Who Is The Most Capricious of Them All?

As the Metropolitan Opera prepares for the opening night of Strauss's Capriccio this evening, with Renée Fleming taking on the role of Gräfin Madeleine, we look back over the last 69 years since the premiere of the "conversation piece for music" and see who have been favorites to play the leading lady either on the opera stage, in concert performance or in the recording studio. Check out the list after the jump and don't forget to listen to the broadcast of the Capriccio premiere live from the Metropolitan Opera on Sirius XM Radio tonight at 8PM EST.

Click on the name of each diva to play a Straussian sample where available:
Viorica Ursuleac
Elisabeth Grümmer
Lisa Della Casa
Elizabeth Schwarzkopf
Gundula Janowitz
Raina Kabaivanska
Johanna Meier
Elisabeth Söderström
Lucia Popp
Anna Tomowa-Sintow
Kiri Te Kanawa
Felicity Lott
Cheryl Studer
Sheri Greenawald
Julia Varady
Carole Farley
Michele Crider
Yvonne Kenny
Pamela Coburn
Renée Fleming
June Anderson
Susan Gritton
Virginia Correa Dupuy
Gabriele Fontana
Pamela Armstrong
Christine Brewer
Nina Stemme
Adrianne Pieczonka
Gunnel Bohman
Mina Kikuchi
Erin Wall
Angela Meade

Renée Fleming Breaks During "Capriccio" For One Night Only

Renée Fleming as Countess Madeleine in Richard Strauss's Capriccio at the MET.

Renée Fleming will be singing seven performances of Strauss's Capriccio at the Metropolitan Opera, two of which fall on April 1 and April 7. But in between those particular dates she will sing an exclusive West Coast concert: "The world-renowned soprano will appear in the concert hall for one night and one performance April 5. The beautiful Fleming has never performed in Orange County and is jetting in, making room in her sold-out concert schedule as a special gift to her friend Henry Segerstrom in honor of his 88th birthday, which also falls on the same day. 'We wanted Renée Fleming to come to California and perform in the concert hall,' Elizabeth Segerstrom said. 'Her schedule is booked, as you can imagine. She wanted to come for Henry and she looked at her calendar telling us she had one night open — April 5. Can you believe it is Henry's birthday? Of course we were thrilled with the coincidence. This is going to be a very special night for Henry and for Orange County. The honor of Fleming's performance aside, the evening will be a gift to Orange County citizens in part because Corey and staff at the Philharmonic Society have created a large block of $25 tickets available to the music-loving public." The full program for the concert is listed after the jump.

PROGRAM:

Massenet: "Allons! Il le faut … Adieu, notre petite table" (from Manon)

Gounod: "Ô Dieu! que de bijoux! … Ah! je ris de me voir si belle" (from Faust)

Previn: "Soft people" (from A Streetcar Named Desire)

Previn: "I want magic!" (from A Streetcar Named Desire)

Grusin: "Two Rivers" (The Water is Wide/Shenandoah)

Lehár: "Vilja-Lied" (from Die Lustige Witwe)

Dvorák: "Mesíckuna nebi hlubokém" (from Rusalka)

Cilea: "Io son l'umile ancella" (from Adriana Lecouvreur)

Puccini: "Vissi d’arte" (from Tosca)

Verdi: "Mercè, dilette amiche" (from I Vespri Siciliani)

Bernstein: "Somewhere" (from West Side Story)

Bernstein: "I Feel Pretty" (from West Side Story)

Bellamy, Howard, Wolstehholme (Muse): "Endlessly"

Barrett, Bridwell, Hampton (Band of Horses): "No One's Gonna Love You"

Gibbard (Death Cab for Cutie): "Soul Meets Body"

Cohen: "Hallelujah"

Gabriel: "In Your Eyes"

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