The Twenty Most Beautiful Opera Duets
It’s all about love in this playlist. Here we run the gamut from the grand bromance of Bizet’s famous 'Pearlfishers' duet and the musings of Lakmé’s Flower Duet and "Bei Männern" (from 'Die Zauberflöte') through the moment cupid’s arrow first strikes ('Der Rosenkavalier') to the intense consummation of 'Tristan und Isolde' or the tragic final duet of 'Rusalka'. Here’s music of the greatest tenderness and the grandest passion, featuring some of the greatest voices to be captured by a microphone.
- Puccini • La Bohème • Act I • 7. O soave fanciullaLa Bohème
Act I • 7. O soave fanciullaRobert Merrill (Baritone), Richard Tucker (Tenor), Giorgio Tozzi (Bass), Anna Moffo (Soprano), Philip Maero (Baritone), Adelio Zagonara (Tenor), Mary Costa (Soprano), Giorgio Onesti (Bass), Fernando Corena (Bass), Erich Leinsdorf
Orchestra del Teatro dell'Opera di Roma, Coro del Teatro dell'Opera di Roma1961, Rome, Teatro dell'Opera di Roma - Strauss • Der Rosenkavalier op. 59 TrV 227: 'Mir ist die Ehre widerfahren' (Octavian, Sophie, Act 2) • Mir ist die Ehre widerfahrenDer Rosenkavalier op. 59 TrV 227: 'Mir ist die Ehre widerfahren' (Octavian, Sophie, Act 2)
Mir ist die Ehre widerfahrenBarbara Hendricks (Soprano), Anne Sofie von Otter (Mezzo-soprano), Bernard Haitink
Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden℗ 1991 - Verdi • Otello • Act I • 8. 'Già nella notte densa' – 'Quando narravi' – 'Venga la morte!' (Otello, Desdemona)Otello
Act I • 8. 'Già nella notte densa' – 'Quando narravi' – 'Venga la morte!' (Otello, Desdemona)Aleksandr Antonenko (Tenor), Krassimira Stoyanova (Soprano), Carlo Guelfi (Baritone), Barbara Di Castri (Mezzo-soprano), Juan Francisco Gatell (Tenor), Michael Spyres (Tenor), Paolo Battaglia (Bass), Eric Owens (Bass-baritone), David Govertsen (Bass), Riccardo Muti
Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Chicago Symphony Chorus, Chicago Children's ChoirApril 2011, Chicago, Orchestra Hall in Symphony Center - Mozart • Die Zauberflöte (The Magic Flute) KV 620 • Act I • 7. Bei Männern, welche Liebe fühlenDie Zauberflöte (The Magic Flute) KV 620
Act I • 7. Bei Männern, welche Liebe fühlenNicolai Gedda (Tenor), Walter Berry (Baritone), Lucia Popp (Soprano), Gerhard Unger (Tenor), Gundula Janowitz (Soprano), Agnes Giebel (Soprano), Franz Crass (Bass), Gottlob Frick (Bass), Karl Liebl (Tenor), Marga Höffgen (Alto), Elisabeth Schwarzkopf (Soprano), Christa Ludwig (Soprano), Ruth-Margret Pütz (Soprano), Anna Reynolds (Soprano), Josephine Veasey (Mezzo-soprano), Otto Klemperer
Philharmonia Orchestra, Philharmonia Chorus1964 - 1964, London, Kingsway Hall - Lehár • Die lustige Witwe (The Merry Widow) (1905) • Act I • No. 2 Duett 'So kommen Sie! 's ist niemand hier!' (Valencienne, Camille)Die lustige Witwe (The Merry Widow) (1905)
