parterre box

74 comments

• Bluessweet says:

  Ruxton, Ruxton, Ruxton: You are so bad! Since “White Rose of Athens” was my second clip and I did not identify the song’s title, I KNOW you must have peeked.

  Just shows what prurient curiosity and too much idle time can do to weak mind. A sad case of “weakness of intellect” indeed!

  Well, if “White Rose” caught the blight, it certainly wasn’t “blighted affection,” because it has probably sold more records than ALL the crossover recordings of all opera stars, including Domingo’s “Perhaps Love” with John Denver. (Bochelli, that great opera star, may be catching up to her. I wonder if you count all those returned complete opera recordings as sales?)

  I’m hoping for him to do a “Boheme” with Brightman, conducted by Andre Rieu. It would be a block-buster, except Blockbuster seems to be going the way of all flesh.

  Buster: Thanks for the Benny Hill. I never saw it. Here in the US, Mouscouri was an international oddity, sort of in the class with Milton Naciamento, and not so well known as to have an American comic poke fun at her.

  You be sure to block the Greek singers so Ruxton can’t see how much pleasure they can be.

  on April 1, 2010 at 7:44 AM
• Harry says:

  Soubrettino47#: I have to disagree about some of the singers ‘crossing over’. There is no one more than me, that likes Frederica Von Stade. I brought every recording of hers, I could ever get my hands on. In the case of her ‘My Funny Valentine’ record though, just start jumping-’sampling’ tracks…and a monotonous sameness of style becomes clearly evident. Kiri Te Kanawa was just plain dull in all her cross over recordings and most everything else: beautiful voice notwithstanding. Now Dawn Upshaw, not a voice I am particularly fond of, excels in that type of work. She completely understands how to totally jump into ‘the idiom’ of the various songs and styles. By ‘really letting go and feeling’ what the material actually demanded, for the moment with none of that ‘I’m a diva’ externalized ‘one step back’ approach of so many others.

  Firstly it is all about ‘the singer’s Attitude and Spirit’ when attempting it. In many cases today, it is recording executives pushing artists to go extra-commercial to build their name before a public. …but is the artist’s heart in the project?
  The worst stilted example I have come across: ‘Maria Ewing Sings Cole Porter’…Jeez??!!

  Look on the other hand, how many successful- end of live classical recital -- light popular music encore pieces we have, that were recorded . The receptive mood of the audience and the atmosphere was just exactly right, during which, they were captured.

  on April 1, 2010 at 4:34 PM
• Harry says:

  Who is that present Greek musician called ‘ Yannie’ or something like that with his feverish rhythm extravaganza concerts, who reminds me of that ‘locked key’ Phillip Glass -- but on super speed?

  Who can forget the series of The Nana Mouscouri Show? She made horn rimmed glasses fashionable Yes I have also seen Benny Hill’s send up of Nana M..it was riotously hilarious. The days of Zorba and Melina Mercouri’s Never on Sunday. Oh! the days of James Last and his Orchestra, Sonny & Cher, Liberace’s ‘piaanno’, etc and all that other nice 60/70′s recorded sterile family crap entertainment. Now all happily relegated to the junk bins.

  on April 1, 2010 at 5:02 PM
• Harry says:

  Bluessweet I actually saw a bargain bin in one record shop full of Bocelli’s La Boheme when it was released -at a 1/5 of its retail price -- with no takers, observing it over weeks. A friend unfortunately got it as a Christmas gift and he quickly repackaged it as a gift to an old auntie who he said, was tone deaf anyway.

  Since EMI as record company is financially ‘completely on its arse -out the business door’ perhaps Universal Music is also trying to do the same, and speed up the process for its own self; with Renee’s Dark Moods and more of Bocelli. Elevator and supermarket mu-sick….coming up!

  The message: care and preserve the collections we already have.

  on April 1, 2010 at 5:20 PM