How the bouquets are sung, why vodka is for borscht and how the props will help: Funny stories from the life of opera singers

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

Opera singers seem to be representatives of a special world - in which there is only room for high feelings and high art. In fact, of course, nothing human is alien to opera singers, they always got into awkward stories in the same way or made fun of others, like any other people. Perhaps with some chic.

Injustice costing euros

Luciano Pavarotti stopped talking to his niece for a day because of one euro. The fact is that during the Russian tour, he smoked himself a rabbit hat with earflaps for 31 euros. A little later, the tenor's niece approached the same seller and bargained for herself a euro discount. For some reason, this offended the singer very much. And he almost did not take off his hat for several days - he liked it very much. Miraculously, he did not go out to sing in it - he caught himself at the last moment.

Magic vase

Singer Fiorenza Cossotto treated Elena Obraztsova, with whom they had a chance to sing the same role in the opera Samson and Delilah, with some dislike. The relationship was much better after one incident. Not having time to learn words, Obraztsova often pasted cribs around the stage before performances and, moving from subject to subject, calmly sang, looking at the cribs. In Samson and Delilah, she pasted one of the arias on the walls of a “silver” vase, which she then simply gently rotated in her hands.

Cossotto sang after Obraztsova. Apparently, she also had problems learning words, because when she saw the cheat sheet in the vase, she was delighted. She sang, in the same way, slowly rotating the vase in her hands, and then spoke about Obraztsova only with warmth.

Sound attack

Once Chaliapin met Caruso in Monte Carlo and asked him, as the best tenor of the era, to listen to the young talent, also a tenor, to give him a couple of tips. Chaliapin's secretary, a man of not the most outstanding singing abilities, was presented as a talent for Caruso.

Not daring to break the employer's joke, the secretary began to sing in front of Caruso as best he could. Out of respect for Chaliapin, the famous tenor listened in silence. However, on a particularly high note, the secretary gave such a "cock" that Caruso even jumped in his chair and began waving his arms: because of his thin hearing, he experienced real pain! Chaliapin had to obey and ask for forgiveness.

Pause the opera

Once, in the middle of the opera Othello, Plácido Domingo, who played the main role, interrupted the aria, apologized and left the stage. The fact is that his blood pressure suddenly jumped. When half an hour later he felt better, he looked into the hall and saw that all the spectators remained in their places. They silently waited for their idol, and Domingo, returning, finished his role to the end.

Singing flowers

Once in Novosibirsk Obraztsova came out to sing an aria for an encore. She sang, holding a basket of flowers in her hands. Suddenly, on the highest note, the basket … also began to sing. The same note. The singer almost dropped the flowers, but in time she saw that a tiny puppy was sitting among them. He probably fell asleep at first, and then woke up from singing, decided that someone was crying, and expressed his sympathy. The puppy turned out to be a girl, and Obraztsova took him home.

Nobody's fame is worldwide

One day Caruso went to a hairdresser and asked for a haircut "like Caruso." "Young man," said the hairdresser, "I understand that this is a fashionable haircut, but you are not Caruso, it will only spoil you!"

Chaliapin found himself in a similar situation: out of an excess of feelings, he began to sing along with the balalaika player in a restaurant and received an angry remark from the viewer not to interfere with real artists performing. This was the only time in the life of a bass that he was asked to stop singing.

A bit of the theory of relativity

Once Obraztsova decided to show the depth of her respect for Montserrat Caballe and took off her expensive fur coat to symbolically present it instead of the last shirt. "Oh, my dear," said Caballe judiciously, "this coat is useful for me only on a neckline."

More young wife is better

Enrico Caruso all his life preferred women a little older than himself, but as a result he married a lady twenty years younger. Of course, the Italian young wife was jealous. Once asked if she could top up some more? That is, ideally - to become very, very, very fat. So that only he alone looks at her with desire!

Mysterious Russian cuisine

Argentine singer Jose Kura had a chance to taste borsch for the first time in the company of a prominent patron of the arts. “What is this soup from?” Kura asked, swallowing spoon after spoon. "Beetroot". "How interesting! And what is white? " The patron quickly said, ahead of the others: "The sperm of the cook!" “Very, very interesting! Can I have some wine? " Instead of wine, they brought vodka. After Kura “disinfected”, they still confessed to him that they had a cruel joke.

She had a special sense of humor, they say, inimitable Montserrat Caballe. Aria from the opera "Gianni Schicchi" by Puccini in her performance, however, it will remind us that we loved her all the same for her wonderful voice.