Tuesday, October 8, 2013

Hello, Ragazzi! (Random Thoughts while Listening to Puccini)


I wonder if Japanese people find Madama Butterfly slightly embarrassing and annoying with its fake Japonaiserie. I wonder this because I found it odd, while listening to La Fanciulla del West, to hear the chorus singing, "Hello, ragazzi," "Whisky per tutti," and other cowboy-like phrases. (Not to mention, "doo dah, doo dah day," which, as far as I know, is not actually from the old west!) 

Whisky Milk Punch at The Bite House.
Come to think of it, Madama Butterfly also has fake American-nesses: that Star-Spangled Banner quote and Pinkerton's inquiry, "Milk punch o' whisky?" to name two.

What exactly is milk punch? I just read a suggestion that there's a comma missing; apparently it was supposed to be, "Milk, punch, or whisky?" On the other hand, there are recipes for milk punch. (Which came first: the drink or the opera?) 

Or, maybe they meant “milk punch with whisky.” (Yes, my mind does wander.)

I also noticed that Puccini has stolen some melodic bits from Phantom of the Opera for La Fanciulla. I wonder if Sir Andrew is aware of this...

9 comments:

  1. Puccini's estate successfully sued over those, er, "borrowings," actually. I have no knowledge about the history of milk punch, but I can't imagine Pinkerton offering anyone just milk...

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    Replies
    1. Lawsuit: yay! and ALW could afford it, I'm sure
      Milk: I think you're right.

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    2. My sources also say that Lucy is right - I'm pretty sure milk punch (i.e. spiked milk) goes back to the 1600s at least. And I am told that there is an irish version with a name I cannot spell that that is whiskey and milk.

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    3. And then you're just a crack and a whisk away from egg nog!!

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  2. There's a reference in, I think, "Blackadder Back and Forth" to "Andrew Lloyd-Webber's latest rearrangement of Puccini's greatest hits"

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    Replies
    1. Ha! (what would we do without Blackadder?)

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    2. OK, this is my third attempt to reply to this comment.
      That sounds very funny. I need to catch up on Blackadder.
      There is a Broadway spoof called "Musical of Musicals - The Musical." In the ALW part, almost everything the Phantom sings is a Puccini quote. Oddly (and awkwardly) I seemed to be the only one in the audience who was laughing at that.

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  3. I have nothing to add except that this (+ comments) is one of the funniest opera related things I've read. Maybe I should make a compilation ;-)

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    Replies
    1. If someone has smiled at my blog, I feel I have done my job :) And if the post generates fun,witty, intelligent, and/or smart-@ss comments, that's even better. Thanks for the nice feedback.

      Delete

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