Here are the 10 established categories for determining "Opera Diva-ness" based on the Kangian theory established, in the year of our lord 2010, by Jay Caspian Kang on his blog The Awl (click here to see why Whitney Houston won the pop category) - explanations, if needed, follow:

1. Emotional Journey
2. Stimm
3. Kunst
4. Iconic Moment
5. Cult Status
6. Scandale
7. Hair and Headgear
8. Weight Fluctuations
9. Grandezza
10. Drag Imitability

Emotional Journey (200 points possible)

* Does the singer create the “grand opera buzz?” Briefly, do you leave the theater a different person? And if not, why the hell not?

Stimm (150 points possible)

I.e., “Singing” “The Voice” -- Can the bitch sing? Really sing.

Kunst (150 points possible)

* (No, not that Kunst!) Does the bitch do her homework? It's voice vs. art. “The Stimmdiva’s idea of preparing Gounod’s Marguerite involves learning her music and ordering her outfits. The Kunstdiva reads Goethe.”

Iconic Moment (100 points possible)

* A phrase, a gesture or a situation so closely associated with the diva as to become her trademark. The Iconic Moment could be Maria Callas snarling at the process server or Meg Ryan’s “I’ll have what she’s having” scene.

Cult Status (100 points possible)

* Artistic, financial and popular success is nothing without insanely obsessive fans to share it with.

Grandezza (100 points possible)

* The grace, confidence and repose only a great lady can wield, toots.

Scandale (100 points possible)

* Cancellations, feuds, insane demands and other sundry drama. (Note: wig anecdotes are scored both here and in the following category.)

Hair and Headgear (50 points possible)

* A diva without a turban is like…

Weight Fluctuations (50 points possible)

* No explanation needed.

Drag Imitability (50 points possible)

* The diva’s persona should be so boldly defined, on the very cusp of mannerism, that an imaginative impersonator need apply only a thin veneer of exaggeration. Or, to put it another way, if she can’t be “done,” then she’s not a diva.

Results?

CLASSIC DIVAS

RANK	DIVA	SCORE
1	Leontyne Price	830
(tie) 2	Montserrat Caballé	825
(tie) 2	Renata Scotto	825
4	Leonie Rysanek	820
5	Jessye Norman	800
6	Régine Crespin	770
7	Tatiana Troyanos	725
8	Joan Sutherland	710
9	Christa Ludwig	640
10	Marilyn Horne	580
11	Hildegard Behrens	520
12	Mirella Freni	495

CONTEMPORARY DIVAS

RANK	DIVA	SCORE
1	Edita Gruberova	725
2	Angela Gheorghiu	705
3	Anna Netrebko	690
4	Karita Mattila	680
5	Renée Fleming	675
6	Cecilia Bartoli	605
7	Waltraud Meier	590
8	Dolora Zajick	530
9	Joyce DiDonato	520
10	Natalie Dessay	480

Here is the link to the Parterre Box result details on Parterre Box: http://parterre.com/2010/09/24/the-quantification-of-the-diva-upon-reflection/

Here is a sample of why Gruberova won: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XhoXSsdURaM



Here is but one/two reason, as if you needed any, why Leontyne won:

American Tribute - Shenandoah

My salute to the beauty of America on this 4th of July 2010. Music is the folk song Shenandoah as arranged by Donald Erb and performed by the vocal groups Octarium and Chanticleer (in my own edit mix) set to my own edit of video by David Fortney.


This brings back memories of touring Europe in the summer of 1976 with Bob Fuller and the JHS Choir -- go Hurricanes!

Glee Vogue vs Madonna Vogue - a comparison

I thought it would be interesting to see the 2010 redo of Glee's Vogue starring Sue Sylvester side-by-side with the original (tempo the same; some edits necessary)...

Fish

Check out this cool Flash image:
-move your cursor around the image and my fish will follow
-click on the image to feed my fish

Music and Art : "Inevitability" (February 2010)

My friends (Michael Schultz and Chad Hudson) and I started doing what we called "Music and Art" day where we pick a theme, listen to music (my mixes), have a few cocktails, and create something on our separate 12" x 12" white canvases...

