Let's have a bit of musical fun! This is all the same song, but sung very differently, by the best opera singers in the world, plus an American who would either make them laugh or scream. It's not that I adore this song, but it's one that all of these singers sang, and as you'll see later, it's what got me started in opera (I'm still very new at it). Just a little from each is fine for this experiment.
Let's start with Enrico Caruso. For those who love Mary Ellis, yes, this is the same man she sang with early in her career. Notice how differently he sings from everyone else on this list!
Enrico Caruso - O Sole Mio
youtube.com/watch?v=u1QJwHWvgP…
Now from Richard Tauber. For my fellow operetta lovers, he is very good to know, as he sang with Lehar at the piano many times (including a concert in 1947), along with recording many other lovely songs by other composers, even in English! But back to this one, he actually sings it in German!
Meine Sonne (O Sole Mio) - RICHARD TAUBER (1927)
youtube.com/watch?v=9O1Z3LX1gb…
Now from Beniamino Gigli.
Beniamino Gigli-O sole mio
youtube.com/watch?v=4QG0HK1CTM…
Now, from Pavarotti. Normally, I don't include people born as late as he (1935) in my opera adventures. But he was literally the only opera singer I knew of until a few months ago. Remember, I'm an operetta lover, and that's a whole different thing.
Luciano Pavarotti_ 'O Sole Mio'
youtube.com/watch?v=eQSNVBLTXY…
One of these is not like the others, and here it is! For powerful voices in popular music, I would recommend Tom Jones (he's from Wales, so that's a given), Roy Orbison, or Tony Williams (from the Platters). Nevertheless, this is how I always knew the song, until I heard that it was originally in Italian. One day, I decided to research it, found the version by Caruso, and my opera journey began.
elvis presley - its now or never (1960)
youtube.com/watch?v=QkMVscR5YO…
Here, then, is my very quick analysis, as a listener, not any sort of expert in either singing or opera, so the rest of the world will probably disagree with me.
Enrico Caruso: This performance is flawless. He slides his notes perfectly and doesn't add or subtract too much of anything. Yet his voice is strong, and would be clear if the recording equipment had permitted it.
Richard Tauber: Right away, the difference in language is noticeable, and it is quite interesting. Again, the recording removes some of the clarity, but his voice shines through and is strong. He is a bit more dramatic than Caruso, but is still perfectly balanced.
Beniamino Gigli: Normally, I like his singing. But here, he seems to overdo it. His voice is strong, but he's much too dramatic. That said, this is exactly what I would have expected opera to sound like prior to learning anything about it, so let's call him the classic.
Luciano Pavarotti: His voice is clear and sweet, and his diction is lovely. I'm sure he normally sings wonderfully. But to me, this is void of emotion and is very uninspiring, especially after hearing the others. Had I herd it on its own, my opinion may have been different.
Elvis Presley: It's not really fair to judge him on the same lines as the others. He had no formal training in opera, and he didn't pretend to. He took an operatic song and turned it into a popular one, and on those grounds, he did a good job. His voice is tender and sweet, yet strong when it needs to be.
And my personal winner is... It's a tie between Caruso and Tauber! I really can't decide between them, as both are perfect!
[#]BeniaminoGigli #ElvisPresley #EnricoCaruso #opera #LucianoPavarotti #RichardTauber
=> More informations about this toot | View the thread
Sadly, if, like me, you don't know Italian, you'll probably miss what he is saying here. If there are subtitles, I can't read them, since I'm blind. This is also why I can't watch full operas (or even operettas) if they're not in English. At any rate, here Bel Canto singing is being demonstrated. This is what I mean by good opera singers, though to call Beniamino Gigli a good opera singer would be doing him a huge disservice, as he was literally one of the best in history! I am curious as to what he is demonstrating, though. In the first example, I actually hear him breathing. For anyone who follows the style of Clara Novello Davies, the whole point is breath control, and I know that this is important in Bel Canto as well. Is he showing what not to do, or that you don't need to apply such power as in the second example? I say that because modern singers have too much vibrato and often show emence effort, while older ones are more natural in their approach, even if they do have powerful voices. This is not me speaking from my hat. I can hear the differences and also heard them described by experts.
