In a Different Voice: Then and Now Winter 2025 Opera Course

Video Recording of 01/21/2025 Class

Mezzo-sopranos Then and Now

LINKS FOR MEZZO-SOPRANOS: THEN AND NOW

Aigul Akhmetshina

Singing "Habanera" from Bizet's Carmen
www.youtube.com/watch?v=DU9LHmGL8QA (3:26)

Rosina singing "Una voce poco fa" ("The voice I heard just now" –referring to Lindoro) from Rossini's The Barber of Seville
www.youtube.com/watch?v=3nezJ_mhSVQ (5:47)

Cenerentola singing "Non piu mesta" ("No longer sad by the fire…")from Rossini's La Cenerentola
www.youtube.com/watch?v=HrgZ5RpThZM (7:31)

Cecelia Bartoli

Cherubino singing "Voi che sapete" ("You know what love is") from Mozart's Le Nozze di Figaro
www.youtube.com/watch?v=oc2EK3rQPjw (2:59)

Zerlina singing "Batti, batti, o bel Masetto" ("Beat me, dear Masetto") from Mozart's Don Giovanni
www.youtube.com/watch?v=fpfnxJ_o4O4 (3:51)

Despina singing "In uomini, in Soldati" ("You look for fidelity, from men, from soldiers") from Mozart's Cosi fan tutte
www.youtube.com/watch?v=7u_ovdfuE0c (2:42)

Donna Elvira singing "Ah, chi mi dice mai" ("Where shall I find a token, to guide my steps to thee?") from Mozart's Don Giovanni
www.youtube.com/watch?v=gpyZoKmE6zg (3:33)

Cenerentola singing "Non piu mesta"  ("No longer sad by the fire…") from Rossini's La Cenerentola
www.youtube.com/watch?v=X-kRgs3H7so (3:29)

Jamie Barton

Fricka and Wotan (Greer Grimsley) singing from Wagner's Das Rheingold
www.youtube.com/watch?v=jZMbxZTzUmM (1:25)

Talking on Azucena from Verdi's Il Trovatore
www.youtube.com/watch?v=BLUGDlKUIZ8 (1:36)

Singing "Elle est la pres de lui" ("She is with him") from Thomas's Mignon
www.youtube.com/watch?v=lx3H97Pzkvw (5:39)

Adalgisa singing "Sgombra e la sacra selva" ("Clear is the sacred forest")from Bellini's Norma
www.youtube.com/watch?v=7fPv2SCr85s&pp=QAA%3D (5:41)

Teresa Berganza

Live in Concert (1999)
www.youtube.com/watch?v=-DNSM8Kqqn0 (1:07:49)

Singing "Una voca poco fa" ("The voice I heard just now" –referring to Lindoro) from Rossini's The Barber of Seville
www.youtube.com/watch?v=MEhxm49CVqc (8:03)

Singing "Habanera" from Bizet's Carmen
www.youtube.com/watch?v=oby-hCgZLJc (5:30)

Susanna singing in Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro
www.youtube.com/watch?v=tnVAJmVRZRc (36:21)

Stephanie Blythe

Singing in Handel's Rodelinda
www.youtube.com/watch?v=bS8RctDEdp0 (1:10)

On singing as a cross-over artist
www.youtube.com/watch?v=1NGa3sBZ4Qk (1:47)

Talking on Fear
www.youtube.com/watch?v=ethvuSgn6GE (0:48)

Singing "L'amour est un oiseau" from Bizet's Carmen
www.youtube.com/watch?v=TYLO2WVruB8 (3:05)

Behind the Scenes on singing a comedic role in Verdi's Falstaff
www.youtube.com/watch?v=RdmoeZV5cY0 (4:16)

J'nai Bridges

Singing "Oh, my heart is hung with sadness" from Mozart's Die Zauberflote
www.youtube.com/watch?v=wZ_PYBr5-FY (1:31)

Singing "Habanera" from Bizet's Carmen
www.youtube.com/watch?v=aVkZjojXZeA (3:57)

Singing "Lift Every Voice and Sing"
www.youtube.com/watch?v=IrefCth6m_U (5:48)

Grace Bumbry

Singing "Nel giardin del bello" ("Veil Song") from Verdi's Don Carlo
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qb_CIqfaWk8 (4:47)

