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Opera, Singing Cats and Knitted Rolandos Appreciation
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Smokeychan1
11-07-2011
As Pop-to-Opera comes to a close, it seemed a good time to create a more permanent home for those who wish to discuss and share their love of Opera and Classical Music.

I'm a complete novice myself, but thanks to the many who contributed to the TV show thread, I have truly come to appreciate these genres. I especially love the baritone voice - I know voice types have a variety of ranges, but I am not anywhere clued up enough to know one from the other...yet!

Here is my first contribution to the thread:

My current soft spot: Dmitri Hvorostovsky as Prince Yeletsky

Feel free to post your current "drool" (the term is totally borrowed ) or anything else that takes your fancy.

PS: Thanks again to all the posters on the PSTOS thread.
asitis
11-07-2011
Dmitri Hvorostovsky is a baritone I have yet to know more about. It was through the PSTOS thread that I got to hear his singing thanks to all the great posters. No wonder you got a soft spot for him; he is a wonderful singer. I will be looking forward to being introduced to more of his performances.

I had thought about starting a classical music thread but couldn't do it because I knew I wouldn’t be able to contribute regularly. You’ve just made me a happy bunny. Thanks for starting it and also for not limiting the thread to operas but including (if I got it right) other forms of classical music as well.

I have a feeling that my days are going to start with a cup of hand-dripped French roast and a slice of fresh homemade bread with a dollop of honey on it and end with a full course fillet mignon dinner table set right inside Covent Garden and The MET or wherever the posters of this thread let us be. If there’s any time you find the desert plate missing the chocolate, you can bet that’s because I have it hidden in my pocket or under my tongue. You see, I am drooling already.

I have a piece of Ghirardelli (or the aria that was used for its commercial) just about to melt in my pocket. I should take it out before going to bed.
The Flower Duet from Lakmé
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R9gFBuYc0z0
It's not performed by big name sopranos, but it’s quite nice.

I think Cheryl and Katherine Jenkins did well with this aria. There was good chemistry between the two of them.
Gneiss
11-07-2011
Originally Posted by Smokeychan1:
“Here is my first contribution to the thread:

My current soft spot: Dmitri Hvorostovsky as Prince Yeletsky”

I was very disappointed not to see him with Anna Netrebko a year or so back after she pulled out though illness and the date was cancelled. That disappointment was only equalled by the fact that I couldn't make the rescheduled date...

It did little to curb my disappointment when that rescheduled concert got rave reviews - even from smiley at the Telegraph I believe!

Anyway here they are together... Anna Netrebko sings with Dmitri Hvorostovsky http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=36vm2VoXuXA
Iphigenia
11-07-2011
Thankyou for starting this!!

I've been a little low on opera at the moment but I'm having a lifetime classical first this week at the First Night of the Proms - Janacek's Glagolitic Mass. Hadn't heard it before I booked but since bought the CD - very exciting!
Gneiss
11-07-2011
Originally Posted by asitis:
“I think Cheryl and Katherine Jenkins did well with this aria. There was good chemistry between the two of them.”

I think they did too...

This is my favourite version, and best of all the entire concert is available on DVD

Unfortunately this clip makes them look like the side of a bus, the silver dress BTW looks much nicer on the DVD where you can see the pattern in it! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mpT7p...eature=related
Gneiss
11-07-2011
Originally Posted by Iphigenia:
“Thankyou for starting this!!

I've been a little low on opera at the moment but I'm having a lifetime classical first this week at the First Night of the Proms - Janacek's Glagolitic Mass. Hadn't heard it before I booked but since bought the CD - very exciting!”

I've never been, other than to proms in the park...

An ex girlfriend, and I emphasis the EX here, once got tickets for the last night but didn't bother getting them for me as she assumed I wouldn't want to go
Smokeychan1
11-07-2011
Originally Posted by asitis:
“I have a piece of Ghirardelli (or the aria that was used for its commercial) just about to melt in my pocket. I should take it out before going to bed.
The Flower Duet from Lakmé
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R9gFBuYc0z0
It's not performed by big name sopranos, but it’s quite nice.

I think Cheryl and Katherine Jenkins did well with this aria. There was good chemistry between the two of them.”

It's such a pretty aria, fortunately I so rarely watch ads nowadays, I didn't associate it with BA (the airline was mentioned on the PSTOS last night). I agree the ladies did it credit, it was my favourite performance of the night.

