Singing student earns ticket to the stage

When a singing student went to order opera tickets the last thing he expected was to be on stage just a few hours later.
But that is exactly what happened when 32-year Adriano Graziani made the fateful call on the eve of a concert at the Weston Studio at the Wales Millennium Centre in Cardiff last month.

The original tenor for the performance, arranged by the Friends of Welsh National Opera, had fallen ill hours before the start.

Undaunted, Mr Graziani answered the distress call and had just enough time to rehearse and get ready before singing in front of hundreds of people.

His performance of E Lucevan Le Stelle from Tosca, Core N’grato, a Neapolitan song, the Brindisi Duet from La Traviata and the Welsh song, Arafa Don, won rave reviews and led to him being offered a three-month contract as an understudy for the role of Rodolfo in La Boheme in Birmingham next year.

The part will see the former bank worker from Neath, South Wales, taking the lead in a matinee performance at the city’s Hippodrome Theatre.

He has also accepted the lead role in a revival show of Tosca at the Richmond Theatre in London next February.

Speaking from Zaragoza in Spain, where he is taking part in the Montserrat Caballe International Singing Competition, Mr Graziani said of his lucky break: “I called up for some tickets to the gala concert last month as I thought it would be nice to sit in the audience for a change rather than be up there on stage singing.

“The person putting on the event for the Welsh National Opera asked if I was a tenor. I told him I was and he said ’I’m ever so sorry but could you take part in the concert tonight because the tenor is ill?’

“I was ’umming and ahhing’ because I would have only had a few hours to get ready and rehearse but I went ahead with it and it was a really big success.

“As a result I had a working session with the director of the Welsh National Opera to see what I was able to do and that led to me being offered the understudy in one of the principal roles in a production of La Boheme.

“Because of that I got auditioned for a lead role in a revival of Tosca at the Richmond Theatre in London and I got the role in that as well.”

He added: “It was all because I phoned up for tickets. I think I’m going to be ringing up all the time for tickets now!”

It is not the first time Mr Graziani, who is currently studying at the Cardiff International Academy of Voice, has stepped into a role at the last moment.

Last year, after leaving the Royal College of Music he became the understudy in the Glyndebourne Touring Opera production of Macbeth.

When the principal had to return to Italy to be with his pregnant wife, Mr Graziani stepped up and won a most-promising newcomer award for his efforts.

The plaudits he is now garnering are a long way from where he was less than five years ago, working for a bank.

“It really wasn’t what I wanted to do,” said Mr Graziani. “I knew that I wanted to be a singer and I was having lessons.

“I was always in the opera world in my mind. I think I was destined to be a singer or performer of some sort but opera was the thing that made me alive.

“It is in my blood because I’m part Italian.

“One day I was walking past the Royal College of Music in London and I asked if there was any chance I could see the head vocal coach.

“As a result of my singing that day, they offered me a two-year study and that really was the crunch.

“I was 28 then and I knew if I didn’t do it then, then I would never do it. If I left it any later then maybe people wouldn’t take me seriously.”

He added: “I’m very, very lucky to be doing what I’m doing because it is the best job in the world.

“You do need a bit of luck though.”

Star Baritone Discusses Singing As 'Cyrano' For Upcoming Opera Company Production

By Lewis Whittington, The Bulletin

Philadelphia - When baritone Marian Pop was contemplating a career as a violinist in Romania, he so disliked the stage that he thought he would quit pursuing music performance as a career.

That was then. Now playing on opera stages and in concert halls around the world, the singer's stage jitters have vanished. "I love it," he said in an interview last week. He will get the chance to display that love and his cinematic stage presence while debuting as the title role in the Opera Company of Philadelphia's premiere of "Cyrano." His image as the prominently schnozzled hero adorns show banners along Broad Street.

The new opera, a coproduction of OCP and Michigan Opera Theatre, had a short world premiere in Detroit last fall. Based on Edmond Rostand's 1897 play "Cyrano de Bergerac," this ariatic version is the creation of composer David DiChiera, a founding director of MOT, and librettist Bernard Uzan, who is directing the production.

The story of Cyrano, renowned for his large, unironic proboscis, has remained one of the most enduring romantic characters around, and has been memorialized in several stage and screen productions, including Steve Martin's 1987 film, "Roxanne."

This is great raw material for opera: "Cyrano's problem is that he hates himself," says Mr. Pop. "Everybody who has a complex - you say that in English, yes? - develops other things to compensate."

Cyrano overcomes ridicule about his large nose by becoming a great swordfighter, writer and poet, but gets both physically hurt while swordfighting, and emotionally bruised as the hidden suitor of Roxane. He vicariously woos Roxane by writing her beautiful letters, used by her hopelessly tongue-tied suitor Christian to make her fall in love with him. But Christian is clueless about how to win her heart without Cyrano's letters, and Roxane has no idea that Cyrano is the author of the beautiful prose.

Mr. Pop, sounding a little gravely, dashed through a Friday morning downpour to grab a bite before rehearsal, and talk about what it takes to build a convincing Cyrano. He kicked back at the Cosi down the street from the Academy.