This was our fourth session -- this one on the theme of "Inevitability" (a theme chosen by Chad) -- and here are our three pieces of art created on February 20, 2010:

Michael:



John:



Chad:





And this photo of a glass ball, hanging in the room, sums up the day quite well (for me anyway!):



THE NEXT FOUR POSTS contain the playlists of the music -- I put together, edited, and re-mashed -- that we listened to, discussed, and were inspired by on that day:

Inevitability One:
“The Past Propels Us Forward”

Inevitability Two:
“Fate Propels Us Forward”

Inevitability Three:
“Chances Are It’s All or Nothing And So It Goes”

Inevitability Four:
“Opposites Attract”

Inevitability Five:
“Spring Will Come Again”

Inevitability Six:
“The End Propels Us Forward”

Playlists and music mix details, click here.

To read about and view our previous "Music and Art" pieces -- "Transformation", click here.

Music and Art - "INEVITABILITY" Playlists (February 2010)

My friends (Michael Schultz and Chad Hudson) and I started doing what we called "Music and Art" day where we pick a theme, listen to music (my mixes), have a few cocktails, and create something on our separate 12" x 12" white canvases...

This was our fourth session -- this time on the theme of "Inevitability" -- and here are our three pieces of art created on February 20, 2010:




Here is a playlist of the music that I put together, edited, and re-mashed for us to listened to, discuss, and be inspired by that day:

Inevitability One:
“The Past Propels Us Forward”

Inevitability Two:
“Fate Propels Us Forward”

Inevitability Three:
“Chances Are It’s All or Nothing And So It Goes”

Inevitability Four:
“Opposites Attract”

Inevitability Five:
“Spring Will Come Again”

Inevitability Six:
“The End Propels Us Forward”

_______________________________________________________

Inevitability One:
“The Past Propels Us Forward”

Where Does Uttered Music Go (Walton) — Choir of St. John’s College >>
Bolero — Nat Shilkret and His Victor Orchestra >>
“Fresh, yet inevitable” — Elliot Goldenthal >>
Introduction from Carmen Ballet (Bizet/arr Shchedrin) — Boston Pops, Fiedler >>
Romeo and Juliet Overture (Tchaikovsky) — Chicago, Solti >>
Meeting Scene from West Side Story (Bernstein) — Minnesota, Oue >>
Introduction from Carmen Ballet (Bizet/arr Shchedrin) — Boston Pops, Fiedler >>
A Time for Us from Love Story — John Bayless >>
Adagio for Strings (arr for toy piano) — Mutsuhiro Nishiwaki >>
O Fortune from Carmina Burana (Orff) — Cleveland, Tilson Thomas >>
Symphony No 8, Opening Part One “Veni, Creator Spiritus” (Mahler) — Chicago, Solti >>
Bolero (Ravel) — Cleveland, Dohnányi >>
Bolero — Tomita >>

[From Ear-Acid September 2003: “Love:Story”]
The Gate — Enigma >> Gravity of Love (Judgment Day Club Mix) — Enigma >>
Carmen — Malcolm McLaren >>

[From Ear-Acid May 2004: “All (or Some) About Me”]
Symphony No 5, Opening (Mahler) — Concertgebouw, Chailly >> People Get Together / Symphony No 3 (Mahler) — Miguel Kursman >> Der Rosenkavalier (Strauss) — Vienna, Karajan >> Fast Forward the Future — Orb, Zodiac Youth >> Jim Morrison Philosophy — Morrison >> Eldorado from Candide (Bernstein) — London, Bernstein >> Clouds of Forgetting (J.L. Adams) — Apollo, Faletta >> Home — Orb, Pop Will Eat Itself >> Bioplasm (Shapiro) — LA Flute Quartet >> Just You & I — dZihan & Kamien >> Animus IV (Druckman) — Ensemble 21 >> Syrinx (Debussy) — Blanchard >>
The Book of My Life — Sting, Shankar >> Syrinx (Debussy) — Blanchard >>
Church, It’s Sacred (Angelou) — Angelou >> There Is No Place For Me In Heaven (Blanchard) — Vaughn / Blanchard >> Libera me from Requiem (Verdi) — Scotto >> God Is a DJ — Rollo & Sister Bliss >>

