#Scottish Opera

[markagorman]

Edinburgh Festival and Fringe and Festival of Politics: Day 22 - 23

Oh I’m tired mate. It’s really had to keep up and with this final long weekend push ahead I hope I make it to Tuesday and normality. Someone said to me yesterday that it’s been an unremarkable Festival but I beg to differ. There’s gold out there but you need to look carefully. This is where research pays off. Thursday I was a guest at the Amplify Festival where Mihalis hit the back of the net…

[comicalfellow]

Hoop skirt alert !

[ichbinmeineeigenepuppe]

Was ist passiert !

[paisleyphotographs]

Macbeth Takes Paisley Town Hall by Storm: A Thrilling Blend of Opera and Local Culture

In a remarkable fusion of artistic talent and community spirit, Paisley Opera recently treated audiences to two sold-out opening shows at the historic Paisley Town Hall. This groundbreaking production brought together the timeless genius of Verdi’s “Macbeth” with the vibrant heart of Paisley in a specially commissioned ‘Paisley’ translation. The Sold out performances, held on October 6th and 7th,…

[kaimactrash]

Finally got around to doing that meme where you draw your comfort characters as Garnet and Steven in that one awful SU 'fan' comic.

Both of my comfort characters are kinda bad people, but even so, I feel like they'd be fairly enthusiastic to kick anyones ass.

The mall goth is Amber Sweet from Repo! the Genetic Opera and the emo is Matthew Patel from the Scott Pilgrim franchise.

Amber encouraging all of Matthews's worst character traits could be a crazy but fun few days for them, and terror for anyone in their paths!

I used to draw these two a bunch and it was SO much joy to work on them again! I love them both with my whole heart and I will excuse any misdeed they do. (joke)

[scotianostra]

February 20th 1874 saw the birth of the Scottish Soprano Mary Garden in Aberdeen.

Her family emigrated to the US in 1880, eventually settling in Chicago, Illinois. She showed an aptitude for music at an early age, studying the violin and piano and taking voice lessons while still a young girl.

In 1895 she went to Paris, France, to further her voice training. She made her public debut five years later in Gustave Charpentier's Louise at the Opera-Comique in Paris. In 1902 composer Claude Debussy personally chose her to sing the female lead in his opera Pelleas et Melisande, and this became her most famous and celebrated role. She was so highly regarded among composers that Jules Massenet specifically rewrote the lead part in his Le Jongleur de Notre-Dame--which he had originally written to be a man--for her.

She made her New York debut in 1907, in Massenet's Thais. She was acclaimed by critics not only for her superb singing but for what many deemed her remarkable dramatic ability as well. She toured extensively in Europe and the US and joined the Chicago Civic Opera in 1910, being their featured singer until 1931. In addition, she served as general director of the Chicago Opera Association from 1921-1922. Although she retired from the stage in 1934, she remained active in operatic circles, making many lecture and recital tours over the next 20 years and serving as audition judge for the National Arts Foundation. In a quote that perhaps explains something of how she approached life she said: "They liked me in "Thais" because I wore least".  Although Mary Garden spent most of her life away from Scotland eventually she retired retired to Scotland, where she spent the last 30 years of her life, she died in Inverurie on January 3rd, 1967. Mary was cremated and her ashes were scattered in the Garden of Remembrance at the old Crematorium in Garthdee, Aberdeen.  There is a Memorial Garden to her near Kittybrewster in the Granite City.

[xxlumos]

I always wondered why I liked Gerard Butler as the Phantom so much (even though almost everyone hates him in that role??) and just found out he’s Scottish. Of course I would fucking love it.

[infinitelytheheartexpands]

and now, a stupid opera crossover:

lady mac from verdi’s the scottish opera: “dalla fossa chi morì non surse ancor!” (“no one who has died has ever come back from the grave!”)

paul from korngold’s die tote stadt, thoroughly losing his mind, running in wildly: YEAH HUHHHHHHHHHHH

[gaytobymeres]

Why am I not rich enough to go to fancy opera houses all the time 😭😭

[eelsabound]

the death grips post reminded me every time i go to the opera with hayley i instinctively put my hand up to the person checking tickets for them to mark my hand.

which they dont

because they don't mark your hand with a sharpie or perhaps a stamp. at the opera.