youtube.com/watch?v=yta2o_N9w1…
[#]BelCanto #BeniaminoGigli #Italian #Lesson #opera #singing #TranslateToEnglish
=> More informations about this toot | View the thread
Usually, when I listen to operas, or far more often, operettas, I prefer recordings from the 1950's and earlier. This is because I prefer the older singing styles and techniques. The modern ones tend to give me a headache and don't sound right in any case. But if I find a later recording of an older singer, or an extraordinarily rare modern recording of a singer who follows the old style (some do exist), I will listen to it. The Knowle Operatic Society (under that name, as they changed later and now do a lot of modern rubbish), is an exception to that rule. They can't exactly compare to the old singers, but they definitely respect the plays they perform and do their best. They even did King's Rhapsody, for which I am eternally grateful. As any fan of Ivor Novello knows, finding his plays with full dialogue is almost impossible. Anyway, they also did this one, Merrie England, by Edward German. I haven't seen this yet, but this man is supposed to be so similar to Gilbert and Sullivan that Arthur Sullivan himself said he should be his successor, and indeed, after Sullivan's death, German finished his Emerald Aisle, which I also must see.
youtube.com/watch?v=ac7Cy8E_o0…
So now, I will watch this one. Please, if anyone knows where I can find full recordings (or old recordings of songs) from English or Viennese (translated into English if full) operettas let me know. I am always seeking more. And if you are a singer of the old style, thank you so much for sharing your lovely work with the world!
Here we go!
Merrie England-Knowle Operatic Society-1981
youtube.com/watch?v=sly5elfzDH…
There are many good recordings of songs from about 1918 through the 1950's on Youtube. But just for sheer enjoyment, here are the disks with Edward German as conductor!
Merrie England (Edward German), 11 Shellac Record Version from 1918 4
youtube.com/watch?v=JbHzbvBxt_…
And here is one that I simply had to include, because I love this man's voice. I must find more by him. I didn't know of him before now. I adore light tenors!
John Harrison (Edward German conducts) - The English rose (merry england) (hmv d27) (02798) (1918)
youtube.com/watch?v=nffI72wYnm…
[#]EdwardGerman #GilbertAndSullivan #operetta #operettas #KnowleOperaticSociety #MerrieEngland #theater #theatre
=> More informations about this toot | View the thread
There are only two artificial intelligence services that I use constantly. The first is Perplexity, and the second is Novel AI. I usually use Perplexity to research things, though I always do my own research or ask for clarification if something seems wrong. But sometimes, I ask for suggestions, or just have interesting conversations with it. I often learn a lot or at leat leave with things to ponder. I use Novel AI to write stories. I have been a writer since the fifth grade, so I certainly know how to do this on my own. But it's fun to write with a companion who offers suggestions and helps move the story along. I always edit things that I don't like and change repetition or silly things that it might add. In any case, it's just for me, so it doesn't really matter. But that's as far as I go with artificial intelligence, other than using Alexa. In that case, I usually just ask to set timers, what time it is, what the forecast is, or things about my Amazon shopping cart. But I also use my Echo Dot as a speaker at times. I like my Echo Flex because it's small, fits on the wall, and works perfectly in the kitchen.
[#]Alexa #AI #ArtificialIntelligence #fun #NovelAI #Perplexity
=> More informations about this toot | View the thread
Yay!!! I didn't realise this! Friendica.world has content filters enabled! This is fantastic! Now, I can add the political and other annoying words to it, and, with luck, I won't see such posts again!
[#]ContentFilter #Friendica #happy #NoPolitics
=> More informations about this toot | View the thread
Things I am Seeking
Note. I have no interest in political correctness, no hatred of men, etc.
=> More informations about this toot | View the thread
♲ @npr_news@social.gibberfish.org:Not your average baby shark: An aquarium welcomes a pup from an all-female tank
Yoko the swell shark was born in a habitat of all-female sharks who hadn't seen a male in years. The aquarium has two possible explanations — and hopes to get confirmation in the coming months.
