Opera: Awesome or Awful?

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Do you like opera?

No, opera is just screeching fat ladies who ought to be shut up.
2
17%
Yes, opera is the best thing since sliced bread.
6
50%
I don't care.
3
25%
What's opera?
1
8%
 
Total votes: 12
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matrixman
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Post by matrixman »

My knowledge of opera singers is weak, but I have heard a few of the "legends" like Maria Callas, Joan Sutherland, Victoria de Los Angeles, Renata Tebaldi, Jessye Norman and Montserrat Caballe, mainly from listening to highlights of Verdi and Puccini operas, and opera compilations in general.

I think they're all fabulous, but I'd say the one whose singing really sent shivers through me was Maria Callas. I call her THE VOICE. It's not that she was a particularly powerful singer; rather, her voice carried supreme gravitas. When she sang, I paid attention, even if I did not understand the words.
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Menolly
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Post by Menolly »

I am not a huge fan of opera, but when I studied voice at FSU, Beverly Sills came and did a recital as part of her farewell tour. I don't know...I'm not a huge fan of hers on recordings or other media. But live, in a really well-built acoustic performance hall...

...breathtaking...

And that was at the end of her career...
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dANdeLION
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Post by dANdeLION »

www.youtube.com/watch?v=TeyfGCUMn4o&NR=1

www.youtube.com/watch?v=CfVELFsb96Q&feature=related

Simply amazing.
Dandelion don't tell no lies
Dandelion will make you wise
Tell me if she laughs or cries
Blow away dandelion

I'm afraid there's no denying
I'm just a dandelion
a fate I don't deserve.

High priest of THOOOTP

:hobbes: *

* This post carries Jay's seal of approval
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matrixman
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Post by matrixman »

Thanks for that, dAN; I hadn't been paying much attention to current singers. Jenkins is quite a dazzling beauty, on top of her singing. :)
Menolly wrote:I am not a huge fan of opera, but when I studied voice at FSU, Beverly Sills came and did a recital as part of her farewell tour. I don't know...I'm not a huge fan of hers on recordings or other media. But live, in a really well-built acoustic performance hall...

...breathtaking...

And that was at the end of her career...
I'm afraid I only remember Beverly Sills from her guest appearance on The Muppet Show. :lol:

But it's very cool that you got to hear an opera star in person. Yeah, I'm not that surprised that even an opera singer in the twilight of her career could still pack a lot of power in her vocals.
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Post by Menolly »

Perhaps that was the difference over recordings and performances via other forms of media, mm. She was in the School of Music's concert hall which, as I said, was built with acoustics in mind. She was not amplified at all. Strictly her, her diaphragm, and the acoustics of the hall. It was...amazing.
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