"This is very friendly and safe place," he said with a laugh, as things bang ominously in the background. "I love this city; it's a beautiful place, and I also have some relatives here. This opera house looks like the houses I am used to in Europe."

Between productions of "Cyrano," Mr. Pop did some freelance work, taking two months off to perform concerts in Romania's capital city and other locations in Europe.

"In Bucharest, I did 'The Barber of Seville,' because they had never heard me there. In St. Petersburg, I did 'Carmina Burana,'" he said. "It's great working with different people, artists, mentalities."

Originally from Cluj Napoca (Kloozh' Nah poh' kah) in Transylvania, the baritone has a silky Eastern European accent, and once even shot an opera film in the ruins of Castle Dracula.

While practicing for the heroic role last week, Mr. Pop bruised the back of his hand, but was relishing the thought of returning for more swashbuckling and the chance to sharpen the vocal subtleties of the role.

"Cyrano is fearless," said Mr. Pop, who says he like to consider how a character arrived at a certain point in his life, which affects how he expresses himself onstage. "I like to bring as much physical knowledge as possible to a part."

Soprano Evelyn Pollock will be joining Mr. Pop on stage as Roxane and Stephen Costello, an AVA graduate who made his debut at The Met in 2007, will play Christian. "Evelyn is an absolutely great singer, and Stephen is going to be one of our best tenors. I feel honored being around these great voices," said Mr. Pop.

Mr. Pop is looking forward to this stage of the opera's development. "In Detroit, we had to do everything from scratch -from nothing - and now we are much further. The main parts are big, [but] now we are pretty much ready for it," he said. "Our director wrote the libretto and knows it by heart. He communicates to us want he wants in an instant. We are lucky to have a director who knows language. He made a point from the very beginning that we would work together to develop these characters," said Mr. Pop.

"'Cyrano' is written in a romantic style, but musically it has a rhythmic element in the bars. It's one of the characteristics of David DiChiera's composing style," said Mr. Pop. "It keeps the singer awake and gives a spontaneity to the actors. It's more like a movie style, in the opera you expect when they are going to start the musicality. Here, it feels like the action of the character starts the music. It took me a while to realize this. I love that."

The Opera Company of Philadelphia's East Coast premiere of "Cyrano" opens at the Academy of Music Friday, and runs through Feb. 17. Tickets are $7.50 to $115, and can be purchased by calling 215 732-8400.

Lewis Whittington can be reached at lwhitti284@aol.com

The singing telegram at 75

Although there is no record of the content of the inaugural message, today marks the 75th anniversary of singing telegrams, or musical telegrams as they were originally called, the first of which was delivered by the New York-based Postal Telegraph Company on Feb. 10, 1933.

A mid-Depression marketing ploy to make its messengers stand out from the competition's, the company hired musicians who would play appropriate music while recipients read their telegrams. Another motive behind musical telegrams was to supplant the public's association of telegrams with bad news -- the death of a loved one, for example -- with something more cheerful.

One of the most famous early telegrams was the first one ever delivered by Western Union, on July 28 of the same year. The story goes that a fan of singer Rudy Vallee sent him a birthday greeting telegram, and the company's public relations director, George P. Oslin, asked one of the operators, Lucille Lipps, to sing the message over the phone, to the tune of Happy Birthday to You. (The part about the original sender may be apocryphal, as some reports suggest that the whole idea originated with Oslin, who was allegedly a friend of Vallee's. Oslin's story became such legend, in fact, that he is often credited with inventing singing telegrams.) Oslin later recalled he "was angrily informed I was making a laughingstock of the company."

Yet singing telegrams, which were generally delivered in person, grew in popularity until the increasing prevalence of telephones in homes saw the novelty wear off.

In Canada, the singing telegram died around 1950, when Unitel Communications, the modern-day equivalent of Western Union, ceased sending them. Western Union halted its singing telegram service in the U.S. in 1974.

India Catholics set world record for 40 hour singing marathon

Mangalore, India

Catholics in southwestern India have set a new world record by singing non-stop for 40 hours, UCA News reports.

Priests, religious, and laypeople started singing on January 27, managing to eclipse the previous 36-hour record set by a Brazilian Christian group in 2004.

The record-setters sang in the Konkani language, currently spoken by about 5 million people. The language is largely associated with Catholics on the southwestern coast of India.

Eric Ozario, founder of the Konkani cultural organization Mandd Sobhann, told that the aim of the project was to instill a sense of unity and solidarity among Kokani-speaking people. “We are a small community and Westernization is eating away our culture,” he said. The Konkani community could grow "only when it is united, culturally rooted and proud of its culture." Ozario said some Konkani-speaking Catholics have turned to an “English culture, forgetting their rich cultural roots.”

"Konkani language and our Catholic faith are linked to each other, and we cannot separate one from the other," Sister Juliet Lobo, a Queen of Apostles nun who helped conduct the performance.

Sister Lobo said about 1,700 singers in 44 groups sang continuously, with less than ten seconds between songs and between singing groups. While the singers mostly came from Catholic parishes in the Indian states of Goa, Maharashtra, and Kerala, some Konaki-speaking Catholics from Persian Gulf countries were also included.

