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Focus Features

Le Postillon de Lonjumeau

The history of opera is littered with shipwrecks which sail with great success when first launched only to sink into oblivion for one reason or another. Some are lost forever and some are re-floated only to sail out briefly before returning to dry-dock. It seems that ‘Le Postillon de Lonjumeau’ has become something of a pleasure boat which is only given the odd cruise in its home waters of France, kept afloat almost solely by its famous tenor aria of the same title. It is an aria full of verve, humour, melody requiring great vocal skill.

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Tenors & Italian Art Song

What crosses one’s mind if confronted with the terms “Italian song” and “Italian art song”? Well, titles like O sole mio and Torna a Surriento are for sure common connotations, as well as Mamma or Incantesimo. Sure, the first two are Neapolitan songs, and the latter are

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Legendary voices in song

Before the advent of discography, songs were rarely included by opera singers in their repertoire but they made exception for folkloristic songs especially in Germany, Russia and England, which were deemed suitable for concerts and refined salons.