Classical Music Favorites

Below are my top ten favorite opera arias. An aria is a vocal climax in opera. The list is followed by the best videos I could find on Youtube. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do. These pieces bring me to tears. The average length of the videos is approx. 5 minutes but there is a wide range.

1. Flower Duet.
Opera: Lakmé (French, 1883) Léo Delibes (French).

2. Hell’s Vengeance Boils In My Heart.
Opera: The Magic Flute (German, 1791) Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (Austrian).

3. Oh Fortune!
Opera: Carmina Burana (mostly Latin, 1936) Carl Orff (German).

4. Love Is A Rebellious Bird.
Opera: Carmen (French, 1875) Georges Bizet (French).

5. Figaro!
Opera: The Barber of Seville (Italian, 1816) Gioachino Rossini (Italian).

6. Oh My Dear Father.
Opera: Gianni Schicchi (Italian, 1918) Giacomo Puccini (Italian).

7. Woman Is Mobile.
Opera: Rigoletto (Italian, 1851) Giuseppe Verdi (Italian).

8. Let No One Sleep.
Opera: Turandot (1926) Giacomo Puccini (Italian).

9. Let’s Drink From the Joyful Cups.
Opera: La Traviata (1852) Giuseppe Verdi (Italian).

10. Put On the Costume.
Opera: Clowns (1892) Ruggero Leoncavallo (Italian).

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1. Flower Duet.
Opera: Lakmé, 1883, Léo Delibes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C1ZL5AxmK_A
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2. Hell’s Vengeance Boils In My Heart.
Opera: The Magic Flute, 1791, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YuBeBjqKSGQ&list=RDQMF1EvDH20kwg&start_radio=1
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3. Oh Fortune!
Opera: Carmina Burana, 1936, Carl Orff.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EJC-_j3SnXk
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4. Love Is A Rebellious Bird.
Opera: Carmen, 1875, Georges Bizet.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K2snTkaD64U
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5. Figaro!
Opera: The Barber of Seville, 1816, Gioachino Rossini.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7qHZkkgowdY
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6. Oh My Dear Father.
Opera: “Gianni Schicchi,” 1918, Giacomo Puccini.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-rtnhtGyfWA
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7. Woman Is Mobile.
Opera: Rigoletto, 1851, Giuseppe Verdi.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8A3zetSuYRg
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8. Let No One Sleep.
Opera: Turandot, 1926, Giacomo Puccini.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cWc7vYjgnTs
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9. Let’s Drink From the Joyful Cups.
Opera: La Traviata, 1852, Giuseppe Verdi.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pu7zWrIMV_g
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10. Put On the Costume.
Opera: Clowns, 1892, Ruggero Leoncavallo.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z0PMq4XGtZ4

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Posted in reply to the post by Valley Oak:

Below are my top ten favorite opera arias. An aria is a vocal climax in opera. The list is followed by the best videos I could find on Youtube. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do...

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Nice collection.

Thank you, Alan!

I want everyone to know that I strongly encourage them to share their favorites to this thread so that we can all enjoy something new. It can be arias, songs, operas, plays, and even books, art, films, and music in general. Why not?

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Posted in reply to the post by Citrin:

Nice collection.

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WatchMojo.com, Nov 9, 2015

Prepare yourself to become an aficionado of the Aria as we count down our picks for the Top 10 Opera Songs. For this list, we are looking at the songs that are most associated with opera music, and the best songs that have come out of the art form.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wpiaYwuPAs0

Here is another truly great aria, The Doll Song:

Aria: The birds in the arbor (The Doll Song).
Opera: The Tales of Hoffmann, 1881, French.
Composer: Jacques Offenbach (German-French).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mVUpKIFHqZk

Here is another version:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3dlGDNoliH0

A sultry version:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PTBxP9KvI5Q

Top 10 "Must Know" Opera Songs

This is just my selection of the top ten "must-know" opera songs for newcomers to the genre (or lovers of opera who want to listen to a couple of classics).

I've tried to be fair and spread the list across Italian, French and German pieces. You will also find arias (solo acts), duets (two person acts) and chorus numbers (featuring the full cast), although Pavarotti sings more than one aria.