[#]news #npr #publicradio #usa
posted by pod_feeder_v2
=> More informations about this toot | View the thread
@jupiter_rowland Perhaps, you can explain what is going on here. I love the site in general, but these things are driving me mad!
=> More informations about this toot | View the thread
I tried to post this to the Friendica support forum, but it kept timing out when I entered my information. I am now attempting to subscribe to their e-mail list. However, I thought I would write this here so that those who know coding, etc. might be able to offer a solution, or at least, to pass this on to the developers.
I joined Friendica in October of 2024, when Facebook decided to shut down their Basic Mobile site (not app). I am totally blind, and their main page is a nightmare to use with a screen readre (NVDA in my case). I chose Friendica because of the huge character limit, the ability to edit and delete posts, local posting, extensive profiles with keywords, and the ability to connect with all sorts of accounts in the Fediverse. For the most part, I am enjoying my time here. However, I am noticing a lot of inaccessibility on the Friendica page. I am not a programmer, but I'm guessing this is at the core of the software and is not due to the instance I'm using (friendica.world). I am also guessing that the page is not written in HTML5 and does not follow WCAG guidelines, though I may be wrong about that. If not, I strongly urge the developers to review them and implement them if possible. If so, perhaps, some changes can still be made that would make this a more screen reader-friendly site. Note that I tried this with Firefox and Supermium (a direct fork of Chrome).
Mostly, I use TweeseCake to access the site, but there are some things I can't do with that client. All of the following refer to the site itself.
1B. When I go to the Notifications" link, I have to tab to "Mark all System Notifications as Seen". This isn't even a regular link, as I can't copy and paste the text from it. Once I tab to and out of that, I can then read my notifications. But here is what I have to do if I want to see follow requests.
Ideally, I should be able to go to a normal notifications link, perform steps 3 through 5, then return back to the link, and perform steps 3 through 5 again, as many times as necessary, without having to repeat 1 through 3.
dreamwidth.org
Please, if any changes can be made, I urge you to do so. The site is otherwise a pleasure to use, but my frustration at not being able to easily perform such basic tasks is increasing.
[#]accessibility #blind #coding #Chrome #Developers #Dreamwidth #Facebook #fediverse #Firefox #Friendica #HTML #HTML5 #NVDA #ScreenReaders #TweeseCake #WCAG #Windows
=> More informations about this toot | View the thread
I have talked about accessibility a lot here. But now, it's my turn to ask some questions! I fully admit to being guilty of not capitalising the first letter of each word when writing tags, unless said words are usually capitalised. As a screen reader user, I do realise this can lead to confusion. But are searches on Friendica and elsewhere in the Fediverse case sensitive? If I write goodwriting will it show up in the same listings as GoodWriting? If not, which should I follow, and what about single words, such as writing, which screen readers say correctly? Should I capitalise those (or not) for consistancy?
[#]accessibility #blind #Fediverse #Friendica #hashtags #screenreaders
=> More informations about this toot | View the thread
As a grammar prescriptivist, I take writing and proper use of words very seriously. I recently saw a post about ending text messages with full stops. Apparently, some think this is a bad idea. No. It's called using punctuation correctly! Perhaps, they should read a few grammars instead of playing their silly video games! The same is true of netspeak, textspeak, corporate spaek, and abbreviating everything. Likewise, I have no use for political correctness. I refuse to use words such as visually-challenged, vertically-challenged, etc. I will say blind (or visually impaired if the person has some vision), short, fat, etc. Unless I'm writing poetry and am seeking flowery words for things, I call them what they are. I also have no time for so-called gender-neutral words, unless they honestly make sense and are actually descriptive, such as firefighter or police officer. But I'm just as likely to say fireman, policeman, waiter, steward, actor, chairman, etc. and change the gender when necessary. I also refuse to use the singular they. There are two sexes (gender is for grammar). You're either one or the other. This absolutely doesn't mean that you can't change your sex. If, for example, I meet you as a woman and you change to a man or are a drag king/queen, I will certainly change my use of pronouns when discussing you or talking about you, either permenantly or temporarily, as the case requires. But unless you literally have multiple personalities or are a machine or an inanimate object, you are neither a they nor an it, and you're certainly not some made-up pronoun such as xe. I would never cause harm to those who use such words. I would just consider them to be silly or confused.
