Smile, it makes people nervous.

Went to the Met's Tosca production yesterday. It's my favorite opera but this was the first time I heard it live and enjoyed it tremendously. Roberto Alagna (Cavaradossi) was great, I wish there could have been a lot more of him, and a lot less of George Gagnidze (Scarpia) because he left me completely unimpressed, maybe the orchestra could hear him properly for the balcony couldn't. Patricia Racette (Tosca) was not bad though it took her a bit to get into the swing of things. I always thought they were supposed to warm up before the performance, not during the first act. Stage decorations were very spare, and worked well for me in acts 1 and 3, act 2 was a bit weird, I think it was supposed to approximate Gestapo offices with Scarpio and his cronies being SS officers. Trite and inappropriate. My favorite was the third act, it's always my favorite, it's got the best music and, of course, "E lucevan le stelle" is magical and I can listen to it on a loop and do. There is an incredible production of Tosca recorded in Rome at the actual locations and times of days as in the libretto, starring Placido Domingo, which I recommend, if a visit to the Met is not in your plans. Just imagine "E lucevan le stelle" sung by Domingo at dawn on the battlements of Castel Sant'Angelo, with St. Peter's Basilica in the backdrop.

Queen has a song called "Mr. Bad Guy".  I just noticed,  in my rip of Queen's Greatest Hits CD the title for this song appears as "Mr. Bad Gay".  Given the time the song was written, lyrics actually make more sense with this Freudian slip (?) title.

I'm Mr. Bad Gay
They're all afraid of me
I can ruin people's lives
Mr. Bad Gay they're all afraid of me
It's the only way to be
That's my destiny
Mr. Bad Gay, Mr. Bad Gay, Bad Gay

Опять Мелодия: "Который месяц не менял я гимнастерку, который месяц не расстегивал ремни"

Стараниями vgramagin'а я в русском роке буду разбираться приблизительно так же, как я разбираюсь в книгах: я в них обычно знаю или автора, или название, или содержание, но крайне редко все три характеристики вместе.

Кстати, Володя, мне эта сборка очень нравится, хотя возникают некоторые сомнения насчет принадлежности Миража к какому либо року, а О'Шеннон вообще, кажется, бард.     

После "Снежинки" Несчастного Случая, "Снег" Городницкого вызывает совершенно неадекватную реакцию. Истерический смех, to be precise. И слушать совершенно невозможно и убрать жалко. Песня ведь не виновата.