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Hiya Vasilis (Reply to this comment)
by smorg
Hey! You're sounding just like my mom, bro! ;o) Thanks a bunch!
Cheerio,
Smorgy
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Mar 25 '08
6:41 pm PDT
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Re: This alternative-identity was busted long ago... (Reply to this comment)
by lammet
smorg, you devil!
:o)
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Mar 21 '08
3:20 pm PDT
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This alternative-identity was busted long ago... (Reply to this comment)
by smorg
Opera versus Operas (Reply to this comment)
by antastic
Hi, you wrote:
"A few certain stories have given rise to many opera..."
Is the word "opera" both singular and plural? I always thought the plural form of the word was "operas." Is this not correct? Nov 25 '07
5:45 am PS
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Re: Opera versus Operas (Delete your comment)
by smorg
Hello Antastic,
'Opera', the word we use to describe a musical genre, comes from the Latin word 'opus', whose plural form is 'opera'.
When used in English, though, you can use either 'opera' or 'operas' when you refer to multiple works and nobody in the world of opera will object.... Though a William Pinn and/or his pals would, but then no sane person would pay attention to them.
Hope that answers your question.
Cheers,
Smorg Nov 26 '07 12:12 pm PST
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Re: Re: Opera versus Operas (Reply to this comment)
by antastic
Thank you for the fascinating information. I'm sorry it took me so long to tell you, but I just received the alert in my box.
When you say "Mozart's opera," how does one tell if you mean the singular or the plural form of the word opera? I personally think "operas" is more descriptive if you mean two or more of those opera things. "Mozart's operas" as opposed to "Mozart's opera." The latter could easily be construed as singular.
Therefore, I would think the most sane and urbane opera fans would prefer to use the word "operas" when describing two or more. :0)
Mar 17 '08 9:50 pm PDT
ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
And from: www.epinions.com/content_406276050564/show_~allcom
Very entertaining and informative. (Reply to this comment)
by antastic
That's terrific that Christopher Moore responded to your email--but I think you might be pulling our chain when you wrote he added you as a friend to his facebook account. I checked his "friends" list and did not see anyone from Milton, Ontario on it, or anyone named Mike or shmoo. lol.
Anyway, nice review.
Jan 27 '08
11:31 pm PST
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That's sort of weird Ant (Reply to this comment)
by shmoo1
I'm right on his first page. Sort of impossible to miss. The only person who can't see my account, the only person who wouldn't see my name is the one person who I blocked on Facebook.
Jan 28 '08 7:03 am PST
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Mar 18 '08
10:00 am PDT
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Re: Re: Opera versus Operas (Reply to this comment)
by antastic
Thank you for the fascinating information. I'm sorry it took me so long to tell you, but I just received the alert in my box.
When you say "Mozart's opera," how does one tell if you mean the singular or the plural form of the word opera? I personally think "operas" is more descriptive if you mean two or more of those opera things. "Mozart's operas" as opposed to "Mozart's opera." The latter could easily be construed as singular.
Therefore, I would think the most sane and urbane opera fans would prefer to use the word "operas" when describing two or more. :0)
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Mar 17 '08
9:50 pm PDT
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Re: Queen of the Night (Reply to this comment)
by smorg
Hiya Bettega!
Ha! Mozart's Queen of the Night from The Magic Flute is a character with serious talent for sticking in the audience's mind indeed. ;o) A remarkable thing since she's usually on stage for 10 or fewer minutes for the entire show, ay?
No worries about being averse to opera at first, bro. I think most of us who don't grow up listening to it are. I was one of those instrumentalist snobs who would switch channel whenever opera showed up on my tv, too. Then one day Vesselina Kasarova out-gunned me and started singing before I could find the remote controller.. It was Rosina's Una voce poco fa from 'The Barber of Seville' performance in Zurich. She looked like a drag queen but sang like Helen of Troy! The rest is history, I'm afraid.... Sometimes it takes a performance like that to really spark your interest. ;o)
Hey, I would be really honored to assist in your classical music reviewing indeed (though I doubt that you would need much help)! :o) Haven't heard Pinnock's CD of Vivaldi's 4 Seasons yet, but I bet that would be a good disc to start with. Maestro Pinnock specializes in the ancient music from the Renaissance and the Baroque eras, so it should be interesting to hear! (and I wonder why the diamond companies like to use the allegro-presto from Summer in their ads so much)
Now I've got to find the 4 Seasons disc I have and give it a listen... and day dream about the various types of snow and rain while I'm at it! We're supposed to be getting some good soaking rain this week, but most of it is passing straight to the mountains to the east of us. ;oP
Good to hear you got the computer stuff sorted out. We've been missing you on Epinions for the last few months. And young Francé sure sounds like a quick learner, too! Thanks a bunch for the news!! :o) I can't believe it's been 8 months already.
Things are going ok here in San Diego. I've been a bit sluggish from a lupus flare, but enjoying getting spoiled by a few attentive friends. :o) My relatives in St Louis are getting snowed and iced on already, so I'm feeling pretty lucky I don't even have to turn the heater on yet!
