Al tuo seno fortunato

THE SONGBIRD: The career of Roberta Peters (1930 - 2017) is likely well known by most opera and high soprano fans, starting with her famed 1950 debut at the Met as a last-minute Zerlina substitute for Nadine Conner, which made her an overnight sensation (I've always thought: who creates a sensation as Zerlina?). She was on the Met's roster for 35 years (over 500 appearances with the company) and became a celebrity in American magazines, television shows, and movies, and there was even a memorable American Express card TV commercial ("Taxi!!"), which you can see on YouTube here:
THE MUSIC: "L'anima del filosofo, ossia Orfeo ed Euridice" was composed in 1791 by Joseph Haydn; it was the last opera he composed, and was never performed in his lifetime due to some political intrigue which blocked the planned premiere. Its first performance based on a reassembled score came in 1951 in Florence, starring the young Maria Callas as Euridice. It has since garnered some modest attention with occasional recordings and productions as producers, artists, and the public have revisited Haydn's operatic works. The bravura aria "Al tuo seno fortunato" is sung by the character Genio in Act 3 and contains one High E written into the score. Juliana Farkas sang this role at the 1951 premiere. Peters sings a slightly abridged version of the aria in the Sarasota recital, with several measures between the verses having been cut.