The Fight for the Throne

Mozart’s opera Die Zauberflöte (The Magic Flute) was his final opera. Of all of his works, this opera is one of his greatest and one of the most well-known.

The role of the Queen of the Night, which is sing by a dramatic coloratura soprano is famous for its difficulty. A particularly demanding aria is the Queen of the Night’s “Der Hölle Rache kocht in meinem Herzen” (“The vengeance of hell boils in my heart”), which reaches a high F. Whether they can sing it or not, everyone takes a crack at this aria:

Florence Foster Jenkins was a wealthy socialite and benefactor of the arts in the first half of the 20th century. She recorded her renditions of classical vocal works to give as gifts to friends. Here she sings Mozart’s aria “Queen of the Night”.

Parrots like to repeat what they hear people around them saying. I wonder who this parrot’s owner is.

Now I don’t know why someone would make a child learn this aria, but listen to this boy soprano. He is very accurate with the pitches and without the dramatic intent, he performs this aria very well in recital format.

Now for the real deal. Diana Damrau is the best I have seen (I haven’t seen everyone one, so don’t be offended if you like someone more.) She is scary as hell and sings the crap out of this aria. Not to mention that she looks fierce.

Check out YouTube for more Queen of the Nigh clips. See a production of The Magic Flute, because it’s awesome!

Crosby wins!

I don’t know who of you have been watching MTV’s show Rock the Cradle. I normally wouldn’t pay attention to the barely talented kids of has-been rockstars. But when I got an email from Crosby Loggins, who I lived in the dorms with my freshman year of college, I was intrigued. He is the person who introduced me to the music of John Mayer through the song “Neon”. Even before hearing Crosby’s own music, I knew he had good ears. I have followed his career for years and have always been curious why a talent like his has gone unnoticed. While he was tentative to enter this show, due to his desire to be his own person and step out of his dad’s (Kenny Loggins) shadow, he signed on. It was clear from the beginning that his musicianship was the best among the group of rockstars children.

I watched the finale in anticipation. The finale three included Crosby, Jesse Blaze Snyder (Dee Synder’s son) and Chloe Lattanzi (daughter of Olivia Newton-John). The winner was clear to me, but had America gotten it right? Chloe was first to be eliminated, which I was expecting. Honestly, I am surprised she made it this far. After her tone-deaf performance the first week, I expected her to be toast. Now it’s down to the boys. I knew it would be between them from the beginning, Jesse being a crowd favorite because of his crazy performance behaviors, and Crosby being the best musician of the bunch.

And the the winner is…CROSBY!

CROSBY ROCKED THE CRADLE! I am so happy for him. If you haven’t seen the show yet, watch for him. He is a force to be reckoned with.

Way to go, Crosby!!