Overused and empty words

[bostonman]

Last year on a network talent show, a 12 year old girl came on and announced she would sing. The music started and it was the intro to Puccini's "Nessun Dorma," which has apparently become the thing for young girls who sing opera to perform, despite a) it being written for a tenor, and b) the absurdity of a 12 year old girl singing those lyrics. No matter, since when she began to sing (not badly but I believe unwisely to sing that way so young), it was a jumble, phrases out of order, and at least one line that was Italian-ish gibberish. All sung with a tragic, pained expression. There's no way she had any idea what she was singing.

 

The judges loved it.

 

I think I saw that.

[bostonman]

Neither will ever sing opera as it is sung professionally in opera houses unless they allow singers to be miked such as Linda Ronstadt was in the run of La Bohème on Broadway back in the 1990's!

 

Oh, this is certainly a separate conversation for a different thread - but opera singers in certain opera houses HAVE occasionally been miked. It's just that no one wants to admit it, lol.

 

But yes - when on Broadway, do as the Broadway shows do, lol - I believe the 2002 Broadway production of the Baz Luhrmann Boheme, which did feature young bona fide opera singers - was also miked. (And also, the Ronstadt Pirates Of Penzance was miked - and not very well, as I remember my experience seeing it - but that's a different story IMO. And despite the primitive miking, what a wonderful production!)

[TruHart1]

Oh, this is certainly a separate conversation for a different thread - but opera singers in certain opera houses HAVE occasionally been miked. It's just that no one wants to admit it, lol.

 

But yes - when on Broadway, do as the Broadway shows do, lol - I believe the 2002 Broadway production of the Baz Luhrmann Boheme, which did feature young bona fide opera singers - was also miked. (And also, the Ronstadt Pirates Of Penzance was miked - and not very well, as I remember my experience seeing it - but that's a different story IMO. And despite the primitive miking, what a wonderful production!)

I just remember vividly how much hiss I could hear through the house sound system whenever Ronstadt was singing in her higher head voice during Pirates of Penzance because the sound engineer had to turn up the gain so much to balance the ensemble...but who cares? Rex Smith was so hot and sexy in his bright colored tights I wasn't paying that much attention to Ronstadt! I just checked, that production was in the early 1980's! How time flies when one thinks about what a hunk Rex Smith was in those days!!! https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/87/b0/5e/87b05e7e86741f8edb73deceeec4911c.jpg

 

TruHart1

[gp0560]

(My mother told me that when she was a kid, she thought the "of thee I sing" lyric in "My Country 'Tis Of Thee," sung every morning when she was in school, was really "of T-I-C" - because that was one of the local radio/TV stations. )

 

Then there's "Gladly, the Cross-Eyed Bear," one of my favorites.

 

How about metatheses? --"What's the weather like today?" "Bricks." --"How do you like your bacon" "Crips."

[actor61]

It is kind of scary. I remember seeing Charlotte Church at the beginning of her career and thinking she would end up losing her voice if she continued singing with that technique. Same with Jackie Evancho. Church has gone on to work on her craft, improve her technique and prove me wrong. I feel the jury is still out on Evancho. Neither will ever sing opera as it is sung professionally in opera houses unless they allow singers to be miked such as Linda Ronstadt was in the run of La Bohème on Broadway back in the 1990's!

 

TruHart1

Church and Evancho are dreadful singers but they appeal to people who think they're listening to classical music when pop singers stand in front of a mic and belt something from La Boheme. I abhor this trend.

[MikeBiDude]

Church and Evancho are dreadful singers but they appeal to people who think they're listening to classical music when pop singers stand in front of a mic and belt something from La Boheme. I abhor this trend.

Thread drift award here

[actor61]

Thread drift award here

I'd like to thank everyone connected with this honor. I'm just thrilled!

[+ Axiom2001]

Thank you so much.

 

No problem (instead of "you're welcome)

 

Awesome

 

Like

 

DITTO! DITTO! DITTO

[+ azdr0710]

as much as I'd like to think some of this is a passing fad, I fear it isn't......this was 35 years ago......

 

[bostonman]

I'd like to thank everyone connected with this honor. I'm just thrilled!

 

They like you! They really like you!

[+ BigRic]

When used as an adjective, "chill."

 

Artisanal bread, artisanal cheese, artisanal cocktail, and so on. Meaning what? It doesn't suck??

 

LOL. Coming out of the gym when last in NYC, I noticed that the front window of Dough's Flatiron location says they sell "artisanal doughnuts." (Snapped a pic to post here but Photobucket now wants $500/year to host my pics.)

[OCClient]

When used as an adjective, "chill."

 

 

 

LOL. Coming out of the gym when last in NYC, I noticed that the front window of Dough's Flatiron location says they sell "artisanal doughnuts." (Snapped a pic to post here but Photobucket now wants $500/year to host my pics.)

Oh God. That made me laugh.

 

I wonder what the criteria is for a donut to be artisanal.

