The chat with nine lives
Thanks for your feedback, cher public. La Cieca has implemented the new chat software with your suggestions at La Casa della Cieca, which will officially relaunch Thursday, January 17, at 7:25 PM for Le Comte Ory from the Met. And don’t forget Saturday, January 18 at 12;30 PM, the premiere of Operavore (featuring a certain little-known doyenne) followed by Maria Stuarda!
It looks like the sign-on for the chat is separate from the Parterre login, DCF.
La Cieca, just so you know -- I have it directly from a professional chat room programmer that JavaScript and Java are two entirely different things. JavaScript is the wave of the future, and is expected (relatively) soon to have HTML5 chat applications that will run on all kinds of things, including iPads etc. that have never been able to run Java. Security will be strong because JavaScript is so essential to operating the Web nowadays. So don’t throw a promising baby out with the nasty bathwater.
…and especially don’t throw the wrong baby out.
As noted above in the chat window, which anyone can erase at any time so I am noting it in stone here, I was able to log in to the chat without being logged into Parterre. I also changed names a couple of times, which, depending on whether I logged out of Parterre or not, either changed my name ID, or didn’t. Then I erased everything that had been posted.
This chat engine does not seem good to me.
“I was able to log in to the chat without being logged into Parterre. I also changed names a couple of times”
As I mentioned above, both these things applied to the old chatroom. The sky did not fall.
aj, I did not know this. Hmm…don’t know what to think now.
Yes, some people logged into the old chatrooms under any number of names—hence the endless fun of “Who is Betsy This Time?”
It is possible to disable anonymous login, but to my mind that is contrary to the spirit of parterre. I hope that in general people will use the honor system and login using the same name.
If someone really did abuse the chat violently, I can obtain rights to ban users by IP address.
I like it.
Humph!
Honor is a mere scutcheon.
I am computer illiterate, but the new chat seems acceptable. A few of of have to chat to see how it work.
The log-in protocol is exactly the same as the old chat room, so I wouldn’t worry about that. I would definitely worry about DCF’s concern about anyone being able to erase the entire chat; I interpreted that icon as meaning that I could erase what appeared in my *own* window, not that it would erase what appeared in everyone else’s (and indeed, everything posted since 10:27am today is still visible to me).
I’m seeing the chat without being logged in and it is making an annoying pop sound every time someone comments. Is there a setting to turn this off just for the chat? Don’t want to disable any music (or opera!) playing at the same time.
Perhaps the pop will go away if I log in. Aesthetically I think it’s ugly. (well you ASKED for our thoughts
I was annoyed by the chat, also. Then some very nice people pointed me to the icons on the upper right of the chat window. One of them turns off the sound for the chat popping, but not for whatever music you want to listen to.
Annoyed by the chat popping sounds, not the chat itself…
At upper right above the chat window, there are six icons — click on the 4th from the left (the speaker) and the pops will go.
Can someone tell me what counts as a small versus large soprano repertoire? How many roles is one supposed to perform on stage to avoid the criticism that one’s repertoire is too small? (I gather that studio-recorded roles don’t count for much -- there’s a premium on doing the whole thing on stage)
A small repertoire is when you see a singer listed for a performance and say “Again?” Also the reason there’s a premium is that it’s relatively easy to piece together a performance in a studio. It’s much harder to do all of it in a row, in a costume, with hot lights, and thousands of people expecting the best of the best.
As much as I admire her I’d say Dolora Zajick is the definition of a small-repertoire singer.
Hmm on this one I would have to disagree with you, Poison Ivy.
For her voice type, I think she has a reasonable repertoire. In addition to the standard Verdi mezzo roles, all of which she has pretty much ruled over the last 2 decades, she has branched out fairly widely- think Bellini, Dvorak, Mussorgsky, Donizetti, I think she’s tried Ortrud too, if I recall?
Leontyne Price is one singer I have heard others call a singer with a small repertoire, but even that I would not really agree with.
Not to mention Picker.
