Anybody over 45 remember...
 

Vic Smith wrote:
On Fri, 08 Aug 2008 15:10:58 -0400, hk wrote:

By providing a list of popular opera tunes? Too highbrow for the
pseudomusicians in this newsgroup?

I really believe opera didn't catch on here because of language.
Aside from excellent voices, opera tells a story on the stage.
If you don't understand the words, you don't hear the story.
Of course you can read along with a translation, or learn the
language.
Musicals in English did well here, and wasn't HMS Pinafore an opera?
West Side Story, Seven Brides..... were moneymakers.
Even that said, who here hasn't enjoyed the Three Tenors even when not
understanding the words?

--Vic


Gilbert and Sullivan were the most successful creators of "musicals" in
their day, and their operetta, Pinafore, is one of the best. It's "opera
light" and lots of fun.

Your point on language is well-taken. Many operas written in foreign
languages are produced in English from time to time, but English is just
not as musically colorful in the opera genre as Italian. Italian just
plain sings well. French is a step down from Italian, but still more
musical for the genre than English.

I'm not sure how important "the story" is for most opera, because most
opera stories are way, way over the top and, in fact, kind of silly. I
love opera for the singing and then for the music. Even if you don't
understand the language, you can understand the emotions being sung.

George and Ira Gershwin's Porgy and Bess is probably the "best" American
Opera. West Side Story certainly is opera-esque, but it really is a
Broadway musical. Bernstein's music and Sondheim's lyrics are terrific.




--
Republicans - They Take Special Pride in their Ignorance.

Anybody over 45 remember...
 

Eisboch wrote:
"Short Wave Sportfishing" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 8 Aug 2008 16:27:02 -0400, "Eisboch" wrote:

"hk" wrote in message
. ..

Eisboch wrote:
STOP. I have this bizzare image of you on stage with one of those
pointy Viking hats with the horns on the side, hands clasped before
you,
belting out a "tune".

Eisboch


Wish it were so. These days, I can't carry a tune with a bucket. Back in
junior high, though, before my voice changed from boy soprano to gravel,
I
could sing. A little.

At that first opera, we had seats on the side of the house, probably the
second balcony, and one of the female leads had absolutely spectacular
cleavage. That hooked me. The same weekend, we got to see "West Side
Story" on Broadway.

I think the kids in the choir were charged about $20 for the whole trip,
including trainfare. The school picked up the rest. That was in the days
schools had a little money.

Opera has fascinated me for a long, long time. Virtually every aspect of
it is way, way, way over the top.

BTW, if you want a real treat, listen to Anna Netrebko's "Violetta" CD.
Violetta Valery, the woman who "strayed." Some of the most beautiful
vocal
music ever.
No thanks. Opera does absolutely nothing for me. However, I *can*
understand your early introduction to it.
My intro was the Boston Symphony Orchestra, probably at about the same
age.
The power of the orchestra blew me away and stuck in my head. Even
today,
once in a while, Mrs.E. and I get tickets and journey into Boston just to
hear a beautifully played piece of music.

But .... NOT opera!
Classical music I can buy into - I was introduced to classical music
by one of my mother's step-brothers who was a classical musician with
the Chicago Symphony.

Opera - sorry, I can't buy into that for a variety of reasons.

I agree. When I was in elementary school/Jr. High, those of us that seemed
to have an interest in music were herded onto the school bus occasionally
for a trip to Boston to hear classical music performed by the Boston
Symphony Orchestra ... or an evening event with the Boston Pops.

Nobody ..... and I mean nobody .... was dragged into Boston to listen to an
opera. Even the music teachers weren't that cruel.

Eisboch



I think in Harry's school system, they spelled pompous with a capital P.

While we did many trips to the symphony, in my elementary school days, I
only had to go to the MET once a year to see The Nutcracker. I have
never enjoyed opera, but then again, I am uncouth.

Anybody over 45 remember...
 

