Rocker/Songwriter Patti Smith Wants to be Tosca

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Protopunker Patti Smith reveals in an interview with Italy's Corriere della Sera that she wants to sing Tosca. Courtesy of the awesome Opera Chic blog comes the translation:

I'd love to step on a stage and sing Tosca. Tosca loves, and prays, with all her being. I'd love to sing Vissi d'Arte, one of the most strikingly beautiful arias in opera. My introduction to opera was an old LP, Eleanor Steber singing Butterfly... I was very young and it moved me to tears. Giacomo Puccini became my magic portal to enter the world of opera. I am so grateful to Puccini for this... What I love the most about his music is the melodic lines, and the way he builds up tension and emotion. The intensity of his arias represents a lesson to every singer... Puccini is, in the end, an composer whose music is very audience-friendly because he knew the people and he believed in them. His stories are simple, and they move you.


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