OT - Opera

On 8/22/2011 1:45 AM, CatNipped wrote:
I know I'm a no-class hick for believing so, but opera, to me, sounds
like so much shrieking. I agree with dogs who howl when they are
subjected to such ear-splitting agony. OK, flame retardant suit donned
and ready for the opera fans. ; Really , I'm not that interested pro or
con re opera, I just heard an opera singer on "America's Got Talent" and
I have no idea whether opera singers are talented or not. I'm sure it's
just my untrained ear, but opera has always sounded like just screaming
to me. To my ear I can easily imitate what I've heard and that's a sure
sign it doesn't take talent ducking and running!


Um, OOPS! Yesterday I had some server problems and it wasn't sending
any of my posts. So I put several posts in my drafts server to send
later when it was back up. Later, when the internet was back up I went
to the fold and just automatically send all posts. I had forgotten I'd
put this here because I *didn't* want to post it at the time I wrote it
because if was ill-written and ill-advised. I only saved it because I
was going to change the whole thing to not make it sound so obnoxious!
SH*T! I'm sorry.

But... let me add this. It's not the songs or the music itself that
bothers me (it was hinted at in the "dogs who howl" remark". It
actually does *hurt* my hears. It's the same reason I can't listen to
Ben's beloved AC/DC or Van Halen tunes, my ears are *extremely sensitive
to the upper registers in sound. I once did a hearing test as a child
where they tell you to hold your hand up when you heard a noise. I held
up my hand constantly, they whole time. At first they thought I was
seriously stupid and they tried to explain and do it again.. After
about 5 times of doing the test, they got disgusted and just turned off
the machine. My hand immediately went down. They did a double take and
turned on the machine again. My hand went back up.

You can only imagine the pain van Halen, when they start "wailing" on
their electric guitars, can cause me. I have to *beg* Ben to turn down
the music (and made him buy ear phones for is electric guitar
amplifiers, which has now backfired on my because he now has significant
hearing loss that I can't get him to admit to and so see about).

So, again, I didn't mean to post this and certain didn't mean to, again,
ruffle feathers.

--
Hugs,

CatNipped
See all our masters at: http://www.PossiblePlaces.com/CatNipped

See the RPCA FAQ site, created by "Yowie", maintained by Mark Edwards, at:
http://www.professional-geek.net/rpcablog/

Email: L(dot)T(dot)Crews(at)comcast(dot)net

On 8/22/2011 12:56 PM, J J Levin wrote:
wrote in message
...
On Aug 22, 1:45 am, wrote:
I know I'm a no-class hick for believing so, but opera, to me, sounds
like so much shrieking. I agree with dogs who howl when they are
subjected to such ear-splitting agony. OK, flame retardant suit donned
and ready for the opera fans. ; Really , I'm not that interested pro
or con re opera, I just heard an opera singer on "America's Got Talent"
and I have no idea whether opera singers are talented or not. I'm sure
it's just my untrained ear, but opera has always sounded like just
screaming to me. To my ear I can easily imitate what I've heard and
that's a sure sign it doesn't take talentducking and running!

--
Hugs,

CatNipped

Well, I'm also a lowclass hick, but I do love *some* opera. DH doesn't
understand this, and doesn't get how one can enjoy music when you
can't understand the words. I keep telling him, it's not the words,
it's
the *emotion* that gets me. Fave girlsinger Kathleen Battles, fave
boysingers
Andrea Bocelli, Pavarotti. But I'm like the idiot-opera-fan -- I am
only familiar
with the most popular of pieces.


Sherry, neither you nor Catnipped are "idiot-opera-fans". You are normal
people who simply has had little exposure to opera and therefore know the
more popular pieces because they are played more often.

As a long-time (50+ years) lover of classical music (I prefer non-vocal, my
wife prefers vocal) I learned that if I allowed myself to listen to those
pieces I thought I did not like, they grew on me. For example, I love
Sibelius (a Finnish composer). Faure (a French composer) never did anything
for me. But as I listened to more and more music by Faure (on a classical
music station here) I found myself attracted to certain of his works, and
started seeking more works, and discovered that there are many Faure pieces
which are beautiful and which I came to really like very much. The same
happened to me with the British composer Edward Elgar. I knew he wrote "Pomp
and Circumstance". But then I discovered he wrote two symphonies, a haunting
cello concerto, and the incomparable ENIGMA VARIATIONS.

My advice: expose yourself to more opera. There are lighter operas, in which
there are entire ensembles and choruses, which are easier to take at first
than the "shrieking solos" :-). One of them for example is Verdi's AIDA. Or
TOSCA. The same with Wagner's overtures to his operas: beautiful orchestral
pieces which can lead you to investigate the sung operatic portions as well
(a little personal secret: I love Wagner's overtures but have little
patience for his vocal parts).