[Max]

Oh God. That made me laugh.

 

I wonder what the criteria is for a donut to be artisanal.

 

Natural, free-range, organic and gluten-free.

[RM]

It would be an over correction, but don't pronounce the t in any case.

 

In fact, as a rule of thumb don't pronounce the last letter of any word in French, you'll be far more likely to get it right than if you pronounce it.

I wish I knew the correct way to pronounce my mother's maiden name. She pronounces "Hincelot" as Hince - low. Maybe the French pronounce it differently.

[RM]

It would be an over correction, but don't pronounce the t in any case.

 

In fact, as a rule of thumb don't pronounce the last letter of any word in French, you'll be far more likely to get it right than if you pronounce it.

I wish I knew the correct way to pronounce my mother's maiden name. She pronounces "Hincelot" as Hince - low. Maybe the French pronounce it differently.

[RM]

Yes - but that seems to be a universal thing, not just in English. The languages I know all have greetings that are similar to that. And I think it's always understood that it's colloquial for "hi" - that a literal answer to "how are you" is not really the point.

 

Didn't you read Miss Manners? The correct answer to How are you? is I'm fine, thank-you, or Fine, thank- you. Nothing else will do.

[RM]

Yes - but that seems to be a universal thing, not just in English. The languages I know all have greetings that are similar to that. And I think it's always understood that it's colloquial for "hi" - that a literal answer to "how are you" is not really the point.

 

Didn't you read Miss Manners? The correct answer to How are you? is I'm fine, thank-you, or Fine, thank- you. Nothing else will do.

[+ honcho]

I wish I knew the correct way to pronounce my mother's maiden name. She pronounces "Hincelot" as Hince - low. Maybe the French pronounce it differently.

 

I did live in the country for a year, and would fool nobody about my american origins, but here's what I think they would do:

 

They would likely drop the H. The "in" would sorta come out like after the p in pan, except they won't raise the tongue to close off the sound. - it's called a nasal vowel - you're breathing through your nose and resonating as you say the vowel a little bit -

and they would join the "s" for the c to the l -

 

a(n) - slow

 

To go really off topic, the other nasalized vowels would be o in the word "on" (like own - but don't close off the n)

(on ne sais jamais - one never knows)

the u in "un" (un autre livre - another book)

the e in "en" (en bateau - on a boat, and pronounced a bit like english "on" again without raising your tongue)

and the u in "une" which you'd have to hear -it's a you-ee dipthong that's been nasalized.

 

Around Paris, they mostly pronounce the "un" like "in", and when I carefully tried to make the distinction somebody said "Tu parles comme un vieux de Montmartre" - You talk like an old fart from the snobby north part of Paris (even though I was 24 years old at the time).

[+ honcho]

I wish I knew the correct way to pronounce my mother's maiden name. She pronounces "Hincelot" as Hince - low. Maybe the French pronounce it differently.

 

I did live in the country for a year, and would fool nobody about my american origins, but here's what I think they would do:

 

They would likely drop the H. The "in" would sorta come out like after the p in pan, except they won't raise the tongue to close off the sound. - it's called a nasal vowel - you're breathing through your nose and resonating as you say the vowel a little bit -

and they would join the "s" for the c to the l -

 

a(n) - slow

 

To go really off topic, the other nasalized vowels would be o in the word "on" (like own - but don't close off the n)

(on ne sais jamais - one never knows)

the u in "un" (un autre livre - another book)

the e in "en" (en bateau - on a boat, and pronounced a bit like english "on" again without raising your tongue)

and the u in "une" which you'd have to hear -it's a you-ee dipthong that's been nasalized.

 

Around Paris, they mostly pronounce the "un" like "in", and when I carefully tried to make the distinction somebody said "Tu parles comme un vieux de Montmartre" - You talk like an old fart from the snobby north part of Paris (even though I was 24 years old at the time).

[mike carey]

Natural, free-range, organic and gluten-free.

I would have thought gluten-free would disqualify anything from being artisanal.

[mike carey]

Natural, free-range, organic and gluten-free.

I would have thought gluten-free would disqualify anything from being artisanal.

[+ BigRic]

When used to refer to anything (such as a gallery) other than where other planets are located . . .

 

. . . or anything besides what you don't have enough of in your house for all the crap some of us hoarders hang onto: "Space."

 

Also, STOP with all the "bro," bro.

[+ BigRic]

"spot on"

 

"pivot"

[alkan]

I'm told people get tired of how often I use the word "'Strewth" (as an exclamation of surprise) but I think they just can't handle the

[N13]

It would be an over correction, but don't pronounce the t in any case.

 

In fact, as a rule of thumb don't pronounce the last letter of any word in French, you'll be far more likely to get it right than if you pronounce it.

 

An easy rule for the pronunciation of the last letter of a French word is: If it is a consonant that is in the word "careful" it is pronounced. If not in "careful" it is not pronounced. 95% accurate.