Act I • No. 2 Duett 'So kommen Sie! 's ist niemand hier!' (Valencienne, Camille)Bryn Terfel (Bass-baritone), Barbara Bonney (Soprano), Karl-Magnus Fredriksson (Baritone), Uwe Peper (Tenor), Heinz Zednik (Tenor), Lynette Alcántara (Alto), Philip Salmon (Tenor), Angela Kazimierczuk (Soprano), Rainer Trost (Tenor), Cheryl Studer (Soprano), Bo Skovhus (Baritone), Constanze Backes (Soprano), Richard Savage (Bass), Julian Clarkson (Bass), Lucinda Houghton (Soprano), Donna Deam (Soprano), Suzanne Flowers (Soprano), Nicola Jenkin (Soprano), Sir John Eliot Gardiner
Wiener Philharmoniker, Monteverdi Choir℗ 1994 - Delibes • Lakmé: 'Dôme épais le jasmin' (Lakmé, Mallika, Act I) 'Flower Duet' • Dôme épais le jasminLakmé: 'Dôme épais le jasmin' (Lakmé, Mallika, Act I) 'Flower Duet'
Dôme épais le jasminJennifer Larmore (Mezzo-soprano), Hei-Kyung Hong (Soprano), Jesús López-Cobos
Münchner Rundfunkorchester, Maîtrise de Radio France℗ 1999 - Puccini • La fanciulla del West • Act 1 • 15. Ah, non temete, nessuno ardirà! (Dick Johnson, Minnie)La fanciulla del West
Act 1 • 15. Ah, non temete, nessuno ardirà! (Dick Johnson, Minnie)Renata Tebaldi (Soprano), Mario del Monaco (Tenor), Cornell MacNeil (Baritone), Piero de Palma (Tenor), Silvio Maionica (Bass), Giorgio Giorgetti (Bass-baritone), Enzo Guagni (Tenor), Virgilio Carbonari (Bass), Edio Peruzzi (Baritone), Mario Carlin (Tenor), Angelo Mercuriali (Tenor), Michele Cazzato (Baritone), Giuseppe Morresi (Bass-baritone), Giorgio Tozzi (Bass), Dario Caselli (Bass), Bianca Maria Casoni (Mezzo-soprano), Athos Cesarini (Tenor), Franco Capuana
Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, Coro dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia1958, Rome - Leoncavallo • Pagliacci • Act I • 10. 'Non mi tentar!' (Nedda, Silvio)Pagliacci
Act I • 10. 'Non mi tentar!' (Nedda, Silvio)Carlo Bergonzi (Tenor), Ugo Benelli (Tenor), Giuseppe Taddei (Baritone), Giuseppe Morresi (Bass), Joan Carlyle (Soprano), Rolando Panerai (Baritone), Herbert von Karajan
Orchestra del Teatro alla Scala di Milano, Coro del Teatro alla Scala di Milano℗ 1966 - Gounod • Roméo et Juliette CG 9 • Act II • No. 9 Duo 'Ô nuit divine! je t'implore' (Juliet, Romeo)Roméo et Juliette CG 9
Act II • No. 9 Duo 'Ô nuit divine! je t'implore' (Juliet, Romeo)Roberto Alagna (Tenor), Angela Gheorghiu (Soprano), Guy Flechter (Tenor), Till Fechner (Baritone), Alain Vernhes (Tenor), Daniel Galvez-Vallejo (Bass-baritone), Alain Fondary (Bass), Simon Keenlyside (Bass-baritone), Didier Henry (Tenor), José van Dam (Tenor), Christophe Fel (Bass-baritone), Marie-Ange Todorovitch (Soprano), Claire Larcher (Soprano), Michel Plasson
Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse, Chœur du Capitole de ToulouseOctober 1995, Toulouse, Halle aux Grains - Gounod • Roméo et Juliette CG 9 • Act II • No. 9 Duo 'Ah! ne fuis pas encore!' (Juliet, Romeo)Roméo et Juliette CG 9
