The magnificent world of vocal artistry: a special feature on popular vocal works from opera to art songs.

Amarilli, my fair oneGiulio Caccini

Amarilli mia bella

Amarilli, my beautiful one, composed by Caccini to a poem by Giovanni Battista Guarini, is sung by Philippe Jaroussky, a leading contemporary French countertenor, whose beautiful voice allows one to appreciate the piece’s charm all the more deeply.

From the opera La Traviata: ‘Is that the man? ~ From flower to flower’Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi

Verdi: La Traviata – “Is that the one? / Sempre libera” Maria Callas

Maria Callas, often hailed as the greatest soprano of the 20th century, captivated audiences not only with her vocal technique but also with her acting and psychological insight.

Even decades after her death, she remains unforgettable.

In La Traviata, Maria Callas exquisitely conveys the heroine Violetta’s emotional turmoil as she wavers between accepting her life as a courtesan and embracing love.

Starlit NightClaude Debussy

Debussy – Nuit d’étoiles (Natalie Dessay)

A soprano singer from France, praised as one of the greatest of our time.

Her gentle yet radiant voice is captivating, but she has been plagued by vocal cord problems that have forced her to undergo surgery multiple times.

She is now active across a broader range of genres beyond classical music.

In this piece, you can fully enjoy Dessay’s characteristically light, soaring high notes.

SerenadeFranz Peter Schubert

Schubert: Ständchen Serenade (Schubert)

This is Schubert’s Serenade, performed with pianist/conductor Hiroaki Yamada at the piano and alto singer Akiko Ogawa on vocals.

As it happens, the two are actually married.

A serenade traditionally means performing beneath a lover’s window, and this piece is a romantic song in which one confesses love under the moonlight.

Waltz “Voices of Spring” with solo voiceJohann Strauss II

Strauss – Kathleen Battle – Frühlingsstimmen – Voices of Spring

The brilliantly festive and joy-filled piece Frühlingsstimmen (Voices of Spring) is a world-famous vocal waltz composed by Johann Strauss II, inspired when his close friend, the great pianist Franz Liszt, was playing an improvised piano duet with the hostess at a party in Budapest, Hungary.

Casta Diva from the opera NormaVincenzo Salvatore Carmelo Francesco Bellini

Norma – Casta diva (Sonya Yoncheva, The Royal Opera)

Bulgarian soprano Sonya Yoncheva, who drew the opera world’s attention by winning the Operalia competition in 2010 and soared to the top globally in both popularity and skill after her great success in La sonnambula at the Paris Opera in 2013, delivers a magnificent performance of Casta Diva, the famous aria from Bellini’s opera Norma, a piece considered one of the most challenging for sopranos.

Motet “Rejoice, be glad, O blessed souls,” HallelujahWolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Julia Lezhneva, Il Giardino Armonico, Giovanni Antonini – Alleluia

The third movement “Alleluia” from the motet Exsultate, jubilate (“Rejoice, be glad, O blessed soul”), composed by Mozart in 1773, is a celebrated vocal piece whose bright, pure character evokes angels dancing and playing in the clear blue sky.

Although originally written for a castrato, it is now performed as an important repertoire piece by female lyric sopranos capable of producing high tessitura.