Sir Grand Duke of Marmalade, Reginald P. Smithers III The Great, Esq.
LLC wrote:
JimH wrote:
On Aug 8, 4:45 pm, "Sir Grand Duke of Marmalade, Reginald P. Smithers
III The Great, Esq. LLC" wrote:
JimH wrote:
On Aug 8, 4:14 pm, "Sir Grand Duke of Marmalade, Reginald P. Smithers
III The Great, Esq. LLC" wrote:
Eisboch wrote:
"hk" wrote in message
. ..
Sure. There are kazillions of tunes in opera. Even if you
don't listen
to or like opera, you've heard them. At the moment, my
"ringtone" is a
tune from La Traviata, sung by Anna Netrebko.
Don't know Anna? One of her albums outsold one from Beyoncé
when it
came out in 2004 in Europe. Terrific voice, good-looking,
too. Well,
both of them, Anna and Beyoncé!
Here's a list of some popular opera tunes for you:
Lakmé: Flower Duet (Dome épais)
Die Walküre (The Valkyrie): Ride of the Valkyries
La Forza del destino (The Force of Destiny) : Overture
Andre Chénier: La mamma morte
Il Barbiere di Siviglia (The Barber of Seville): Overture
Il Barbiere di Siviglia: Largo al factotum
Lohengrin: Wedding March
La Wally: Ebben? ne andro lontana
Cosi fan tutte: Soave sia il vento
Legend of Tsar Saltan: Flight of the Bumble Bee
La Traviata: Libiamo ne lieti calici (Brindisi)
By providing a list of popular opera tunes? Too highbrow for the
pseudomusicians in this newsgroup?
Sure, Tom...whatever you say. I've been an opera fan since the
7th Grade,
when our choir club teacher took us to a performance of La Boheme
at the
Met. We've been to at least a half dozen major league opera
performances
in the last year.
STOP. I have this bizzare image of you on stage with one of
those pointy
Viking hats with the horns on the side, hands clasped before you,
belting
out a "tune".
Eisboch
I know I must have grown up on the wrong side of town. We didn't
have a
"choir club" in the 7th grade.
Did you play the banjo back then?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ydGhd1Da6fo
I think so. ;-)
Nope, but while that is some really nice plucking, I can play the song
as well as the kid did in the movie. The boy was playing the banjo using
a "claw-hammer" style, and in reality the song dueling banjos is played
on a different style banjo using finger picks.

In other words, that boy is really not playing the guitar. Now you know
the rest of the story. ;)

Did you know that elementary and middle school choirs are/were not
uncommon in most school districts?

I sang in school choir from 4th through 8th grade.

I am sure you did.

That speaks volumes.

Anybody over 45 remember...
 

Short Wave Sportfishing wrote:
On Fri, 8 Aug 2008 17:02:46 -0400, "Eisboch" wrote:

I've also witnessed highly educated, egotistical blowhards that, when laid
off, can't grasp the concept of how they possibly could not be needed. Most
of the time the company was better off without them.

I have witnessed in this NG educated, egotistical blowhards, that can't
grasp the concept of how they possibly could not be needed.

Anybody over 45 remember...
 

On Fri, 08 Aug 2008 17:08:43 -0400, Eisboch wrote:


Ballet?

Ballet???????

Sorry. You just tip toed over the line.

No thanks.

Eisboch

While I'd rather have a root canal than go to an Opera, I have allowed
myself to be dragged to a ballet. A hint, don't look at it as dance,
look at it as sport. A quality ballet company is filled with tremendous
athletes. From that stand point, I can tolerate a ballet every 5-10
years.

Anybody over 45 remember...
 

"Sir Grand Duke of Marmalade, Reginald P. Smithers III The Great, Esq.
LLC" wrote in
:

grin, he is cute when he wants to be. Can you imagine being at the
marina dock when his cell phone rings?



On A-dock where all those deep sea fishermen are drinking on the back decks
of the big fishing boats....(c;

Anybody over 45 remember...
 

Anybody over 45 remember...
 

"Eisboch" wrote in message
...

"Short Wave Sportfishing" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 8 Aug 2008 16:27:02 -0400, "Eisboch" wrote:


"hk" wrote in message
om...

Eisboch wrote:

STOP. I have this bizzare image of you on stage with one of those
pointy Viking hats with the horns on the side, hands clasped before
you,
belting out a "tune".

Eisboch




Wish it were so. These days, I can't carry a tune with a bucket. Back
in
junior high, though, before my voice changed from boy soprano to
gravel, I
could sing. A little.

At that first opera, we had seats on the side of the house, probably
the
second balcony, and one of the female leads had absolutely spectacular
cleavage. That hooked me. The same weekend, we got to see "West Side
Story" on Broadway.

