About five minutes after I posted the German lieder, I chanced upon this video below. Whoever thought to set this claymation to the Gypsy Chorus from La Traviata is a genius in my book :)



While we're on the opera vein, let me showcase the soprano Anna Netrebko.



She is playing Violetta, the main character of La Traviata, and performing the finale from Act I of La Traviata. This is one of my favorites, besides the above and the Drinking Song :) I like the modern/minimalist take on the stage setting. You get to focus on the singers and the libretto without the traditional staging that, while visually enthralling, can be slightly cluttering. Besides, this was probably a lot easier to set up, probably a good thing considering it's a music festival ;)

I've read mixed reviews about her, spanning from high praise to skepticism. My take: There will always be the legends such as Maria Callas, Leontyne Price, Joan Sutherland, Kathleen Battle, against which newcomers must be measured. It's de rigueur for critics and opera lovers alike. These women have earned their place and rightly should be held as standards. What's great about opera is that the material is so rich and varied, and lends itself well to new interpretations, new direction, new favorites. Ms. Netrebko may not have the coloratura (the quality and ability to sing in the very highest vocal registers) of the singers above, but she has a strong determination and spirit to make the most of each line she sings. I think she's a very believable and engaging performer, and if that can get more people to listen to opera (sort of a gateway effect), then she's served the genre very well. She's earning her niche too.

Long story made short: I hope you'll give her and the opera a listen!

Good heavens, spirit me away to an opera house or to Europe or something. And isn't youtube fab? Now if only they'd stop running grotesque trailers on the main page =T Haggard and rotting corpses/ghosts/whatever they are I can do without, thanks.

Side note: There are tons of apartments in Philly. Why aren't more people vacating? I want your charming apartments overlooking Rittenhouse Square or Washington Park, please :)