“diva” — aria from “la wally”

This aria from La Wally, “Ebben, ne andro lontana,” is one of my all-time favorites. I’ve listened to so many different divas sing it — Monserrat Caballe, Kiri Te Kanawa, Renee Fleming, Maria Callas — and I actually think this one is my favorite of them all, sung by Wilhelmina Wiggins Fernandez, the diva of the movie “Diva.” I was obsessed with that movie when it came out.

Everything about her in this scene just glows. The dress, her face, her voice. The simple gestures with her hands are pretty. There is just a sheen of perfection around her. She’s liquid to me. I don’t know how else to describe it. Everything about her is liquid, flowing, full, effortless. So so gorgeous.

I find her version of this aria to be the sweetest and the most effortless. It’s decidedly not effortless, but she makes it appear so.

She starts singing at about 1:14. From that point to about 1:47 brings tears to my eyes. There’s such a sweetness to it; it’s almost unbearable. The whole thing is perfect, but that opening is too much for me.