[tuttocenere]

I just learned about Rossini's La Donna del Lago earlier this year, and immediately found a fairly perfect audio recording. It's a studio version which means there are no overly loud or quiet parts, no weird pauses or annoying stage noises. But it's not one of those studio recordings, it's nice and operatic and dramatic. The orchestra has a beautiful lively Rossini sound with just the right amount of horns.

A 25 year old Robert Gleadow recording the dad role of Douglas among all these much older singers is a funny mental image, but it sounds great. The role has all the stuff he's good at (rhythm, drama) and none of the stuff he's bad at (long high notes). Kenneth Tarver as Umberto sounds fantastic. Patricia Bardon as Malcolm sounds like a countertenor which is weird but cool.

All in all, I like this recording a lot.

Embedding this from YouTube because it doesn't seem to be on Spotify.

[poem-today]

A poem by Robert Crawford

Opera

Throw all your stagey chandeliers in wheelbarrows and move them north To celebrate my mother's sewing machine And her beneath an eighty-watt bulb, pedalling Iambs on an antique metal footplate Powering the needle through its regular lines, Doing her work. To me as a young boy That was her typewriter. I'd watch Her hands and feet in unison, or read Between her calves the wrought-iron letters: SINGER. Mass-produced polished wood and metal, It was a powerful instrument. I stared Hard at its brilliant needle's eye that purred And shone at night; and then each morning after I went to work at school, wearing her songs.

Robert Crawford

[fahye]

book recs: august '23

(I want to try and do these posts more frequently because I DEARLY miss yelling about books, txitter is [poop emoji]-ing, and bluesky is promising but I don't have much of an audience there yet)

ok! stuff freya has read recently and enjoyed:

A FIRE BORN OF EXILE by aliette de bodard -- did you enjoy nirvana in fire? this is for YOU. it's a revenge story set in aliette's xuya space opera universe, with a pile of complicated characters with mixed or obscured motives, a sapphic romance, and just really incredible use of worldbuilding and politics.

THE SLEEPING SOLDIER by aster glenn gray -- I am an enormous sucker for aster's historical m/m romances, and this one was incredible. a union soldier goes to sleep in 1865 and wakes up in 1965, and his new college roommate has a series of gay crises about it. sweet, exuberant, well researched. both a wonderful romance and an absolutely fascinating examination of male friendships and homosexuality in two different historical time periods.

A DEADLY EDUCATION by naomi novik -- doing a reread of the first two scholomance books before I dive into the third. these books are so disgustingly tailored to ME, a huge fan of magical academia stories with a truly deliciously unnecessary level of worldbuilding detail about how the magic works (and how the school is trying to kill you).

BATH HAUS by p.j. vernon -- a man goes to a gay bathhouse, cheating on his partner, and narrowly escapes being murdered. things get worse from there. I can only recommend this to you if you enjoy thrillers that STRESS YOU THE FUCK OUT, which I normally don't; I nearly put it down a couple of times, but I HAD to know what was going on. it's a masterclass in propulsive tension and does some really cool things with unreliable narration.

HAVEMERCY by jaida jones and danielle bennett -- seven hundred years late to this party, but OH MY GOD. this is the completely gay political/military fantasy of my dreams (the YEARNING), plus there are magical-mechanical dragons. I will be devouring the other books in this series in short order.

EVERY VERSION OF YOU by grace chan -- a beautiful and fascinating literary scifi book about humanity and family and love, and being given the choice to upload your consciousness to a digital paradise as the planet dies around you. unsurprisingly it deals with some heavy stuff, but it's fantastic. and australian!

A THIEF AND A GENTLEMAN by arden powell -- another m/m romance in arden's flos magicae series. the title alone is probably enough to tell you why I enjoyed it, but I especially liked the way it kept subverting my expectations in favour of more chewy emotional honesty and complexity.

STRONG FEMALE CHARACTER by fern brady -- a memoir by a scottish comedian about being diagnosed with autism in her thirties, and her life up to that point. funny and chaotic and an all-around amazing read. I loved fern on taskmaster and I love her even more now.

[noneorother]

All the music you didn’t hear in Good Omens. (And I found a new P&P reference) *Part4*

Part 1  l  Part 2 l Part 3 l Part 4

The Bonkers Meta Series 2: Electric Boogaloo. It never ends.