Act II • No. 9 Duo 'Ah! ne fuis pas encore!' (Juliet, Romeo)Roberto Alagna (Tenor), Angela Gheorghiu (Soprano), Guy Flechter (Tenor), Till Fechner (Baritone), Alain Vernhes (Tenor), Daniel Galvez-Vallejo (Bass-baritone), Alain Fondary (Bass), Simon Keenlyside (Bass-baritone), Didier Henry (Tenor), José van Dam (Tenor), Christophe Fel (Bass-baritone), Marie-Ange Todorovitch (Soprano), Claire Larcher (Soprano), Michel Plasson
Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse, Chœur du Capitole de ToulouseOctober 1995, Toulouse, Halle aux Grains - Gounod • Roméo et Juliette CG 9 • Act II • No. 9 Duo 'Adieu mille fois!' (Juliet, Romeo)Roméo et Juliette CG 9
Act II • No. 9 Duo 'Adieu mille fois!' (Juliet, Romeo)Roberto Alagna (Tenor), Angela Gheorghiu (Soprano), Guy Flechter (Tenor), Till Fechner (Baritone), Alain Vernhes (Tenor), Daniel Galvez-Vallejo (Bass-baritone), Alain Fondary (Bass), Simon Keenlyside (Bass-baritone), Didier Henry (Tenor), José van Dam (Tenor), Christophe Fel (Bass-baritone), Marie-Ange Todorovitch (Soprano), Claire Larcher (Soprano), Michel Plasson
Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse, Chœur du Capitole de ToulouseOctober 1995, Toulouse, Halle aux Grains - Berlioz • Les Troyens (The Trojans) H 133: 'Nuit d'ivresse et d'extase infnie!' (Dido, Aeneas, Mercury, Act 4) • Nuit d'ivresse et d'extase infnie!Les Troyens (The Trojans) H 133: 'Nuit d'ivresse et d'extase infnie!' (Dido, Aeneas, Mercury, Act 4)
Nuit d'ivresse et d'extase infnie!Susan Gritton (Soprano), Michelle DeYoung (Mezzo-soprano), Enkelejda Shkosa (Mezzo-soprano), Daniela Barcellona (Mezzo-soprano), Ben Heppner (Tenor), Giuseppe Sabbatini (Tenor), Kenneth Tarver (Tenor), Sir Colin Davis
London Symphony OrchestraDecember 2000, London, Barbican Centre - Monteverdi • L'incoronazione di Poppea SV 308 • Act III • 10. 'Pur ti miro'L'incoronazione di Poppea SV 308
Act III • 10. 'Pur ti miro'Mark Tucker (Tenor), Constanze Backes (Soprano), Marinella Pennicchi (Soprano), Julian Clarkson (Bass), Anne Sofie von Otter (Mezzo-soprano), Michael Chance (Alto), Sylvia McNair (Soprano), Dana Hanchard (Soprano), Catherine Bott (Soprano), Bernarda Fink (Alto), Roberto Balconi (Counter-tenor), Francesco Ellero D' Artegna (Bass), Nigel Robson (Tenor), Sir John Eliot Gardiner
English Baroque Soloists℗ 1996 - Bizet • Les pêcheurs de perles (The Pearl Fishers) WD 13 • Act I • No. 2 Duet 'Au fond du temple saint' (Zurga, Nadir)Les pêcheurs de perles (The Pearl Fishers) WD 13
Act I • No. 2 Duet 'Au fond du temple saint' (Zurga, Nadir)Julie Fuchs (Soprano), Cyrille Dubois (Tenor), Florian Sempey (Baritone), Luc Bertin-Hugault (Bass), Alexandre Bloch
Orchestre National de Lille, Les Cris de ParisMay 2017, Lille, Nouveau Siècle de Lille - Donizetti • Lucia di Lammermoor (Naples 1835) • Act I • 11. Qui di sposa eterna fedeLucia di Lammermoor (Naples 1835)
