The AVIDLY READS OPERA Playlist
To enhance your reading of Avidly Reads Opera, I’ve prepared a chapter-by-chapter playlist with chapter page numbers. Different but similar playlist versions are available here:
YouTube and Spotify
The playlists vary because of licensing and availability; I’ve included the full listing so you can listen on different platforms. Each playlist is only provisional: in the book I’ve sometimes referred to specific performances that aren’t recorded for these formats; sometimes I’ve made general references and just chosen a favorite singer (Leontyne, Kathleen). Sometimes I chose a crackly historical performance; sometimes an amateur one. These are not definitive, final playlists, but prompts and provocations to get us listening and talking. Please feel free to savor, share, and spawn your own lists!
“/” indicates variance: for example, (Youtube performer / Spotify performer). Thanks for reading and listening!
ACT I: HOPE
Scene One: Lovely Dreams (p. 1)
- “Che gelida manina,” LA BOHÈME, Giacomo Puccini (Richard Tucker; Anna Moffo / Dorothy Kirsten)
- “O Mimi tu piu non torni,” LA BOHÈME (Chaz’men Williams-Ali and Jonathan Christopher)
- “Oh! Se una volta sola,” LA SONNAMBULA, Vincenzo Bellini (Kathleen Battle)
- “Pilgrims’ Chorus,” TANNHÄUSER, Richard Wagner
- “Vecchia zimarra senti,” LA BOHÈME (Ao Li / Cesare Siepi)
- “Donde lieta uscì,” LA BOHÈME (Angel Blue / Renata Tebaldi)
Scene Two: “Hell was established here” (p. 7)
- BREATHING FREE/ FIDELIO, Ludwig van Beethoven, Heartbeat Opera
- “Abscheulicher! Wo eilst du hin?” FIDELIO (Jessye Norman)
- “Gott! Welch Dunkel hier!” FIDELIO (Jon Vickers)
- X, THE LIFE AND TIMES OF MALCOLM X, Anthony Davis and Thulani Davis
- “Lovely Dark and Lonely One,” Harry T. Burleigh, Langston Hughes (Regina McConnell)
- “Song to the Dark Virgin,” Florence Price, Langston Hughes (Darryl Taylor)
- “O welche Lust (Prisoners’ Chorus),” FIDELIO
Scene Three: Beautiful Ideals (p. 12)
- “Bread and Roses,” (Mimi Fariña)
- “Firenze e come un albero fiorito,” GIANNI SCHICCHI, Puccini (Giuseppe di Stefano)
- “E lucevan le stelle,” TOSCA, Puccini (di Stefano)
- “C’é Mimì,” LA BOHÈME (Renata Tebaldi / Anna Moffo)
- “Dünkt dich das?” TRISTAN UND ISOLDE, Wagner (Lauritz Melchior / Siegfried Jerusalem)
- “Vissi d’arte,” TOSCA (Leontyne Price)
- “Aranci, datteri!” LA BOHÈME
ACT II: “WILLKOMMEN, BIENVENUE, WELCOME!”
Scene One: “To the makers of music—all worlds, all times” (p. 18)
- “Willkommen,” CABARET, John Kander, Fred Ebb, Joe Eberoff (Joel Grey and Alan Cumming)
- Voyager Golden Record: Greetings, Whale Song
- “Der Hölle Rach,” THE MAGIC FLUTE, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (Edda Moser)
- “Song of Marriage” (anonymous performer, Huancavelica, Peru)
- “Stream,” trad. (Guan Pinghu)
- “Dark Was the Night, Cold Was the Ground,” Willie Johnson
- The Yébîchai (Night Way). (Chanted by Ambrose Roan Horse, Chester Roan, Tom Roan)
- “Izlel je Delyo Hajdutin,” trad. (Valya Balkanska)
- “We Will Rock You,” Queen
- “Voi che sapete,” THE MARRIAGE OF FIGARO, Mozart (Frederica von Stade)
- “Johnny B. Goode,” Chuck Berry
- “Jaat kahan ho akeli, gori,” Kesarbai Kerkar
Scene Two: “Greetings, Earthlings. We have now taken over your radiooooo” (p. 25)
- “Hit ‘Em High,” B-Real, Coolio, Method Man, LL Cool J, Busta Rhymes
- “XO,” Beyoncé Knowles, Ryan Tedder, Terius Nash
- “All Night,” Beyoncé Knowles, Diplo, Henry Allen, Timothy Thomas, Theron Thomas, Ilsey Juber, Akil King, Jaramye Daniels