They sang over 600 Christian hymns or faith-related songs. No song was repeated and no singer appeared more than once. The groups providing musical accompaniment changed every four hours.

Keith Pullin, an official from Guinness World Records, monitored the performance. He said he was "amazed by the discipline of the groups, their performance and the professionalism" of the event.

Father Ramesh Naik, a Mumbai parish priest who was the event’s chief patron, said the Konkani culture had played a major role in shaping faith and culture. “It has to be preserved,” he said.

Autisic student handcuffed for singing

-SAN FRANCISCO, California (NBC)

The parents of an autistic San Jose, California sixth-grader are expressing outrage that their son was put in handcuffs because he would not leave a class.

Eleven year old Gunnar Moody said that it all started when he was singing a song while doing sit-ups in physical education class.

"She was like, 'Gunnar, you have to leave now.' I didn't do anything wrong. Why do I have to leave? Everyone else is being loud; why do I have to get in trouble?' Then she said it three more times and then she handcuffed me. And it was kind of humiliating because it was in front of all those kids and she was, like, picking me up and dragging me out," Gunnar said.

Gunnar's parents said, what happened at Bret Harte Middle School is unacceptable.

"The bottom line he's in phys ed. And all the kids are making noise yelling, screaming and talking and he gets singled out for going 'la-la-la?'" Michael Moody, Gunnar's father, said.

His mother, Laura Moody, asked a campus police officer if Gunnar had threatened anyone.

"I specifically asked the officer, 'did he threaten you?' She said no. I said, 'did he threaten any other child?' And she said no. I think there should be a better line drawn on what kind of force to use. And especially with children with disabilities," Laura Moody said.

A copy of Gunnar's behavior support plan outlines what to do if he misbehaves in school and does not include the use of physical force.

The San Jose Unified School District issued the following statement:

The officer's actions helped to maintain a safe atmosphere for the other 30 students in the class.

The use of restraints is extremely rare and would only be used when deemed absolutely necessary by the officer for the protection of the student and his other classmates.

Gunnar's parents plan to meet with school district leaders to talk about what happened.

Gunnar is suspended for three days.

Asked if he wants to go back to Bret Harte Middle School, Gunnar said, "No. Because the kids will like pick on me and stuff. Because of that happened."

Italian Tenor Pier Miranda Ferraro Dies

ROME (AP) — Pier Miranda Ferraro, an Italian tenor who sang in the 1960s and 1970s and was noted for his interpretation of Giuseppe Verdi's "Otello," died on Friday the 18th Of January 2008 at his home in Milan, family members said. He was 83.

Damiano Beltotto said his grandfather died of cardiac arrest in his sleep.

The singer was born Pietro Ferraro in 1924 in Altivole in northeast Italy. He took the stage name Pier Miranda Ferraro, borrowing the middle name from his wife's name.

Ferraro made his debut at Milan's La Scala opera house in 1951 and last performed there in 1972, family members said.

He sang on the stages of Covent Garden in London and the Vienna State Opera, as well as in operas performed in South America.

His last stage performance was in 1981 in the northern Italian town of Lecco in a production of "Otello."

In 1985, Ferraro founded a management agency for opera singers, conductors, directors and other opera professionals. Ferraro's daughter Beatrice is among those who run the Milan-based agency.

The singer is survived by his wife, four children and 16 grandchildren. A funeral was scheduled for Monday in a Milan church.

The tenor of all times

On July 16, 1994, the eve of the World Cup final, television stations broadcast The Three Tenors in concert at Los Angeles to 1.3 billion viewers across the globe. Soccer fans the world over listened with rapt attention as the triumvirate of Luciano Pavarotti, Plácido Domingo and José Carreras brewed great classical arias with timeless Hollywood classics. Most viewers, at least outside the Western hemisphere, were listening to the tenors for the first time. The music was unusual, but the powerful delivery of exquisite melodies made a compelling impression. One tenor stood out in superlative extremes. Fat and rotund, Pavarotti cut out the least handsome figure. But from deep within his massive chest emerged a distinctive, very rich timbre. The incomprehension of the lyrics was subsumed under the angelic nature of his voice. For intent listeners, Pavarotti was an otherworldly experience. Such talent occurs once in decades. It must have been god-sent. Even atheists generally bow to this incredible assertion when it comes to Pavarotti.

One realises the import of the assertion when one considers that Pavarotti's main rival, the fastidious Domingo, is among the greatest of tenors himself, outmatching Pavarotti in acting prowess, theory, rigour and repertoire. But just one aspect makes Pavarotti, Pavarotti. The voice. Even someone listening to an operatic aria for the first time can distinguish between Pavarotti's voice and that of other tenors. This cannot be said of any other tenor.

Leading the tributes to Pavarotti, who passed away on Thursday, Domingo said: "I always admired his divine voice, with its unmistakable timbre and complete vocal range." The vocal range of a tenor - the highest male voice naturally possible without the employment of falsetto - generally starts from a pitch or two below C3, covers C4 (known as middle C after its positioning roughly in the middle of a piano keyboard) and ends two octaves above in C5, called tenor C or the 'high C'. (For a soprano, the highest female singing voice, the 'high C' is two octaves above C4 at C6.)