Music’s No Good Without You — Cher >>
Music Again — Lambert >>

[From Ear-Acid September 2003: “Love:Story”]
Maria Callas on “Love” / Titto Gobi on “Maria Callas” >>
A Thousand Days (Laswell Mix) — Sting >>
Gravity of Love — Enigma >> O Fortuna from Carmina Burana (Orff) — Philharmonia, Muti >>

[From Ear-Acid May 2004: “All (or Some) About Me”]
You Gotta Have Friends — Midler >> My Beautiful Besmiled Man (Blanchard) — Vaughn >> Monologue — Streisand >> Adagietto (Mahler, arr Uri Caine) >>

[From Ear-Acid February 2005: “Meditations”]
Desire For Hermitage from Hermit Songs (Copland) — Price, Barber / Bonney, Previn >>
Church Bells At Night from Hermit Songs (Copland) — Bonney, Previn >> Soulitude — CCK >> Via Crucis (Liszt) — Howard >> Desire For Hermitage from Hermit Songs — Bonney, Previn / Sylvan, Breitman >> Shaking and Trembling from Shaker Loops (Adams) — Bournemouth, Alsop >>

Down to Earth from Wall-E — Gabriel, Soweto Gospel Choir >>
Where Does Uttered Music Go (Walton) — Choir of St. John’s College >>

[From Ear-Acid May 2004: “All (or Some) About Me”]
Ich bin der Welt abhanden gekommen (Mahler) — Hampson / Otter >> A Little Night Music Waltz (Sondheim) — Boston Pops, Williams >>
We Two Boys Together Clinging (Tilson Thomas/Whitman) — Hampson >>
Candide’s Lament from Candide (Bernstein) — London, Bernstein / Crone >> The Mystic Trumpeter (Whitman) — Thomas Hampson >> Battle Music from Candide (Bernstein) — London, Bernstein >> Make Our Garden Grow (Bernstein, arr Corigliano) — Bell >> Make Our Garden Grow Introduction — Price >> A Little Night Music Waltz (Sondheim) — Boston Pops, Williams >>

Overture from La forza del destino “The Force of Destiny” (Verdi) — London, Muti >>
Gravity of Love (Judgment Day Club Mix) — Enigma >>
O Fortuna from Carmina Burana (Orff) — Philharmonia, Muti >>
Symphony No 8, Opening Part One “Veni, Creator Spiritus” (Mahler) — Atlanta, Shaw / Chicago, Solti >> “Fresh, yet inevitable” — Goldenthal >>
Bolero — Nat Shilkret and His Victor Orchestra.

_______________________________________________________


Inevitability Two:
“Fate Propels Us Forward”

Anniversary Fanfare (Walton) — Philharmonia, Willcocks >>
Oedipus Rex Introduction (Stravinsky) — Shiraishi / Chéreau / Jacopucci >>
Oedipus Rex Introduction (Stravinsky) — Bernstein >>
Oedipus Rex (Stravinsky) — Swedish Radio, Salonen >>
Oedipus Tex (PDQ Bach) — Schickele >>
Immortality from Saturday Night Fever — Adam Garcia >>
Death, Be Not Proud (Shakespeare) — Ioan Gruffudd
When I Am Laid in Earth (Purcell) — East Village Opera Company >>
When I Am Laid in Earth from Dido and Aeneas (Purcell) — Leontyne Price >>
Climb Every Mountain — Christine Brewer >>
Climb Every Mountain — Vocal Majority >>
New York City Boy (Superchumbo Uptown Remix) — Pet Shop Boys >>
This Is New York — Ministry of New York >>
This Is New York, Bitch! — La’Mady feat. Kevin Aviance >>
Empire State of Mind — Alicia Keys >>
I’m Gay — Bowling for Soup >>
Girl, I ****** Yo’ Boyfriend — Jonny McGovern feat. Adam Joseph >>
Cool — Quartet San Francisco >>
Ring Them Bells — Liza Minnelli >>
New York, New York — Liza Minnelli, Luciano Pavarotti >>
There’s a Boat Dat’s Leavin’ Soon for New York from Porgy and Bess (Gershwin) —
John Bubbles, Leontyne Price.

