Elza van den Heever and the MET Orchestra: A stunning all-Strauss program
Humour
Retta, the opera fan
HumourHappy New Year! I’m starting 2015 off light, with a fun opera find out in the world of general media. Did you know actress/comedienne Retta, who plays Donna on Parks and Recreation, trained as an opera singer? She’s still got some decent chops, too, which she showed off to Conan O’Brien in 2012.
Tales from One Soprano's European Audition Tour
HumourWhen they’re not too far from their university years, many young Canadian opera singers start thinking about an audition tour in Europe. Germany, in particular, is appealing to Canadians for its many, many opera houses, and the coveted fest contract in German houses. Canadian soprano Lydia Skourides Péquegnat is one of those singers, having spent three seasons at Theater Dortmund before returning to Germany for a four-month audition tour.
John Cage Would Have Laughed
HumourSince John Cage didn’t write anything easily defined as an opera, this is officially a topical digression. Concerning the above screenshot, possible explanations include a) a hilarious coincidence concerning copyright infringement, b) John Cage is haunting AdamLore and his YouTube channel, or c) AdamLore infringed upon copyright knowing that this would be perfect.
How to Sit Through Opera and Other Wikigems
HumourEvery once in a while I like to pretend I’m an opera newbie and Google things like “why do opera singers sing so loud” and “why is opera so long”. I was rewarded this time with a WikiHow goldmine of entertainment. Now, I know these articles can be written by anyone, so I’m not going on a snob rant. I just think these are hilarious.
Turning Pages, Turning Heads
HumourPianists, can we talk about page-turning for a minute? Nothing ignites panic in a pianist quite like that horrible feeling of two pages, disguised as one, inexplicably stuck together. The subsequent scuffle between index finger and thumb can escalate into the unthinkable: having to turn the page with both hands. I’ve never been a fan of having a designated page-turner seated beside me at the piano, because I like my bubble of personal space when I play; my stubbornness on this issue has only grown stronger since I’ve been playing opera scores.
Tales from the Score: Zerbinetta
HumourIf there’s one thing that makes me love a composer, it’s word painting. What’s word painting? It’s when you write a musical line for the singer that sounds like the word they’re saying. Example: “Oh no, I am fall-ing down” on six descending syllables. Zerbinetta’s aria from Strauss’ Ariadne auf Naxos is one of the densest moments of word painting that I can think of. Here are some fun bits:
Asking Google About Opera
HumourI saw this image from the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra floating around the Internet, showing us all what the Googling public asks about the different orchestral instruments. I thought it was funny enough, so I compiled some of the broader Google searches related to the opera singers and their voice types.
St. Patrick's Day Potpourri
HumourHappy St. Patrick's Day, everyone! To give an operatic nod to the patron saint of Ireland, here are some appropriately-themed clips via YouTube.
Ma su Facebook, son già mille e tre!
HumourWe hit a milestone this weekend: Schmopera cleared 1000 likes on Facebook!
4 weird rehearsal moments from the piano bench
HumourRehearsals are a lot of things; they're stressful, fun, boring, inspiring, and weird. The last one is probably the most true, and opera folk tend to get de-sensitized to the weird stuff pretty quickly. Obvious examples are hilariously pouffy rehearsal skirts, sopranos who mark with bass-like chest voices, and the generally weird shorthand between the artists ("are we going from vrum-da-DUM or from tinklytinkly?"). I thought I'd share some of these odd moments that I've experienced from my seat at the piano.