frankmaiorana66's channel

This is a great pairing, Callas & Gobbi. What some have called the best opera recording ever made much less the best Tosca ever made was the 1953 La Scala recording. Callas & Gobbi were at their best. As if that was not enough, that Tosca had another brilliant performance, Giuseppe Di Stefano ...

@badpdx...You forgot my personal favorite...Giuseppe Di Stefano. All kidding aside, for this opera you could not go wrong with Del Monaco, Corelli, or Di Stefano. All three did a phenomenal job with the role of Canio. @Otheunit01 That was an ill advised choice of words.

This version was featured in the movie 'The Untouchables' Mario Del Monaco is singing as Robert De Niro gets the news that Sean Connery gets shot up. Del Monaco re-recorded Pagliacci in 59 or 60 so Decca could have a Stereo edition. I own a copy of the later recording.

I proudly own this recording of Pagliacci. This recording featured two of the most exciting voices of the twentieth century, Franco Corelli and Tito Gobbi. As for Pavarotti, he loved listening to other singers. His Father's favorite was Gigli and was shocked at when Pavarotti said his favorite...

I love Mark Jackson's work. He helped revitalize the Knicks in the 80's. Then Al Bianchi and John Macleod tried to screw him over. The Knicks should have kept him. Was not quick, not a great jumper, not a great shooter, not a great defender, whatever. What mark Jackson could do was play. I ...

@Reg197844 Hogan wrote in his book that in his heel days of the WWF under Fred Blassie, their main objective was to provide a large enough championship caliber opponent for Andre The Giant. Hogan may have gotten a title run later on but he was fired by Vince Sr over the whole Rocky III situation.

Frank Williams actually did win a match once. Patera was good to the jobbers. He would let them get some offensive moves in. He even sold for Charlie Brown in one bout.

Did Scorsese direct Mean Streets? I know Robert De Niro was in it. Di Stefano's renditions of 'Firenze Sogna' and 'Parlami D'Amore' were featured in Goodfellas. Di Stefano's Neopolitan and Sicilian folk songs were always brilliant.

My Father ordered from Tele-House the 'Love Italian Style' record collection back in 74 or 75. This was on the set. That was a fantastic set of music. I still have the records. I taped many of the songs and still have them.

Of all the Callas-Di Stefano recordings, the only ones I do not own are Un Ballo In Maschera and I Puritani. I have all the others in one form or another. If Callas and Di Stefano HAD recorded Aida together as opposed to Callas and Richard Tucker, I would snatch that up too. Di Stefano can sti...

Sereni was a very underrated baritone. I own the highlights recording which also features brilliant performances by Grace Bumbry(I think a young Grace Bumbry)and Franco Corelli. Both Sereni and Nillson sang quite often with Corelli. The synergy was brilliant.

I am just learning now that Cornell MacNeil had passed. He was a credit to opera. He will be missed. May his life and music be celebrated for many many years to come. I own the recordings of Pagliacci and Cavaleria Rusticana he made with Mario Del Monaco.

@jhutch The orginal vynyl with Callas, if the same one I am thinking of, Serafin was not involved. The conductor may have been Victor De Sabata. Who was the lead tenor? If the lead tenor was Carlo Bergonzi, then Georges Pretre was conducting. If the lead tenor was Giuseppe Di Stefano, Victor...

I own this recording of Cavaleria Rusticana. It was recorded in 1940 and as Pietro Mascagni was still living, he conducted this recording himself. He also gave a spoken preface before the beginning.

@tenor9216. I do not understand why this would not be a role suited for Di Stefano. I have long heard people say that if he had stayed with roles such as this, Gianni Schicci, Traviata, and other lyric roles, he could have preserved his voice and had a much longer career. Who knows. In all fa...

This card saw Pedro actually win the IC title over Ken Patera. This MSG show was held the night of John Lennon being murdered and the show actually ended moments before Lennon was shot.

@VinylToVideo. I think Bjoerling was 49 when he passed away. It also sounded like he had alot of good opera left. I think of three tenors who left us way too soon. Bjoerling, Mario Lanza, and Fritz Wunderlich. Had Di Stefano done some things even slightly differently, how much better could h...

I have heard several pieces from this performance. Pavarotti was wise to wait until his early 60's to tackle this role. It is one of the most difficult in Italian opera, along with Otello, La Forza Del Destino, and I Vespri Siciliani. This was a job well done. However when you say Andrea Chen...

I have tried singing this through a couple of times now. The pace the conductor sets is still a bit confusing.

It does not indicate it here but this is from the Callas/Di Stefano/Gobbi Tosca from La Scala 1953. Some consider this the greatest opera recording ever made. All three artists were at the height of their powers. I have never hearf Keipura's rendition. Di Stefano did a phenomenal job in this ...

To give you an idea of how important Franco Corelli and Birgit Nilsson were to the opera world. I know this performance was NOT at the Met. However, the Met staged Turandot for the first time after a lengthy absence in 1961 for they finally had the two principals to do it justice, Birgit Nillso...

I love all of Domingo's work. He is so versatile. My problem is I could for the longest time not point to a role and he would be the first tenor that came to mind. You say Andrea Chenier, the first tenor that comes to mind is Franco Corelli. You say Otello, I think Mario Del Monaco. But Domi...

I am not sure but I think this is someone I knew during my days at Powerhouse Gym. I have a couple of his albums on cassette. If it is who I think it is, I love the 'Guilty As Charged' tape.

Sugar used to give the 76ers fits. Many of the highlights were from him vs Philly in the 84 playoffs when New Jersey upset Philadelphia. I have heard people say Isiah Thomas talk about how Sugar gave him fits.

This is amazing. Corelli sounds so much different in speaking than he does in singing. I would have loved to have been able to show this to my Father when he was still living. Corelli was my Dad's favorite tenor.

Let us not forget Tito Gobbi as Sharpless

I own highlights recording of Tosca with Renata Tebaldi, Mario Del Monaco, and George London. @stevevandien the Te Deum you first heard may be from the recording I have. London is magnificent. That is a baritone!!

This is very slow paced compared to other recordings of this I have heard. I have heard great things about Vickers and his Otello and he does not disappoint. Neither does Gobbi. That being said, my favorite Otello will always be Mario Del Monaco. My personal favorite tenor has and always will...

This is from the Paris recording of Tosca with Callas/Bergonzi/Gobbi. This aria is spectacular. Callas had an even better recording of Tosca some eleven years earlier. She is considerably better in the La Scala Tosca with Gobbi and Di Stefano.

Highlights of this particular recording of La Boheme were featured in the movie Moonstruck with Nicholas Cage and Cher. I own this highlights recording. Bergonzi was a fine tenor. I have heard this aria from many of the great tenors. Bergonzi has a very pleasant sounding voice.

I read somewhere Richard Tucker felt that this particular role was as someone else commented, the beginning of the end for Di Stefano. I have listened to some performances Di Stefano had in the late 60's and even early 70's where Di Stefano sounded really good.

God may have said "Only once will there be a voice like this." But in 1921 God took away one great voice in Enrico Caruso. Then he gave us three great voices back, Mario Lanza, Franco Corelli, and Giuseppe Di Stefano.

Legend has it that this great Otello of Vinay later sang Iago to the great Otello of Mario Del Monaco. If schedules had been a bit different, you would have had a future Otello, Placido Domingo, singing Cassio. Domingo sang secondary tenor roles in the beginning of his career. He sang Incredib...

I have heard much about Martinelli, but had not heard him sing much. He had an inpressive voice. I heard things about a Vickers performance of Otello at the Met that was breathtaking and an outstanding overall performance. For me, when I hear Otello, the first tenor that comes to mind is Mario...

Love the Knicks uniforms. Nice to see Sly Williams play well. I saw him at a basketball camp the summer of 1980. We had a really nice conversation. I really enjoyed talking to him. I know he had some problems later in life. I hope he is doing ok.

People forget that Bernard actually re-injured the knee jogging during his rehab. It cost him several weeks. What disappoints me about this particular game is even though it was an emotional night. Milwaukee beat the Knicks by almost 40.

Yogi. LMAO.

This was my favorite unplugged moment ever when Peter and Ace were introduced. It was Eric Singer's idea that got the original four back together. I understand he is still with the band.

Ed Leslie had several personnas before he became Brutus Beefcake. Remember, this was 5 yrs before Brutus Beefcake. The wig, he must have found a way to work with it. I think in one area he was billed as Dizzy Hogan.

I was home with the flu when this game was played. I love the Knick uniforms. I loved this Knick team. If they kept this team together they could have been a pain in the neck. But they traded Ray Williams and I think it was detrimental to both Ray Williams career and Micheal Ray Richardsons.

Mario's voice is magnificent in this. I also love the arrangement with the gondolier instrument towards the end.

@MarionCap I read somewhere mario was not confident enough of his endurance vocally to make it through an entire opera. The one full opera he sang was Madama Butterfly. The lead tenor does not sing in the second act at all. Ultimately, we will never know what heights he could have rose to bec...

The key was lowered a half a step. It sounds more like Domingo as you go along. At the conservatory he studied at, he passed examinations as a pianist, as a conductor, and sang the baritone prologue aria from Pagliacci. Not uncommon. Bergonzi started as a baritone. Mario Del Monaco sang the ...

This production would be the last time Callas and Di Stefano would sing together for close to fifteen years. Shortly after this Callas had her collapse at the 58 Rome Opera production of Norma. What many consider Callas's most famous role could have been considered the role that led to her down...

The two great Cheniers were Del Monaco and Franco Corelli. I own highlight recodings of both Cheniers. I prefer the Del Monaco set for the larger sounding orchestra and the Gerard of Ettore Bastianini who was phenomenal. That being said, when you mention Chenier, the frst tenor that comes to m...

If they showed the lyrics I think I could sing this. I have found you have to listen to these at least a couple times through before attempting to sing them.

I proudly own a copy of this album. A great tenor. Caruso was great too. Again, we will probably never know how great Mario could have been as he was taken from us way too soon. Come to think of it, so was Caruso. Mario was 38 when he died Caruso was 48.

This may be Di Stefano at his best. Pippo was always at home with Neopolitan songs. Even later during his 'decline' he coulod always do Neopolitan songs and they would come out brilliantly