“Al dolce guidami” a soprano aria from Act II of the Italian opera Anna Bolena by Gaetano Donizetti. Anna Bolena is a tragic opera and the story of Anne Boleyn, the mother of Queen Elizabeth. First performed in 1830, the opera was forgotten for almost 50 years but was revived in 1957 at La Scala with Maria Callas. I have never heard a more beautiful melody than this one sung by Maria Callas—who embraces this character so fully and so ferociously. Every trill and vocal ornament here is done beautifully and flawlessly, and each contributing to its intended dramatic end. In the works of Donizetti, a trill is not just two notes alternating rapidly; it's the vocal manifestation of longing, or love, or sorrow, or anger (such as you will hear here).