Singing "Vissi d'arte" from Puccini's Tosca
www.youtube.com/watch?v=SqCyAZdFmSU (3:25)

Singing sleepwalking scene from Verdi's Macbeth
www.youtube.com/watch?v=AMLH4nLpF2Q (7:54)

Fiorenza Cossotto

Singing "Mon coeur s'ouvre a ta voix" from Saint-Saens's Samson et Dalila
www.youtube.com/watch?v=iKdAZJVdIBk (6:00)

Eboli singing "Nel giordin del bello" (Veil Song) from Verdi's Don Carlo
www.youtube.com/watch?v=h9RBopm5UjM (3:23)

Recalling the death of her mother, Azucena singing "Stride la vampa" ("The flames are roaring") from Verdi's Il Trovatore (still going at age 71)
www.youtube.com/watch?v=dAZ-bkPkx-g (3:26)

Amneris singing the "Judgment Scene" from Verdi's Aida
www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=mQj8cyBE02M (10:08)

Emily D'Angelo

Singing "All for the Blue" from Tesori's Grounded
www.youtube.com/watch?v=WVFbk4z4nBI (2:56)

As he admires the shade of a plane tree, Xerxes I of Persia singing "Ombra mai fu" ("Never was a shade") from Handel's Serse
www.youtube.com/watch?v=wAM1RZzx7cc (2:36)

Singing 36 top songs
www.youtube.com/playlist?app=desktop&list=OLAK5uy_m3ANsrl6g4MZps6e5pPtGgNrFsqdBkfP8

Joyce DiDonato

Cherubino singing "Voi che sapete" ("You know what love is") from Mozart's Le Nozze di Figaro
www.youtube.com/watch?v=AZ_RWdMSX4w (2:56)

Singing "Lascia ch'io pianga" ("Let me weep, my cruel fate") from Handel's Rinaldo (2 versions)
www.youtube.com/watch?v=_WN2A--Sr58 (2:24)
www.youtube.com/watch?v=AkGY2lmWzVM (4:57)

Singing "Deh" Tudi un'umile preghiera" ("Oh, Lord, here my humble voice, hear the sound of my prayer") from Donizetti's Maria Stuarda
www.metopera.org/discover/video (2:03)

Malena Ernman

(mother of activist Greta Thunberg)
Rosina singing "Una Voce poco fa" ("The voice I heard just now" –referring to Lindoro) from Rossini's The Barber of Seville
www.youtube.com/watch?v=0IohOv5bo-Y (5:03)

Elina Garanca

Singing "Vissi d'arte" from Puccini's Tosca
www.youtube.com/watch?v=TiAQRAWb2kA (4:10)

Singing "Ave Maria"
www.youtube.com/watch?v=rLZXgD5cpRk (2:43)

Singing "L'amour est un oiseau rebelle" from Bizet's Carmen
www.youtube.com/watch?v=K2snTkaD64U (4:35)

With Anna Netrebko, singing "Barcarolle" from Offenbach's The Tales of Hoffmann
www.youtube.com/watch?v=0u0M4CMq7uI (3:37)

Susan Graham

Singing selections from Bizet's Carmen
www.youtube.com/watch?v=KvFN1SdLgpo (8:07)

Living the Classical Life
www.youtube.com/watch?v=y7_kte_XFUA (41:10)

Singing Handel (Xerxes) and Mozart
www.youtube.com/watch?v=_cFZizO1hWQ (11:06)

With Placido Domingo singing "La ci darem la mano" from Mozart's Don Giovanni
www.youtube.com/watch?v=7cUT3FBjqEE (3:08)

Denyce Graves

60 Minutes Interview with Morley Safer, 1966
www.youtube.com/watch?v=WjVGtDr3qqA (13:11)

OPERA America Interview and Transcript
www.operaamerica.org/industry-resources/2022/oral-history-project/an-oral-history-with-denyce-graves/

Delilah singing "Mon Coeur s'ouvre a ta voix" from Saint-Saens's Samson et Dalila
www.youtube.com/watch?v=FR8gzaA0uU8 (6:05)

Marilyn Horne

With Joan Sutherland, Singing the "Flower Duet" from Delibes's Lakme
www.youtube.com/watch?v=nxg1zlAawoY (6:34)

