Uncle Joe 
I would like Clair to win too but I think Joe will be the most popular with the public.
I would love to hear Claire sing Madam Butterfly ‘One Fine Day,’ she has a vulnerability to her voice and it would really suit her, she could bring the house down
Anyone who saw the film Shawshank Redemption will know this, it is the superb duet aria between the Countess and Susanna from The Marriage Of Figaro.
This version features the Swiss Soprano Edith Mathis as Susanna and Gundula Janowitz from Austria taking the role of the Contessa di Almaviva.
Personally I think this is the best performances of this aria ever heard and if you are not moved by this you are probably dead.
Another beautiful aria Hammer :-), I have it on a CD sung by the young soprano Summer Watson seen here singing Nella Fantasia…
She has a great quality for sure, I read somewhere that one of her idols is Renee Fleming. I think she is far better then Ms Fleming, I remember her (Fleming) murdering the Rusalka at last years Proms amongst other transgressions.
Thanks for posting it, there is so much good music to share and chat about.
Yes I believe that is so :-). I think Summer Watson has a beautiful voice which was nearly lost to us when she was seriously injured in the Potters Bar Train crash.
A nice piece to slow down for a lazy Saturday or whatever.
Michael Hoppe: from the album Solace.
That`s beautiful Hammer , ta 
I`m listening to this …
From the Movie " My Name Is Khan "
I really like it :shock: :-p
This …which was always one of my favourites :-). It now has a special poignancy for me after listening to an item on the radio some years ago where a soldier described an incident which happened to him during the Battle for Goose Green in the Falklands war …
In amongst all the carnage which surrounded him he found a walkman and putting on the earphones to hear what the previous owner had been listening to this is what he heard…
…For a few moment he was transported away from his terrible surrounding to a place of peace and beauty as am I when I listen to it …
I am listening to the refrigerator running. 
Intriguing - but what’s it humming???
Now come on Uncle Joe if we are talking Chopin it has to be this played by a master…
…another moment of beauty not quite so sad as the previous two … :-p
…to be played loudly…
Maybe it is chilling out to this from Madam Butterfly.
[URL=“http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9mIrDN8XmdA”]
The Humming Chorus
Hi Topaz, you might like this.
I first heard a version of this a while back, it was on the opening credits of the film Inside Man.
I could not get it out of my head and in truth it was better than the entire film. I tracked it down on UTube, this though is a newer effort with some pretty awesome effects and scenery.
Chaiyya Chaiyya
Meg darlin’ - shame about Claire Richards last evening in the programme Pop star to Opera star - her rendition of the “Queen of the Night” aria was superlative!!! Technically it is one of the most difficult arias to perform.
There may now be a jinx on this aria because last year the American star (I forget her name) also performed this aria and also lost out to Darius.
The sound of sunshine coming down - Michael Franti
Hi Uncle Joe Claire gave a cracking performance didn’t she with a technically difficult piece, I am so sorry to see her go .
She should have been in the final, I think she is so much more accomplished than Cheryl Baker. I thought it a shame that Cheryl got to sing ‘One Fine Day’ which though less technically demanding than ‘The Queen of The Night’ would have suited Claire’s vulnerability and being more dramatic may have got her through to the final.
I didn’t see it last year
It was also a lovely treat to have a performance from Alfie Boe 
who is not only a great singer but a genuinely nice chap
Listening to Renee Fleming, ‘One Fine Day’
Try this Meg darlin’ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dC-Srs4_fHE&feature=related
I’m the Devil incarnate!!!
…thank you Uncle Joe
