Glass Shatterers! Natalie Dessay - Bellini: LA SONNAMBULA, Final scene, 1994 concert, High F 

~The "Glass Shatterers!" series focuses on sopranos who sustain High F, or sing higher.
THE SONGBIRD: Natalie Dessay was born in Lyon in 1965. In her youth, she studied ballet and then acting, but discovered her singing voice at age 20 and won a series of competitions and made several high profile debuts. With her charismatic stage presence, natural musicianship, and extremely high vocal extension, she became a world-wide star with performances at major opera venues and dozens of commercial recordings and videos.
THE MUSIC: We’re back to Italian opera! Bellini's "La Sonnambula" is a gem in the sub-genre of sentimental Italian opera semiseria. The opera premiered in Milan in 1831 with Giuditta Pasta as Amina, the sleepwalking character referred to in the title. The role is long and contains bel canto music demanding both aching lyricism and florid fireworks. The opera culminates with an exquisite final scene that has the shape of a bel canto mad scene, but here Amina has not lost her mind -- she is merely in a melancholy trance due to her sleepwalking. The plaintive aria "Ah, non credea mirarti" is arguably Bellini's most beguiling melody. When Amina wakes up and realizes all is well, she launches into a bouncy and joyful cabaletta, "Ah, non giunge." Some sopranos interpolate a High F6 over the final measures.