...And now, for something completely different:

[TruHart1]

Here is the final encore, Dein ist mein ganzes Herz, (You Are My Heart's Delight) from a concert in Baden Baden (in SW Germany) which took place in July of 2016, with Anja Harteros, soprano, Jonas Kaufmann, tenor, Ekaterina Gubanova, mezzo-soprano, Bryn Terfel, bass-baritone, and Marco Armiliato conducting:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cL0vCxmykh8

 

This song, by the great German operetta composer Franz Lehar, is very popular and often sung as an encore at vocalists' concerts, but hardly ever as a quartet such as this!

 

TruHart1

[+ Charlie]

What makes the quartet so funny is that the aria, from Lehar's operetta "Das Land des Laechelns" (Land of Smiles) is a love song by the tenor hero in which he swears that he is true only to the heroine. (The literal translation is "My entire heart is yours.")

[TruHart1]

What makes the quartet so funny is that the aria, from Lehar's operetta "Das Land des Laechelns" (Land of Smiles) is a love song by the tenor hero in which he swears that he is true only to the heroine. (The literal translation is "My entire heart is yours.")

Well, opera singers cutting up is not everyone's cup of tea. Certainly the mainly German-speaking audience loved the irony inherent here, as @Charlie points out!

 

TruHart1

[Bearofdistinction]

Is there a Connie Francis version?

[TruHart1]

Here is a more traditional rendition, sung to the great Hungarian operatic diva, Eva Marton, at her 70th Birthday Gala back in 2014, by Herr Kaufmann:

 

Truhart1

[TruHart1]

Is there a Connie Francis version?

LOL! Unfortunately, the song's range is far too wide for most pop singers (including Connie!) to manage, although I did find the miked, bland, nearly pop version sung by Urs Bühler during an Il Divo concert in Birmingham, UK in July of 2016. Not my preference but if you like the Il Divo crossover type of performance, enjoy!

 

 

TruHart1

[foxy]

So happy there are such knowledgeable posts about opera which sadly many people think of as boring or irrelevant today. I've learned so much about an artform I don't give enough attention to. Time to hit Lincoln Center and get a subscription again.

[AdamSmith]

What makes the quartet so funny is that the aria, from Lehar's operetta "Das Land des Laechelns" (Land of Smiles) is a love song by the tenor hero in which he swears that he is true only to the heroine. (The literal translation is "My entire heart is yours.")

Stay -- we must not lose our senses!

 

They bring a D'Oyly Carte lightness, but still correctness, of sensibility to the piece.

 

Which, even granting Lehar's particular genius and his marriage to Alma , one must admit this work could do with.

[TruHart1]

Stay -- we must not lose our senses!

 

They bring a D'Oyly Carte lightness, but still correctness, of sensibility to the piece.

 

Which, even granting Lehar's particular genius and his marriage to Alma , one must admit this work could do with.

Men who stick at no offences -- Will anon be here!

 

LOL!

 

TruHart1

[+ Charlie]

Stay -- we must not lose our senses!

 

 

 

Which, even granting Lehar's particular genius and his marriage to Alma , .

??

[AdamSmith]

??

[+ Charlie]

I forgot about the Tom Lehrer song, which I had on LP fifty years ago. At that time I didn't realize the liberties with history that Lehrer had taken. Lehar was not actually one of those lovers listed in the NYT obit (I just re-read it). And Lehrer left out the most important lover she had whom she didn't marry, Oskar Kokoschka, with whom she lived for a couple of years between Mahler's death and her marriage to Gropius. I read an excellent biography of her a few years ago, but I can't remember who wrote it.

[AdamSmith]

I forgot about the Tom Lehrer song, which I had on LP fifty years ago. At that time I didn't realize the liberties with history that Lehrer had taken. Lehar was not actually one of those lovers listed in the NYT obit (I just re-read it). And Lehrer left out the most important lover she had whom she didn't marry, Oskar Kokoschka, with whom she lived for a couple of years between Mahler's death and her marriage to Gropius. I read an excellent biography of her a few years ago, but I can't remember who wrote it.

Doubtless just couldn't find any rhyme for the omitted lover's name.

[+ oldNbusted]

Hey, Eva Marton, I got to see her performing Elektra at the Washington Opera, almost exactly 20 years ago. The Notorious RBG was down the same row I was in. I thought it was kinda fantastic, but my exposure to live performance was basically zero, I would not have been able to afford to go, someone gave me a ticket, I got used to the radio and TV broadcasts.

 

http://articles.baltimoresun.com/1997-03-03/features/1997062110_1_elektra-seattle-opera-washington-opera