Warning: Opera included

 
Time for another opera excerpt, folks :-D

No, no...don't go away, yet.

This is truly one of the most beautiful duets I have ever heard in my LIFE!

And best of all, there's a story behind it.

We have a young woman in our church who recently graduated with a music degree from Master's out in Cauli-forn-jah. Of course, she now works as an assistant for three high powered stock brokers and is "well situated," but that is incidental.

The IMPORTANT thing is that she graduated with a degree in music and thus had to perform a senior recital.

Having a lovely voice, she was somehow induced to sing her recital, and not play it on the piano as I did, but hey, we all have our little quirks....

ANYWAY, we were lent the DVD of her recital and what should pop out of the repertoire but the following beauteous selection?

Ah...it is enough to make one weep.

However, being the unobservant Ma that I be, I hadn't noticed the name of the piece and as the months went by I found myself obsessed.

Of course, I could have contacted her or her parents, but that thought didn't occur to me until just now...

AT ANY RATE, when taking Kendra off to college this past fall, I stayed at the home of my college piano teacher and her husband, who taught voice, music history and has a VAST collection of opera recordings.

I tell you no lie, when I imagine their basement and the entire wall, FULL of shelved opera records.

Now you know operas...they are long. I will even admit that parts of them are boring. (please don't convey this to my former Music History teacher....) Each opera contains at least 5 or 6 records.

So I looked at those "more than a hundred" large collections and said to myself, "Hmmm, methinks we can find out that song, perchance!"

I croaked out a few measures of the duet--which is not that easy, my being only one person--and he thought he knew...walked over and pulled out an inch-and-a-half-thick opera, checked the back a wee bit, pulled out one record, and set that needle down plumb on the place!

"I probably couldn't do that again if I had to..." he humbly remarked. (but I'll bet he could have)

The result? I walked away with the opera name, the song, and the name of his favorite opera soprano, Joan Sutherland.

Then I recently found this very duet on YouTube, sung by Marilyn Horne and Joan baby :-)

Now, just a little background:

--first, I realize the two ladies are wearing beautiful gowns that are somewhat...er...chilly...but I'm hoping people can get past that. (can't we all just get along?) One can always minimize it if you have to.

These two are singing about how they'll go down by the river (or somewheres) and pick flowers together. Hey...that must be why they call it the "Flower Duet!"

Give it a try. What can it hurt, besides your ears?

Yes Thainamu, you too! Play it while your husband is walking by and impress his socks off! Play it while that doctor-to-be son is visiting and get him acquainted with the kind of culture that will really add to his practice. (Hey, it takes more than golf, these days)

Here it is...and enjoy. Oh...one more thing...remember that when you download from YouTube, sometimes the first playing is interrupted and stops and starts...so you have to play it TWICE to actually hear it in all it's glory.

Come on...don't be a wimp! Listen to this gorgeous excerpt and tell me you don't feel more refined :-)



Also, I find that playing it over and over is a good way to get the kids out of the room.
 

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