As in all things (classical music, wine tasting, embroidery, mystery novels,
whatever) give yourself some time, and cut yourself some slack. You don't
have to love everything (no one does). But the repertory of the operas you
like will expand, and that's a great gift to yourself.

Sorry if I came across as preaching or pontificating. I truly love classical
music and I am sometimes a bit overzealous.

Jay

No, Jay, your post was polite and educational. If you'll read my "OOPS"
post in this thread you'll see that I think that *I* was the one to be
rude in the first place. I love classical music, it's the singing I
can't take because of my physical shortcomings.

CatNipped wrote in news:9bec99FeapU1
@mid.individual.net:

I know I'm a no-class hick for believing so, but opera, to me, sounds
like so much shrieking. I agree with dogs who howl when they are
subjected to such ear-splitting agony. OK, flame retardant suit donned
and ready for the opera fans. ; Really , I'm not that interested pro
or con re opera, I just heard an opera singer on "America's Got Talent"
and I have no idea whether opera singers are talented or not. I'm sure
it's just my untrained ear, but opera has always sounded like just
screaming to me. To my ear I can easily imitate what I've heard and
that's a sure sign it doesn't take talent ducking and running!


The only opera singer I like is 11 year old Jackie Evancho, runner up in
last year's America's Got Talent. She makes it sound lovely. If you
haven't heard her, check out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SKhmFSV-XB0

Bobble

ARGH, sorry, I just woke up, let me fix this please...


Um, OOPS! Yesterday I had some server problems and it wasn't sending any
of my posts. So I put several posts in my drafts
folder
to send later
when it was back up. Later, when the internet was back up, I went to the
folder
and just automatically
sent
all posts. I had forgotten I'd put this
there because I *didn't* want to post it at the time I wrote it because
it
was ill-written and ill-advised. I only saved it because I was going
to change the whole thing to not make it sound so obnoxious! SH*T! I'm
sorry.

But... let me add this. It's not the songs or the music itself that
bothers me (it was hinted at in the "dogs who howl" remark
)
. It actually
does *hurt* my hears. It's the same reason I can't listen to Ben's
beloved AC/DC or Van Halen tunes, my ears are *extremely
*
sensitive to
the upper registers in sound. I once did a hearing test as a child where
they tell you to hold your hand up when you heard a noise. I held up my
hand constantly,
the
whole time. At first they thought I was seriously
stupid and they tried to explain and do it again.. After about 5 times
of doing the test, they got disgusted and just turned off the machine.
My hand immediately went down. They did a double take and turned on the
machine again. My hand went back up.
I was hearing the "background" noise of the electricity flowing from the
machine in a high picthed hum.

You can only imagine the pain van Halen, when they start "wailing" on
their electric guitars, can cause me. I have to *beg* Ben to turn down
the music (and made him buy ear phones for is electric guitar
amplifiers, which has now backfired on
me
because he now has significant
hearing loss that I can't get him to admit to and so see about).

So, again, I didn't mean to post this and
certainly
didn't mean to, again,
ruffle feathers.



--
Hugs,

CatNipped
See all our masters at: http://www.PossiblePlaces.com/CatNipped

See the RPCA FAQ site, created by "Yowie", maintained by Mark Edwards, at:
http://www.professional-geek.net/rpcablog/

Email: L(dot)T(dot)Crews(at)comcast(dot)net

"Smokie Darling (Annie)" wrote:

I didn't think I was very good, but I did get two leads at an
opera house in Maine (okay, it's Maine, I know, but still....)

[Ears pricked]

Do tell!

Not that I'm that familiar with Maine operatic venues. The most the
budget would run to when I was growing up was a little Gilbert and
Sullivan at Monmouth once a year.
--

Wayne M.

CatNipped wrote:
I know I'm a no-class hick for believing so, but opera, to me, sounds
like so much shrieking. I agree with dogs who howl when they are
subjected to such ear-splitting agony. OK, flame retardant suit donned
and ready for the opera fans. ; Really , I'm not that interested pro
or con re opera, I just heard an opera singer on "America's Got Talent"
and I have no idea whether opera singers are talented or not.

Take it from a true opera aficionado, any so-called "opera" singer
you're likely to hear on "America's Got Talent" is NOT the genuine
article! If they sound as though they're shrieking, they probably ARE!
(Something most modern "pop" singers nearly always do.) A properly
produced operatic voice does not sound unpleasant to ANY ear "trained"
or not - only a badly trained voice can do that.

