I did not say that they were bad singers. I said they were bad actors. I doubt that James Hetfield could handle a serious dramatic role either, but then he doesn't pretend to be an actor. Meryl Streep is an actress. Daniel Day-Lewis is an actor. Most opera singers are just comical by comparison.Originally Posted by stlukesguild
And Mortalterror knows all about stage presence when it comes to singers... having based his ideals upon Metallica and AC/DC.
"So-Crates: The only true wisdom consists in knowing that you know nothing." "That's us, dude!"- Bill and Ted
"This ain't over."- Charles Bronson
Feed the Hungry!
I often wonder whether film/tv is the right medium for opera - it's too close. I know opera singers have to take deep breaths and open their mouths wide to get those amazing results but I'm not sure I want to see them doing so in close-up. Similarly with the 'acting' - on stage the rather mannered movements are not so apparent, in screen they are all too obvious. Still, I suppose film gives me a chance to see Callas, for example, who had ceased performing long before I began to attend live performances.
You know what I realized about you, Neely? The lady of your life is 3 years-old right now, or possibly will be born in the next 2 years. So now you feel 100, but later, after you get your kids well raised, you'll feel 20 again!
Actually it's not such a bad idea, at least you would have something in common with the selected date. There are few things more dispiriting than spending time and effort pursuing some attractive female only to discover that she watches Footballers Wives and listens to guitar strumming neanderthals.
"L'art de la statistique est de tirer des conclusions erronèes a partir de chiffres exacts." Napoléon Bonaparte.
"Je crois que beaucoup de gens sont dans cet état d’esprit: au fond, ils ne sentent pas concernés par l’Histoire. Mais pourtant, de temps à autre, l’Histoire pose sa main sur eux." Michel Houellebecq.
Oh sure, it wasn't a criticism it's just that there is a market for everything it seems.
I've now lost my connection to Naxos online having had my uni account severed. Never mind. There's still youtube. It will also encourage me to buy more CDs.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S6yuR8efotI
I've found that since discovering YouTube, I seldom listen to CDs, because the range of its music is so vast. In the past I used to hear a piece on the radio and if I liked it I wouild buy the CD but all the while I would be wondering what other recordings were like. Now, I am able to check out numerous performances of a given piece and also see the performers in action. To my mind, YouTube is one of the greatest ideas of the new technological age. It's important to have decent sound quality though but fortunately I had a couple of decent speakers left over from my last computer and if I use headphones, the sound is even better.
This one went straight to my favourites box: apparently, it wasn't originally posted on YouTube but on a Chinese site. She was 11 years old when it was made.
http://youtu.be/PjEEFQLJTkU
"L'art de la statistique est de tirer des conclusions erronèes a partir de chiffres exacts." Napoléon Bonaparte.
"Je crois que beaucoup de gens sont dans cet état d’esprit: au fond, ils ne sentent pas concernés par l’Histoire. Mais pourtant, de temps à autre, l’Histoire pose sa main sur eux." Michel Houellebecq.
YouTube is great... but the sound quality is limited... and can be quite crappy at times. However, you can find some truly interesting stuff if you dig around. I've presently stopped all CD purchases and I'm focused upon opera DVDs and exploring Spotify which just opened in the US. It has a rather impressive catalog of music to listen to for next to nothing ($5 US per month) but the focus is currently far more upon popular music and the younger audience. I've heard good things about Naxos but have yet to try them out. They are far more expensive at $25 US per month or $225 US per year. Perhaps I'll need to give it a month's try in the summer when I can take advantage of it.
Beware of the man with just one book. -Ovid
The man who doesn't read good books has no advantage over the man who can't read them.- Mark Twain
My Blog: Of Delicious Recoil
http://stlukesguild.tumblr.com/
Someone I know in Switzerland is a big buyer of Naxos and he told me that they have a very extensive catalogue which enables him to build up his CD collection. They started out recording little known pieces of the repertoire and were much cheaper than the major record companies but eventually became a major force in their own right. I have seen Spotify mentioned in some of the comments attached to posted YouTube videos.
"L'art de la statistique est de tirer des conclusions erronèes a partir de chiffres exacts." Napoléon Bonaparte.