- “Helikopter-Streichquartett,” LICHT, Karlheinz Stockhausen
- Impempe Yomlingo/THE MAGIC FLUTE, Isango Ensemble/Mozart
- TEA, A MIRROR OF SOUL / “Eight Colors for String Quartet: Peking Opera,” Tan Dun
- THE FLOWER OF SHEMBE / “Amu,” Neo Muyanga
- PRINCESS MAGOGO KADINUZULU / “The Coming of Shaka Was Foretold,” USHAKA KA SENZANGAKHONA, James Steven Mzilikazi Khumalo
- “Flesh Rebels” and THE RED DETACHMENT OF WOMEN (Du Mingxin, Wu Zuqiang, Wang Yanqiao, Shi Wanchun and Dai Hongcheng), featured in NIXON IN CHINA, John Adams, Alice Goodman
- “Ruggier de danni asprissimi,” LA LIBERAZIONE DI RUGGIERO DALLÍSOLA D’ALCINA, Francesca Caccini
- LEYLI AND MAJNUN, Uzeyir and Jeyhun Hajibeyov
- “Treemonisha’s Bringing Up,” TREEMONISHA, Scott Joplin (Betty Allen, Carmen Balthrop)
- THE CENTRAL PARK FIVE, Anthony Davis
- “Ride of the Valkyries,” DIE WALKÜRE, Wagner (Henriette Gottlieb)
- ALMA, Claudio Santoro (Teatro Amazonas)
- FIRE SHUT UP IN MY BONES, Terence Blanchard, Kasi Lemmons
- “Si tu t’appelles Amour,” L’AMOUR DE LOIN, Kaija Saariaho (Susanna Phillips / Ekaterina Lekhina)
- “Iolanthe’s Aria,” DER WALD, Ethel M. Smyth (Becka Lundy) / “Voices Sing of Immortality,” THE PRISON
- “Night Chorus,” THE DEATH OF KLINGHOFFER, John Adams, Alice Goodman
- “The Return” / “Perpetual Dance,” Donia Jarrar
- “Che mi frena in tal momento (Sextet),” LUCIA DI LAMMERMOOR, Gaetano Donizetti (Maria Callas)
Scene Three: How to Make an Opera Fan (p. 31)
- “Soave sia il vento,” COSÌ FAN TUTTE, Mozart (Ezio Flagello, Leontyne Price, Tatiana Troyanos)
- “Avec la garde montante,” CARMEN, Georges Bizet
- “Libiamo ne’ lieti calici (Brindisi),” LA TRAVIATA, Giuseppe Verdi
- “Sous le dôme épais (Flower Duet),” LAKMÉ, Léo Delibes (Pretty Yende and Sibongile Khumalo)
- “Well, what is it, Master-at-Arms?” BILLY BUDD, Benjamin Britten
- “Most Wanted Song” and “Most Unwanted Song,” Komar & Melamid, Dave Soldier (Dina Emerson)
- “Ho Ro My Nut-Brown Maiden,” trad.
Scene Four: Newbie (p. 35)
- “Stars and Stripes Forever,” John Philip Sousa (Vladimir Horowitz)
- “Church in the Wildwood,” William S. Pitts (The Carter Sisters / The Carter Family)
- “The Old Rugged Cross,” George Bennard (Dolly Parton / Ella Fitzgerald)
- “Little Earthquakes,” Tori Amos
- “On My Own,” LES MISÈRABLES, Claude-Michel Schönberg, Alain Boublil (Lea Salonga)
- “Love Is All Around,” Sonny Curtis (Hüsker Dü)
- Prelude, TRISTAN UND ISOLDE (Leonard Bernstein)
- “Mild und leise (Liebestod),” TRISTAN UND ISOLDE (Nina Stemme)
- “Mild und leise (Liebestod),” TRISTAN UND ISOLDE (Jessye Norman)
- “I love two things,” MOONSTRUCK
- “Il dolce suono (Mad Scene),” LUCIA DI LAMMERMOOR (Natalie Dessay)
ACT III: LOSING OUR HEADS
Scene One: Wishbone Divas and Record Snobs (41)
- “Votre toast, je peux vous le rendre (Toreador Song),” CARMEN (Simon Estes)
- “Sempre libera,” LA TRAVIATA (Leontyne Price)
- “Perú, Real and Unreal,” BEL CANTO, Jimmy López and Nilo Cruz
Scene Two: Songs to the Moon (47)
- “Vesti la giubba,” PAGLIACCI, Ruggero Leoncavallo (Franco Corelli)
- “Look Down at the Earth,” NIXON IN CHINA (Janis Kelly / Carolann Page)
- “Svanir le voci,” NORMA, Bellini (Mario Del Monaco / Russell Thomas and Jesse Donner)
- “La donna è mobile,” RIGOLETTO, Verdi
- “Non so più cosa son,” THE MARRIAGE OF FIGARO (Isabel Leonard / Frederica von Stade)
- “Měsíčku na nebi hlubokém (Song to the Moon),” RUSALKA, Antonín Dvořák (Lucia Popp)
