"I've seen more Carmens than I can list:
there was that Jewish Diva, who didn't know if she was Carmen or
Cohen."
Poor Stan doesn't know when he's being offensive. ("that Jewish Diva" --do you mean Beverly Sills? Would you call Callas "that Greek soprano?"; "Carmen or Cohen" --nice word play but why not "Carmen or Canarsy" --all Jews do not sound like they are from New York, as this seems to imply. In fact all Cohens, would you believe, are not alike. Some aren't even Jewish.) Vera would have put you in your place. Alas she's not here.
Date: Thu, 26 Mar 2009 21:35:15 -0400
From: nabokv-l@UTK.EDU
Subject: Re: [NABOKV-L] da opera lesson]
To: NABOKV-L@LISTSERV.UCSB.EDU
-------- Original Message --------
Will download Gorgeous Korjus instanter, cher[r]ie. We all seem to
share a love of Opera with DN, that was, alas, not part of VN's
knapsack. Mysterioso as La Traviata often says. With VN's divine
awareness of poetic cadence? We assume he enjoyed Dmitri's performances.
And, who could NOT adore Anna Netrebko, seen last week on Sky TV in
the Met's production of I Puritani. That's the rare opera with an
unexpected happy ending!! I've seen more Carmens than I can list:
there was that Jewish Diva, who didn't know if she was Carmen or
Cohen. Two of my grandsons were extras in a Welsh National Opera
Carmen a few year ago. One was slightly injured in the scuffles. My
main recall was dying for a smoke in the stalls while the cast were
madly puffing away on stage!
May I add an arcane point? As a fan of early piano jazz, the term
Habanera also means Jimmy Yancey whose left-hand boogie-beat was
dum-di-dum-da,rpt.
But my chief opera addictions are Mozart and that nasty egomaniac,
Wagner. Your mention of Carmen in Russian reminds of a very rare Ring
Cycle at Covent Garden. In the sword-fettling scene (I'm bizet doing
Nothung?), owing to last minute cast-changing illness, Siegfried sang
in German, and Mime in English.
My own opera-in-progress is Il Ascento del Everesto, with Edmundo
Hilario, Sherpo Tensino and a chorus of Yeti.
NOT a joke is Donizetti's Emilia di Liverpool. Honest.
Lord Kelly of Merzistan
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