Cold Song – Purcell/King Arthur – 6 versions


The Cold Song is actually called What Power art thou and is an aria from the 3rd act of the opera King Arthur by Henry Purcell. The first time I noticed the aria by Klaus Nomi, who recorded it live shortly before his death:

Actually, the aria is sung a few octaves lower, for example like this:

There is also a beautiful recording with German lyrics by Nanette Scriba, although this recording is somewhat distorted:

A somewhat more recent recording comes from Germany from the Berlin State Opera, played very slowly:

An interpretation with a child’s voice:

And finally, a somewhat freer interpretation with a steampunk character:

Encore (I don’t think this version is so beautiful, but it’s just an idiosyncratic interpretation of the singer):

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