_______________________________________________________


Inevitability Three:
“Chances Are It’s All or Nothing And So It Goes”

Chances Are — Straight No Chaser >>
All or Nothing At All — Shirley Bassey >>
All or Nothing At All (STUHR Remix) — Shirley Bassey vs Jimmy Scott >>
Que Sera — Doris Day vs Wax Tailor >>
Polonaise in Ab Major (Chopin) — Arthur Rubenstein >>
Til the End of Time — Doris Day / Perry Como >>
Til the End of Time — Mariah Carey >>
After All — Cher with Peter Cetera >>
Time in a Bottle / Piano Man Concerto — David Osborne >>
I’m Yours / Somewhere Over the Rainbow — Straight No Chaser >>
Rainbows — Jon Secada >>
You’ll Never Walk Alone — London Philharmonic >>
Chances Are — Jim Mullen Organ Trio >>
Paradise Is Here (Junior's Arena Anthem) — Cher >>
Air from Suite in G (Bach) — Todd Wilson >>
Everything’s Gonna Be Alright — Sweetbox >>
How Glory Goes — Nigel Richards >>
And So It Goes — Nathan Gunn.

_______________________________________________________


Inevitability Four:
“Opposites Attract”

Carmen Potpourri (Bizet) — Homophone Orchestra >>
West Side Story Suite — Bell, Philharmonica, Zinman >>
West Side Story Abridged — Broadway Abridged Live >>
West Side Krupke — Berlin Horns >>
Carmen Overture — Bernstein >>
Introduction from Carmen Ballet (Bizet/arr Shchedrin) — Boston Pops, Fiedler >>
L'amour est un osieau rubella from Carmen — Callas, Prêtre >>
Aragonaise from Carmen Suite — LA Guitar Quartet >>
Chanson Bohème from Carmen — Callas, Prêtre >>
Carmen Entr’acte — Alessi >>
Somewhere from West Side Story — Berlin Horns >>
Finale from Carmen Ballet (Bizet/arr Shchedrin) — Boston Pops, Fiedler >>
Habanera from Carmen — Berganza >>
Habanera from Carmen Ballet (Bizet/arr Shchedrin) — Boston Pops, Fiedler >>
Habanera from Carmen — Horne, Bernstein >>
Carmen Jones — Horne >>
Habanera — Alessi >>
Habanera from Carmen Ballet (Bizet/arr Shchedrin) — Boston Pops, Fiedler >>
Melons! Coupons (Fortune Teller Scene) from Carmen — Callas, Prêtre >>
Intermezzo / Bolero from Carmen Ballet (Bizet/arr Shchedrin) — Boston Pops, Fiedler >>
Melons! Coupons (Fortune Teller Scene) from Carmen — Callas, Prêtre >>
Melons! Coupons (Fortune Teller Scene) from Carmen — Price, Karajan >>
Fortune Teller Scene from Carmen Ballet (Bizet/arr Shchedrin) — Boston Pops, Fiedler >>
C'est moi! — Callas, Gedda, Prêtre >>
Finale from Carmen Ballet (Bizet/arr Shchedrin) — Boston Pops, Fiedler >>
La fleur que tu m'avais jetee — Gedda, Callas, Prêtre >>
Finale from Carmen — Price, Corelli >>
Carmen Fantasy (Bizet/Borne/Wilson) Ransom Wilson, Tim Hester >>
Finale from Carmen Ballet (Bizet/arr Shchedrin) — Boston Pops, Fiedler.