10. Una Furtiva Lagrima - from l'Elisir D'Amore - featuring Luciano Pavarotti (0.00)
9. Vide Cor Meum - from Hannibal - featuring Danielle Di Niese & Bruno Lazzaretti (4.48)
8. Un Bel Di Vedremo - from Madame Butterfly - featuring Maria Callas (8.40)
7. Duo des Fleurs (Flower Duet) - from Lakmé - featuring Sabine Devieilhe & Marianne Crebassa (13.20)
6. Libiamo, ne' lieti calici - from La Traviata - featuring Juan Diego Flórez & Diana Damrau (17.52)
5. La Donna è Mobile - from Rigoletto - featuring Luciano Pavarotti (21.01)
4. Der Hölle Rache kocht in meinem Herzen (Queen of the Night Aria) - from Die Zauberflöte (The Magic Flute) - featuring Diana Damrau (23.48)
3. Habanera - from Carmen - featuring Anna Caterina Antonacci (26.50)
2. Nessun Dorma - from Turandot - featuring Luciano Pavarotti (28.59)
1. O Mio Babbino Caro - from Gianni Schicchi - featuring Maria Callas (32.05)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ZDGPKcEPJ8

I could never thank you enough for this wonderful post. Thank you over and over, Dustyg

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Posted in reply to the post by Valley Oak:

Top 10 "Must Know" Opera Songs...

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Here are two different performances of the aria, "Non piu andrai," by Mozart. The first has English subtitles. The second video has actors. Each video is less than 5 minutes.

Synopsis: Count Almaviva finds Cherubino hiding in Susanna's quarters. The Count was already suspicious that Cherubino had designs on his wife, Countess Rosina, and overall disapproves of his loose lifestyle. However, he cannot punish Cherubino, as he himself was only in Susanna's quarters to proposition her. The Count sends Cherubino away instead, to his regiment in Seville. In this aria, Figaro teases Cherubino about his Spartan military future, in stark contrast with the pleasant and flirtatious life he has enjoyed in the Count's palace.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yz8n2tVyGwc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e1-FKyOTvto

Aria: "Non piu andrai" (You're Doomed, Womanizer!)
Opera: The Marriage of Figaro (Italian), 1786.
Composer: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (Austrian).

English translation:

"Lustful butterfly, you will no longer flutter,
Day and night disturbing all the women;
Arousing ladies in their sleep
You narcissistic little Adonis of lovemaking.

You'll no longer flaunt fine clothes and dashing looks,
Or preen yourself in that effeminate manner,
That hair, that glowing countenance,
That rosy, womanly complexion.

You'll be with uncouth warriors,
Whiskered men and backpacks,
With a rifle on your shoulder, and a sabre at your side,
Standing up straight and marching forward,
A big helmet and a uniform,
Plenty of honour, little pay!

And instead of dancing the fandango,
You'll be marching through the mud.

Over mountains and through valleys,
In both the snow and sweltering sun.
To the beat of bugles, bombs, and cannon fire,
Each blast ringing in your ears,

Cherubino, off you go to victory and military glory,
To glory in battle!"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0-fVB_y0Cjo&list=PLi01XoE8jYogrD7Hc5PP5MIb7vknbUG_J&index=2&t=0s

Below is a playlist of twenty-four, one-minute videos; each explains an opera term.

Opera Glossary

Opera is mysterious to a lot of people, but it doesn't have to be. Our "Opera Glossary" playlist gives you a quick understanding of the most important terms at the opera, because Opera is for Everyone! Topics include: aria, prima donna, recitative, overture, and more.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qwG5ocV5sNQ

This is one person's list of their favorite opera arias. Some are repeats of previous posts but there are also new arias performed in this video. Enjoy.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dhTjGS3QkYE
Publisher: Now This News

This Italian opera singer serenades his quarantined city every single night! In US news and current events today, this Italian opera singer serenaded a quarantined Florence, Italy from his balcony. Watch the moving feel-good since gone viral footage here.

Beats howling any day of the week!

Quote:

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Posted in reply to the post by Valley Oak:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dhTjGS3QkYE
Publisher: Now This News

This Italian opera singer serenades his quarantined city every single night! In US news and current events today, this Italian opera singer serenaded a quarantined Florence, Italy from his balcony. Watch the moving feel-good since gone viral footage here.