[#]English #grammar #properEnglish #politicallycorrect #texting #writing
=> More informations about this toot | View the thread
I am not interested in discussing politics, world affairs, etc. so let's keep to coffee in this conversation, please. I find it laughable that everyone is going crazy over the tarrif on Columbia. Does no one else (barring the Coffee group here, obviously), realise that there are thousands of coffees that have nothing to do with Columbia? Coffee is grown all over the world, in many varieties, roast levels, altitudes, etc. That doesn't mean that when you drink coffee while out, the prices won't increase, as many places do use Columbian. But certainly, if you brew at home, you should be fine. I can even recommend a wonderful company that donates twenty percent of every purchase to helping animal shelters. Their focus is dogs. Please feel free to recommend other companies with high quality coffee, as long as they're not involved in politics.
groundsandhoundscoffee.com/
[#]coffee #dogs #drinks
=> More informations about this toot | View the thread
I left Facebook in October of 2024 precisely to avoid inaccessibility, clutter, and frustration of their main site. Now, I am feeling the same thing with regard to Friendica. I joined here because of the extremely long character limit, the many sites with which I can interact, and the fact that I can edit and delete posts, as well as post locally. Whenever I try to edit a post on the main site, I have problems. This has been true since day one. Now, I'm going to my posts, and instead of seeing the content, I'm only seeing my profile and the tags. I have to go through that same process of editing just to be able to read what the post is. Yes, I use TweeseCake most of the time and it works well, but I have no way of searching posts. So I must use Lukol or try to use Friendica itself to find them, which isn't easy either, unless I tagged them with something unique. On Facebook, I would type my name, a few words from the post, and it would show up. I also have no way of simply sorting comments on TweeseCake as I do, for example, on Luna for Reddit. So I have been missing people's replies to my posts, because I keep getting notifications and other things in my timelines that bury said replies. That may be my fault, as I have several people marked to show all posts. Still, their posts shouldn't show under Mentions if they're not tagging me or replying to my posts, and yet, they do.
I just want to find a site that is easy to use like the Basic Mobile version of Facebook used to be or like Dreamwidth still is, or a client like Luna for Reddit that makes Friendica truly accessible. TweeseCake is 98% there, but there are still a few things that I can't do on it. Perhaps, a dedicated Windows client would be best, and no, I don't mean some strange app that looks like the website.
I would try another instance, but I have a feeling that it will look similar, since it's based on the same software. If I am wrong, please tell me, and I will gladly switch!
[#]accessibility #blind #clients #Friendica #frustration #LunaForReddit #NVDA #TweeseCake #Windows
=> More informations about this toot | View the thread
I must say, I was truly shocked by the huge number of people who responded to my post regarding accessibility and alt text! Thank you so much! I now have a large list of follow requests to sort through, so if I haven't added you yet, please be patient. If you have no interest in reading further but still wish to add me, please at least read my profile on Friendica. Thank you.
On Friendica, I usually post interesting links that I find, and sometimes commentary on various things. But to really get to know me, you can read my journal on Dreamwidth. You can also comment there, whether or not you are a member of the site. As here, please feel free to read my profile, or at least, the About Me post. There is also a pinned post containing links to things that I consider to be important and/or interesting that you can peruse or ignore as you wish.
dandylover1.dreamwidth.org
Entries may consist of anything from short summaries of my day, to full essays on various topics, to reviews of products (for fun, not pay), to random thoughts. I sometimes post quotes and links to interesting things that I find, along with my own commentary related to them. Topics can range from food, to fun surveys, to history, to dandyism, to antique menswear, to various aspects of high culture, to what I am seeking in a partner, and more. However, I try to avoid politics and modern celebrities, since I have no interest in them. I wish to keep my journal light and happy, though if I feel that I must discuss something serious and/or important, I will do so. My journal is public, but When I write adult-oriented posts, I always put them behind a cut and age restrict them. Note that they do not contain any graphic images, though I do post about reputable sites which sell toys, as a user, not a seller. If you're not a member of Dreamwidth and want to read such posts, just check the box that says you're over eighteen, which, of course, you should be if reading such content.