Hitting the high C is supremely demanding. Even the best of tenors avoid venturing into such a high register without assiduous preparation. But Pavarotti glided through easily. At New York's Metropolitan Opera on February 17, 1972, in the defining moment of his career, he effortlessly and in quick succession hit nine high Cs in 'Ah! Mes Amis', the signature aria of Donizetti's 'La fille du régiment'. The challenging aria is often called the 'Mount Everest' for tenors. The Met's audience was in raptures and gave Pavarotti a 15-minute standing ovation and 10 curtain calls. A curtain call is the courteous reappearance of a performer on stage following the prolonged applause of the audience. (Incidentally, Pavarotti holds the record of most curtain calls for any artist, at 165). After the Met performance he came to be called the 'King of the High Cs'.

Pavarotti, a huge fan of Juventus football club, stormed into popular consciousness at the 1990 football World Cup final in Rome, when The Three Tenors sang the aria 'Nessun Dorma' (No One Sleeps) - the 1990 Cup anthem - from Puccini's 'Turandot'. With a delivery laden with heightened emotion, he sustained a top B through the last word 'vincero' (I will win) for 11 seconds. This, at a time when the critics had started carping and were writing him off.

For critics, Pavarotti had ceased being a great tenor by the turn of the 80s. They said he was descending into diva tantrums rather than reaching high registers. Among such tantrums was the demand he once made for a kitchen to be built into his hotel suite. More serious were his frequent last minute cancellations of appearances at sold-out venues with tickets priced as high as $1,800. Once he got into a scandal when he was caught lip-syncing at a performance.

For the rest of the world, Pavarotti the phenomenon had just begun. The Three Tenors went on to give several high voltage performances with a repertoire that included pop hits. From being an ivory tower pursuit, operatic arias were rivalling rock acts at stadiums and big open-air venues. Pavarotti went a step further, collaborating with pop star friends for charity concerts at Modena, his hometown in Italy. Such forays were not to the liking of high-minded purists, who heaped scorn and poured disdain on Pavarotti for belittling classical music. But the tenor couldn't care less. "Some say the word 'pop' is derogatory and means 'not important'- I do not accept that," Pavarotti told a British newspaper three years ago. "If the word 'classical' is the word to mean 'boring', I do not accept that either. There is (just) good and bad music," he said.

50,000 watch final curtain call for Pavarotti

MODENA (ITALY): Music and film stars joined top political figures and tens of thousands of tearful fans to honour opera legend Luciano Pavarotti at his funeral on Saturday.

About 800 family, friends and special guests heard special tributes to the venerated tenor from Pope Benedict XVI during a mass at the cathedral in his hometown of Modena. Pavarotti died on Thursday aged 71.

Among mourners were Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi, former UN secretary general Kofi Annan, U2 rock star Bono and Italian film director Franco Zeffirelli.

Another 50,000 people watched the funeral on two giant screens set up in the main square outside the cathedral, according to Modena authorities.

Pavarotti's second wife Nicoletta Mantovani sat in front of the white maple coffin, which was covered in sunflowers, for the service. She watched in tears as the coffin was taken for a private burial in a family vault just outside Modena.

The event was virtually a state funeral. As the coffin left the cathedral, 10 planes from the Italian air force's aerobatic team flew over leaving a trail of smoke in the national colours - green, white and red.

"It's a special performance normally reserved for state funerals," team commander Massimo Tammaro said.

Recordings of Pavarotti's pristine tenor were played to the waiting crowds before the funeral service. Bulgarian soprano Raina Kabaivandska, a friend of Pavarotti, fought back tears as she started the 90 minute service with an "Ave Maria" taken from Giuseppe Verdi's "Otello".

The blind Italian singer Andrea Bocelli performed Mozart's "Ave Verum Corpus".

In a special message read at the mass, Pope Benedict XVI called Pavarotti "a great artist who through his extraordinary talent for interpretation honoured the divine gift of music."

Prodi said in a eulogy that Pavarotti "made music an instrument of life and against war" and called him an "impassioned ambassador for Italy".

More than 100,000 people had filed past Pavarotti's coffin in the cathedral in the two days before the service.

Italian President Giorgio Napolitano was among those to pay last respects on Friday.

"I wanted to testify personally to the emotion and the recognition of all Italians for the man who carried his voice and the purest image of our country throughout the world," he said.

Recordings of Puccini's "Nessun Dorma" by Pavarotti were to be played as a tribute before European Championship football matches later on Saturday, pitting Italy against France and England against Israel.

Pavarotti made the aria a new global hit when he sang it at the 1990 World Cup finals, helping to widen classical opera's appeal to the masses.

Pavarotti died at his villa near Modena after a long battle with cancer of the pancreas. He underwent major surgery for the illness in July 2006 and was hospitalised again for three weeks in August.

Tributes came from around the world to Pavarotti, including by his partners in the Three Tenors opera supergroup, Placido Domingo and Jose Carreras, though they were not at the service. Domingo said he had been held up at rehearsals in Los Angeles.