_______________________________________________________


Inevitability Five:
“Spring Will Come Again”

[From Ear-Acid April 2004: “Loopy”]
Adoration of the Earth from Rite of Spring (Stravinsky) — Kirov, Gergiev >> 1000 Years — Arthur Baker, Astrid Williamson >> Twilight and Shadow from Lord of the Rings — Renée Fleming >> The Sage from Rite of Spring (Stravinsky) — Kirov, Gergiev >>

Act II Prelude from Peter Pan (Bernstein) — Orchestra, Frey >>
At the Bottom of Everything — Bright Eyes >>
When You Come Back Down — Nickel Creek >>
Winter from The Seasons (Vivaldi) — Kremer, Baltica >>
Spring Will Come Again from Peter Pan — Linda Eder, Daniel Narducci >>
Candide’s Lament from Candide (Bernstein) — Bernstein >>
Spring from The Seasons (Vivaldi) — Kremer, Baltica >>
Spring in Buenos Aries (Piazzolla) — Kremer, Baltica >>
The Rose — The O’Neill Brothers / Bette Midler >>
It Must Be So from Candide (Bernstein) — Jerry Hadley, Bernstein >>
A Time for Us / Adagio in G Minor — John Bayless >>
Adagio for Strings (Barber) — Robert Hohner Percussion Ensemble >>
Adagio for Strings (Barber) — Todd Wilson >>
After Winter / Nothing Gold Can Stay (Frost) — Lesley Frost >>
Nothing Gold Can Stay (Frost) — Robert Frost >>
Fields of Gold — Shine >>
When I Fall In Love — Vocal Majority >>
Smoke Gets in Your Eyes — Barbra Streisand >>
A Sleepin’ Bee — Barbra Streisand >>

[From Ear-Acid April 2004: “Loopy”]
1000 Years — Arthur Baker, Astrid Williamson >> Twilight and Shadow from Lord of the Rings — Renée Fleming >> The Sage from Rite of Spring (Stravinsky) — Kirov, Gergiev >> Distance — Karsh Kale >> The Wind Sings Welcome In Early Spring (Carl Sandburg) — Tim Wheater >> 1000 Years — Arthur Baker, Astrid Williamson >> Nu Jack — Cotton Club >> Y’mama — Zehava Ben >>

[From Ear-Acid September 2003: “Love:Story”]
Love Story 31 — O Fortuna — Apotheosis >> High Eb — Leontyne Price >>> Into the Fourth Dimension — Enigma >> >> Callas on Challenge >> Piano Concerto No. 2 (Rachmaninov) and Somewhere Out There from American Tail — John Bayless

[From Ear-Acid April 2004: “Loopy”]
The Sage from Rite of Spring >> Pavement Cracks — Annie Lennox >> Spring Rounds from Rite of Spring (Stravinsky) — Kirov, Gergiev >> Twilight and Shadow from Lord of the Rings — Renée Fleming >> Mystic Circles from Rite of Spring (Stravinsky) — Kirov, Gergiev >> Magic Fire Music from Ring Cycle (Wagner) — Seattle, Schwartz >> 1000 Years — Astrid Williamson >> Distance — Karsh Kale >>

_______________________________________________________


Inevitability Six:
The End Propels Us Forward

(Note: We actually did not get around to listening to this finale of finales that day. I hope we will find an appropriate occasion to do so in the near future...)

