), Susan Graham (Octavian). The Metropolitan Opera, 2010
âMa, Signorâ, the finale from Act I of Gioachino Rossini's opera Il Barbiere di Siviglia(The Barber of Seville)
đŁ Do you have a favorite piece that we havenât included here? I love hearing from readers, so donât hesitate to share your thoughts and feedback with me by simply hitting âreplyâ on any issue of Opera Daily or let us know in the comments below.
As always, thank you for reading, listening, and sharing,
Michele
â€ïžÂ If you enjoyed this selection, hit the heart to like it. It helps others find Opera Daily. And donât forget: all issues of Opera Daily are also available in our growing online archive.
Bravi per tutti... Michelle !!!
Tanti piu !!!!