tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7508984726672877916.post2554043894742152886..comments2023-10-04T02:24:08.790-07:00Comments on Institute of Jurassic Technology: Waking up to PavarottiBpaulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10009087847894914228noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7508984726672877916.post-83293610754020216042007-12-15T12:27:00.000-08:002007-12-15T12:27:00.000-08:00Tate,Your comment is interesting -- I was thinking...Tate,<BR/><BR/>Your comment is interesting -- I was thinking about this on the way to the transfer station (to drop of yard waste for composting, just so as not to get into landfill discussions...) and realized that I tend to view the musical voice -- at least in the western classical tradition -- as an instrument first, and so value things like pure musical quality very highly. The best voices combine musical quality and emotional expression, but they are truly rare.<BR/>By the way, Tebaldi was absolutely wooden on stage -- but what sounds came out of her, wooden or not!Stu Farnhamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15307685504238037394noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7508984726672877916.post-47198318342719968942007-12-15T06:45:00.000-08:002007-12-15T06:45:00.000-08:00nice stu i have heard Tebaldi before nad there are...nice stu i have heard Tebaldi before nad there are many comparisons/discussions between Callas and Tebaldi. I Agree that Tebaldi was by far the purer voiced of the two, but I feel that Callas Brought the song to Life, where Tebaldi Sang it perfectly.<BR/>Don't really know enough about Lieberman to voice and opinion, but thank you for the info I am gonna look her stuff up.Iciyapi Tatehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05364463398506701611noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7508984726672877916.post-12351501571608795862007-12-15T03:03:00.000-08:002007-12-15T03:03:00.000-08:00Callas ... well, vocally she was not that great (I...Callas ... well, vocally she was not that great (IMO) -- she tended to 'scoop' her notes. I think iot was her stage presence that distinguished her. Many opera singers are very stiff on stage, concntrating on the vocal part of their performance. Callas was physically expressive and very dynamic.<BR/><BR/>If you want to hear some outstanding voices, check out Lorraine Hunt Lieberman or Renata Tebaldi.Stu Farnhamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15307685504238037394noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7508984726672877916.post-76771971826879846682007-12-14T23:38:00.000-08:002007-12-14T23:38:00.000-08:00Great little internet thingy hun, great. I'll hav...Great little internet thingy hun, great. <BR/><BR/>I'll have to forward to Mr. T.Bpaulhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10009087847894914228noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7508984726672877916.post-8860674509219642872007-12-14T23:34:00.000-08:002007-12-14T23:34:00.000-08:00Please please watch this, B...it's one of my longe...Please please <A HREF="http://www.rathergood.com/elephants/" REL="nofollow">watch this</A>, B...it's one of my longest standing favourite internet thingies. My friend Chris and I periodically remind one another about it, because there's no way you can't smile at it.<BR/><BR/>I love opera, but I do prefer to listen to the guys singing. Gives me the chills when they hit one of those certain notes...I'm sure you know what I'm talking about!Danihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09969729808670921475noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7508984726672877916.post-51465621446217519322007-12-14T22:12:00.000-08:002007-12-14T22:12:00.000-08:00i think that women opera singers kick ass on the g...i think that women opera singers kick ass on the guys.<BR/>Maria Callas was the best in my opinion.Iciyapi Tatehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05364463398506701611noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7508984726672877916.post-14693273633373374682007-12-14T17:49:00.000-08:002007-12-14T17:49:00.000-08:00I'll make sure T. sees your comments. I'm sure he...I'll make sure T. sees your comments. I'm sure he's heard some of those pieces, but not all. <BR/><BR/>I was actually in Tosca as a child. I think I was 11 -- played an altar boy and a goatherd. Meaning, I got to carry baby goats around on stage with all the folks bellowing around me. <BR/><BR/>No singing in those parts. <BR/><BR/>Didn't get me into opera, but it was fun as hell, though the tights itched.Bpaulhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10009087847894914228noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7508984726672877916.post-11728117682939203122007-12-14T17:44:00.000-08:002007-12-14T17:44:00.000-08:00Why am I not surprised that Tait is smitten with o...Why am I not surprised that Tait is smitten with opera?<BR/><BR/>I remember reading somewhere that at least one of the tenors (I think it was Pavarotti) lip synced performances late in his career.<BR/><BR/>I'd suggest that Mr. T (ha!) check out Puccini's "Tosca" (I like the recording with Monserrat Caballe, Jose Carreras, and Samuel Ramey conducted by Sir Colin Davis with Royal Opera House (Covent Garden) Orch. and Chorus) and Mozart's "Don Giovanni" (Georg Solti and the London Philharmonic, Bryn Terfel and Ann Murray).<BR/><BR/>"Tosca" if full throttle pretty much throughout, and the final scene, where Tosca throws herself off the Castello Gandolfo into the Tiber is great ("Scarpia, we will meet again in hell!").<BR/><BR/>"Don Giovanni" is one of Mozart's masterworks, and one of the greatest operas written. It exercises the full emotional range of Mozart's skills. It, too, has a grand finale, in which the ghost of a man whom Don Giovanni killed rides in to take him away (presumably for lunch in hell with Tosca and Scarpia).<BR/><BR/>One other favorite of mine is Mascagni's "Caveleria Rusticana". It's worth it for the praeludio alone. This opera is flat out Sicilian in its themes, and ends with a stabbing and the tenor crying out "Oh, Mama!" as he dies. <BR/><BR/>If you saw Godfather III, this was the opera that was being performed when Sofia Coppola was muerdered -- a brilliant touch that was probably unappreciated by most who saw the movie.<BR/>This opera is not widely recorded and I heartily recommend the Pavarotti.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com