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 fanciulla
- Strauss•Der Rosenkavalier op. 59 TrV 227: 'Mir ist die Ehre widerfahren' (Octavian, Sophie, Act II)•Mir ist die Ehre widerfahren
- Verdi•Otello•Act I • 8. 'Già nella notte densa' – 'Quando narravi' – 'Venga la morte!' (Otello, Desdemona)
- Mozart•Die Zauberflöte (The Magic Flute) KV 620•Act I • 7. Bei Männern, welche Liebe fühlen
- Lehár•Die lustige Witwe (The Merry Widow) (1905)•Act I • No. 2 Duett 'So kommen Sie! 's ist niemand hier!' (Valencienne, Camille)
- Delibes•Lakmé: 'Dôme épais le jasmin' (Lakmé, Mallika, Act I) “Flower Duet”•Dôme épais le jasmin
- Puccini•La fanciulla del West•Act 1 • 15. Ah, non temete, nessuno ardirà! (Dick Johnson, Minnie)
- Leoncavallo•Pagliacci•Act I • 10. 'Non mi tentar!' (Nedda, Silvio)
- Gounod•Roméo et Juliette CG 9•Act II • No. 9 Duo 'Ô nuit divine! je t'implore' (Juliet, Romeo)
- Gounod•Roméo et Juliette CG 9•Act II • No. 9 Duo 'Ah! ne fuis pas encore!' (Juliet, Romeo)
- Gounod•Roméo et Juliette CG 9•Act II • No. 9 Duo 'Adieu mille fois!' (Juliet, Romeo)
- 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!
- Monteverdi•L'incoronazione di Poppea SV 308•Act III • 10. 'Pur ti miro'
- Bizet•Les pêcheurs de perles (The Pearl Fishers) WD 13•Act I • No. 2 Duet 'Au fond du temple saint' (Zurga, Nadir)
- Donizetti•Lucia di Lammermoor (Naples 1835)•Act I • 11. Qui di sposa eterna fede
- Verdi•Don Carlo•Act II • 8. "Io vengo a domandar grazia mia Regina"
- Dvořák•Rusalka op. 114 B 203•Act III • 4. Líbej mne, líbej, mír mi přej
- Donizetti•Don Pasquale: 'Tornami a dir che m'ami' (Norina, Ernesto, Act III)•Tornami a dir che m'ami
- Handel•Flavio, Re de' Longobardi HWV 16•Act 3 • No. 26 Duet 'Deh, perdona, o dolce bene' (Guido, Emilia, Scene 7)
- Mozart•Così fan tutte KV 588•Act II • No. 23 Duetto 'Il core vi dono' (Guglielmo, Dorabella)
- Wagner•Tristan und Isolde WWV 90•Act II • 4. O sink hernieder, Nacht der Liebe (Isolde, Brangäne, Tristan)