On 1/24/2014 11:13 AM, F.O.A.D. wrote:
On 1/24/14, 11:05 AM, Mr. Luddite wrote:
On Wed, 22 Jan 2014 13:00:07 -0500, "F.O.A.D."
wrote:
I'll be watching the singing of the National Anthem at this year's
stupor bow.
Renee Fleming will do the honors.
Finally, someone who really can sing.
Sorry, but I can't handle opera, especially sopranos. Like fingernails
on a chalkboard. I appreciate her talent but nothing I'd voluntarily or
pay to listen to.
I have arranged a Valentine's Day Concert event at the Performance Venue
associated with the guitar shop and have booked a really nice swing jazz
group led by Amanda Carr who I met a while back at the shop.
We're going to have tables, appropriate center pieces for Valentine's
Day and allow BYOB for wine and beer.
Amanda is an accomplished musician and singer. She has performed
several times with the Boston Pops and with leading Big Bands across the
country and parts of Europe. Big Band and jazz swing are her
specialties.
She also has done the National Anthem several times at Fenway Park.
Here's one performance early in her singing career. The second link is
an example of one of her CD recordings:
National Anthem:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hpUWSED0Tc0
CD recording:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i5Q-jb3OlCo
Ahh, there are a few sopranos I really like. Perhaps a mezzo-soprano
might be more to your liking. Elina Garanca is smoooooooth. (!)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lQR9d8Y96hY
I can appreciate and enjoy many types of musical performances having had
a musician for a father and having played trumpet many times in the big
band orchestra that he performed with.
I enjoy symphony orchestra performances and have been to several. I
think I appreciate the perfection of the musician's abilities and the
timing they have. It often floors me that professional musicians can
put the exact expression in a piece, time after time based on how the
composer intended, rather than their personal preferences.
But opera? No way. That's where I draw the line. Does nothing for me.