I'm sure
it's just my untrained ear, but opera has always sounded like just
screaming to me. To my ear I can easily imitate what I've heard and
that's a sure sign it doesn't take talent ducking and running!

If you're imitating what you hear on a show like "America's Got ...."
your imitation is most likely faithful to the original (but "talent"
it's not!)

On Aug 22, 2:05*pm, Wayne Mitchell wrote:
*"Smokie Darling (Annie)" wrote:

I didn't think I was very good, but I did get two leads at an
opera house in Maine (okay, it's Maine, I know, but still....)

[Ears pricked]

Do tell!

Not that I'm that familiar with Maine operatic venues. *The most the
budget would run to when I was growing up was a little Gilbert and
Sullivan at Monmouth once a year.

We lived in Old Town, and I used to sing for/with a local group. We
got the opportunity to sing in Augusta. The venue wasn't great, but
it was great fun (and greater accoustics than I've ever "used"). It
was such an experience. Don't remember much about the first show, but
I did realize that one does forget that there are people watching (if
it's lit properly). You can't even see them (which was a great thing,
otherwise I'd never have opened my mouth, I don't like to *talk* in
front of people snerk).

The "okay, it's Maine,..." was to differentiate from Boston or New
York (where I have watched operas and fallen in love all over again).

Wayne Mitchell wrote:

CatNipped wrote:

I know I'm a no-class hick for believing so, but opera, to me, sounds
like so much shrieking.

Although my family would all cop to being hicks, we were raised with an
appreciation of opera because my father loved it.

Italian operas seem to be appreciated by people from all social classes.
I mean, when you think about it, it's just melodrama on a grand scale.
The singers need to have extensive training, but the listener doesn't
necessarily have to be highly educated or cultured to appreciate it.

I'm not much of an opera fan myself, although some of the orchestral music
that accompanies it can be beautiful. But I can't get past that style of
singing. It doesn't sound like screaming to me, and I'm sure I've heard both
good and bad operatic singing. But regardless of how well it's done, it's
just not a singing style I'm able to enjoy. I have made occasional attempts
to listen and learn to appreciate it, but so far it hasn't taken.

I think the only operatic singing I've been able to enjoy - and mostly
for the composition of the music, not the singing itself - was an aria
played in the movie "Philadelphia" (Tom Hanks). I think it was Maria Callas
singing. Don't remember which opera it was, but it wouldn't be hard to find
out.

Joyce

--
I'm in favor of animal liberation. Why? Because I'm an animal.
-- Edward Abbey

On Aug 22, 2:47*pm, wrote:
Wayne Mitchell wrote:

* CatNipped wrote:

*I know I'm a no-class hick for believing so, but opera, to me, sounds
*like so much shrieking.

* Although my family would all cop to being hicks, we were raised with an
* appreciation of opera because my father loved it.

Italian operas seem to be appreciated by people from all social classes.
I mean, when you think about it, it's just melodrama on a grand scale.
The singers need to have extensive training, but the listener doesn't
necessarily have to be highly educated or cultured to appreciate it.

I'm not much of an opera fan myself, although some of the orchestral music
that accompanies it can be beautiful. But I can't get past that style of
singing. It doesn't sound like screaming to me, and I'm sure I've heard both
good and bad operatic singing. But regardless of how well it's done, it's
just not a singing style I'm able to enjoy. I have made occasional attempts
to listen and learn to appreciate it, but so far it hasn't taken.

I think the only operatic singing I've been able to enjoy - and mostly
for the composition of the music, not the singing itself - was an aria
played in the movie "Philadelphia" (Tom Hanks). I think it was Maria Callas
singing.

Correct, it was her, and the title is La Mamma Morta

On 22/08/2011 4:45 PM, CatNipped wrote:
I know I'm a no-class hick for believing so, but opera, to me, sounds
like so much shrieking.

snip

A friend dragged me along to see a local, amateur, production of 'La
Traviata' because I had similarly pooh-poohed opera and she thought I
needed an education in 'culcha' - since she paid for the ticket, I
really couldn't say 'no' (and besides, and night out is welcome these
days). I was prepared to 'politely sit through it' for the sake of my
friend, but wasn't expecting to get much out of it.

I entered entirely skeptical.

I left sobbing.

Never again will I trash opera.

Its still not my music of choice, but *wow*, an Opera singer can
seriously knock the living daylights out of almost all pop/rock singers
with their skill and talent. And the lady doing the lead, like all of
them, were *amateurs*.

And I say that as a uncultured hick, too.

Although unable to afford it at the moment, I would love to see a
professional rendition at the likes of the opera house.

I have thoroughly changed my mind - and my friend is very pleased with
my 'conversion'. LOL.

Yowie