6.09.2009

Chanson du Jour

Well hello my friends. I am glad my selections from yesterday received a warm response. I think we will continue with this whole "love" theme. Today we will journey to the beautifully exquisite lovey dovey world of opera. I absolutely LOVE opera. I apologize in advance, Anonymous, for my multitudinous selections. I just couldn't narrow it down - they are all THAT good! Luckily they are all relatively short and you can feel good knowing that studies have shown that listening to classical music increases intelligence - something we could all use, I'm sure!

We will start with Mr. Pavarotti. This first song is "Nessun Dorma" from Puccini's Turandot. You will more than likely recognize this song. It is in many commercials and movies. I saw this opera in 8th grade at Fair Park in Dallas. I remember how excited I was to actually recognize a song in it and this song has held a special place in my heart ever since. If you get the chance to see this opera I would highly recommend doing so. Enjoy.



We will continue with the whole "male" thing and journey next to the Three Tenors singing "O Sole Mio." Again, this song is one of my favorites and these men are incredible singers so what's not to like?!?



Now let's travel to the female side of things. The song is "Habanera; L'amour Est Un Oiseau Rebelle" (translation, Jenfra??) from Bizet's opera Carmen sung by the great Maria Callas. This, too, is a wonderful opera that I highly recommend you see should you ever have the chance.



Next, we have Renee Fleming singing "O Mio Babbino Caro" from Puccini's opera Gianni Schicchi. I haven't seen this opera myself but I am sure it's wonderful. I love this song - it gives me chills when she hits that high note - you'll know what I'm talking about when you hear it!



Finally, we got to the beautiful vocal stylings of Charlotte Church singing "Pie Jesu." We played this song in high school band accompanying a beautiful singer and thus it holds a special place in my heart. It is so beautiful and calming and I hope you enjoy! (P.S. I would not want to be the girl standing and singing next to a voice like Charlotte's...intimidating much?)



Again, thanks for listening. I will continue to try to be more decisive but am not promising anything!! Peace out.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Well, well, well, that certainly brought some "class" to the blog. Unfortunately, at least for this reader, that was so much culture at one time I actually found mold growing behind my ears after listening. Let's just say that too much of a "good thing" may not always be appreciated. So the long and short of it is that I have now just listened to more opera than I would care to have in about 1/2 of a lifetime. So go easy on us bums that actually think Jimmy Buffet has class.

Kevin and Camille Jensen said...

IIIIIIII liked it!

the hadzic clan said...

very nice! i just love charlotte church (and maria!)