Recorded on October 6, 2024
Sopranos Nicole Magallón and Sara Beth Pearson; mezzo-soprano Anna Viemeister;
tenor Paolo Buffagni; baritone Eliam Ramos; flutist Richard Paratley; and pianist Catherine Miller.
Francine Garber-Cohen, Concert Producer
Quando m’en vo - La Bohème
Nicole Magallón, soprano
On Christmas Eve in a Parisian café, the coquette Musetta arrives with her elderly admirer. She sees her former lover, Marcello, who is ignoring her. In order to gain his attention, she causes a commotion, then boasts about how men find her irresistibly attractive.
Or vi dirò - La Bohème
Eliam Ramos, baritone
Schaunard, a musician, arrives at his Parisian garret laden with provisions and money, and recounts to his roommates how an English lord hired him to play until his parrot died. Schaunard played for three days, then hurried things along by poisoning the bird. He stops his friends from devouring the food, which should be saved for the dark days. It is Christmas Eve, and they will dine in the Latin Quarter.
Flower Duet - Madama Butterfly
Sarah Beth Pearson, soprano; Anna Viemeister, mezzo-soprano
Cio-Sio-San, Japanese wife of an American naval officer, has been waiting for three years for the return of her husband to Japan. At last his ship has been sighted in the harbor. She and her servant Suzuki decorate her home with flowers from the garden for his arrival.
O Mimì, tu più non torni - La Bohème
Paolo Buffagni, tenor; Eliam Ramos, baritone
Marcello and Rodolfo, trying to hide their feelings from one another, sing of their continuing love for Musetta and Mimì, their former lovers.
Principessa’s aria - Suor Angelica
Anna Viemiester, mezzo-soprano
The Princess, who is the guardian for her nieces, Angelica and her sister Anna Viola, demands that Angelica transfer her inheritance to Anna, who is about to be married, as atonement for having a child out of wedlock.
Ch’ella mi creda - La Fanciulla del West
Paolo Buffagni
Dick Johnson has been arrested for murder and robbery and is facing a lynch mob. He begs the sheriff and the others not to tell Minnie, the flower of his life, about his fate; he wants her to believe that he is free, on a new road to redemption, and will never return.
Act III Quartet - La Bohème
Ensemble
Mimì and Rodolfo agree to part. She bids him goodbye, without anger, and asks him to return her little gold ring and her prayerbook. She tells him to keep her bonnet as a remembrance of their love. They sadly recall the sweet moments they will no longer share, but they will also say goodbye to quarrels and jealousy. As Marcello and Musetta’s spat spills out of the tavern, Rodolfo and Mimì decide to remain together until the spring.
Sola, perduta, abbandonata - Manon Lescaut
Sara Beth Pearson, soprano
As Des Grieux and Manon trudge through the barren landscape, exhausted, Manon urges him to explore the area for shelter. When he leaves, she is overwhelmed with despair, blaming herself and her past for their predicament. She feels alone, lost, and abandoned, and she does not want to die.
Humming Chorus - Madama Butterfly
Richard Paratley, flutist
Chi il bel sogno di Doretta - La Rondine
Nicole Magallón, soprano
At a party, the courtesan Magda sings a song of Doretta’s dream, when a student kissed Doretta and revealed love’s ardent passion to her.
O don fatale - Don Carlos - Verdi
Anna Viemeister, mezzo-soprano
Princess Eboli curses the terrible gift of beauty that heaven gave her, making her vain and proud, and causing her to inform the King about Carlos’s affair with the Queen as revenge for Carlos having rejected her. She vows to save Carlos from execution.
Un bel dì - Madama Butterfly
Sara Beth Pearson, soprano
Cio-Cio-San is adamant that her American husband he will return to her. She tells her skeptical servant, Suzuki, that one lovely day, they will see his ship come into the harbor, and she imagines their loving reunion.
Nessun dorma - Turandot
Paolo Buffagni, tenor
After solving three riddles entitling him to marry Turandot, the Unknown Prince has challenged her that if she manages to find out his name before dawn, he will agree to be executed. She has ordered that no one may sleep until she has the answer. But the confident Prince already looks forward to victory.
O mio babbino caro - Gianni Schicchi
Nicole Magallón, soprano
Lauretta begs her father Gianni Schicchi for permission to marry Rinuccio, and threatens to jump off the Ponte Vecchio into the Arno River if he doesn’t give it.
Vecchia zimarra - La Bohème
Eliam Ramos, baritone
In order to buy medicine for Mimì, who is gravely ill, Colline decides to pawn his faithful old overcoat, which has held philosophy and poetry books in its pockets, and has never bowed before the rich and powerful.
Sole e Amore
Anna Viemeister, mezzo-soprano
In this early song by Puccini (later incorporated into Act III of La Bohème), the Sun urges a young woman to show herself because she is beautiful, and Love urges her to think of her lover.
Mario, Mario, Mario - Tosca
Sara Beth Pearson, soprano; Paolo Buffagni, tenor
Mario, an artist, is painting a portrait of Mary Magdalene in a church. His model is an unknown blue-eyed woman who has been praying there. Mario’s lover, Tosca, is heard calling to him. He lets her in, and she questions his delay in answering. She reminds him of their tryst for that night. Recognizing the woman in the painting, she explodes with jealousy, but Mario reassures her of his love. As she leaves, she asks him to darken the eyes in the painting to match her own dark eyes.