And you're correct, the thread is not limited to Opera. I hope "Classical Music" encompasses everything modern and old. I fell in love with the work of Ennio Morricone, thanks to DFI, although I suspect that purists somewhere would scoff at me for including his work in the genre.


Originally Posted by Gneiss:
“I was very disappointed not to see him with Anna Netrebko a year or so back after she pulled out though illness and the date was cancelled. That disappointment was only equalled by the fact that I couldn't make the rescheduled date...

It did little to curb my disappointment when that rescheduled concert got rave reviews - even from smiley at the Telegraph I believe!

Anyway here they are together... Anna Netrebko sings with Dmitri Hvorostovsky http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=36vm2VoXuXA”

Anna's a little sex bomb isn't she. I have really come to associate her with Rolando after the links from their joint collaborations and I have to say, from that one taste (so not much), I prefer her with the flamboyant, curly-haired one. Dmitri, much as I love him, seems a little too staid and brooding for Anna.


Originally Posted by Iphigenia:
“Thankyou for starting this!!

I've been a little low on opera at the moment but I'm having a lifetime classical first this week at the First Night of the Proms - Janacek's Glagolitic Mass. Hadn't heard it before I booked but since bought the CD - very exciting!”

And thank you for reminding me it is that time of year! I've watched far too little of the Proms over the years, but will follow what I can on the Beeb. Have a great time on Friday!


Originally Posted by Gneiss:
“I've never been, other than to proms in the park...

An ex girlfriend, and I emphasis the EX here, once got tickets for the last night but didn't bother getting them for me as she assumed I wouldn't want to go ”

Although that made me giggle a little...Ouch, poor you.

As a southerner living in the north, the major downside has always been not having London on my doorstep. How I regret now, turning down the school trip to the Last Night when I was a young girl
Pet Monkey
11-07-2011
Hey! It's nice in here. We've got some great links already and fine, fine company. Thanks for setting it up Smokey and hello to everyone.

I really hope we can make this thread come alive and grow into something part of a regular morning or mid afternoon mooch. I've really enjoyed PS2OS -- as much for the thread as for the 'show' itself (my slightly ashamed shorthand for 'a regular weekly fix of The Glorious Rolando'). My only fear is that my pockets aren't deep and all the links and enthusiasm for all the different kinds of music are going to cast me into poverty -- and not Windsock's pretend kind.

For example, now intrigued by the thought of Iphegenia's Janacek Mass, which I've never heard... It's the word Glagolitic as much as anything. It sounds like a planetary epoch, or a kind of seagull, or a condition of the left tonsil but intriguing whatever it is. How would you describe it? The music, not the word

Anyhoo, here's a link back to the old thread for posterity and as a handy back door run.
http://forums.digitalspy.co.uk/showt...74941&page=156
Pet Monkey
11-07-2011
Originally Posted by asitis:
“Dmitri Hvorostovsky is a baritone I have yet to know more about. It was through the PSTOS thread that I got to hear his singing thanks to all the great posters. No wonder you got a soft spot for him; he is a wonderful singer. I will be looking forward to being introduced to more of his performances.

I had thought about starting a classical music thread but couldn't do it because I knew I wouldn’t be able to contribute regularly. You’ve just made me a happy bunny. Thanks for starting it and also for not limiting the thread to operas but including (if I got it right) other forms of classical music as well.

I have a feeling that my days are going to start with a cup of hand-dripped French roast and a slice of fresh homemade bread with a dollop of honey on it and end with a full course fillet mignon dinner table set right inside Covent Garden and The MET or wherever the posters of this thread let us be. If there’s any time you find the desert plate missing the chocolate, you can bet that’s because I have it hidden in my pocket or under my tongue. You see, I am drooling already.

I have a piece of Ghirardelli (or the aria that was used for its commercial) just about to melt in my pocket. I should take it out before going to bed.
The Flower Duet from Lakmé
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R9gFBuYc0z0
It's not performed by big name sopranos, but it’s quite nice.

I think Cheryl and Katherine Jenkins did well with this aria. There was good chemistry between the two of them.”

