Amazing pieces of classical music - 4

When I am Laid in Earth from Purcell's Dido & Aeneas with Janet Baker as Dido was recorded in 1962. She herself was surprised when Anthony Lewis asked her to sing the role the year before. However, it remains a performance that demonstrates that music from even the sixties can easily stand the test of time. The strange thing is that, even in her late twenties, she simply knocked the ball out of the stadium with the lament in Act III. Her 1974 Mahler's Kindertotenlieder with Leonard Bernstein in London also featured such a moment

[media=https://youtu.be/aUGoEwg34v4]

Top | New | Old

Strictsir · 26-30, M

I sang with Dame Janet as a boy in a production of Massenet's "Werther." We were told not to talk to or bother her, but I remember her tone, and she was also a convincing actress on stage and moved me, even in rehearsals. I confess I didn't have a clue who she was at that age!! 😁

val70 · 51-55

@Strictsir That's a great experience to cherish nevertheless

Strictsir · 26-30, M

@val70 Indeed. We were just informed that she was a famous pro, and that we weren't to bother her. My late father was a professional violinist, so he knew who she was, obviously, but he didn't really play any opera at home so I learnt alot of it from direct association through my school's theatre connection. Do you know the main aria from Werther, "Pourquoi Me Reveiller?(Why wake/revive me?) He's just shot himself, so hey! 😁

Vandhana6633 · 36-40, F

Good choice.

Add a comment...