I think the kids in the choir were charged about $20 for the whole
trip,
including trainfare. The school picked up the rest. That was in the
days
schools had a little money.

Opera has fascinated me for a long, long time. Virtually every aspect
of
it is way, way, way over the top.

BTW, if you want a real treat, listen to Anna Netrebko's "Violetta" CD.
Violetta Valery, the woman who "strayed." Some of the most beautiful
vocal
music ever.

No thanks. Opera does absolutely nothing for me. However, I *can*
understand your early introduction to it.
My intro was the Boston Symphony Orchestra, probably at about the same
age.
The power of the orchestra blew me away and stuck in my head. Even
today,
once in a while, Mrs.E. and I get tickets and journey into Boston just to
hear a beautifully played piece of music.

But .... NOT opera!

Classical music I can buy into - I was introduced to classical music
by one of my mother's step-brothers who was a classical musician with
the Chicago Symphony.

Opera - sorry, I can't buy into that for a variety of reasons.

I agree. When I was in elementary school/Jr. High, those of us that
seemed to have an interest in music were herded onto the school bus
occasionally for a trip to Boston to hear classical music performed by the
Boston Symphony Orchestra ... or an evening event with the Boston Pops.

Nobody ..... and I mean nobody .... was dragged into Boston to listen to
an opera. Even the music teachers weren't that cruel.

Eisboch


Being the father of a musical daughter, I have listened to all the genres of
music. Some opera is good, if you do not have to watch it. As to Ballet,
is amazing the athleticsm of the dancers. Daughter was also into ballet, or
I had to watch a lot. Still not my favorite entertainment.

Anybody over 45 remember...
 

"Calif Bill" wrote in message
m...


Being the father of a musical daughter, I have listened to all the genres
of music. Some opera is good, if you do not have to watch it. As to
Ballet, is amazing the athleticsm of the dancers. Daughter was also into
ballet, or I had to watch a lot. Still not my favorite entertainment.


As for musicals like "West Side Story", some of them are good, but IMO they
aren't Operas. They are Musicals.

We often went to the local Music Circus to see performances such as "Man of
La Mancha", "Paint Your Wagon", and "Bye Bye Birdie".

I don't consider them Opera.

Thinking about it though, I have often listened to opera singers .... female
and male .... performing individually. Some of that is very good. I guess
what doesn't excite me is sitting through 2 hours of story telling through
song.

Eisboch

Anybody over 45 remember...
 

On Fri, 8 Aug 2008 14:31:38 -0700 (PDT),
wrote:

On Aug 8, 5:08*pm, hk wrote:
Eisboch wrote:
"hk" wrote in message
...

wrote:
Ha, ha, ha..... what a bunch of ****....perv.. * * * I have to know if
there is one person here reading these fantasies, who thinks wafa is
"not" full of ****.. Go ahead, post up guys, who is falling for this
crap...?? * Anyone? Anyone at all??? * I won't hold my breath...;)

Stop projecting. I'm not the uneducated failure. You are.

Seems to me that some people, particularly professional academics, place a
misguided emphasis on the value of a formal "education", as if anyone
without one is a second class citizen.

In my working experience, I found just the opposite to be true. *Some of the
smartest, most talented people I knew graduated from "oh-hum" colleges or
universities .... if they attended or graduated at all. * Their professional
accomplishments were due and motivated by a sincere desire to succeed, hard
work and dedication, rather than an expectation of success due to their
superior "education".

I've also witnessed highly educated, egotistical blowhards that, when laid
off, can't grasp the concept of how they possibly could not be needed. *Most
of the time the company was better off without them.

Eisboch

Your mistake was in assuming I was referring to formal education.
You didn't ask...you assumed.

Abraham Lincoln, after all, had very little formal education, and no one
would refer to him as uneducated. My Russian grandfather had no formal
education, yet he could speak, read and write six different languages
fluently.

My comment about JustWait was based upon the absolutely idiotic nonsense
he posts here, the stuff that reads as if it were first spit up by Rush
Limbaugh, and then heated up and served up again by Fox News.

--

Well, of course you are lying again. I would rather be known as an
illeterate man, than a dishonorable man, any day.

How fortunate for you that you get to be both!