8 February—Today is Opera Day, so forget about distractions like Donald Trump’s case being heard by the Supreme Court today (which should rule in his favor on legal rather than political grounds, though the distaff-minority-liberal threesome may have different ideas) and just enjoy some great opera.

Opera is supposed to be about the total, unified experience, what Richard Wagner (probably never called Dick even though he was one) called a “Gesamtkunstwerk,” a “total work of art” in which music, drama, and other performing arts are integrated, with each essentially subservient to the whole performance.

Certainly lavish theatrical staging, gaudy costumes, and all that stuff may enthrall people who are willing and able to suspend their disbelief and stomach the absurd incongruity of fully mounted operatic performances. Kind of like Broadway and movie musicals, but much worse.

Because opera is first and foremost about music. It should be, anyway. Forget about Gesamtkunswerk. Enjoy the Gesamtmusikwerk, the total music work. Just listen. Don’t even worry about the story or words (which are usually ridiculous and undiscernable anyway). Just take in the total sound.

And here’s a divinely beautiful total sound to take in. It’s “A te o cara” from Vincenzo Bellini’s “I Puritani.” The story is about the Puritans—Roundheads, Parliamentarians—in 17^th-century England; and the tenor aria (with soprano and chorus joining in when absolutely appropriate) is about love. Of course. But who cares?

Vincenzo Bellini, who lived a tragically short life (1801 to 1835), is best known for his glorious bel canto opera music, but he also composed lyrical instrumental works.

This is a so-called “live” recording of “A te o cara,” evidently meaning it wasn’t recorded in a studio. One wonders what a “dead” recording would sound like. Luciano Pavarotti and Beverly Sills in 1972: