the best wake-up song

the last couple of weeks have been...carmen-crazy -- on the radio, live from the met -- sunday, in concert, here in cleveland, with a fantastic mezzo, audrey babcock -- on saturday, pittsburgh starts its run of four shows, with rinat shaham, in the lead

well, i've been wanting to get the gypsy song to come on, as my alarm -- on the computer, i-phone, cd/radio player -- i'll have to figure out how to do it

here it is, from verona, where they put on a great show, with marina domashenko -- she's from siberia -- kemorovo -- and, i have to include this name, she studied opera singing in the yekaterinburg conservatory

what a show

what a show they put on in verona -- spectacular -- a...major...spectacle,...in the full sense of the word

two casta divas: radvanovsky & zanettin

i just found this rendition of 'casta diva'...by sondra radvanovsky -- i was preparing an e-mail to my opera 'list,' in which i wrote about my recent trip, and a production of 'norma' in which she starred -- in spain -- i was in barcelona, and my taxi driver told me that this production was happening, an hour outside the city -- it would take place (in peralada), two weeks after i left the city -- i love the conductor, here, leading the applause

i then saw this version -- spine tingling -- monica zanettin -- and this is a huge...outdoor arena

the amazing hui he

how often does this happen

i hear -- understand -- that it used to happen, all the time -- in 'the old days' -- i wonder when...it started...to wane -- and, then,...stopped