Hullo to asitis in Toronto. Agree entirely about Cheryl and Katherine's duet -- it was very well chosen for Cheryl who always seemed best with the lilting melodic arias. There's a lot of appeal and joy that comes across in her singing. Simon Callow's dead right about that. (I'm afraid her solo aria was a bad choice for her, a bit out of control and not always well pitched, and not playing to her strengths... but I doubt she'll much mind coming second. She got to the final and that's reward enough. Being part of it for as long as possible is the prize.) Along with the group singalong, their Lakme was the best thing of the night probably. I had thought Musica proibita was carefully chosen for Joe too, giving him lyrics and a state of mind that he could relate to as a young lad, but it wasn't as successful as the girls' duet as a duet, notwithstanding the glorious presence of the glorious Rolando. It struck me last night afresh how gracious both of those singers are, Katherine and Rolando, to sing with these very-much-beginner classical singers and to support them so well. Heart warming.

Yus, I'm glad it's classical as well as opera too. I guess we can be as free and freaky as we want with our choices. Or at least that's what I'm hoping.
Holli Would
11-07-2011
Thanks for starting this thread, OP. I hope it goes well.

So, for someone like me who is next to completely unfamiliar with opera, can anyone give me any tips of where to start? I'd like something simple that won't scare me off. I've enjoyed singers like Katherine Jenkins and Sarah Brightman (does Sarah count as full on opera, though?) but I'd like to try something less mainstream.

Thanks in advance for any replies.
Smokeychan1
11-07-2011
Originally Posted by Holli Would:
“Thanks for starting this thread, OP. I hope it goes well.

So, for someone like me who is next to completely unfamiliar with opera, can anyone give me any tips of where to start? I'd like something simple that won't scare me off. I've enjoyed singers like Katherine Jenkins and Sarah Brightman (does Sarah count as full on opera, though?) but I'd like to try something less mainstream.

Thanks in advance for any replies. ”

I'm so glad you came over Holli. I'm not in any position to offer tips, being a newbie myself, however, DFI posted a couple of links (see below) to a production of The Barber of Seville which looks especially fun and colorful. It will be my first "whole opera" purchase, once I can track it down.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T2eD90_Bsyw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZB8wYINa0YI

Some people may groan at crossover, but Moscow Nights, an album of post-war Russian songs, performed by Dmitri Hvorostovsky is also on my to-buy list.

Kak molody my byli is the first track from the album.
Smokeychan1
11-07-2011
Originally Posted by Pet Monkey:
“Hey! It's nice in here. We've got some great links already and fine, fine company. Thanks for setting it up Smokey and hello to everyone.

Anyhoo, here's a link back to the old thread for posterity and as a handy back door run.
http://forums.digitalspy.co.uk/showt...74941&page=156”

You're welcome, but thanks should go jointly to DFI who rather put me on the spot!

Great idea to link back to the other thread too.

Originally Posted by Pet Monkey:
“Yus, I'm glad it's classical as well as opera too. I guess we can be as free and freaky as we want with our choices. Or at least that's what I'm hoping. ”

Yes, yes, yes. No such thing as off topic here!
Holli Would
11-07-2011
Originally Posted by Smokeychan1:
“I'm so glad you came over Holli. I'm not in any position to offer tips, being a newbie myself, however, DFI posted a couple of links (see below) to a production of The Barber of Seville which looks especially fun and colorful. It will be my first "whole opera" purchase, once I can track it down.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T2eD90_Bsyw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZB8wYINa0YI

Some people may groan at crossover, but Moscow Nights, an album of post-war Russian songs, performed by Dmitri Hvorostovsky is also on my to-buy list.

Kak molody my byli is the first track from the album.”

Thanks very much, Smokeychan! I'm glad my little grumble inspired a positive post. Hope more people will come here and we can all help each other.

By the way, I think this piece from the film Mulholland Drive (a fave film of mine) is one of the most beautiful things I've ever heard:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AIpkMg9sh6Q

Does this count as opera?
Pet Monkey
11-07-2011
Originally Posted by Holli Would:
“Thanks for starting this thread, OP. I hope it goes well.

So, for someone like me who is next to completely unfamiliar with opera, can anyone give me any tips of where to start? I'd like something simple that won't scare me off. I've enjoyed singers like Katherine Jenkins and Sarah Brightman (does Sarah count as full on opera, though?) but I'd like to try something less mainstream.

Thanks in advance for any replies. ”

For me the easiest way into anything new is to always go for what I love or what moves me. That way if I don't understand it or find it too unfamiliar at first, there's always something to keep me from running off. If you love those two voices, why not think of getting a CD of duets -- look for one with Lakmé's Flower Duet because that'll probably put you in the right place. It's a way of sampling lots of different composers and voices and styles. And it's easier than throwing yourself into a whole opera.

