Sunday Drive: Delibes, Flower Duet

The lovely duet from Lakmé, as performed at the Philharmonie de Paris in 2023 by Nadine Sierra and Pretty Yende; this piece is a great favorite of M.P.'s, who is much more au fait with grand opera than your Head Trucker.

 

A recent video about Ms. Yende's remarkable journey from a childhood in apartheid-era South Africa to the heights of the operatic world:

And here is a 2017 interview with the American-born Ms. Sierra on French television (in English):

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Sunday Drive: Puccini, Un Bel Di, Latonia Moore

Texas native Latonia Moore at Verizon Hall in Philadelphia in 2010 with a magnificent rendition of the beloved aria.  If you aren't woke now, you will be when Latonia gets done with you.  I tell you what.

Sunday Drive: Nessun Dorma, Il Volo

Your Head Trucker, sadly, knows nothing about grand opera; somehow I never the got the memo when that was added to the Agenda. But I just stumbled across some  youngsters I never heard of before, singing a pretty little ditty from one of them old opries - and all I can say is, Wow!  See what you think:

Sunday Drive: Handel, Ombra Mai Fu

Many thanks to truckbuddy Tim for today's lovely selection from Xerxes by his favorite tenor countertenor, Andreas Scholl:

Sunday Drive: Puccini, O Mio Babbino Caro

The famous aria, as performed by André Rieu and his orchestra, featuring Brazilian soprano Carmen Monarcha, before an audience of more than 38,000 in Melbourne, Australia, in 2008:

Sunday Drive: La Marseillaise

As conducted yesterday by Placido Domingo at the Metropolitan Opera, New York:

Sunday Drive: Offenbach, "Belle Nuit"

Description:

Montserrat Caballé and Marilyn Horne in concert singing the duet "Belle Nuit", also known as Barcarolle from Les Contes d'Hoffmann by Offenbach. Munich, 1990.

A Talk with Justice Ginsburg

Attorney Ted Olson - who with David Boies was lead counsel on the Prop 8 case heard by the Supreme Court last year - chats with Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg at a technology conference in Reston, Virginia, last December. Justice Ginsburg's observations on the history, societal role, and workings of the Court are fascinating, but you really ought to listen at least from 9:00 to 12:00 to learn about the new opera being written, Scalia/Ginsburg. Seriously, it's a real thing.




A copy of the talk with clearer video can be seen here at the C-SPAN website.

Sunday Drive: I Dreamt I Dwelt in Marble Halls

I've heard of the title many times over the years, but not until today have I ever heard the song. It's lovely. From the 1936 film version of the 1843 opera, The Bohemian Girl, with a bit of comedy relief thrown in:



If you click around on YouTube, you can find other delightful versions by Joan Sutherland, Celtic Woman, and Enya, among others.