"Now cracks a noble heart"

"Hey, Perfesser Misogynist, don't you like songs and performances by women?"

I certainly do, and are you sure you're registered in this class? Here are two that break my heart every time I watch. The first is by Laura Nyro, singing "Save the Country," and shows that, like Randy Newman, all she needed was a piano.



The high school I attended in Chicago gave us Thursdays off; we went to school on Saturdays instead. So I was able to get a subscription to the Lyric Opera for Wednesday nights fairly cheap. Unfortunately, this next artist had already gotten into her fight with the Lyric's GM, Carol Fox, so I was not able to see her live. Maria Callas is singing "O Mio Babbino Caro" by Giacomo Puccini from Gianni Schicchi, probably Puccini's most ravishing melody, and the funniest too, since the singer is threatening to throw herself off the Ponte Vecchio (Old Bridge) in Florence unless Gianni, "O my dear daddy," lets her be with her lover. Look at Callas's eyes when she sings "Ponte Vecchio"--you believe she'd do it.



There's another clip on YouTube of Callas singing this, from much later in her career; her voice is weakened, but she makes up for it in expressiveness.

Good night, sweet singers, and may flights of angels sing you to your rest.