Smokey's right about following the voice you love. I've built up most of my sense of opera through a ridiculous crush on Giuseppe Di Stefano (the kind of voice to shake you into life).

If you want to try a whole opera, Puccini is probably a good place to start. He's got the most 'tunes' and you'll recognise most of them. You might find it best to start with a DVD too because seeing the action gives the BIG feelings in the music their proper context. Something that's been recommended a lot on t'other thread is the Netrebko / Villazon La Bohème (if you can bear all the tears, weeping, deep sorrow, wet hankies etc that there will be at the close of the opera. Honestly you will be distraught). But it gets rid of any language difficulties too -- you can put the subtitles on and enjoy it straight out the box.
Smokeychan1
11-07-2011
Originally Posted by Holli Would:
“Thanks very much, Smokeychan! I'm glad my little grumble inspired a positive post. Hope more people will come here and we can all help each other.

By the way, I think this piece from the film Mulholland Drive (a fave film of mine) is one of the most beautiful things I've ever heard:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AIpkMg9sh6Q

Does this count as opera?”

I don't think so, but who cares? it is beautiful. I have never watched Mulholland Drive, so thanks for sharing.
Pet Monkey
11-07-2011
Originally Posted by Smokeychan1:
“I don't think so, but who cares? it is beautiful. I have never watched Mulholland Drive, so thanks for sharing.”

And whether it's opera or not, it surely is operatic!
Holli Would
11-07-2011
Originally Posted by Smokeychan1:
“I don't think so, but who cares? it is beautiful. I have never watched Mulholland Drive, so thanks for sharing.”

Hehe, I wasn't sure so that's how little I know about opera at the moment.

'Tis a very lovely bit of singing, though, I agree, and I think operatic in style in terms of the drama of it if nothing else.

You must watch Mulholland Drive. It's David Lynch, so expect to not have a clue about what's going on but if you want to after the film, google "Mulholland Drive explained" and there are entire websites decidated to figuring out the plot.

Back on topic, what do people think of La Traviata? I've always been curious about that opera because of it's reference in Pretty Woman. Is it worth checking out for an opera newbie like me?
Iphigenia
11-07-2011
Originally Posted by Smokeychan1:
“And thank you for reminding me it is that time of year! I've watched far too little of the Proms over the years, but will follow what I can on the Beeb. Have a great time on Friday!


As a southerner living in the north, the major downside has always been not having London on my doorstep. How I regret now, turning down the school trip to the Last Night when I was a young girl ”

Researching what to do on my one free night in t'city, for the first time ever I wished I lived there. So much music on the doorstep -I'd be bankrupt in weeks!
Annied
11-07-2011
Originally Posted by Holli Would:
“Thanks for starting this thread, OP. I hope it goes well.

So, for someone like me who is next to completely unfamiliar with opera, can anyone give me any tips of where to start? I'd like something simple that won't scare me off. I've enjoyed singers like Katherine Jenkins and Sarah Brightman (does Sarah count as full on opera, though?) but I'd like to try something less mainstream.

Thanks in advance for any replies. ”

I started from scratch too, although it's now longer ago than I care to remember! At the time I got several compilation tapes out of the library. From those I was able to identify a voice I particularly loved (José Carreras) and a composer who stood out (Verdi). That started me on the trail of cassettes and DVDs that featured Carreras singing Verdi. Along the way I started to find baritones and sopranos I also liked and the search widened. When I ran out of Verdi recordings I looked for other composers I liked and so it went on.

Only you know what you "hear", so it's difficult to recommend anything in particular as it may not suit your individual taste. One of the most frustrating things about opera is that it covers such a variety you can spend a long time floundering in genres with which you struggle. (Baroque will forever be a closed book to me although I accept that others love it.) It's a very rare individual who likes everything.

One thing I've found is that DVDs can't even come close to replicating a live performance. The atmosphere just isn't there for the most part and you lose the thrill of hearing a voice live and without amplification. If you can go to a live performance of an opera you know and like it should be a revelation compared to watching it on television.
Gneiss
11-07-2011
Originally Posted by Holli Would:
“Back on topic, what do people think of La Traviata? I've always been curious about that opera because of it's reference in Pretty Woman. Is it worth checking out for an opera newbie like me?”

Absolutely... it's my favourite opera and I never tire of it no matter how many times and different productions I see.

The film itself was loosely based on La Traviata, and the reference to it is a nod to that.


Originally Posted by Holli Would:
“So, for someone like me who is next to completely unfamiliar with opera, can anyone give me any tips of where to start?”

