Au Fond du Temple Saint

I first developed a love of opera in 9th grade, when I took my first Italian class at Vineland Senior High School. My 9th grade teacher of Italian was John Mazzotta, but the person who nurtured my love of opera was my teacher from 10th through 12th grades, Cesarina DeCesero. I adored my Italian classes. And I learned to love opera. Italian opera was my favorite, needless to say. And with the Italian Club, I saw my first opera, though my love of it, and the greatest operatic tenor ever - Luciano Pavarotti - continued long after I graduated high school. I saw Pavarotti in concert and in operas many, many times. We were so lucky that he chose Philadelphia as the base for his vocal competition and spent so much time there.

For a long time, I thought all the best operas were in Italian, and some of my absolute favorites still are. Seriously, who doesn't love "La Boheme"? "Che gelida manina, se la lasci riscaldar. Cercar che giova? Al buio non si trova." So many of these lyrics I remember to this day, having learned them singing along to Luciano on album, then cassette, and now CD. I don't listen to as much opera as I used to, and I haven't seen a live opera in many years. But I still love it.

But good opera, and operetta, isn't only in Italian. I have grown to appreciate the power of German, and romance of French. Even opera in English.

So, for the last hour or so I have spent time over at You Tube trying to find a performance of the aria "Au fond du temple saint" from Georges Bizet's opera "The Pearl Fishers" (Les pêcheurs de perles) that is better than the one that I already know to be the best: Placido Domingo and Sherrill Milnes. It is so beautiful. I recognize that these men sang together a lot, their amazing tenor and baritone voices perfectly suited for duets, so maybe it was too much to ask that there might be a better version out there. There isn't, at least not in my opinion. Here it is, for your enjoyment, the #1 Au fond du temple saint:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XhG4dPN2Nhs

There are others worth your time. The very close second, for me, is the late, great Jerry Hadley and Thomas Hampson:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B-6aQ6mxvnM

And my third favorite is this enjoyable performance from Roberto Alagna and Bryn Terfel, which includes the recorded live video at You Tube. I am not a huge fan of Alagna ... he does okay here, but he is no Domingo, Hadley, and he's certainly no Pavarotti:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4tLrPVkfCIQ


For me, this is one of the most beautiful areas ever written - and it's not in Italian!

There is one more version that is really enjoyable, for two reasons: my first real exposure to Rolando Villazon, who is quite stunning, and Placido Domingo ... singing the baritone part:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Orbh8MHEhgA

And to show you that German has some great stuff, there's this version of "Dein ist mein ganzes Herz" from the operetta "Das Land des Lächelns" (The Land of Smiles) by Franz Lehar, Fritz Lohner-Beda and Ludwig Herzer. This link below is the great Placido Domingo once again, from the first Three Tenors concert. This version just gives me goose bumps. I love it!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5gSqZRC2dTE

Did I ever mention that I was at the Three Tenors concert at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. It was an experience of a lifetime.