wgscott Posted August 25, 2018 Share Posted August 25, 2018 “The opera is to music, what a bawdy house is to a cathedral.” -- H. L. Mencken Discuss. Teresa 1 Link to comment
AnotherSpin Posted August 25, 2018 Share Posted August 25, 2018 What was H.L.Mencken' preferred choice: cathedrals or "bawdy" houses? Link to comment
christopher3393 Posted August 25, 2018 Share Posted August 25, 2018 7 hours ago, AnotherSpin said: What was H.L.Mencken' preferred choice: cathedrals or "bawdy" houses? Cathedrals. Another gem from Mencken: “The genuine music lover may accept the carnal husk of opera to get at the kernel of actual music within, but that is no sign that he approves the carnal husk or enjoys gnawing through it.” wgscott 1 Link to comment
wgscott Posted August 25, 2018 Author Share Posted August 25, 2018 Opera wouldn't be so bad were it not for all the god-damn singing. Teresa 1 Link to comment
Popular Post rodrigaj Posted August 25, 2018 Popular Post Share Posted August 25, 2018 To appreciate music and opera it's wise to gaze upon the other through the opposing lens. To appreciate cathedrals and bawdy houses it's wise to gaze upon the other through the opposing lens. (A lesson from history that repeats with certainty and which H. L. Mencken would certainly agree with.) wgscott and 4est 1 1 "The function of music is to release us from the tyranny of conscious thought", Sir Thomas Beecham. Link to comment
Ralf11 Posted August 25, 2018 Share Posted August 25, 2018 Was the OP forced to attend an opera recently? Link to comment
wgscott Posted August 25, 2018 Author Share Posted August 25, 2018 nope I have to confess I enjoy some of the Overtures, just not the actual operas. I often listen to the Overture Il Barbiere di Siviglia before taking the Bianchi out for a spin. Teresa 1 Link to comment
mansr Posted August 25, 2018 Share Posted August 25, 2018 The visual aspect is a major part of the opera experience. In an audio only recording, I tend to find much of a performance rather dull, although amazing segments lurk here and there. phosphorein 1 Link to comment
Kal Rubinson Posted August 25, 2018 Share Posted August 25, 2018 2 minutes ago, mansr said: The visual aspect is a major part of the opera experience. In an audio only recording, I tend to find much of a performance rather dull, although amazing segments lurk here and there. The visual aspect is a major part of the experience at the opera, sure. OTOH, I quickly tire of watching the same action at home via BD even though I continue to enjoy the music with the display off or via audio only recordings. Kal Rubinson Senior Contributing Editor, Stereophile Link to comment
mansr Posted August 26, 2018 Share Posted August 26, 2018 14 minutes ago, Kal Rubinson said: The visual aspect is a major part of the experience at the opera, sure. OTOH, I quickly tire of watching the same action at home via BD even though I continue to enjoy the music with the display off or via audio only recordings. Yeah, watching at home isn't the same thing. Link to comment
Popular Post sphinxsix Posted August 26, 2018 Popular Post Share Posted August 26, 2018 I find opera vocals quite unbearable too (I quite like some instrumental opera recordings though eg Wagner - The 'Ring without Words' issued by Telarc ). I guess I find operatic singing unnatural and tiresome just like heavy metal growling which I can't accept either. I can't even think about my possible reaction to a death metal band which would add operatic vocals to their frontman growling Teresa and wgscott 1 1 Link to comment
mansr Posted August 26, 2018 Share Posted August 26, 2018 37 minutes ago, sphinxsix said: I can't even think about my possible reaction to a death metal band which would add operatic vocals to their frontman growling I'll have to suggest that to the local musicians and see what they do. Link to comment
sphinxsix Posted August 26, 2018 Share Posted August 26, 2018 16 minutes ago, mansr said: I'll have to suggest that to the local musicians and see what they do. Anxiously awaiting the result. Link to comment