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The following is a ballet written by Russian composer Sergei Prokofiev in 1938. The ballet is about Shakespeare's classic, Romeo and Juliet. The following piece is called, "Dance of the Knights." It consists of a dance routine accompanied by the most famous piece of music written by Prokofiev for this ballet. Below are two different versions of the dance piece with the famous music:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SyDo3h1Tu7c

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=92YhJ4ZVmCg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GRxofEmo3HA
AnAmericanComposer, Jan 30, 2011

Four Seasons ~ Antonio Vivaldi
Budapest Strings.
Bela Banfalvi, Conductor.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kPMWJx91sxY
wocomoMUSIC, Oct 25, 2020

Ten of the Most Popular Opera Arias

Dive into the beautiful world of opera with some of the most acclaimed arias, performed by renowned singers such as, Anna Netrebko or Luciano Pavarotti. Works and composers include, "Rinaldo" by Handel, "The Magic Flute" by Mozart, Verdi's "Rigoletto," Puccini's "Gianni Schicchi" and "Turandot," and others.
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0:00 Handel: Lascia ch'io pianga from Rinado.
4:26 Puccini: Quando m'en vo from La Bohème.
7:08 Mozart: Voi, che sapete from Le Nozze Di Figaro.
10:08 Donizetti: Il Dolce Suono from Lucia di Lammermoor.
13:10 Verdi: Libiamo, ne’ lieti calici from La Traviata.
16:21 Delibes: Flower Duet from Lakmé.
21:20 Verdi: La Donna è Mobile from Rigoletto.
23:49 Puccini: O mio babbino caro from Gianni Schicchi.
26:32 Mozart: Der Hölle Rache from Die Zauberflöte.
29:23 Puccini: Nessun dorma from Turandot.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qXUMqSWpomA
DW Classical Music, May 9, 2020

Opera gala: Greatest arias from Mozart, Verdi, Rossini and others

In May 2016, international stars like Roberto de Biasio, Ingeborg Gillebo, Robin Johannsen and Simone Kermes performed these famous Arias at the 5th opera gala in Bonn. The fundraising event was organised by the German AIDS Foundation https://aids-stiftung.de and the proceeds went to projects in Germany and Mozambique.

Enjoy the high art of opera singing, accompanied by the Beethoven Orchestra Bonn conducted by Stefan Blunier!

0:00 Overture (Le nozze die Figaro — Mozart)
4:20 Chiara Skerath: "Deh vieni, non tardar" (Le nozze di Figaro — Mozart)
8:55 Julia Novikova: "Je veux vivre" (Roméo et Juliette — Gounod)
13:20 Robin Johannsen: "O wär ich schon mit Dir vereint" (Fidelio — Beethoven)
16:55 Ingeborg Gillebo: "Il segreto per esser felici" (Lucrezia Borgia — Donizetti)
20:15 "O mon Dieu" - Theater Bonn Opera Chorus (Jerusalem — Verdi)
25:30 Simone Kermes: "Gran Dio! Giusto Dio che umile adoro" (Tancredi — Rossini)
33:20 Davide Luciano: "Felice ancor… per me giunto" (Don Carlos — Verdi)
37:40 Marina Prudenskaya: "O don fatale" (Don Carlos — Verdi)
42:40 Roberto De Biasio: "Quando le sere al placido" (Luisa Miller — Verdi)
46:10 Ingeborg Gillebo/Robin Johannsen: "Dôme épais le jasmin" (Lakmé — Delibes)
51:40 Robin Johannsen: "Voi avete un cor fedele" (Mozart)
58:30 Davide Luciano/Julia Novikova: "Pronta io son!" (Don Pasquale — Donizetti)
1:06:00 Simone Kermes: "Les oiseaux dans la charmille" (Les contes d‘Hoffmann — Offenbach)
1:11:55 Davide Luciano: "Largo al factotum" (Il barbiere di Siviglia — Rossini)
1:20:30 Julia Novikova: "Il bacio" (Arditi)
1:25:10 Matia Prudenskaya: "Ich lade gern mir Gäste ein" (Die Fledermaus — Strauss)