La Perichole and Danny Kaye
Is anyone else here familiar with Danny Kaye? I grew up on his movies and have an intense love for this man. He was a comic-musical genius.
ANYWAY, I'm listening to "La Perichole" in prep for next month's university production of that opera. I'll be playing on it and despite the near lack of audible bassoon in this specific recording, I'd like to familiarize myself with the music. I swear to Danny Kaye that I've heard him sing this music. I even think know which movie, and it happens to be one of the few that we do not have and which I've always taken for granted, "The Inspector General". A film whose play was surprisingly written by one Nikolai Gogol (russian author and writer of two of my favorite short stories, "The Nose" and "The Overcoat"). I haven't seen the film in at least ten years but it had to have been him. It's ringing as clear in my head as if it were him singing this recording. I don't remember opera being a plot-point in this movie but if you know Danny Kaye, you know it isn't unusual at all for him to break into song, often operatic in style, in randomly amusing points in any story.
And in a "isn't it funny how life moves in circles", we watched the movie "The Namesake" a couple of weeks ago. The main character is Indian and is named Gogol after his father's favorite author, Nikolai Gogol. I just finished my book today. I think it's time to revisit some Gogol and hit up Netflix for some Danny Kaye.
Strike that nod for Inspector General, I now think it's from "On the Riviera", but I'll be darned if I can find anything about it. Harumph.
ANYWAY, I'm listening to "La Perichole" in prep for next month's university production of that opera. I'll be playing on it and despite the near lack of audible bassoon in this specific recording, I'd like to familiarize myself with the music. I swear to Danny Kaye that I've heard him sing this music. I even think know which movie, and it happens to be one of the few that we do not have and which I've always taken for granted, "The Inspector General". A film whose play was surprisingly written by one Nikolai Gogol (russian author and writer of two of my favorite short stories, "The Nose" and "The Overcoat"). I haven't seen the film in at least ten years but it had to have been him. It's ringing as clear in my head as if it were him singing this recording. I don't remember opera being a plot-point in this movie but if you know Danny Kaye, you know it isn't unusual at all for him to break into song, often operatic in style, in randomly amusing points in any story.
And in a "isn't it funny how life moves in circles", we watched the movie "The Namesake" a couple of weeks ago. The main character is Indian and is named Gogol after his father's favorite author, Nikolai Gogol. I just finished my book today. I think it's time to revisit some Gogol and hit up Netflix for some Danny Kaye.
Strike that nod for Inspector General, I now think it's from "On the Riviera", but I'll be darned if I can find anything about it. Harumph.