"Je crois que beaucoup de gens sont dans cet état d’esprit: au fond, ils ne sentent pas concernés par l’Histoire. Mais pourtant, de temps à autre, l’Histoire pose sa main sur eux." Michel Houellebecq.
Yes I've listened to a few things off spotifiy, a few free clips and so, but I don't know the full use of it. Quite true youtube is a great thing - if you want to listen to something it is virtually there.
Free Naxos was great but often I still used youtube. Naxos was good to get the full CD and to check out what was available. I wouldn't pay for it though because youtube and what I've got is enough for me at present.
The wang clip is incredible. Listen to it without watching the video and there is no way that a young girl is playing this music. Unreal.
Returning to the subject of divas, I thought I'd share some videos of my favourite diva of all time: the peerless Jessye Norman. My goodness, what a voice that woman has. Ignore some of the slightly loopy videos, and just revel in sublime quality of her voice. She also, I should point out, has the acting capability to carry off her roles!
Purcell - Dido's Lament
Shubert - Ave Maria
Wagner - 'Dich teure Halle' from Tannhauser
Bizet - 'Habanera' from Carmen
R. Strauss - Zueignung
And finally, my absolute favourite:
Wagner - 'Liebestod' from Tristan und Isolde
It is a very, very great shame that she never did Brünnhilde.
"I should only believe in a God that would know how to dance. And when I saw my devil, I found him serious, thorough, profound, solemn: he was the spirit of gravity- through him all things fall. Not by wrath, but by laughter, do we slay. Come, let us slay the spirit of gravity!" - Nietzsche
Divas!!! Divas!!!
That could be fun. Who are some of your favorites? As a sworn Wagnerian, my first vote must go with Kirsten Flagstad:
Most critics agree that there has never been a greater female Wagnerian soprano. Born in 1895, Flagstad reached her peak as a singer in the 1920s-1930s... but continued to perform in public brilliantly until the early 1950s and to make recording until 1958.
One of Flagstad's finest performances was surely that of the highlights from Tristan und Isolde with the San Francisco Opera, dating from 1939 and featuring Lauritz Melchoir, himself one of the greatest Wagnerian tenors ever:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ch3o0...eature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hkrGh...eature=related
She was equally brilliant at Covent Garden in 1936
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3dfbZ...eature=related
Amazingly, her voice hardly seems to have diminished in the least by the time she made the classic Tristan und Isolde recording with Wilhelm Furtwangler... in spite of the fact that she was nearly 60 years old!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vp2q7...eature=related
Beware of the man with just one book. -Ovid
The man who doesn't read good books has no advantage over the man who can't read them.- Mark Twain
My Blog: Of Delicious Recoil
http://stlukesguild.tumblr.com/
Man, I just bought all of Sibelius's symphonies from Amazon for a measly 8 bucks from Amazon, and I gotta say I love his stuff. I could see him become my favorite composer. He just has a way with melody and emotion, and all of his stuff just sounds so full. Really digging it.
And, Neely, I've never used Naxos, but have access to it through my university. What can you all do with it?
Was that by any chance the Simon Rattle boxset? They're excellent recordings...
As for Naxos, I use it all the time through my university connection - you can instantly stream any CD that Naxos have ever published through their website. That's a hell of a lot of music, and some of it is really rare!
"I should only believe in a God that would know how to dance. And when I saw my devil, I found him serious, thorough, profound, solemn: he was the spirit of gravity- through him all things fall. Not by wrath, but by laughter, do we slay. Come, let us slay the spirit of gravity!" - Nietzsche
Yes that is how I had it. Well it gives you access to over 54 thousand classical CDs with new ones being added daily. You have to pick your way through them though as some recordings are better than others. I used it to look for full works I was interested in, usually after listening to snippets online, and then do a general search. I would also browse the new releases which is on the homepage if something caught my eye. It was a valuable resource and I am sorry to have lost it but I'm unlikely to pay to subscribe to it. I might, however, do a little sneaky 10 credit course next year on something then I would have full access to this for a year and all the other benefits which come with being a student; from access to the libraries, other online resources to discounts on anything from clothes, bus journeys and theatre tickets etc.And, Neely, I've never used Naxos, but have access to it through my university. What can you all do with it?
Cool, I'll definitely have to play around with Naxos.
And, Lok, this is the set I bought. Now, I'm far from being an expert of classical recordings, but these sound beautiful to me.
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