Luciano Pavarotti, 1935-2007

Beverly Sills (Week 9 #20 Pt. A)

Beverly Sills 1929-2007

I was saddened by the passing of one of America's greatest sopranos. Beverly Sills has probably done more for the popularity of opera in America than any other artist in the field of opera. She proved through her actions that opera was not for the snobbish upper class of our society, but for all to enjoy. She appeared on television with many popular celebrities and at one time, I have read that she filled in for Johnny Carson on the "Tonight Show". I remember the first album of her music that I owned was selections from La Traviata. The album was definitely one of the reasons that I became so interested in opera and singing. Although she had been retired from singing for many years, she worked extensively in the field of opera. She was the general director of the New York City Opera for several years, has been the chair of the Lincoln Center and served as chairwoman of the Metropolitan Opera.

Twinkle Twinkle Little Star How I Wonder WHAT You Are

Did you know that W. A. Mozart is often credited with writing this popular tune? In fact he did not write this tune at all. The original tune is a French song titled "Ah vous dirai-je maman" and is anything but a children's song. In the original song a daughter tells her mother about how she was seduced. Mozart did set this tune to twelve variations (K.265) around 1782. He is not the only composer to compose a setting of this tune but perhaps since he is the most popular, that is why everyone gives him credit for writing the song.