Having wandered into this zone, I may as well answer the 3 or 4 NRODT

readers who e-mailed to ask me what my favorite opera aria is. This is one

of those questions I’d answer differently at a different time, or in a

different mood: but the other day I heard a recording of the young

Pavarotti singing “A te o cara” from Bellini’s opera I puritani, and

haven’t been able to get it out of my head since. I know, bel canto isn’t

everybody’s cup of cappuchino, but it does it for me. Warning: This aria

contains a sensational high note–put away your glassware somewhere safely

out of range. A lot of singers shy at that note–I saw Gregory Kunde, a

fine Bellinian, do just that at a Carnegie Hall concert performance 5-6 yrs

ago. Others attack it but are defeated: Justin Lavender (imagine going

through life with a name like that!) on the otherwise wonderful

Nightingale CD set, for example–though Edita Gruberova’s “Son vergin

vezzosa” is more than sufficient compensation. Pavarotti makes it sound

effortless. Say what you like, he is a truly great singer.