Thanks a bunch for stopping by, bro! Happy Holidays to you and your family, too. Stay warm!
Ciao,
Smorgy :o)
PS: O, I found out how to make accented alphabet via ascii codes (you can find them at www.ascii.cl/htmlcodes.htm). So if you type Francé, it should come out 'Francé' by the proof-read page. ;o)
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Dec 09 '07
2:30 am PST
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Queen of the Night (Reply to this comment)
by bettega
Yes. I mentioned this in a comment maybe a year and a half ago, but it's the only opera experience I have.
To be honest, as a younger man (I am still 28, let's say a less mature young man) I felt opera was boring. Boy, was I uneducated or what. And yes, I know queen of the night almost note by note, but my knowledge is not sufficient to give a note by note critique. However, I will email you when I finally write my first review of classical music, I would be honored if you could critique it. I was thinking of Trevor Pinnock's "Vivaldi's 4 Seasons". It's a bit subdued for the passion that it can bring, but clean nonetheless. Eventually I might critique me an opera. And I will certainly want to email you the rough draft before posting!
Everything is good here, I got the software figured out, the fam is good and France` (with accent, as in "Fran-cheh", short for Francesco) is 8 months now. He is so big. Wow, he grabs everything, he loves pizza scrapings, italian flatbread, pasta in chicken broth, herbal tea and red wine. Especially red wine. He recognizes the receptacles for all the above products and has a different reaction to each. All I can say is "wow"....
Happy holidays and Ciao. Thanks for blessing us with your continued support for passion of the arts and living!
Bettega
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Dec 08 '07
5:30 pm PST
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Re: Well... (Reply to this comment)
by smorg
Hiya Vasilis!
Eck! It isn't a complete list of what to include, actually, just some stuff that I thought new reviewers will likely not think about. ;o)
Just a few days ago I read an online forum that was discussing 'Faust'... and it took me a whole page and a half before I realized that the thread starter wanted to discuss Berlioz's La damnation de Faust and not Gounod's Faust like most of the other writers were discussing. ;oP So even hard core opera fans mess up like that, too.
At any rate, it'd be a cool treat to read an opera review from ya', bro!! You've gotta do one of those Greek-themed opera one of these days. Maybe Berlioz's Les Troyens? ;o)
Thanks a bunch for stopping by!
Cheerio,
Smorgy :o)
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Dec 06 '07
4:40 pm PST
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Well... (Reply to this comment)
by lammet
If I ever attempt it, now I know what it takes!
Illuminating read smorg. Thnx.
-Vasilis
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Dec 05 '07
2:25 pm PST
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Re: Opera versus Operas (Reply to this comment)
by smorg
Hello Antastic,
'Opera', the word we use to describe a musical genre, comes from the Latin word 'opus', whose plural form is 'opera'.
When used in English, though, you can use either 'opera' or 'operas' when you refer to multiple works and nobody in the world of opera will object.... Though a William Pinn and/or his pals would, but then no sane person would pay attention to them.
Hope that answers your question.
Cheers,
Smorg
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Nov 26 '07
12:12 pm PST
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Opera versus Operas (Reply to this comment)
by antastic
Hi, you wrote:
"A few certain stories have given rise to many opera..."
Is the word "opera" both singular and plural? I always thought the plural form of the word was "operas." Is this not correct?
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Nov 25 '07
5:45 am PST
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Re: Highly (Reply to this comment)
by smorg
Hiya George the magnificent Gdawg!! :o)
Thanks for stopping by for another one of my operatic rambling, bro. Hope this didn't scare any would be opera-reviewer off. I'm still learning how to do it right myself!
Hope the weekend has started well your way!
Cheers,
Smorgy :o)
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Nov 10 '07
1:52 am PST
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Highly (Reply to this comment)
by George_Chabot
pertinent advice, Herr Smorgmeister. :> Thanks for an enlightening read!
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Nov 07 '07
5:50 am PST
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Hiya Paul, Donna, Stephen, Jan, T, Telynor, & Regina (Reply to this comment)
by smorg
Y'all actually stayed awake reading thru my latest rant? ;o) Thanks a bunch!!
Regina: And, my live performances keep stacking up, yikes...
It's almost as if you wrote this for me, as I keep dreaming about how I should approach an opera review. Thanks a lot for the great tips!! Maybe one day [soon] I'll surprise you, heh. Great review!
Hey, chicken.... Not! ;o) Nah, writing your first opera review can be a bit intimidating indeed, matie, especially if it is a live performance (so many things to cover, ay?). As long as you cover the musical performance well, most fans will be content, though. As 'visually oriented' as the modern audience is becoming, the opera fans still care the most about the singing, I think.
