You’re going to scoop just what you sow
You know how you have this old friend you’ve known for 20 years now, who’s always been a little nuts, or gets a little high, or just is, you know, eccentric, but in a way that is so clueless that it’s kind of endearing? Someone you can count on for a laugh, because you always can say, “Oh, no, not that again?”
And then one day they get married or get religion or get a job or just, you know, grow up, and, while, in absolute terms, obviously there’s a lot more peace and contentment there, and you’re happy for them, really you are, but at the same time, deep down in your heart, you go, “Oh, but I do miss some of the shit that crazy bitch used to do!”
La Cieca is not talking about Lou Reed.
Who knew Katie Couric was so talented?
I think she looks like an older Gillian Foster, which isn’t bad at all.
I like the way she got off stage in a hurry to collect her fat pay check. There’s no other explanation. Both she and Reed looked so uncomfortable, with good reason. Major embarrassment for both.
Sorry, something about Fleming in this kind of music makes me want to puke. I had to stop after less than a minute.
I just like saying “Flemingova.”
i’m with kashania.
eventually all famous singers, when they get famous enough, are peter-principled into crossover.
Annie Lennox, maybe. Just maybe. Ms Fleming – I am ready to throw up.
antidote to renee
Enzo Adorato!
What a phenomenal example of true greatness.
Grazie.
I’ll grant that Renee seems to have dialed back the mannerisms, but singing pop in this style? She should really know better. When using a mic, she should think of it as a vocal tool and dare to sing unoperatically. The challenge isn’t technical, but mental. I know because I’ve done it. So did one of the greatest singers of the 20th century: vhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4p40R1TtLJo&feature=related
Here’s the right clip:
They should erect a statue to Eileen Farrell on Staten Island, on the way to the ferry!
I spoke to her in the Met opera shop one time, and she was such a genuine, square kind of gal, absolutely delighted to autograph my score of Tristan. a role she desperately wanted to sing at the Met and didn’t.
She was one of a kind. A friend of mine made a tape of her singing Rossini’s Desdemona in “Otello”, sometime back in the 1950′s. Beautiful! It comes to mind upon hearing this clip, ’cause how in the hell could any one human voice do all THAT?
Yeah, Eileen Farrell does rock. Thanks for the great clip.
I’ve heard about how good Farrell was at cross-over but this is my first time hearing it. Absolutely wonderful. One doesn’t need to make any allowances for her being an opera singer singing out of her comfort zone.
Eileen Farrell wasn’t crossing over. To me, cross-over is a bit of a pejorative. To me, it means someone is attempting to sing music they love but may not be appropriate for and may not sing very well, such as REEENNAAAY, and that clip we had a while back of Karita. But Farrell not only loved this music, she was as good at it as she was at opera and completely idiomatic in both. She probably could have done Broadway had she chosen to.
What a great voice she had (though I prefer my standards a bit more understated). Funnily enough, Susan Bullock looks a bit like her, though her pipes ain’t the same league.
Sandra Bullock could lipsync a la Jessica Lange in “Sweet Dreams.” Bullock has played salty dames before, too, so La Farrell would fit into her œuvre.
This is the Bullock I meant. Not my idea of an Elektra (and she will insist on singing “Er-lein”), but a gallant attempt.
Re: Renee’s clip: she looks like she’s having a good time, doing her own thing. But the two of them together? To me, they look like they’re both sentenced to community service.
Enzo! Thank you for reminding us about Rosa!
Farrell and Corelli in Gioconda at the old Met…unforgetable.
I love all the remarks about Fleming. If she is as bad as some of you say, why are you always talking about her on this site?
Fleming has become a curiosity because of the endless hype that she has created around herself while projecting a disingenuous ‘diva next door’ persona, so we feel obliged to comment on her as a marketing phenomenon rather than simply (?) as a singer.
As I’ve said on here before, I saw her do a recital in London in 1995 and no-one was really that interested (apart from her agent, who was in the audience and tried to contrive a standing ovation for her — without success). She did make a beautiful sound, that’s for sure, but she didn’t have that extra magic. I still don’t think she does, though the voice and technique can be extraordinary, when she’s not messing about with the line and notes.
Well, that’s art and that’s criticism — and that’s PR.