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ernani
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« on: 18:55:08, 14-06-2007 » |
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Who has the best operatic laugh?
I don't mean 'laugh' as in 'fun', but as in 'he, he, he', 'titter, titter' or even 'guffaw'.
A few to start with: the most spine chilling laugh I know is at the end of Antonio Cortis' recording of 'Ahi, che tormento' from Giordano's La Cena delle Befe - completely manic!
And one of the most endearing laughs is surely Gigli's chuckle at 'vivo' in 'Che gelida manina' in his famous recording of La Boheme - unforgettable.
Any others?
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Tony Watson
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« Reply #1 on: 19:16:06, 14-06-2007 » |
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Do you mean laughter that is written into the libretto or added by the singer, or either?
I'm never convinced much when singers have to sing while they laugh. There are various examples in Wagner but how about the Valkyries during the famous opening to act 3 of Die Walkure? Not only is their laughter notated exactly but they laugh in harmony too.
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ernani
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« Reply #2 on: 19:23:39, 14-06-2007 » |
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increpatio
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« Reply #3 on: 19:27:41, 14-06-2007 » |
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The most iconic laughing for me (from my rather minimal operatic experience) is that of the Rheinmadens in Liceu's dvd of das Rheingold.
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Kittybriton
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« Reply #4 on: 19:36:32, 14-06-2007 » |
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Isn't there a number in Fledermaus when one of the ladies gets to laugh very musically?
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Click me -> About meor me -> my handmade storeNo, I'm not a complete idiot. I'm only a halfwit. In fact I'm actually a catfish. |
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Ian Pace
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« Reply #5 on: 19:55:16, 14-06-2007 » |
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Do you mean laughter that is written into the libretto or added by the singer, or either?
I'm never convinced much when singers have to sing while they laugh. There are various examples in Wagner but how about the Valkyries during the famous opening to act 3 of Die Walkure? Not only is their laughter notated exactly but they laugh in harmony too.
What do you think of the laughing of the girls at Max in the first scene of Die Freischütz?  |
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'These acts of keeping politics out of music, however, do not prevent musicology from being a political act . . .they assure that every apolitical act assumes a greater political immediacy' - Philip Bohlman, 'Musicology as a Political Act'
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MrYorick
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« Reply #6 on: 23:46:24, 14-06-2007 » |
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Of course there is the laughing song from The Strolling Players in Britten's 'Death in Venice', very raw and chilling, especially if you read the double-entendre's in the Italian text. Another chilling laugh in opera, I find, is 'Wozzeck''s Hauptmann's laugh in the very first scene: 'Ha! Hahaha! Hahaha! O, er ist dumm, ganz abscheulich dumm!' An merciless violent musical laugh... I'm never much convinced when singers have to laugh while they sing - those added laughs at the end of a comic or sardonic aria...  Difficult to pull off, I guess... |
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Bryn
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« Reply #7 on: 23:51:57, 14-06-2007 » |
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Remind me, which song in the Threepenny Opera has the "Hoch-hoch-hoch"?
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Parsifal1882
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« Reply #8 on: 08:26:33, 15-06-2007 » |
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1. Samuel, Tom and the chorus (BALLO Act 2)
2. Alice Ford & co (FALSTAFF Act 1)
3. Violetta (TRAVIATA Act 1)
4. Guglielmo and Ferrando (COSI Act 1)
5. Don Giovanni (Acts 1 & 2!)
6. Kundry, Gurnemanz & Klingsor (PARSIFAL Acts 1 & 2)
7. Mime, Alberich, Loge, Wotan and Hagen (RHEINGOLD, SIEGFRIED & GOTTERDAMMERUNG)
8. Shaklovity's ironic laugh after stabbing Khovansky (KHOVANSHCHINA Act 4)
9. Quartet (RIGOLETTO Act 3)
10. Octet (CAPRICCIO)
11. Nemorino (L'ELISIR Act 1)
12. Mephistopheles (FAUST Act 4)
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« Last Edit: 12:06:15, 15-06-2007 by Parsifal1882 »
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Il duolo della terra nel chiostro ancor ci segue, solo del cor la guerra in ciel si calmera! E la voce di Carlo! E Carlo Quinto! Mio padre! O ciel!
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harpy128
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« Reply #9 on: 11:57:27, 15-06-2007 » |
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I quite like the bit where the Prince finally starts to laugh in "The Love of Three Oranges", and I think there is another bit where the two sorcerors mock one another, if that counts.
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harpy128
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« Reply #10 on: 12:18:15, 15-06-2007 » |
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There's also that amusing duet for Don Pasquale and Malatesta where they both keep cackling - can't remember what about now, I suppose they both think they've put one over on the other?
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Tony Watson
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« Reply #11 on: 12:47:23, 15-06-2007 » |
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I was going to suggest Osmin's aria "Ha! Wie will ich triumphieren" from Mozart's Die Entfuhrung, but strictly it's not a laugh but the extension of a word. It sounds like a jolly good laugh, though.
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MrYorick
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« Reply #12 on: 13:02:51, 15-06-2007 » |
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Isn't there a number in Fledermaus when one of the ladies gets to laugh very musically?
 'Mein Herr Marquis, ein Mann wie sie,...' Adèle's Laughing Song at the party - yey! Here's Edita Gruberove singing her heart out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d5fpHCHlMPM&mode=related&search=If you ever come across a recording with Rita Streich singing Adèle (or anything else), be sure to check it out! |
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harpy128
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« Reply #13 on: 14:04:22, 15-06-2007 » |
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I was going to suggest Osmin's aria "Ha! Wie will ich triumphieren" from Mozart's Die Entfuhrung, but strictly it's not a laugh but the extension of a word. It sounds like a jolly good laugh, though.
Hear hear. |
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Stanley Stewart
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« Reply #14 on: 16:19:59, 15-06-2007 » |
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# 13 Yes, yes, MrYorick.
Rita Streich; The Viennese nightingale; 8 CDs, DG., says it all.
"Flawless musicality, effortless charm."
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