It is only since the bel canto era in the 19th century that the tenor voice really took off as a leading character in operatic roles, often playing the heroic figure against a love-interest soprano and a villain baritone. This collection of some of opera’s most iconic arias takes us from the dark emotional crises of Leoncavallo’s Pagliacci and Puccini’s Tosca, to the seductive Rodolfo in La Bohème and Donizetti’s showstopping high Cs in La Fille du régiment. Tenor showpieces that are so famous they have taken on a life of their own include ‘Nessun dorma’, made immortal by The Three Tenors at the 1990 World Cup.
Leoncavallo, Ruggero
Leoncavallo, Ruggero - Lyricist
Pagliacci (Clowns), Act I: Vesti la giubba (Canio)
1 Pagliacci (Clowns), Act I: Vesti la giubba (Canio) 03:13
Verdi, Giuseppe
Piave, Francesco Maria - Lyricist
Rigoletto, Act III: La donna è mobile… Un dì, se ben rammentomi (Duke of Mantua)
2 Rigoletto, Act III: La donna è mobile… Un dì, se ben rammentomi (Duke of Mantua) 02:55
Verdi, Giuseppe
Ghislanzoni, Antonio - Lyricist
Aida, Act I: Se quel guerrier io fossi! … Celeste Aida (Radamès)
3 Aida, Act I: Se quel guerrier io fossi! … Celeste Aida (Radamès) 04:26
Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus
Da Ponte, Lorenzo - Lyricist
Don Giovanni, K. 527: Act II: Il mio tesoro intanto (Don Ottavio)
4 Don Giovanni, K. 527: Act II: Il mio tesoro intanto (Don Ottavio) 04:01
Donizetti, Gaetano
Romani, Felice - Lyricist
L'elisir d'amore (The Elixir of Love), Act II Scene 8: Una furtiva lagrima
5 L'elisir d'amore (The Elixir of Love), Act II: Una furtiva lagrima (Nemorino) 05:09
Puccini, Giacomo
Illica, Luigi - Lyricist
Giacosa, Giuseppe - Lyricist
Tosca, Act III: E lucevan le stelle (Cavaradossi)
6 Tosca, Act III: E lucevan le stelle (Cavaradossi) 02:59
Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus
Da Ponte, Lorenzo - Lyricist
Così fan tutte, K. 588: Act I: Un'aura amorosa (Ferrando)
7 Così fan tutte (All Women Are the Same), K. 588: Act I: Un'aura amorosa (Ferrando) 05:01
Handel, George Frideric
Minato, Nicolò - Lyricist
Serse (Xerxes), HWV 40, Act I: Ombra mai fu (Serse)
8 Serse (Xerxes), HWV 40, Act I: Ombra mai fu (Serse) 03:23
Lehár, Franz
Löhner-Beda, Fritz - Lyricist
Herzer, Ludwig - Lyricist
Das Land des Lächelns (The Land of Smiles), Act II: Dein ist mein ganzes Herz (Prince Sou-Chong)
9 Das Land des Lächelns (The Land of Smiles), Act II: Dein ist mein ganzes Herz (Prince Sou-Chong) 03:24
Puccini, Giacomo
Illica, Luigi - Lyricist
Giacosa, Giuseppe - Lyricist
La bohème, Act I: Che gelida manina
10 La Bohème, Act I: Che gelida manina (Radolfo) 04:23
Donizetti, Gaetano
Bayard, Jean-François-Alfred - Lyricist
Saint-Georges, Jules-Henri Vernoy de - Lyricist
La fille du régiment (The Daughter of the Regiment): Ah! mes amis, quel jour de fête! (Tonio)
11 La fille du régiment (The Daughter of the Regiment), Act II: Ah! mes amis, quel jour de fete! 04:02