So if you've been paying attention, you know that the number 2 is an incredibly important idea in season 2 of Good Omens. Well, I think it might be more than just the number two. I think it might actually be the concept of Double Meanings. Here's the first one I found.

When you google P&P Book you get : Pride & Prejudice, by our favourite Brandy smuggler: Jane Austen.

But when you google P&P Film, you get the life's work of ... Powell & Pressburger! Both prominent nods in the series that Neil and the gang seem pretty happy to talk about. This seemed like maybe it could be a coincidence to me, so I started looking up other nods in the series to see if my theory scans. Check this out :

P&P (1948) The Red Shoes Kate Bush (1993) P&P (1945) I know where I'm going Scottish traditional - Burl Ives (1941) P&P (1946) A matter of life & death / Stairway to Heaven Led Zepplin (1971) P&P (1949) The (Small) Back Room Van Morrison

P&P (1950)

Wild at Heart/Gone to Earth

David Sylvian

and here’s the P&P reference I think no one caught yet! Remember who Aziraphale learned the sleight of hand magic trick from in 1941? Prof Hoff.

P&P (1951) - musical The Tales of Hoffman Opera by Offenbach (1881) I linked everything so you can go listen or read about the the movies/music in question. However, be warned the opera is over two hours. Clearly I’m missing one, because I’m a series of six episodes there’s now way they put five references in, but I’m having a hard time finding it. If you know what it is, please let me know!

My point - my point here, is that I think rather than trying to find the “right” interpretation of the story of season 2 with confusing facts and confounding dialogue, these double entendres serve as a guide to show us how “both stories are going on at the same time” can be analyzed separately AND together, and that they live right on top of one another.

Want to hear my analysis of both the movie playlist and the music playlist? It’s on the way!

[m1d-45]

welcome to teyvat !

before you begin your journey, here’s my original take on the logistics of sagau, as well as an update after some more information from fontaine. while not essential, here are my thoughts on how nations worship.

if there’s anything in particular you’d like to see in the future, please send in your request to my ask box.

1k event m.list

(host to: aether, alhaitham, bennett, collei, cyno, diluc, dottore, kaeya, kaveh, kazuha, keqing, nahida, razor, tighnari, venti, wanderer, xiao, xingqiu)

warnings [⏵] : yandere / heavy cultish || obsessive

genre [title] : angst || fluff || hurt/comfort

traveller from afar — aether

‘I'm saying that I'm having a lot of fun traveling with you… It'd be nice if we could just go on like this forever.’

⏵ a new tomorrow

—⏵ my love, my god

twilight sword — dainslef

‘No, it’s just… I’m still waiting for my drink.’

⏵ will you promise that i'll see you again?

mondstadt

ah, the city of freedom. a wise choice as a first stop, to best wind up for what’s to come. a calm atmosphere and a soothing wind across your shoulders… truly, the only thing better is the wine.

choose the winds of anemo ?

(host to: diluc, venti)

liyue

the land of contracts… perhaps it’s a fitting choice, to visit the land so recently abandoned. the realm of illuminated beasts and host of history… unless it’s the music you prefer?

choose the stone of geo ?

(host to: baizhu, ga ming, xiao, zhongli)

inazuma

eternity… a false ideal, one impossible to chase, but i must commend ei’s determination if nothing else. all her effort, and the only thing permanent is its beauty.

choose the spark of electro ?

(host to: ayato, heizou, kazuha, thoma)

sumeru

hmph. the akademiya still runs rampant, and the desert is still a wash of ruin. i can’t promise much about here, except a few familiar faces. care to visit your friends?

choose the root of dendro ?

(host to: alhaitham, tighnari, wanderer)

fontaine

a nation submerged in water, surrounded by mirages at every turn. perhaps we could go see an opera, or catch a magic show… or have a cup of tea and catch up. what do you say?

choose the court of hydro ?

(host to: neuvillette, wriothesley)

natlan

…hm? ah, my apologies, but it looks like this destination isn’t available for travel just yet. thank you for your patience!

choose the ember of pyro?

snezhnaya

the land of ice and love, led by the lady of contradictions. have you found comfort in the snow?

choose the frost of cryo ?

(host to: il dottore, regrator, tartaglia)

series!