How about starting with a juggling tenor http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fnf1g...eature=related

And you could do far worse than that DVD as a starting point...

Another great starting point IMHO is La Bohème the movie, also with Anna Netrebko and Rolando, a beautifully produced DVD and one I have recommended in the past.
Gneiss
11-07-2011
Originally Posted by Smokeychan1:
“Anna's a little sex bomb isn't she. I have really come to associate her with Rolando after the links from their joint collaborations and I have to say, from that one taste (so not much), I prefer her with the flamboyant, curly-haired one. Dmitri, much as I love him, seems a little too staid and brooding for Anna.”

It's an unfortunate consequence of Rolando's time off that we have been deprived of seeing them perform together for so long... there just isn't another couple to compare to them on stage.

Originally Posted by Smokeychan1:
“Although that made me giggle a little...Ouch, poor you.”

Believe me I'm holding a grudge for life over that one...
ruby-tuesday
11-07-2011
Originally Posted by Smokeychan1:
“As Pop-to-Opera comes to a close, it seemed a good time to create a more permanent home for those who wish to discuss and share their love of Opera and Classical Music.

I'm a complete novice myself, but thanks to the many who contributed to the TV show thread, I have truly come to appreciate these genres. I especially love the baritone voice - I know voice types have a variety of ranges, but I am not anywhere clued up enough to know one from the other...yet!

Feel free to post your current "drool" (the term is totally borrowed ) or anything else that takes your fancy.

PS: Thanks again to all the posters on the PSTOS thread.”

hello, love the title of this new thread, thank you for doing this Smokey (can I call you that? I used to have a cat called Smokey btw)

will look forward to some serious drooling

Originally Posted by Gneiss:
“
How about starting with a juggling tenor http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fnf1g...eature=related
”

I love this clip Gneiss, it never fails to make me smile

and "hello" to Holli Would
Aida
11-07-2011
Hi, Possums! It looks as if the new 'Sanctuary' is shaping up very well!

Special 'hello' to Holli Would - you've had some super advice already but just to add my mite and a bit of a plug for an opera which is very special to me - La Boheme - the film 'Moonstruck' which stars Cher and Nicholas Cage is an easy watch and contains not only many of the melodies from Boheme in slightly modernised form, but there is also a scene from the actual opera when he takes her to The Met for their date.

I also noticed, in an email from Amazon this morning, that they have a few opera compilation CD's at 'special offer' prices - not everyone would agree, but I feel they're a rather nice way to introduce oneself to opera and discover which singers and composers appeal most.

That's me finished being sensible - I think I'll go and scour Youtube for some baritone and bass arias - I'm just in the mood for some dark resonance!
windsock
11-07-2011
Hi all.

One of the things I most enjoyed about this series of PTOS was the wonderful, intelligent and mischievous company to be found in that resolutely unfocused merged thread for the series. Chaotic, rambling, circuitous and as heady as good ale... I loved it. And fearing its death, we all watched its breathing, in careful synch with the rise and fall of its last febrile days... Swatting away the flies who anticipated its end, we sat in silent anxiety... Too good to die, we thought, and yet knew that the heavens were full of individuals who should never have left this earth.

The last show ended. And there it should have rested.

But it turns out, Smokey's done a deal with some kind of devil... and it lives on.

So, now we're all invited round to Smokey's new place, and this thread promises to honour for all time everything that was best about the original thread. With the addition of - ta daaa - Classical!

I wonder will it be possible to include (in celebration of the original thread) an agreed happy hour (during which everyone tries to be there and type, madly, like they're trying to commentate on feathers in a wind-tunnel?) Proms broadcast flash mob?
DFI
11-07-2011
Originally Posted by Smokeychan1:
“As Pop-to-Opera comes to a close, it seemed a good time to create a more permanent home for those who wish to discuss and share their love of Opera and Classical Music.

I'm a complete novice myself, but thanks to the many who contributed to the TV show thread, I have truly come to appreciate these genres. I especially love the baritone voice - I know voice types have a variety of ranges, but I am not anywhere clued up enough to know one from the other...yet!

Here is my first contribution to the thread:

My current soft spot: Dmitri Hvorostovsky as Prince Yeletsky

Feel free to post your current "drool" (the term is totally borrowed ) or anything else that takes your fancy.

PS: Thanks again to all the posters on the PSTOS thread.”

Very nice. I like the new place......I like what you've done with it
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