End Title from Star Wars (Williams) — London Symphony, Williams >>
Finale from Symphony No. 2 “Romantic” (Hanson) — St. Louis, Slatkin >>
Finale from Symphony No. 92 in G Major (Haydn) — Cleveland, Szell >>
Finale of Act I from L’Italiana in Algeri (Rossini) — Horne, Battle, Ramey, Metropolitan, Levine >>
William Tell Overture (Rossini) — London, Muti >>
Fugue in D Minor BWV 565 (Bach) — Ton Koopman >>
Finale from Symphony No. 8 in F Major (Beethoven) — Berlin, Abaddo >>
Finale from Symphony No. 1 in D “Classical” (Prokofiev) — Maazel >>
Finale from Piano Concert No. 2 (Rachmaninov) — Ashkenazy, Israel, Mehta >>
Pomp and Circumstance March No. 1 in D (Elgar) — Concertgebouw, Marriner >>
Great Gate of Kiev from Pictures at an Exhibition (Mussorgsky/Ravel) — BBC, Tortelier >>
Finale Scene from Adriana Lecouveur (Cilea) — Scotto, Domingo, Milnes, Philharmonia, Levine >>
Finale Scene from Madama Butterfly (Puccini) — Domingo, Philharmonia, Maazel >>
Finale Scene from La boheme (Puccini) — Domingo, Berlin, Karajan >>
Finale Scene from La traviata (Verdi) — Scotto, Carreras / Kraus >>
Finale from Appalachian Spring (Copland) — Cincinnati Pops, Kunzel >>
Finale from the Rite of Spring (Stravinsky) — Kirov, Gergiev >>
Do, Re, Mi from The Sound of Music (Rogers/Hammerstein) — Andrews, Plummer, et al >>
Finale from Symphony No. 5 in C Minor (Beethoven) — Berlin, Abaddo >>
Finale from Capriccio Espanol (Rimsky-Korsakov) — BBC, Tortelier >>
Finale from Symphony No. 3 in C Minor “Organ” (Saint-Saens) — Berlin, Levine >>
Finale from Symphony No. 4 in F Minor (Tchaikovsky) — Chicago, Solti >>
O Fortuna from Carmina Burana (Orff) — Cleveland, Tilson Thomas >>
Juliet’s Death from Juliet from Romeo and Juliet (Prokofiev) — Berlin, Salonen >>
Finale from The Firebird (Stravinsky) — Philharmonia, Craft >>
Finale from Concerto in D (Reinecke) — Galway, London >>
Crown Imperial March (Walton) — Philharmonia, Willcocks >>
Candide Overture (Bernstein) — Minnesota, Oue >>
One from A Chorus Line (Kleban / Hamlisch) — 2006 Cast Recording >>
Finale from Symphony No 96 in D (Haydn) — Cleveland, Szell >>
End Title from E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (Williams) — Boston Pops, Williams >>
Finale from Symphony No. 8 “Symphony of Thousand” (Mahler) — Berlin, Boulez / Chicago, Solti.

Where Does the Uttered Music Go?

Where does the uttered Music go?
When well-attempered mind and hand
Have made the mortal clay to glow
And separate spirits understand?

Ah, whither goes the boon,
The joy, that sweeps the willful sense
Into the planetary tune
Of sun-directed influence?

What is this creature, Music, save the Art,
The Rhythm that the planets journey by?
The living Sun-Ray entering the heart,
Touching the Life with that which cannot die?

This Man with Music touched our minds
With rapture from the shining ranks,
The Loves and Laws of unknown kinds
Who utter everlasting thanks.

All that he uttered, may remain
As Light, as Order, cleaving Space,
Within the emptiness, a gain,
Within the solitude, a grace.

O Mortals, praise him, for his hand
Brought to his brothers many a ray
From Light perceived, though never scanned,
From Law unknown, which all obey.

— John Masefield (1878–1967)

Photos from the Past

A photo I took of my little sister Barbara (c. 1969?) -- in the foreground is our dog at the time, Runt. This was taken from our "breezeway" between the house and the garage. Barb was in the garage. My father closed in this space a few years later, adding a fireplace and making it a den/dinning room/workshop.



This is in Black Oak, Arkansas, on the farm of our Aunt Lilly and Uncle Clyde in 1967 (actually, I do not know where this is...).


This is me (black coat -- my fav at the time) and some cousins in our front yard. Funny, I never noticed the basketball post... but I remember that hay trailer.


"Granny's house" (my father's mother) with Dad and me on the porch. The left side was either empty or being "rented out" to "a nice widow-woman" but no "niggras," she would say... It was my duty to help mow that lawn twice a month in the summer. Now that I think of it, it was the one thing that my father and I really shared: our hatred of having to mow that lawn for that old woman.



This was my family at Christmas dinner 1961 (Michael, Kathleen, Dad, Walter, and Pat, with Mom taking the picture) at our home in Livermore, California. I had just been born on Halloween. Notice the Blanchard Traditions: shrimp cocktail with crackers, whole turkey on platter (same platter used to this day), black olives, celery stuffed with peanut butter... It looks like the kids have a glass of wine and Mom and Dad are set to knock down a martini with olives -- ah, the 60s...


Jonesboro, Arkansas, c. 1966? Here I am with a neighborhood friend climbing on a propane tank (they where regularly re-painted silver) with our house in the background. Ah, the memories of swimsuits, watermelons, giggles, and silver bellies.