rodrigaj Posted August 26, 2018 Share Posted August 26, 2018 Getting back to H. L. Mencken, this is something he wrote: "My lack of sound musical instruction was really the great deprivation of my life. When I think of anything properly describable as a beautiful idea, it is always in the form of music. I have written and printed probably 10,000,000 words in English, and continue to this day to pour out more and more. But all the same I shall die an inarticulate man, for my best ideas beset me in a language I know only vaguely and speak only like a child." I think he is acknowledging the role education plays in the appreciation of Western classical music. This is certainly true in the USA where music education is being decimated. An appreciation for opera requires work given that most of us will never be given any operatic insights. Listening to one of the @kirkmc Next Track podcasts, I followed up and read Angela Hewitt's article in the Washington Post. She ended her article: "Like a novel, it’s not something that can be apprehended quickly or conveyed in any other form; like a novel, you have to meet it halfway and think about what it is or isn’t saying to you..." phosphorein 1 "The function of music is to release us from the tyranny of conscious thought", Sir Thomas Beecham. Link to comment
Ralf11 Posted August 26, 2018 Share Posted August 26, 2018 Opera is like a slow movin' musical with beefy people doin' too much singin' and not enough dancin' Link to comment
Ralf11 Posted August 26, 2018 Share Posted August 26, 2018 OTOH, way back when opera audiences were tough. In the early 1700's one of the first buildings the French settlers built in New Orleans was an Opera House. Newspapers of the time report that gentlemen used their walking sticks ot drive alligators away so the ladies could pass on the raised wooden sidewalks unmolested. Link to comment
AnotherSpin Posted August 26, 2018 Share Posted August 26, 2018 9 hours ago, sphinxsix said: I find opera vocals quite unbearable too (I quite like some instrumental opera recordings though eg Wagner - The 'Ring without Words' issued by Telarc ). I guess I find operatic singing unnatural and tiresome just like heavy metal growling which I can't accept either. I can't even think about my possible reaction to a death metal band which would add operatic vocals to their frontman growling You could listen to Tarja Turunen, she posses abilities of opera singer (and recorded classical material) and sings with some metal bands. Link to comment
Popular Post AnotherSpin Posted August 26, 2018 Popular Post Share Posted August 26, 2018 I could not decide whether I should I be baffled by remarks here, but I personally believe opera singing is the most beautiful I know from all kinds or types of singing. And opera would be considered as the highest form of art, imho. From the other side I could not be exemplary objective here, as I adore opera for decades and I have enormous experience of listening opera recordings. Wagner, Mozart, Verdi, Puccini... are capable to bring me to tears quite often. coot and jhwalker 2 Link to comment
Popular Post AnotherSpin Posted August 26, 2018 Popular Post Share Posted August 26, 2018 coot and Jud 1 1 Link to comment
coot Posted August 26, 2018 Share Posted August 26, 2018 46 minutes ago, AnotherSpin said: I could not decide whether I should I be baffled by remarks here, but I personally believe opera singing is the most beautiful I know from all kinds or types of singing. And opera would be considered as the highest form of art, imho. From the other side I could not be exemplary objective here, as I adore opera for decades and I have enormous experience of listening opera recordings. Wagner, Mozart, Verdi, Puccini... are capable to bring me to tears quite often. Bravo! Link to comment
Popular Post sphinxsix Posted August 26, 2018 Popular Post Share Posted August 26, 2018 31 minutes ago, AnotherSpin said: I admit - sometimes 3 or 4 minutes of operatic vocal in a movie isn't that bad (ok, not more than 5 ) Jud and christopher3393 1 1 Link to comment
Kal Rubinson Posted August 26, 2018 Share Posted August 26, 2018 27 minutes ago, sphinxsix said: I admit - sometimes 3 or 4 minutes of operatic vocal in a movie isn't that bad (ok, not more than 5 ) Do you really think that is opera? Kal Rubinson Senior Contributing Editor, Stereophile Link to comment
sphinxsix Posted August 26, 2018 Share Posted August 26, 2018 48 minutes ago, Kal Rubinson said: Do you really think that is opera? No. Operatic vocal - yes. Composition by Eric Serra performed (mostly - here is what ES said about it: http://en.traxmag.com/interview/35491-eric-serra-tells-the-secrets-of-the-diva-song-in-the-fifth-element ) by Inva Mula. Am I correct? Link to comment
Popular Post Kal Rubinson Posted August 26, 2018 Popular Post Share Posted August 26, 2018 33 minutes ago, sphinxsix said: No. Operatic vocal - yes. Composition by Eric Serra performed (mostly - here is what ES said about it: http://en.traxmag.com/interview/35491-eric-serra-tells-the-secrets-of-the-diva-song-in-the-fifth-element ) by Inva Mula. Am I correct? I would call it an operatic travesty. Hugo9000 and jhwalker 2 Kal Rubinson Senior Contributing Editor, Stereophile Link to comment
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