Terms Which Have Disappeared

[Fading Fast]

Opera is very much an upper-middlebrow pursuit. I've been interacting with the local opera audience on a regular basis for over a decade now, and there is no group of people on Earth more strenuously upper-middlebrow in every possible way -- "I'll be using my Harvard Visa card to pay for this" -- than they are....

Wow, just, wow.

...In the Era there was a definite effort to make opera something more accessible to the common herd. When listening to Met broadcasts from the Era, you'll note that Milton Cross's commentaries are specifically directed to people who have no particular background in opera or classical music, but are kept just erudite enough to flatter the listeners into believing that they are more cultured than they actually are. It was a very fine skill, and one that none of Cross's successors have really had.

I loved when stations used to do this for classical music (when I lived in Boston, the classical station there had a program "Classical for Kids" or something like that) as I had no exposure to it as a kid (other than in cartoons) and no training, so the commentary for those not familiar was very helpful as, I found, you enjoy it more when you understand what different instruments represent / why something was written the way it was / what the composer was trying to accomplish / the historical context / etc.

 

[LizzieMaine]

In the Era, NBC broadcast "The Music Appreciation Hour," hosted by Dr. Walter Damrosch, as a morning educational feature designed for classroom listening. Each hour had portions designed for specific age/grade groups, and had a printed workbook for the kids to follow as they heard the program. The idea was that the average American child had no exposure to the fundamentals of music in their homes beyond maybe a parlor organ or desultory piano lessons, and that they'd benefit from lessons presented in such an easy-to-digest format -- that this would help them to see classical music as something for the masses, not for the classes.

In the television era, Leonard Bernstein's "Young Peoples' Concerts" had a similarly egalitarian approach, but we seem in recent decades to have moved far away from that ideal. The classical/opera worlds today seem more insular and narrowly class-focused than ever -- and they're dying off as a result.

 

[vitanola]

Several years ago, a gal pal-a college English Lit professor-inquired as to whether I wished to accompany her to a Renee Fleming opera
discussion at the University of Chicago the following Sunday; which conflicted with a Chicago Bears game and obligatory radio post game analysis.
She wasn't very happy at my declining; sending a subsequent email stating that she thought I was "a cultured professional."
I mailed back that I really only attended opera discussion forum hosted by Karita Matilla; Maria Gulgehina; or Anna Netrebko.
We laughed over it later, of course, but the moment itself was precious.

As far as I'm concerned, if the accompaniment is orchestral, let alone ELECTRICAL, themoperatic performance is probably of little consequence.

So there.

 

[Fading Fast]

In the Era, NBC broadcast "The Music Appreciation Hour," hosted by Dr. Walter Damrosch, as a morning educational feature designed for classroom listening. Each hour had portions designed for specific age/grade groups, and had a printed workbook for the kids to follow as they heard the program. The idea was that the average American child had no exposure to the fundamentals of music in their homes beyond maybe a parlor organ or desultory piano lessons, and that they'd benefit from lessons presented in such an easy-to-digest format -- that this would help them to see classical music as something for the masses, not for the classes.

In the television era, Leonard Bernstein's "Young Peoples' Concerts" had a similarly egalitarian approach, but we seem in recent decades to have moved far away from that ideal. The classical/opera worlds today seem more insular and narrowly class-focused than ever -- and they're dying off as a result.

I agree - they really do seem to be dying and, IMHO, that's a shame.

 

[vitanola]

Wow, just, wow.



I loved when stations used to do this for classical music (when I lived in Boston, the classical station there had a program "Classical for Kids" or something like that) as I had no exposure to it as a kid (other than in cartoons) and no training, so the commentary for those not familiar was very helpful as, I found, you enjoy it more when you understand what different instruments represent / why something was written the way it was / what the composer was trying to accomplish / the historical context / etc.

The late Dick Kay was a wonderful fellow, and a longtime friendly correspondent. No man on the face of the earth was less pretentious. I miss him.

 

[Upgrade]

The same seems to be going for Broadway mostly because of how expensive tickets are. Even the success of Hamilton only has people coming out in droves for that particular show.

Traditional movies and TV may be going as well if they don’t get their act together in face of streaming services providing their own content.

 

[HudsonHawk]

In the Era, NBC broadcast "The Music Appreciation Hour," hosted by Dr. Walter Damrosch, as a morning educational feature designed for classroom listening. Each hour had portions designed for specific age/grade groups, and had a printed workbook for the kids to follow as they heard the program. The idea was that the average American child had no exposure to the fundamentals of music in their homes beyond maybe a parlor organ or desultory piano lessons, and that they'd benefit from lessons presented in such an easy-to-digest format -- that this would help them to see classical music as something for the masses, not for the classes.

In the television era, Leonard Bernstein's "Young Peoples' Concerts" had a similarly egalitarian approach, but we seem in recent decades to have moved far away from that ideal. The classical/opera worlds today seem more insular and narrowly class-focused than ever -- and they're dying off as a result.

I enjoy pretty much any type of music, including classical and enjoy the symphony. But we also have a pretty good "Pops" orchestra, and those are lots of fun. "Some people" would consider them low-brow, but I enjoy it. They did a James Bond themed show a while back, and it was awesome. There weren't a lot of white glove types there.