Can someone estimate the likely size of the repertoire for Callas, Tebaldi, Sutherland, and Caballe (only full roles performed on stage; recordings excluded)?
I noticed that biographical websites tend to be more careful with counting the number of recordings than with live performances.
The wikipidia says of Virginia Zeani that she sang 69 major roles (since she has a minuscule discography, I assume that all those are live performances).
Callas: http://www.callas.it/english/performances.html
Tebaldi: http://www.renata-tebaldi.com/repertory.htm
Dolora has also sung a superb Djamileh about 10 years ago in NY with a small opera company (I forget their name).
Will Zajick ever sing Fricka? Does she have a Kundry in her?
Zajick also sang Principessa di Bouillon (last year)
I was piqued by this conversation of large repertoire sopranos, so I did a little digging!
Sopranos who could definitely be said to have large repertoires:
Nelly Miricioiu (about 50 full opera roles)
Mara Zampieri (a little over 50 (21 by Verdi!))
Julia Varady (over 60 complete opera roles)
Virginia Zeani (exactly 69 (she also only ever cancelled 2 individual performances in her ENTIRE career!)
Leyla Gencer (over 70)
but I think the largest repertoire would have to be…
Montserrat Caballe (106!!! (though I may be off one or two either way…))
I would have thought Milanov would have been considered a singer with a small repertoire, at least in the latter part of her career. I would have thought Aida, Trovatore and Forza being the 3 most often performed roles but looking at the Met’s archives, I also see a lot of performances of Boccanegra, Otello, Andrea Chenier, Gioconda and Cavalleria.
Small repertoire: Schwarzkopf, Te Kanawa, Gheorghiu
Don’t the careers of most singers follow a sort of classic pattern?
STAGE ONE — Young and hungry, will sing whatever is offered.
STAGE TWO — Having been noticed it’s time to make a splash with a standard rep stalwart, e.g. Violetta or Alfredo, depending on the physical equipment.
STAGE THREE — Being an established star, the same roles are being offered around the globe. Why waste time and energy learning something new when damned good money is being made singing the same old same old.
STAGE FOUR — Nobody’s paying that much attention any more. Try to get some headlines by risking it all on Norma or Rhadames.
STAGE FIVE — Oh crap ! They’re offering Genevieve, Timur, and The Old Countess ! Where did my life go?
Ethan Mordden explains the issue of singers and the changes in their repertoires very nicely, from singers who ended up concentrating on one part (Baron Ochs, can’t remember the singer) to the ones with an ever expanding repertoire as the voice changed (Rysanek being the perfect example of that).
You’re right -- it is much more of a challenge to sing, stage and act -- yet so many really good artists now (especially in UK and Germany) are extremely under-recorded, some to the point of barely recorded at all.
I still can’t get in via Internet Explorer, but I can get in via Chrome. Seems fine.
Did something bad happen with Java Chat? I never had a problem with the old one.
Yes. There have been security issues involving using Java7 right now
http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2013-01-11/business/sns-rt-us-java-securitybre90a0s3-20130111_1_java-software-oracle-s-java-malicious-software, so many are taking precautions.
Oracle now claims it has fixed the vulnerability in Java7. To believe or not to believe?
http://news.cnet.com/8301-1009_3-57563730-83/oracle-releases-software-update-to-fix-java-vulnerability/
Oracles usually deliver cryptic prophesies, sometimes acquired from the entrails of our computers.
Oracula oracula
?t=3m38s
Whoops -- here’s the video -- forward to 3:38.
I would like the QR instructions at some point. I am at work now and this thing keeps making my IE freeze up (which is all I have a work for now).
The QR image is here:
So caught up in the new chat, lovely, by the way -- that I forgot -- Happy Birthday Juan Diego Florez -- 40th! I’m computer illiterate at posting videos, so if anyone can help…..
I hope you approve of my choice:
Happy birthday Juan Diego indeed. Here he is in the best performance I ever saw him give: Nemorino last year at the Met. I went twice and thought of the joy and fun he brought to the whole opera when I saw the Met’s dour revival this year: