The Nation's Favourite Aria - No it's not Nessun Dorma

The BBC radio and TV have designated June the month of opera and we are being showered with goodies, Pappano on BBC4 with his history of Italian opera, full of the usual shots of presenter wandering around Italian streets, with a title appearing on the screen, Milan, Bologna, Venice (the water gives his one away), and looking at the ceilings of various wonderful churches/opera houses with his mouth open. Acutely irritating and if they cut these out I reckon the producers would have another five or six minutes to use more beneficially.  BUT, I must not moan, chances of seeing and hearing opera on the Beeb are very rare and don't come round very often, so I must make the most of it.  And I am.

Radio 3 have gone down the Classic FM route (they now play single movements from symphonies and concertos which they scorned to do before but now do) and have decided to find out the Nation's Favourite Aria and have asked all Radio 3 listeners to send in their nominations.  Of course, Nessun Dorma has been nominated but to my delight features nowhere on the ten top favourites.  I love this aria, make no mistake, but after the Three Tenors and Pav rather high jacking it and turning it into the equivalent of a football anthem, I had rather tired of hearing it played ad nauseam.

The ten that made the final cut were announced this morning and here they are:

• Casta Diva from Norma by Bellini
• Che faro senza Euryice from Orfeo by Gluck
• Der Holle Rache from The Magic Flute by Mozart
• Dove Sono from The Marriage of Figaro by Mozart
• E Lucevan le stelle from Tosca by Puccini
• Gluck, das mir verblieb from Die Tote Stadt by Korngold
• Liebestod from Tristan and Isolde by Wagner
• Mon coeur s'ouvre a ta voix from Samson and Delilah by Saint Saens
• Ruhe sanft, mein holdes Leben from Zaide by Mozart
• Song to the Moon from Rusalka by Dvorak
• When I am laid in earth from Dido and Aeneas by Purcell

The more eagle eyed of you will have noted there are, in fact, eleven arias. This is because of a tie between two choices.  My thoughts on this list are that it certainly is a mixture and a surprise: ok three by Mozart, not unexpected, one by Korngold which is and what really amazes me is not a single entry by Verdi.  I could reel off dozens I would like to see here but Radio 3 listeners are an eclectic bunch judging by the above.

My choice of one of my favourite arias did not make it.  Un di all'azzuro spazio from Act one of Andre Chenier - a simply stunning show stopper and I have a very old video, now well worn, with Jose Carreras when he was young and beautiful, singing this but I was obviously a lone voice.

We are now asked to choose the Aria of Arias out of these ten and out of the limited choice on offer I have no hesitation in voting for my favourite. See if you can guess which one it is...

Comments

[asperia]

exactly ! Jose Carreras was incredible Andrea, and it is a beautiful aria:)

[Thomas at My Porch]

Elaine: Do you think there is a single soprano(living or dead) who could do justice to all of the female arias? Is there one you would like to hear try?

[Elaine Simpson-Long]

I agree Bruessel that it is a very odd list. Not what I was expecting at all but it certainly makes a change from the Usual Suspects

[bruessel]

What a very strange list. Do you think there is a Korngold fan club that was voting en masse?

[EB]

As far as I'm concerned Corelli still owns E Lucevan le Stelle. Spectacular!

[Sheila Beaumont]

I love "Casta Diva" and "Che faro senza Eurydice," also the three Mozart arias on the list. But I would have included a different Mozart aria, Cherubino's "Voi che sapete" from The Marriage of Figaro. And Rossini's "Una voce poco fa" and "Nacqui all'affanno."

[SLK in SF]

Elaine - Yeah, no Verdi is just weird! I'd probably pick "Sempre libera" from Traviata. Or maybe Azucena's aria from Trovatore. (I saw Tatiana Troyanos in that role years ago here at the SF Opera. "Wonderful" doesn't begin to describe it!)

And now that I think about it, there's no Handel either. What's wrong with you Brits, anyway? ;-) ("Ombra mai fù" for instance, or at least "Where'er you walk" — though I suppose it's arguable whether Semele is an opera or an oratorio.)

[Sharon Mail]

I have to admit to not being familiar with most of these, but Casta Diva is a definite top of the list for me too.

[Elaine Simpson-Long]

Oooh Virginia you know me well....

Scott - still stunned at no Verdi, not even La Donna e Mobile

[SLK in SF]

I won't presume to guess what your choice is :-) I do find it interesting that the first four arias you list are the four I like best — though I'm surprised that 'Dove sono' (much as I love it) made the list over certain other Mozart gems that I would think were more well-known... but there it is.

(Here in the USA I would guess that 'E lucevan le stelle' would end up the winner, thanks to Pavarotti and Domingo. And I doubt that Purcell would make the list at all — to America's shame!)

-Scott

[Virginia]

Liebestod?