"I always admired the God-given glory of his voice -- that unmistakable special timbre from the bottom up to the very top of the tenor range," said Domingo in a statement.

Carreras added: "The best memories are the ones in intimacy. ... We have to remember him as the great artist he was, a man with such a wonderful charismatic personality."

Pavarotti broke into the opera world when he won a competition in 1961. He sang "Nessun Dorma" during his last major performance, at the opening of the Winter Olympics in Turin in February 2006.

He also managed to shock purists with his appearances in live concerts, sometimes alongside pop musicians. In 1991 a crowd of 150,000, including the Prince and Princess of Wales, braved the rain and cold in London's Hyde Park to hear him sing 20 arias by Verdi, Puccini, Bizet and Wagner.

Over the years he topped the British pop charts and appeared with rock stars ranging from Elton John and Eric Clapton to Bono, Zucchero and even the Spice Girls. Many of the concerts were for charity to raise money for causes such as children in Bosnia-Hercegovina.

Thousands pay respects to Pavarotti lying in state at Modena cathedral

MODENA: Recordings of Luciano Pavarotti's voice boomed out in Modena's main piazza on Saturday as mourners waited to pay their final respects to the tenor before an invitation-only funeral in his hometown's cathedral.

Some well-wishers waited under the large loudspeakers erected in Piazza Grande, arms crossed and eyes closed as they listened to the voice that was as much at home on stage with rock stars as it was in the world's great opera houses.

Pavarotti's body, dressed in a black tuxedo and with his hands clutching his trademark white handkerchief, went back on view at dawn on Saturday. The cathedral was to remain open to the public until just before the mid-afternoon start of the funeral service, which was being celebrated by the Vatican's No. 2 official and televised live.

“He was our Italian flag. He was the best representation that we could have,'' said Susy Cavallini, a 43-year-old Modena resident as she emerged from the cathedral.

“Modena is known for its cappelletti (a type of tortellini), balsamic vinegar, Ferrari and Pavarotti. It's a collection of important things that Modena has given to the world.''

Admirers signed a book of condolences placed by a vase of sunflowers- Pavarotti's favorite- outside the cathedral. The Foreign Ministry said similar books of condolences would be available to well-wishers around the world at Italian embassies and consulates.

The opera great died on Thursday in his home on Modena's outskirts after battling pancreatic cancer for more than a year. He was 71 and was beloved by generations of opera-goers and pop fans, for his breathtaking high “Cs'' and his hearty renditions of folk songs like “ O Sole Mio ,'' and popular tunes like “ My Way .''

Farewell to Pavarotti

Ledendary Italian tenor Luciano Pavarotti, who brought opera to the masses, succumbs to pancreatic cancer aged 71 at his home in Modena; survived by wife and 4-yr-old daughter.

Modena, Italy: Luciano Pavarotti, legendary Italian opera star hailed by many as the greatest tenor of his generation, died on Thursday after a long battle with cancer, his manager Terri Robson said.

“The great tenor Luciano Pavarotti died on Wednesday, 11 pm EDT at his home in Modena,” Robson said in a statement. He was 71.

“The maestro fought a long, tough battle against pancreatic cancer which eventually took his life.
“In fitting with the approach that characterised his life and work, he remained positive until finally succumbing to the last stages of his illness.”

The rotund, black-bearded tenor known as “Big Luciano” helped bring opera to the masses and performed to vast stadium audiences round the world. He shot to fame with a stand-in appearance at London’s Covent Garden in 1963 and soon had critics gushing about his voluminous voice.

His last public singing performance was at the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics in Turin in February 2006, singing Puccini’s aria “Nessun Dorma”.

In July last year, Pavarotti underwent surgery in New York for pancreatic cancer and retreated to his villa in Modena. He had to cancel his first planned public reappearance a few months later.
Pavarotti was taken to a hospital in Modena last month and treated for more than two weeks. He was released on August 25, and spent his final hours at home with family and friends nearby, the statement said.

“He remained optimistic and confident that he would overcome the disease and had been determined to return to the stage to complete his Worldwide Farewell Tour,” the statement said.

He is survived by his wife, Nicoletta, their 4-year-old daughter, Alice, as well as three daughters from Pavarotti’s first marriage.

The news saddened Italians, particularly those in Modena, Pavarotti’s hometown. Police stood watch outside Pavarotti’s villa as television crews gathered.

“For Modena, it is a enormous loss. Modena is known to the world thanks to Pavarotti,” said Antonio Dibiccari, 39.

Pavarotti with wife Nicoletta Mantovani and their 11-month-old daughter Alice in 2003

Key dates in Luciano Pavarotti’s life
• October 12, 1935: Pavarotti is born in Modena, Italy.

• 1961: Wins a local competition and with it a debut as Rodolfo in Puccini’s “La Boheme”, in Reggio Emilia city. Marries Adua Veroni, with whom he has three daughters.

• 1963: First UK appearance at Covent Garden in London, where he stands in for tenor Giuseppe Di Stefano.