Act I • 11. Qui di sposa eterna fedeVittorio Pandano (Tenor), Mario Sereni (Baritone), Ezio Flagello (Bass), Anna Moffo (Soprano), Corinna Vozza (Mezzo-soprano), Carlo Bergonzi (Tenor), Pierre Duval (Tenor), Georges Prêtre
RCA Italiana Opera Orchestra, RCA Italiana Opera Chorus1965, Rome, RCA Italiana Studios - Verdi • Don Carlo • Act II • 8. "Io vengo a domandar grazia mia Regina"Don Carlo
Act II • 8. "Io vengo a domandar grazia mia Regina"Carlo Bergonzi (Tenor), Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau (Baritone), Grace Bumbry (Mezzo-soprano), Jeannette Sinclair (Soprano), Joan Carlyle (Soprano), John Wakefield (Tenor), Kenneth McDonald (Tenor), Martti Talvela (Bass), Nicolai Ghiaurov (Bass), Renata Tebaldi (Soprano), Tugomir Franc (Bass), Sir Georg Solti
Chorus of the Royal Opera House Covent Garden, Orchestra of the Royal Opera House Covent Garden℗ 2012 - Dvořák • Rusalka op. 114 B 203 • Act III • 4. Líbej mne, líbej, mír mi přejRusalka op. 114 B 203
Act III • 4. Líbej mne, líbej, mír mi přejRenée Fleming (Soprano), Dolora Zajick (Mezzo-soprano), Ben Heppner (Tenor), Franz Hawlata (Bass), Eva Urbanová (Soprano), Sir Charles Mackerras
Czech Philharmonic, Kühn Choir℗ 1998 - Donizetti • Don Pasquale: 'Tornami a dir che m'ami' (Norina, Ernesto, Act III) • Tornami a dir che m'amiDon Pasquale: 'Tornami a dir che m'ami' (Norina, Ernesto, Act III)
Tornami a dir che m'amiAngela Gheorghiu (Soprano), Roberto Alagna (Tenor), Richard Armstrong
Orchestra of the Royal Opera House Covent Garden℗ 1996 - Handel • Flavio, Re de' Longobardi HWV 16 • Act 3 • No. 26 Duet 'Deh, perdona, o dolce bene' (Guido, Emilia, Scene 7)Flavio, Re de' Longobardi HWV 16
Act 3 • No. 26 Duet 'Deh, perdona, o dolce bene' (Guido, Emilia, Scene 7)Tim Mead (Counter-tenor), Iestyn Davies (Counter-tenor), Rosemary Joshua (Soprano), Renata Pokupić (Soprano), Hilary Summers (Alto), Andrew Foster-Williams (Bass-baritone), Thomas Walker (Tenor), Christian Curnyn
Early Opera Company Orchestra, Early Opera Company Chorus2010, London, All Saints’ Church London - Mozart • Così fan tutte KV 588 • Act II • No. 23 Duetto 'Il core vi dono' (Guglielmo, Dorabella)Così fan tutte KV 588
Act II • No. 23 Duetto 'Il core vi dono' (Guglielmo, Dorabella)Pietro Spagnoli (Baritone), Marcel Boone (Baritone), Werner Güra (Tenor), Bernarda Fink (Mezzo-soprano), Véronique Gens (Soprano), Graciela Oddone (Soprano), René Jacobs
Concerto Köln, Kölner Kammerchor℗ 1999 - Wagner • Tristan und Isolde WWV 90 • Act II • 4. O sink hernieder, Nacht der Liebe (Isolde, Brangäne, Tristan)Tristan und Isolde WWV 90
Act II • 4. O sink hernieder, Nacht der Liebe (Isolde, Brangäne, Tristan)Nina Stemme (Soprano), Timothy Fallon (Tenor), Michelle Breedt (Mezzo-soprano), Johan Reuter (Baritone), Stephen Gould (Tenor), Simon Pauly (Baritone), Kwangchul Youn (Bass), Clemens Bieber (Tenor), Arttu Kataja (Bass), Marek Janowski
Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin, Rundfunkchor Berlin℗ 2019