 

[Harp]

As far as I'm concerned, if the accompaniment is orchestral, let alone ELECTRICAL, themoperatic performance is probably of little consequence.So there.

Karita Matilla's 'Dance of the Seven Veils' in Salome.

 

[Upgrade]

Spelling is really in decadence, isn't it?



This reminds me a story. I have a friend who is an actrees. Once, before a play, I wished her good luck. She frowned.

"Don't ever wish an actor good luck," she said. "Wish him or her a lot of horse shit."
"er... okay... Can you explain me why?"
"Sure. In the old days, when there were not cinemas and theatre was the only entertainment of that kind you could get, people did not come to the theatre in cars (because they weren't cars!). They came to the theatre by horse. So... if you wish an actor a lot of horse shit, then you are wishing him or her a crowded theatre inside and lots of horses waiting outside leaving many turds --a lot of horse shit."

I am translating this from Spanish. I don't know if you have any similar expression in English, but still these days every time I wish "a lot of shit" to actors, they smile and thank me.

Any person around me who does not know this story looks at me with a puzzled face and then asks me for an explanation.

The equivalent in English is “break a leg”, but its origins are much less clear.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Break_a_leg

 

[vitanola]

Karita Matilla's 'Dance of the Seven Veils' in Salome.

Knowing Mary Garden, her interpretation of the dance at Hammerstein's Manhattan Opera House was doubtless more sensual. It was most definitely more scandalous! Remember: "Art it all stopped short in the cultivated court of the Empress Josephine."

 

[Haversack]

Tinkuy wrote: "This reminds me a story..."

Other languages and cultures have similar expressions to wish actors luck. Besides the English 'Break a leg' that Upgrade mentioned, the German wish is 'Hals und Bein bruch' - 'Break your leg and neck'. In France it is simply 'Merde'. In the world of opera 'Toi, toi, toi' is common. (This latter expression seems to represent the sound of spitting.) It is thought that all these expressions are ways of warding off bad luck.

 

[LizzieMaine]

And while you're at it, don't ever, for gawd's sake, mention the name of The Scottish Play in a theatre.

 

[Zombie_61]

And while you're at it, don't ever, for gawd's sake, mention the name of The Scottish Play in a theatre.

What if you have one cast or crew member named Mac, and another named Beth? Does that count?

 

[LizzieMaine]

Call one of them Mickey, and the other one Betty, and you should be safe.

 

[skydog757]

A friend that I haven't spoken to in a while said "You're harder to get a hold of than the last pickle in the jar".

 

[Inkstainedwretch]

Spelling is really in decadence, isn't it?



This reminds me a story. I have a friend who is an actrees. Once, before a play, I wished her good luck. She frowned.

"Don't ever wish an actor good luck," she said. "Wish him or her a lot of horse shit."
"er... okay... Can you explain me why?"
"Sure. In the old days, when there were not cinemas and theatre was the only entertainment of that kind you could get, people did not come to the theatre in cars (because they weren't cars!). They came to the theatre by horse. So... if you wish an actor a lot of horse shit, then you are wishing him or her a crowded theatre inside and lots of horses waiting outside leaving many turds --a lot of horse shit."

I am translating this from Spanish. I don't know if you have any similar expression in English, but still these days every time I wish "a lot of shit" to actors, they smile and thank me.

Any person around me who does not know this story looks at me with a puzzled face and then asks me for an explanation.

This is invaluable information. Somehow, I an going to find a way to use this expression.

Actually, the backhanded "good luck" wish goes back to ancient days. In ancient Rome. when a victorious general rode in his triumphal procession, a slave stood behind him and from time to time say, "Remember thou art mortal." This was actually to protect the general from the wrath of the gods. In a Roman triumph, a man for a single day received semi-divine honors. It was thought likely to go to his head and he might think that he was the equal of a god, and the jealous gods would take their vengeance.

 

[Zombie_61]

Mollycoddled. I admit I haven't heard this word used frequently, or even recently until this morning when a guest on a local morning news show used it and every member of the 40-something and 50-something on-air staff reacted as if they'd never heard it before. I'd never heard of this youngish guest before so I don't remember his name or why he's famous, but he is English so I'm wondering if it might be a case of "Two countries separated by a common language". Are any of my fellow 'Muricans familiar with the term?

 

[3fingers]

I remember older people using the term molly coddled. Haven't heard it lately though. It is one of those terms whose meaning changed over time. It used to be used to indicate a feminine acting male, but then changed to meaning spoiled or overly protected.

 

[Zombie_61]

I remember older people using the term molly coddled. Haven't heard it lately though. It is one of those terms whose meaning changed over time. It used to be used to indicate a feminine acting male, but then changed to meaning spoiled or overly protected.

I've only ever heard it used in the second context, i.e., "He's/she's been mollycoddled his/her whole life," and that's how the aforementioned guest used it. I was just somewhat surprised that none of the on-air "personalities" had heard it before given their ages.

 

[tmal]

I never hear that term used as meaning anything other than and over protected and /or spoiled male offspring. Feminine actions on the part of a male, did not mean anything, in the context of the term. None the less, it was most definitely not a compliment. In my experience it was synonymous with "mamma's boy".