The Great Monserrat Caballé Sings "Ah! Dagli Scanni Eterei," from Verdi's Aroldo
The great soprano in a brilliant vocal display. This is early Verdi, and if it is not Bel Canto, it is certainly High Romanticism, and vocal display of this kind was still a reality for Verdi; much more so than it would soon become, when he was increasingly drawn toward realistic portrayals in the Shakespearean dramas, and the kind of gritty Verismo which came to characterize some of his most popular operas . Caballé is simply amazing here. Check out the herculean leap at 2:05, way up to a roof-raising C sharp!
The tenor, who has a few lines to sing, is Lajos Kozma. The conductor is Anton Guadagno, and the recording is RCA LSC-2995, "Verdi Rarities," 1968