With Joan Sutherland, singing "Mira o Norma" from Bellini's Norma
www.youtube.com/watch?v=sUp5dStaAaQ (3:59)

Singing the Habanera from Bizet's Carmen
www.youtube.com/watch?v=d6mGDHkq8pk (5:14)

In Recital at La Scala
https://youtu.be/BG6fAET8grk?t=340 (27:50)

Isabel Leonard

Singing "Verdi Prati" ("Green meadows, pleasant woods, you will lose your beauty") from Handel's Alcina
www.youtube.com/watch?v=r4YXUTDsKOQ (4:54)

Cherubino singing "Voi che sapete" ("You know what love is") from Mozart's Le Nozze di Figaro
www.youtube.com/watch?v=M4QfT5sJcJ0 (2:32)

Rosina singing "Una voce poco fa" ("The voice I heard just now" –referring to Lindoro) from Rossini's The Barber of Seville
www.youtube.com/watch?v=CM9H_kB1oFw (2:14)

Christa Ludwig

Cleopatra singing "V'adoro pupille" from Handel's Antony and Cleopatra
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eu7LHKHZra0 (3:48)

Lady Macbeth singing "La luce langue" ("Light diminishes") from Verdi's Macbeth
www.youtube.com/watch?v=BkjzyyClFII (7:12)

Leonore singing "Abscheulicher! Wo eilst du hin!" ("Accursed one! Where hasten'stthou!" from Beethoven's Fidelio
www.youtube.com/watch?v=M_LnyzRLJsk (7:19)

Susanne Mentzer

With Cecelia Bartoli, singing "Susanetta sei tu…Non so piu? ("I do not know what I am, what do I do?") From Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro
www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZSzjHq9vx_U (4:53)

Singing as Nicklausse/Muse in Offenbach's The Tales of Hoffmann
www.youtube.com/watch?v=d8r9JIrm6eg (5:52)

Talking with Fred Plotkin
www.youtube.com/watch?v=LjR6KTG9p2M (1:34:50)

Elena Obraztsova

Singing "Mon coeur s'ouvre a ta voix" from Saint-Saens's Samson et Dalila
www.youtube.com/watch?v=wSvH0-y5Ysw (6:03)

With Placido Domingo, singing the Judgment Scene from Verdi's Aida
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tzj8xhm8aq0 (8:54)

Anita Rachvelishvili

Singing "L'amour est un oiseau rebelle" from Bizet's Carmen
www.youtube.com/watch?v=zJE8qArKI6o (2:37)

Singing Princess Eboli from Verdi's Don Carlo
www.youtube.com/watch?v=G0YJPBfovT4 (4:44)

With Anna Netrebko, singing Aida/Amneris duet from Verdi's Aida
www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJaRLk9IFCY (8:50)
www.youtube.com/watch?v=gBl0QH0SQBY (7:25)

Regina Resnik (started as soprano and changed to mezzo)

Singing "L'amour est un oiseau rebelle" from Bizet's Carmen
www.youtube.com/watch?v=OMbmJeXoF7U (4:09)

Singing Mistress Quickly from Verdi's Falstaff (Act II, Scene 1)
www.youtube.com/watch?v=ipFMt7bPStg (6:17)

Frederica von Stade

Cherubino singing "Voi che sapete" ("You know what love is") from Mozart's The Magic of Figaro
www.youtube.com/watch?v=gA3yuwDq2H4 (3:49)

Singing "Send in the Clowns" from Sondheim's A Little Night Music
www.youtube.com/watch?v=OW2lK-Ar_2A (4:00)

With Kiri Te Kanawa, in Conversation with Petroc Trelawny (Cardiff Singers of the World) (56:34)
www.youtube.com/watch?v=BTsMTyS0yDM

Sister Helen and Mrs. DeRocher in Heggie's Dead Man Walking
www.youtube.com/watch?v=v64IIK5VThw

Dolora Zajick

Singing Azucena from Verdi's Il Trovatore
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iqxocxsn9nE (2:13)

Singing "Mon Coeur s'ouvre a ta voix" from Saint-Saens's Samson et Dalila
www.youtube.com/watch?v=YfmStYxGVwo (6:20)

Singing Amneris from Verdi's Aida
www.youtube.com/watch?v=KGJCxKRavT0 (8:23)