Figaro! : June 2013

Wednesday, June 19, 2013

300!

THANK YOU EVERYONE; WE'VE HIT 300 VIEWS!!!!!!!!!!! Thanks for supporting this blog!

Tuesday, June 18, 2013

In case....

In case you didn't get all the opera jokes from the post a little while ago, here are the actual titles (on the right)...

Bizet: Vanmen--Carmen

Bizet: Les pecheurs de prawns--Les pêcheurs de perles

Mozart: Il bartender di Siviglia--Il Barbiere di Siviglia

Mozart: Die Zauberbanjo--Die Zauberflöte

Rossini: FakeTancredi--Tancredi

Wagner: The Flying Dutchcap--The Flying Dutchman

Verdi: Un balloon in maschera--Un Ballo in Maschera

Wagner: Das Rheintanzanite--Das Rheingold

Wagner: Die Shufflekure--Die Walküre

Wagner: Damntheguttering--Götterdämmerung

Saint-Saens: Samsung and the Lilo (the perfect opera for the beach)--Samson and Delilah

Verdi: Realstaff--Falstaff

Verdi: Madama Slug--Madama Butterfly

Rossini: Il Turdo in Italia--Il Turco in Italia

Gershwin: Porky and Butch--Porgy and Bess

Bellini: I Impuritani--I Puritani

Rossini: Fullyramide--Semiramide

Mozart: Cozzie, fan, tutu (an opera about ballet)--Cosi fan tutte

This is my favorite:

Rossini: La Cenebuytoletola (following the demise of the rental market)-Cenerentola

Saturday, June 15, 2013

Götterdämmerung Finale: Possibly the most beautiful ending to a work ever written.

In my opinion, the finale (like the last minute and a half) of Götterdämmerung is the most beautiful ending to a work ever written.
Here it is: http://youtu.be/TMBHxG_RCnM?t=17m27s

I've never seen nor heard anything like this--these 7 bars are truly amazing.

Here's the score. The 7 bars start from the section after "Etwas zurückhaltend"
https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B6V_-ZciWDh2WGs1RGJ4UXZBTFE/edit?usp=sharing

Here's how it looks in the piano reduction

The thing I love about the piano version is that the music tells you which section is which Leitmotif.

But I digress.

The music

Beautiful. Just sublime. Melody-laying at its finest. 7 bars of Wagner telling us through the orchestra that "All's well that ends well." The brass announcing "The End" with those glorious chords. This is relaxing music that is totally fitting for a sunset at the end of a stress-filled day.

More importantly, this music resolves the conflict. It incorporates the Verklärungsmotiv, Rheingoldmotiv, and the Nixenjubelmotiv. The music just seems to wrap everything up. The world's been purified, the gold is back in the Rhine, and the gods are no longer in power.

Back to what I said earlier about the sunset. Without the gods, humanity must learn to live on its own. This music also signifies the dawn of a new age with humans in control rather than the gods.

Wednesday, June 12, 2013

Fun!

I found a page with some spoofed-up opera titles. Although some aren't the 'LOL' kind, they make you smile...some are below...

Bizet: Vanmen

Bizet: Les pecheurs de prawns

Mozart: Il bartender di Siviglia

Mozart: Die Zauberbanjo

Rossini: FakeTancredi

Wagner: The Flying Dutchcap

Verdi: Un balloon in maschera

Wagner: Das Rheintanzanite

Wagner: Die Shufflekure

Wagner: Damntheguttering

Saint-Saens: Samsung and the Lilo (the perfect opera for the beach)

Verdi: Realstaff

Verdi: Madama Slug

Rossini: Il Turdo in Italia

Gershwin: Porky and Butch

Bellini: I Impuritani

Rossini: Fullyramide

Mozart: Cozzie, fan, tutu (an opera about ballet)

This is my favorite:

Rossini: La Cenebuytoletola (following the demise of the rental market)

Tuesday, June 11, 2013

COMPOSER OF THE MONTH JUNE 2013

COMPOSER OF THE MONTH:

JOSEF STRAUSS

Josef Strauss (August 20, 1827 – July 22, 1870) was an Austrian composer.

He was born in Vienna, the son of Johann Strauss I and Maria Anna Streim, and brother of Johann Strauss II and Eduard Strauss. His father wanted him to choose a career in the Austrian Habsburg military. He studied music with Franz Dolleschal and learned to play the violin with Franz Anton Ries.

He received training as an engineer, and worked for the city of Vienna as an engineer and designer. He designed a horse-drawn revolving brush street-sweeping vehicle and published two textbooks on mathematical subjects. Strauss had talents as an artist, painter, poet, dramatist, singer, composer and inventor.

He was known as 'Pepi' by his family and close friends, and Johann once said of him: "Pepi is the more gifted of us two; I am merely the more popular..."

The reason I chose this composer for this month is because recently I heard his "Vaterländischer marsch" which he worked on with his brother Johann. It's very interesting because you can hear many famous melodies such as Haydn's Kaiserhymne, Johann Strauss I's Radetzky March, and Berlioz's Marche Hongroise. I also admire Josef's Feuerfest Polka.

Vaterländischer marsch:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MBbMNmO4NvA

Feuerfest Polka:http://youtu.be/4Q9AK3_TLd8?t=11s

Wednesday, June 5, 2013

Prayers for Germany/Austria/Czech Republic/Hungary:

To all my blog-readers in Europe:
I'm praying for you guys! I hope the waters recede soon so that you can return to your normal lives!

Rhein Overflows

Hello all! It has come to my attention that in Europe (Mostly Germany-Austria-Hungary), the rivers have been overflowing like crazy. I read an article saying that the Rhein has overflowed. This is, to me, EXTREMELY funny because:

1) At the end of Wagner's Ring Cycle (Götterdämmerung), the Rhein overflows its banks and washes away all the ashes from the funeral pyre. The Rhein is currently overflowing and washing a ton of stuff away
2) This year is Wagner's 200th birthday.

In conclusion...
For the year of Wagner's 200th, the Rhein decided to overflow and 'fulfill' the events in Götterdämmerung.

Saturday, June 1, 2013

Funny Memes/GIFs for String Players!

Figaro!