Janet Baker is one of the very greatest of singers. So many of her performances capture the essence of the music in a way which makes it impossible to imagine any other performances. Sea Pictures is one of them and her performance of Doppo Notte from Ariodante is another.
I was lucky enough to hear her live several times. The most memorable was a performance of les niuits d'ete at the concert hall in Nottingham. This was towards the end of her career but she was still in stunning form. For once the old cliche of being able to hear a pin drop was absolutely true. The concentration was intense and the joy at the end was shared by everybody there.
There are other singers of this repertoire who I greatly admire, but Janet Baker was in a class of her own
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