⏵ dearly beloved — complete trilogy

8.7k — being hunted across half of teyvat wasn’t exactly on your bucket list. but if he’s the one you keep seeing… maybe it’s worth it.

—⏵ on broken bones

—⏵ death, rebirth, new life

—⏵ the scottish play

⏵ abiogenesis — complete duology

10k — after being abandoned, albedo didn’t have the brightest hope for his future. travelling to mondstadt, he finds the closest thing to ‘purpose.’

—⏵ from soil…

—⏵ …was birthed chalk

⏵ secret contributions — complete trilogy

8.2k — false faith has forced you to flee to inazuma, barely surviving the trip. thankfully, the kamisatos are here to help.

—⏵ small miracles

—⏵ hidden blessings

—⏵ silent conclusions

⏵ spoken across stars — episodic

2.7k — voicelines characters would have in sagau

—⏵ kaeya, diluc, thoma ft. noelle + candace

—⏵ kazuha, wanderer ft. tighnari + baizhu

—⏵ zhongli, ayato, heizou ft. xinqiu + chongyun

—⏵ lyney, lynette, freminet ft. arlecchino + navia

miscellaneous / multiple

⏵ in excess (ft. zhongli + xiao)

⏵ new hopes (ft. the arataki gang)

⏵ emotions (ft. mondstat)

⏵ the young (ft. your main!)

—⏵ still too young (ft… a lot of ppl)

⏵ plagued (ft. diluc + kaeya)

⏵ reverse isekai drabble (ft. your main!)

⏵ slapfight (ft. a lot of people-)

⏵ mea maxima culpa (ft. zhongli + barbara)

⏵ in the stars (ft mona + your main!)

⏵ replacement (ft. kaeya + venti + albedo + xiao)

⏵ discretion advised (ft. mondstat)

⏵ warmth (ft. every pyro character as of 3.4)

⏵ a soft place to land (ft. zhongli + kaeya + diluc + alhaitham + tighnari)

⏵ constellations (ft. barbara + thoma + heizou + collei + kujou sara + sucrose + candace +ganyu)

⏵ connection (ft. diluc + kaeya + kazuha + albedo + kaveh)

⏵ your shield, a sword (ft. thoma + tighnari + zhongli + alhaitham + cyno + albedo)

⏵ divine favor (ft. yae miko + itto + kazuha + kaeya + chongyun + noelle)

⏵ dead leaves (ft. ..people)

—⏵ new sprouts (ft. chongyun)

⏵ the rule of threes (ft. albedo + his brother)

⏵ darling, my dear (ft. diluc + tighnari + childe + xiao + kazuha)

⏵ sandy refuge (ft. nahida + wanderer)

⏵ dancing soldiers (ft. aether)

⏵ a break in routine (ft. alhaitham + kaveh + sethos)

⏵ snapshot (ft. tighnari + neuvillette

please report any missing entries or misleading content as soon as possible !

thank you for reading !

[hotvintagepoll]

Propaganda

Susannah Foster (The Phantom of the Opera)—christine daeeee

Moira Shearer (The Red Shoes)— Moira Shearer is one of the most awe-inspiring dancers ever put to screen. Watching her performance in 'The Red Shoes' changed my fucking life. When I saw her in 'Peeping Tom' it was one of the most anxiety-inducing experiences I've ever had watching a film. Moira Shearer was not only an actress who can make you feel, she's an actress who can make you feel *desperately afraid* for her. An all-time favourite for horror, dance, and just her /presence/, man.

This is round 1 of the tournament. All other polls in this bracket can be found here. Please reblog with further support of your beloved hot sexy vintage woman.

[additional propaganda submitted under the cut]

Moira Shearer:

Her performance in 'The Red Shoes' (if you ever have the opportunity to see this on the big screen, TAKE IT.)

[editor's note: if your TWs include death, dismemberment, or general freaky stuff, go forward with caution with these videos. Enjoy!]

Scottish flame-haired professional ballerina who made a successful move into films with ballet classic "The Red Shoes" and several other films. The best way to convey her beauty and grace is to see her in motion so gifsets are attached.

Gifset 1

Gifset 2

Gifset 3

Please check her out as Olympia in The Tales of Hoffmann, it's one of my favourite examples of automata ballet and she's so awesome in it