Calvin Simmons coaches "Vissi d'arte"

Calvin Simmons coaches "Vissi d'arte"
From Tosca by Giacomo Puccini (1900)
Libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa based on the play, La Tosca, by Victorien Sardou (1887)
Archive video from THE FESTIVAL OF LEARNING AND PERFORMING, c. 1978
I lived a life of Art, of Love.
I never harmed a living soul.
I have quietly aided all the sufferers I found.
Always with honest belief, my prayer rose to holy shrines,
And with true faith I brought flowers to the altar.
In my hour of grief, why, why, Lord, why do you reward me thus?
I gave my jewels to adorn the Madonna
And offered up my singing to the stars, to Heaven, and they shone more beautifully for it.
In my hour of grief, why, why, Lord, why do you reward me thus?
Exsultate! Productions is proud to host the video archives of the FESTIVAL OF LEARNING AND PERFORMING. The Festival was created in the early 1970's by Susan Brenner to give young singers the opportunity to work with master artists, and apply their knowledge by performing in the community. Classes were open to the public and encompassed the interpretation of opera, art song, operetta and musical theater, as well as movement and physical conditioning. Classes with Charles Roe, Calvin Simmons, and Martial Singher were videotaped for the Festival's archives, allowing new audiences to be inspired and enriched by the great teaching that is the legacy of Susan Brenner.
After serving as assistant conductor of the Los Angeles Philharmonic from 1975 to 1978, Calvin Simmons was named music director of a major U.S. orchestra (the Oakland Symphony). He was a frequent guest conductor at major opera companies and orchestras including the Metropolitan Opera, Glyndebourne Festival, San Francisco Opera, Philadelphia Orchestra, and of course the Los Angeles Philharmonic. His accidental death at the age of 32 was considered a tragedy on the scale of the loss of Mozart at 35.

[@victoriasethunya8594]

Beautiful coaching!