In Honor of the Day

At the Washington Post, Anne Midgette has posted an excerpt from Die Entführung aus dem Serail. When I saw the teaser in my feed reader, this text caught my eye: " I am commemorating this event with one of my favorite renditions (listen to that low register) of an aria for which I retain a great, even irrational fondness."

Well, gosh, wouldn't you expect Osmin's aria, "O wie will ich triumphieren" from that? I did - and what I got was "Marten aller Arten." So I take this opportunity to post my own commemoration. It's in the wrong language and the singer was nearing the end of a splendid career, but Ezio Pinza toward the end is still better than almost anyone else in his prime.

This is also one of the first recordings I have a clear memory of. It was the second or third track on my parents' Pinza LP, which started with "Madamina!" from Don Giovanni, the great DG of his era stepping, temporarily and hilariously, into the servant's role. Oh - and that's Bruno Walter conducting.