- “Kuda, kuda vï udalilis (Lensky’s aria),” EUGENE ONEGIN, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (Sergei Lemeshev)
- “Stride la vampa,” IL TROVATORE, Verdi (Marilyn Horne)
- “Brünnhilde’s Immolation,” GÖTTERDÄMMERUNG, Wagner (Birgit Nilsson)
- “Overture,” GUILLAUME TELL, Gioachino Rossini
Scene Three: Opera, the Final Frontier (53)
- “Diva Plavalaguna Song,” THE FIFTH ELEMENT, Éric Serra (Inva Mula)
- Banner’s chill-out music, “Casta Diva,” NORMA (Maria Callas)
- BLUEBEARD’S CASTLE, Béla Bartók
- ’u’ (Eef van Breen, Kees Ligtelijn, Marc Okrand, Floris Schönfeld)
- “Si, ritrovarla io guiro,” LA CENERENTOLA, Rossini (Javier Camarena)
INTERMISSION: THE WORLD’S GREATEST WORK OF OPERA FAN ART (59)
- Prelude, PARSIFAL, Wagner
- Prelude, LOHENGRIN, Wagner
- “Willkommen, ungetreuer Mann!” TANNHÄUSER, Wagner
- “Mein Lieber Schwan!” LOHENGRIN (Issachah Savage / Jonas Kaufmann)
- The Oath, LES HUGUENOTS, Giacomo Meyerbeer
- “Zur Burg führt die Brücke,” DAS RHEINGOLD, Wagner
- “O du mein holder Abendstern (Song to the Evening Star),” TANNHÄUSER (Peter Mattei)
- LUDWIG, Luchino Visconti (Helmut Berger)
ACT IV: LET NO ONE SLEEP
Scene One: The National Mall (78)
- Marian Anderson, Live at the Lincoln Memorial:
“America (My Country, ‘Tis of Thee)”
“Ave Maria,” Franz Schubert
“O mio Fernando!” LA FAVORITE, Donizetti
“Gospel Train” (arr. Henry Burleigh)
“Trampin’” (arr. Edward Boatner)
“My Soul’s Been Anchored in the Lord” (arr. Florence Price) - “Ond’è cotanto ardire” EURIDICE, Jacopo Peri (Paul Gerimon)
- Symphonic movements from THE TIGERS, Havergal Brian
Scene Two: The Supreme Court (82)
- “You Are Searching in Vain for a Bright-Line Solution,” SCALIA/GINSBURG, Derrick Wang, Ellen Wieser
- APPOMATTOX, Philip Glass, Christopher Hampton
- “Marching Song of the First Arkansas/Sojourner’s Battle Hymn” (Sweet Honey in the Rock / Bill MacAdoo and Pete Seeger)
- BLUE, Tazewell Thompson, Jeanine Tesori (Briana Hunter)
Scene Three: The White House (89)
- “We Are the Champions,” Queen
- “Barcelona,” Freddie Mercury, Montserrat Caballé
- “Morrò ma prima in grazia,” UN BALLO IN MASCHERA, Verdi (Montserrat Caballé)
- “Nessun Dorma,” TURANDOT, Puccini (Luciano Pavarotti)
- “Nessun Dorma” (Aretha Franklin)
Scene Four: The Capitol (93)
- “In questa reggia,” TURANDOT (Grace Bumbry / Joan Sutherland)
- BUTTERFLY, Heartbeat Opera (Banlingyu Ban)
- ¡FIGARO! (90210), Mozart, Vic Guerrerio
- THE MAGIC FLUTE, Glimmerglass
- TRIBUTE TO CONGRESSMAN JOHN LEWIS, Harlem Opera Theater
- “Evening Song,” SATYAGRAHA, Philip Glass, Constance DeJong (Douglas Perry / Christopher Keene)
ACT V: PILGRIMAGE (101)
- “Nun sag’! Nichts weißt du, was ich dich frage,” PARSIFAL (Kurt Moll, Plácido Domingo, Jessye Norman, James Levine…. “Who is good?!?!”)
- “Inbrunst im Herzen,” TANNHÄUSER (Jonas Kaufmann)
- “Weiche, Wotan” DAS RHEINGOLD (Ottilie Metzger-Lattermann, Theodor Lattermann)
- Overture, TANNHÄUSER
- “Weisst du, was du sahst?” PARSIFAL
EPILOGUE: TRANSFORMATION (121)
- “Dove sono,” THE MARRIAGE OF FIGARO (Barbara Hendricks)
- “Da geht er hin,” DER ROSENKAVALIER (Kiri Te Kanawa)
- Vorspiel, “Weia! Waga! Woge du welle!” DAS RHEINGOLD
- “Nein! Lasst ihn unenthüllt,” PARSIFAL (Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau)
- “Wie dünkt mich doch die Aue heut so schön, PARSIFAL (Max Lorenz)
- “Verwandlungsmusik (Transformation Music),” PARSIFAL
- “Che Gelida Manina,” LA BOHÈME
YouTube and Spotify
(Photo: that time that LAST NIGHT AT THE MET photographed me in my “All About Eve” frock.)