I am single and searching. If you are or know a genuine dandy, or at least, an intelligent, single, childfree man over sixty, please read the link below and/or pass my journal information on to him.
dandylover1.dreamwidth.org/226…
[#]Dreamwidth #Fediverse #followers #friendica #friends #Introduction #introduction #journal #profile
=> More informations about this toot | View the thread
I would like to start a new hash tag called #CatStories and see how far it goes. (To my fellow blind friends, that's capital c, capital s). I think we can all have a bit of fun with it, even those of us who are not lucky enough to be owned by cats but who love them. Share a story of your cat or a cat whom you know, with or without a picture. It can be funny, heart-warming, silly, or even strange. Ideally, it would be true, but if you feel the urge to be creative, you may do so. This is meant to be light-hearted.
[#]cat #cats #CatsofMastodon #Caturday #fun #furbabies #hashtags #stories
=> More informations about this toot | View the thread
I normally use Windows for everything. But today, I had to use my phone for a short time. i can now confirm that the main Friendica site is almost as bad to use on an Android device as Facebook is everywhere. Instead of having a clear edit box for posting, I have to find the link to post. Then, I can't find said edit box. Yes, I can use Pachli, Tusky, or any, etc. but I shouldn't have to. For the record, I use my phone with an external keyboard (iClever bK03) and also have Chrome set to show desktop sites at the moment, which I will probably change, as I prefer mobile ones, even on a desktop! But the matter still stands. Even on Windows, I've had problems with the main site, most especially with regard to editing posts, and I'm sure the posting issue is there as well. Will someone please do something about this? It's not good for Friendica, for the Fediverse, and especially for blind people, such as myself, who came here as a Facebook refugee, when they decided to shut down their Basic Mobile site (not app).
[#]accessibility #Android #blind #Chrome #Fediverse #Friendica #Talkback #technology #Windows
=> More informations about this toot | View the thread
=> More informations about this toot | View the thread
Accessible Youtube Downloader Pro stopped working properly a few days ago. Can anyone recommend anything that works with NVDA? I would prefer a client, but I have also used various youtube to mp3 sites in the past. I would prefer something that lets me set the bitrate to 128kbps or that defaults to it.
[#]accessibility #blind #NVDA #programs #screenreaders #technology #Windows #Youtube
=> More informations about this toot | View the thread
Accessible Youtube Downloader Pro stopped working properly a few days ago. Can anyone recommend anything that works with NVDA? I would prefer a client, but I have also used various youtube to mp3 sites in the past.
[#]accessibility #blind #NVDA #programs #screenreaders #technology #Windows #Youtube
=> More informations about this toot | View the thread
One thing I'm noticing about the Fediverse, and even Dreamwidth, although I love being there, is that they contain large numbers of specific groups, including those with mental disabilities/problems, the tecnology, programming, and/or gaming obsessed, those who want to save the world or at least be involved in it, vegans, and the politically obsessed. It's driving me mad! Normally, I seek those who love luxury, literature, classical music, theatre, fashion (particularly antique menswear or at least suits and ties), general cooking and/or fine dining, wine, antiques, history, and high culture. But lately, I've been finding myself asking "where are the normal people"! I didn't include the pet, nature, garden, or science people, or even the photographers in my above description because I love them and they are why I'm still here. But I'd like to go through one day without reading about the evils of meat-eaters or capitalism and how it must be overthrown, quarrels regarding those who follow this or that politician, how this or that platform and owner there of is bad and why we need to get people off of it, people's mental problems, or wars in foreign countries! Please, if anyone can suggest accounts for me to follow, I would appreciate it!
[#]Fediverse #friends #frustration #nopolitics #NoPolitics
=> More informations about this toot | View the thread
=> This profile without reblog | Go to dandylover1@friendica.world account This content has been proxied by September (3851b).Proxy Information
text/gemini