Brahms hated cats? What?

Humour

Has anyone else read about this? Richard Wagner, the "notoriously bitchy composer" (David Ward, The Guardian), said that Johannes Brahms, composer and owner of classical music's best beard, hated cats.

My Train of Clicks Led Me To Marilyn Horne

Humour

I was browsing through r/Opera (which should be your new favourite place), and noticed on the sidebar a welcome message, in italiano. The message was clearly the text of an aria, and I was more than a little miffed that I couldn't immediately identify it.

Opera Memes: A deconstruction

Humour

I feel like deconstructing today. I was going for lighter fare on a Sunday, which usually means heading over to the land of the opera nerds on Tumblr.

It's Valentines Day! Now what?

Humour

I thought about making a flow chart for Valentine's Day. It was going to be sort of like If-You're-Single-Do-This and If-You're-Attached-Do-This. But the answer to both is the same, making this a very simplistic flow chart indeed.

Opera Heroines in 2014: What if?

Humour

So, it's the week of Valentine's Day, and I was trying to think of an appropriate post. I started thinking of opera couples, and the things they have in common. It turns out that the thing in common is a break-up of some sorts. And the majority of the time it's because the stories are from long ago, before women could stand up for themselves.

Online Music is Obscuring Opera

Humour

As I sat for the nth time scrolling through my music library on my computer, trying to find that really cool bit between this aria and that finale, I switched from recording to recording, hoping that the track division would be different, and perhaps more conducive to my finding that super neat chord progression.

Stephen Fry's latest charming appearance at the Royal Opera House

Humour

I think this event was a groundbreaking step forward in making opera accessible to a new generation. Moderated by our favourite Stephen Fry, the Intelligence² debate was whether Richard Wagner or Giuseppe Verdi reigned as an operatic master.

Muppets at the opera

Humour

There is this fascinating relationship between opera and the Muppets.  Considering that The Muppet Show follows the blueprint of the classic revue show, it’s not that odd; revues are built on sophisticated satire of anyone or anything famous at the time.