Bloggery Snobbery (completely not about opera or music at all)

There have been several blog-discussions not long ago about singing opera in translation. The discussions have been fairly balanced, good-humored, and cordial, and there seem to be good arguments both pro and con. This post is not about opera in translation, nor is it about balanced, good-humored, and cordial discussions.

Gratuitous Friday - Ann Hallenberg Sings Handel

I mentioned my "discovery" of Ann Hallenberg earlier this week. I actually picked up that recording because of Sonia Prina and Pavol Breslik. And of course, I admire the early music adventures of Emmanuelle Haim. But I really fell for Ann. I also mentioned Monday that there were some familiar tunes in Il trionfo del Tempo e del Disinganno. One of them is the aria Lascia la spina, which also appears, reworked into Lascia ch’io pianga in Rinaldo. Below is the Il Trionfo recording.

FB is for Fanboy…and for Facebook

So, where is a good place for a fanboy to track down his 
favorite singers and find out what they’re up to? Well, if said singers have a Facebook page, that’s a good place to start. 
I found out about the New Year’s Eve Beethoven’s Ninth broadcast in Leipzig from Malin Hartelius’ Facebook page. 
A note on Ann Hallenberg's page alerted me to a stylish performance of Mozart's C minor Mass. And I keep up to date on Luca Pisaroni with his frequent posts. (Luca's dogs, Lenny and Tristan, post even more than he does!) 

...with Frequent Gratuitous Mentions of...

In the spirit of bloggers on that other major blog site, who get much more detailed stats than I do, I decided, since it's a new year, to check my 2012 stats. Based on the names that draw people to my blog, I’m thinking about adding to my parenthetical subtitle up there. 

Not Really About the Music At All (OK, maybe a little)

Thomas Tatzl as Figaro

The Opera Chic notes in her post today: 

Austrian bass Thomas Tatzl...probably declines invitations from Abercrombie's street team recruiters every time he treads the pavement. 

My first thought was, "Hey check him out." My second thought was, "Yeah but can he sing and/or act?"