As Beryl Markham says in her remarkable memoir, matie, 'the cloud clears as you enter it.' Once you get down to writing it, it isn't as bad as it seemed when you were just planning on reviewing it. :o)
Telynor: I'm glad you've written this one up -- it really does bring up some pertinent points to remember when reviewing that tricky topic, opera. It's odd how just one thing that is off can completely ruin the experience, and sometimes it's one performer that really sticks in your head, and makes the recording one of the I gotta have this. Keep up the good work.
Hey, you're right, R! Sometimes all it takes it for one of the principal singers to put in a really breath-taking performance for the show to be a success/memorable even if the rest of the cast don't do all that well. And then there are some creatures of the stage that are so consistently magnetic that I'll buy any recording with them on it regardless of how bad the reviews are on the thing. ;o) I'm a groupie!
virtuelle2: Excellent tips that I hope to follow more closely forthwith! Here's a warm Sunday greeting to you from the Windy City, Smorgy!
Hey, welcome back, T! Thought you aren't really 'back' if you're in the Windy City! ;o) Hope you're catching some good shows at Chicago Lyric!
Jan: Hope my review of Joplin's opera stacked up ok. I don't know about doing another, though I might.
Ha! I must scoot over to see that, Jan. Cool thing (I didn't even know that Joplin wrote any opera... and I'm from St Louis!!)! ;o) Opera reviewing here is a wide open field, matie. No worries about trying new things, I say.
Stephen: How "constructive" can criticism of the dead be?
Hopefully not so constructive as to resurrect them, bro. ;o) It's too late for Halloween!
Someone might think "Madame Butterfly" was sung in Japanese or "Turnadot" in Chinese? And that someone could tell either from Italian?
You know, before I got bitten by the opera bug, I really thought Madama Butterfly was in Japanese and Turandot was a Chinese opera! ;oP I mean, why the heck would an Italian composer do those stories, ay? But then Puccini was a strange dude... he even wrote an oater opera!
O, well, I'm not a stickler for diction (but I do appreciate the singers who can actually sing all the vowels.... especially since the era of Sutherland and Horne!), but many hard core fans are quite prickly about it, I think (at least the ones that show up a lot at Opera-L are).
Donna: I have the opposite problem - I have plenty of opera recordings, but never felt confident enough in my own knowledge (though I love the art form) to write one. This list of helpful hints makes me eager to try!
Hey, you've just made my day, Donna. Thanks! :o) It'd be really cool to read more opera reviews at Epinions indeed. Too many of my reviews are the only review on the recordings... and I haven't got the universal taste, being at odd with the professional reviews at various magazines a lot. It'd be really cool to read what you think about some recordings indeed! :o)
Paul: I've never reviewed an opera CD before, but now I almost want to... except, oh yeah, I don't own any opera CDs. Darn it all!
Arrggghhh! That would be a problem indeed, Paul! ;o) But if you have time during the day, though, you can catch a lot of opera music at www.operacast.com for free. ;o)
Thanks a bunch for stopping by, folks. Hope November is going well your way!
Cheers,
Smorg :o)
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Nov 05 '07
6:11 pm PST
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Call me... (Reply to this comment)
by reginafug
a chicken, okay?
And, my live performances keep stacking up, yikes...
It's almost as if you wrote this for me, as I keep dreaming about how I should approach an opera review. Thanks a lot for the great tips!! Maybe one day [soon] I'll surprise you, heh.
Great review!
Regina
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Nov 04 '07
7:36 pm PST
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Great little essay! (Reply to this comment)
by telynor,  in Music
I'm glad you've written this one up -- it really does bring up some pertinent points to remember when reviewing that tricky topic, opera. It's odd how just one thing that is off can completely ruin the experience, and sometimes it's one performer that really sticks in your head, and makes the recording one of the I gotta have this. Keep up the good work. -- Telynor
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Nov 04 '07
2:00 pm PST
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* (Reply to this comment)
by virtuelle2
Excellent tips that I hope to follow more closely forthwith!
Here's a warm Sunday greeting to you from the Windy City, Smorgy!
~ T.
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Nov 04 '07
10:27 am PST
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'ey (Reply to this comment)
by jankp
Hope my review of Joplin's opera stacked up ok. I don't know about doing another, though I might.
Jan
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Nov 04 '07
1:04 am PST
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Som snarky comments from one of your fans (Reply to this comment)
by Stephen_Murray, in Music
How "constructive" can criticism of the dead be?
Someone might think "Madame Butterfly" was sung in Japanese or "Turnadot" in Chinese? And that someone could tell either from Italian?
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Nov 03 '07
8:41 am PDT
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Re: Hey... (Reply to this comment)
by donnamr
I have the opposite problem - I have plenty of opera recordings, but never felt confident enough in my own knowledge (though I love the art form) to write one. This list of helpful hints makes me eager to try!
Thanks!
Donna
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Nov 03 '07
8:02 am PDT
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Hey... (Reply to this comment)
by plorentz
I've never reviewed an opera CD before, but now I almost want to... except, oh yeah, I don't own any opera CDs. Darn it all!
-Paul
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Nov 03 '07
6:46 am PDT
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