Vissi d'arte vissi d'amore

A very beautiful Aria from the Opera Tosca by Giacomo Puccini.

Vissi d'arte, vissi d'amore
non feci mai male ad anima viva!

I lived for art, I lived for love,
I never did harm to a living soul!

It is sung by Kiri Te Kanawa who was born in New Zealand in 1944. She had a highly successful international opera career between 19682004. Possessing a warm full lyric soprano voice,

Te Kanawa sang a wide repertoire that encompassed works from the 17th to the 20th century in Italian, French, German, Russian, and English. She particularly excelled in the works of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Richard Strauss, Giuseppe Verdi, George Frideric Handel and Giacomo Puccini.

She found particular success in portraying princesses, noble countesses and other similar characters on stage, as her naturally dignified stage presence and physical beauty complemented these roles well.

Kiri has Māori and European ancestry, but little is known about her birth parents, as she was adopted as an infant by Thomas Te Kanawa, a Māori, and his wife, Nell.

Her recording of the "Nuns' Chorus" from the Strauss operetta Casanova was New Zealand's first gold record.

Photos shown are from the opera Tosca and not necessarily relating to the act II of this Aria.

Video by Alfred with the help of Choy Hong (Jasmine) Grech, Mosta, Malta.
© jasalf5959 - 2010

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