• 1972: Records nine high Cs at New York’s Metropolitan Opera House.

• 1990: Performs at the closing ceremony of the World Cup Football in Italy with fellow tenors Placido Domingo and Jose Carreras.

• 1991: Serenades Princess Diana at London’s Hyde Park in one of the biggest music events at the park.

• 2001: Appears in a court in Italy on charges of 13.3 million of taxes.

• 2003: Marries his 33-year-old former personal assistant Nicoletta Mantovani.

• 2006: His final vocal performance at the opening ceremony of the 20th Winter Olympics in Turin.

• 8 August, 2007: Admitted to hospital in Modena with fever, but stays on to have more tests related to pancreatic cancer. Discharged on August 25.

• 6 September, 2007: Opera legend dies aged 71.

TRIBUTES TO THE TENOR

There were tenors, and then there was Pavarotti - Italian film director Franco Zeffirelli

Pavarotti was the best known classical singer in the world, the best incarnation of the great popular tenor since Enrico Caruso. His artistic qualities, his warmth and his charisma seduced the whole world. - French President Nicolas Sarkozy

Origin of Spectral Voices

In 1991 Jim Cole began practicing overtone singing after hearing recordings of the Tibetan Gyuto monks and David Hykes and the Harmonic Choir's Hearing Solar Winds. He was astonished and fascinated to discover the haunting otherworldly sounds he heard were produced entirely by human voices. Within a year he was turning people on to the wonder of harmonic singing, teaching others as he continued to learn, and gathering an ever-changing group around him. Asian throat singing was never really a public art, developed instead by solitary wandering herders communing with nature and by monks deep in meditation. Jim's group likewise experienced the focus and peace that can come from harmonic singing. Members enjoyed the shared opportunity for musical exploration, self-expression, and interaction with each other, but originally had no intention of singing for anyone but themselves. As the group evolved into Spectral Voices, the singers became increasingly experimental, playing with their voices to create new sounds and techniques and discovering the challenges and joys of totally improvised group work.

Background and Influences

For centuries people in many parts of the world have developed overtone singing traditions (khoomei - throat singing, harmonic singing, overtoning, harmonic chant, subfundamental chant, multiphonic singing, vocal fry, etc), and nowhere has it reached greater refinement than in central Asia. You may have heard the high whistling melodies, expressive warbles, and intense low croaking tones of Tuvan throat singers. A similar folk tradition occurs among the herdsmen of Mongolia. Certain groups of Tibetan Buddhist monks practice a deep subfundamental type of sacred harmonic chant.

Hitting the right note is genetic: scientists

Reuters

Chicago: Musicians and singers work for years to develop their sense of pitch, but few can name a musical note without a reference tone. US researchers on Monday said one gene may be the key to that coveted ability.

Only 1 in 10,000 people have perfect or absolute pitch – the uncanny ability to name the note of just about any sound without the help of a reference tone.

“One guy said, ‘I can name the pitch of anything – even farts’,” said Dr Jane Gitschier of the University of California, San Francisco, whose study appears in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

She and colleagues analysed the results of a three-year, Web-based survey and musical test that required participants to identify notes without the help of a reference tone. More than 2,200 people completed the 20-minute test.

“We noticed that pitch-naming ability was roughly an all-or-nothing phenomenon,” she said.

Based on this, the researchers concluded that one gene, or perhaps a few, may be behind this talent.

Gitschier said those with perfect pitch were able to correctly identify both piano tones and pure computer-generated tones that were devoid of the distinctive sounds of any musical instrument.

She said people with perfect pitch were able to pick out the pure tones with ease. And they also tended to have had early musical training – before the age of 7.

“We think it probably takes the two things,” she said.

They also found that perfect pitch tends to deteriorate with age.

“As people get older, their perception goes sharp. If a note C is played, and they’re 15, they will say it’s a C. But if they’re 50, they might say it’s a C sharp,” Gitschier said. “This can be very disconcerting for them.”

The most commonly misidentified note, based on the study, is a G sharp. That may be because G sharp is overshadowed by A, its neighbour on the scale, they said.

A is often used by orchestras in the West as a tuning reference.

Gitschier said she and her colleagues were focusing on identifying the gene responsible for perfect pitch, which will involve gene mapping. Then they will try to figure out what is different in people with absolute pitch.

“We’ll have to play it by ear, so to speak,” she said.

Absolute Pitch

Reuters

Chicago: Musicians and singers work for years to develop their sense of pitch, but few can name a musical note without a reference tone. US researchers on Monday said one gene may be the key to that coveted ability.

Only 1 in 10,000 people have perfect or absolute pitch – the uncanny ability to name the note of just about any sound without the help of a reference tone.

“One guy said, ‘I can name the pitch of anything – even farts’,” said Dr Jane Gitschier of the University of California, San Francisco, whose study appears in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

She and colleagues analysed the results of a three-year, Web-based survey and musical test that required participants to identify notes without the help of a reference tone. More than 2,200 people completed the 20-minute test.

“We noticed that pitch-naming ability was roughly an all-or-nothing phenomenon,” she said.

Based on this, the researchers concluded that one gene, or perhaps a few, may be behind this talent.

