“Au fond du temple saint”

From the 1996 Met tribute to James Levine, tenor Roberto Alagna and baritone Bryn Terfel, conducted by Levine.

And if that wasn’t good enough, my favorite recording of the aria … hell, just about my favorite recording of any aria, ever. Jussi Björling and Robert Merrill.

It’s true — Georges Bizet wrote an opera that isn’t called Carmen. This may be the most popular duet of all time from an opera that no one I know has ever seen produced. There’s a reason Les pêcheurs de perles (The Pearl Fishers) isn’t done very often, and it sure isn’t because of the music. For starters, the characters who sing this duet are named Zurga and Nadir …

Technorati tags: Au fond du temple saint, Les pêcheurs de perles, The Pearl Fishers, Georges Bizet, Roberto Alagna, Bryn Terfel, James Levine, Jussi Björling, Robert Merrill