Gitschier said those with perfect pitch were able to correctly identify both piano tones and pure computer-generated tones that were devoid of the distinctive sounds of any musical instrument.

She said people with perfect pitch were able to pick out the pure tones with ease. And they also tended to have had early musical training – before the age of 7.

“We think it probably takes the two things,” she said.

They also found that perfect pitch tends to deteriorate with age.

“As people get older, their perception goes sharp. If a note C is played, and they’re 15, they will say it’s a C. But if they’re 50, they might say it’s a C sharp,” Gitschier said. “This can be very disconcerting for them.”

The most commonly misidentified note, based on the study, is a G sharp. That may be because G sharp is overshadowed by A, its neighbour on the scale, they said.

A is often used by orchestras in the West as a tuning reference.

Gitschier said she and her colleagues were focusing on identifying the gene responsible for perfect pitch, which will involve gene mapping. Then they will try to figure out what is different in people with absolute pitch.

“We’ll have to play it by ear, so to speak,” she said.

JBL Reference 410 Headphones

Frazier Barretto

Features : Loud, Foldable, Comfortable, Volume control, Price, the JBL Reference 410 headphones are very similar to the QuiteComfort from Bose.

Disadvantages : Can't Contain Vibration, Bass cracks at full volume.

Bundle
Phone Adapter
Airline Adapter
Inline Volume Control
Foldable Headband
Travel Pouch

Tech Specs
Drivers 40mm Transducer
Maximum Input Signal 50mW
Sensitivity 125dB SPL/V
110dB SPL/mW
Frequency Response 10Hz - 20kHz (-10dB points)
Input Level/Impedance 32 Ohms
Wire length 1.5m

JBL has tried to make this set of headphones very comfortable. For the ears - the headphones are designed to sit in the ear instead of covering them; and for the head - there's a soft cushion on the on the headband, so that there's least possible pressure on your head. JBL Reference also features Noise Cancellation, so that you get pure music and nothing else along.

While traveling, you can conveniently fold the product and keep it in the pouch that is bundled in the package. The headphone's volume control is placed neatly, such that when you are wearing the headphones it comes at the chest and is easy to access even without looking. These headphones deliver what JBL calls, JBL realism and bass response, which is supposed to give a more realistic music.

Performance
The JBL 410 headphones are so comfy that you can wear them for long hours. The music produced from the 40mm drivers (with a frequency range of 10Hz - 20kHz) is loud and good. I enjoyed my music minus any shattering as the highs and mids were taken care of.

The bass is also quite good, but there's a catch here. Although the overall sound is superior, the headphones cannot handle the vibrations that are produced because of the immense bass. One of the songs that faced this issue was Prodigy's Diesel Power. With the headphones at full volume, the bass cracked for most of the tracks which had continuous bass. Keep the volume at 70-80% and it was perfection for highs, mids, lows.

Also, the uncontainable vibrations caused a tickle in my ears, which got me to take off the headphones and scratch my ears. These vibrations wouldn't be so much of a nuisance if the there was enough breathing space for the drivers.

Similar on-ear headphones from Sony - MDR-NC6 are not as loud as the 410, but the vibrations are contained. So basically, with 410 you deprive yourself of an absolute bass experience at the cost of loud music. I wouldn't suggest rock fans to go for JBL's 410, while hip-hop fans would most definitely enjoy the thumps come and go.

Another thing, the sound is contained when you are wearing the headphones and it doesn't disturb people sitting around you. Also, the volume control on the headphone cable when turned to the minimum level doesn't shut the music, you can still hear it.

Conclusion
The JBL Reference 410 headphones sell at an MRP of Rs. 3950, while the street price is around Rs. 3100. It is way cheaper than the Bose QC3. At this price, your only bother comes from the Sony on-ear headphones which are available for around the same price. Here the question of brand loyalty arises - your loyalty towards JBL or Sony will influence your decision.

Altec Lansing FX5051

Rating : 3.5

Features
Good Sound Quality, Control Pod, Remote Control, Long Cables, Good Highs

Disadvantages
Inadequate Bass at high volume, Confusing Rear Speaker Volume Adjustment, Bit expensive.

Today we have with us a proper 5.1 system from Altec Lansing, one of the best in the multimedia systems. This system is similar to Bose, it supports plug-n-play. The inbuilt audio processing and the isobaric sub-woofer, it all seems to sound good; but is it good enough? Let's find out.

Bundles
4 Satellite Speakers
Center Speaker
Isobaric Sub-Woofer
Control Pod
Wireless Remote
USB Cable
Color-coded 3.5mm stereo cables
User Guide & Quick Connect

Specifications
Technical specifications of the speakers:
2 Front Speakers: Two 12 Watts/channel @ 4 ohms speakers
2 Rear Speakers: Two 12 Watts/channel @ 4 ohms speakers
Center Speaker: 13 Watts @ 4 ohms
Subwoofer: 28 Watts @ 8 ohms
Total Continuous Power: 89 Watts RMS
Drivers (per satellite): One 40mm mid-range driver and one 18mm high-end tweeter
Subwoofer: Two 6.5" long-throw woofers in isobaric configuration

Speaker Setup

The Speaker Setup is a standard 5.1 surround speaker setup. I guess you all know this by now, but still a run through: Two speakers in the front on either side, one in the center, two in the rear on the either side, and the sub-woofer in the corner near a wall.

All connectors of the speakers are placed at the rear of the sub-woofer. There are two sets of connectors: input and output. Output consists of colored connectors for the corresponding colored speaker pin. The cables of the satellite speakers are quite long and can be easily setup with a computer system without any extensions. The other output connector is for the Control Pod of the system. Since the system can be used as plug-n-play as well as a Home Theater system, there are two input connectors. One is a USB for the plug-n-play aspect while three stereo jacks (Front, Surround, CLFE). Other than these, there is a switch for 2/4 and 6. With the switch at 2/4, the system automatically converts the sound from 2 channel to 4 channel. Keeping the switch at 6 can be used only when being used with a proper 5.1 sound card or a DVD Player.

Performance
The FX5051, being a proper 5.1 channel surround system, has decent sound quality. This system also had the same plug-n-play feature like the Bose Companion 5. It is also possible to use the FX5051 as a home theatre and so it also takes standard 5.1 channel inputs. We tested both inputs and here is what we experienced.

The FX5051 has decent highs, mids and lows. While testing it at low volume levels, the bass didn't seem to be present at all, but with the volume increased, you could feel it, but still not upto the mark. On the other hand, the bass produced from the isobaric sub-woofer missed thump.

The treble output was good but the bass just wasn't able to deliver the punch. The good part was that the bass never cracked, however high the volume was. The isobaric sub-woofer design could be the reason why the bass didn't crack and subsequently, could also be the reason for the poor output. The treble shattered at high volumes; i.e., at 75-80% volume, and that effected the system output. The treble was just too loud killing the bass again and again. The other problem I faced was while adjusting the rear speaker output from the control pod; it was confusing, it said that switching the system to 2/4 would give an ideal output.

Conclusion
The Altec Lansing FX5051 sells at an MRP of Rs. 15,500 with a one year warranty whereas, the street price for the same is Rs. 12,000. This makes it a pretty decent buy, as long as you want to enjoy the sound for yourself and not rock the entire neighborhood. Still, no punch in the bass is something that will not attract many hip-hop or trance listener

R-09

Pristine 24-Bit Recording to Go

Introducing the latest addition to Edirol’s red-hot portable recorder lineup: the R-09. Building on the success of the R-1, the R-09 takes many of the most desired features — 24-bit uncompressed recording and a built-in stereo mic — and shrinks it all down into a more streamlined, stylish, and affordable package.

-24-bit/48kHz (or 44.1kHz) uncompressed recording
-Up to 320kbps MP3 playback and recording
-Records to SD card (64MB card included)
-High-grade stereo condenser microphone built in
-Mic and Line audio inputs; USB I/O
-Easy operation, user-friendly graphic display
-Ultra portable, half the size of the R-1
-Long battery life

Crystal-Clear Capture
It’s ultra small and looks like a gadget, but make no mistake — the R-09 is a serious, top-quality professional recorder with time-stamp capability. Capture source material at a crystal-clean 24-bit resolution with your choice of 44.1 or 48kHz sample rates. Record and play back in MP3 format as well (up to 320kbps). Once recorded, files can be monitored through the R-09’s headphone jack and/or exported to a computer via USB.

Microphone Included
To record audio into the R-09, there’s no extra gear to buy or no cables to connect. A quality stereo microphone is built right into the unit, complete with a dedicated input control, mono/stereo selector, low-cut filter, and gain boost. Just point and record! The R-09 also offers a mic input.

Sweetening
The R-09 is more affordable than its predecessor, the R-1. One reason the R-1 carries a heavier price tag is because of its well-stocked lineup of internal effects. The R-09 isn’t devoid of effects, however. It contains the world’s most-requested/desired effect: reverb. Whether you’re listening to WAV or MP3 files, you can route the R-09’s playback through its internal reverb processor, immersing it in lush, user-controllable ambience.

More Than Music
The R-09 is perfect for recording live music events, recitals, and rehearsals. It’s also handy as a songwriter’s sketchpad, ensuring that no moment of inspiration is lost. But the R-09 has many valuable uses outside of the music world as well. Students can use it to record lectures. Broadcasters and journalists can throw away their antiquated cassette recorders and use the R-09 for in-the-field interviews — the audio-capturing applications are endless.

Dimenions: 2-1/2 x 4-1/16 x 1-3/16 in. (62.6 x 102 x 29.1 mm)
Weight: 6 oz. (145 g) including batteries and memory card

BOPSTA - Google Idol

Site : Bospsta - Google Idol



Couldn't get into one of the singing competition reality shows? Grab your webcam, because here's a whole new platform to showcase your talent. Bopsta Is an onlne lip syncing competition that pits videos against one another, with the winner being chosen by votes. you caould also submit short films, documentaries and more. ALL AT THE WEB's A STAGE



Site : http://www.bopsta.com/index.php