Monday, November 17, 2008

Nessun Dorma and wrong numbers

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I have had the same cell phone number for about five years now and
I still, to this day, get wrong number calls. At least one per day! My
phone must be a magnet for stray numbers. The funny thing is, it's
always a random guy looking for Elaine, Cheryl or Michelle. And that
is the English speaking guys. I get at least one call a week from some
guy overseas saying, "Salamalekum" and he just won't believe that his
uncle is not somewhere lurking in my house. You would think that
after a while, these guys would recognize my voice and realize that I
am not whoever they're looking for. But no! They hear my voice and
still ask if I'm so and so. I need to change my ring tone, but once I do
something on one of my technical gadgets, I can't remember how to
do it again. So, I'm stuck with Pavarotti singing the opening line of
Nessun Dorma at the top of his lungs, God rest his soul. By the way,
I bought a copy of Pavarotti's Greatest Hits, which was released on
CD shortly after his death last year. I had this as an LP album in the
early 80's and listened to it almost every day the summer I was
expecting our daughter, who is now an opera singer. Hmm, wonder
if it had any influence? It's a wonderful two disc set and I'm thrilled
to have rediscovered it. Even if you are not a big fan of opera, you
would appreciate it just because of his magnificent powerhouse voice.
Di quella pira, from Verdi's Il Trovatore gives me goosebumps.
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30 comments:

  1. Il Tenore! How I miss him! He was a Libra, too, you know...

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  2. Now I want to know what you listened to during the other two pregnancies! :)

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  3. Pavorotti + snow and now i see the heavens

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  4. Very funny/strange abt the cell phone. My mom ate a lot of apples when pregnant with me. Do you think that's why I love apples.

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  5. Lynette, that must be why he and I are simpatico!

    Betsy, heh-heh!! Very funny. ;^)

    Edi, yes, heavenly!!!

    Suki, definitely!

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  6. You look very fetching in the museum.
    No wonder the audience are entranced.........
    Avatar, meme etc etc. We learn new words everyday.
    I'm not quite sure about the snow though it does look charming.
    None here yet.

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  7. Wrong number calls are soo annoying. I get them on mine, someone wanting to send a fax, when I have a different fax number, and I've had both for 5 years. But the faxes just go onto auto redial, and of course when I pick up, that truly unnattractive screech. Aargh!!

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  8. Hehe. We're doing it the other way around. I knew nothing about opera until I had my daughter and we're learning about it together. :)

    Thanks for the great post! I can't wait to play this for her!

    Pavarotti did a number of projects with contemporary Italian singers in the 90's which I always found haunting. He did so much to bring opera to a wider audience.

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  9. I saw a 3 tenor concert in paris on bastille day when i was 20 and studying art history there for a semester... ahhh... those were the days:)

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  10. LOL--classic! I get people who think I' a pediatric center. All the time...

    beautiful beautiful music! Love him as the clown--a friend of mine has a watercolor of that image that's beautiful.

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  11. Pavarotti singing 'Nessum Dorma' is the best music I've found to knead my bread. It always comes out light and fluffy!!!!
    A couple of years ago we had to change our house phone number, It was one digit different to the local taxis firm (you can imagine the problems that created).....

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  12. You have certainly made my day- first thing this morning before a cuppa I checked your blog and what do I find! My favorite of all time and forever. I think that I must own every recording- my big regret is having never seen him in person. It would have been life changing, pants changing- i most certainly would have wet 'em.
    THANK YOU - Pavorotti, sigh....Glorious!

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  13. Oh those wrong numbers! I get collection calls for someone named Harold. I've had this cell number for about 12 years. Ah Pavorotti! Perfect for the day!
    That's probably exactly why your daughter is an opera singer. I listened to Tony Bennett while I was pretgnant and now MY daughter is in San Francisco.

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  14. We received regular sms's from a woman named Nonnie inviting us to christenings. She must have many children. I did sms back in the beginning saying she had the wrong number and she apologised but a few months later we were invited to another christening.

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  15. You have got to believe that Pavarotti had an influence on your daughter - a voice like that would reverberate around the womb!!!

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  16. i love your blog! and selamelekum.
    ...looking forward to reading more!
    (esp. because I can't seem to get around to changing my ring tone either/can't remember how to do it...

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  17. I remember a huge screen on the place de La Bastille à Paris and hundreds of people, including myself who did not have tickets for the opéra but who listened outside in a state of mind very rock'n roll, is a wonderful souvenir...
    I like very much Pavarotti.
    Your daughter is an opera singer...Great!

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  18. I have always loved Luciano but do hope your beautiful daughter doea not sing tenor, it would look most odd.
    Music does have great influence in the woumb, she probably knew the libretto off by heart before she could sppeak.

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  19. There was only one Pavorotti! Everything about him...his face, spirit, voice...only one. Goosebumps are expected when hearing him!!

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  20. I bought a similar CD some year before he died. There are some nice songs on there and not only opera.

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  21. Hello Lady Willow !
    I like hear sometime Pavarotti...

    "The heavens is here..."
    Thank You, and see You later...

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  22. I bought the CD of Pavorotti's Greatest Hits first time round! I love 'Caruso', that wonderful Italian folk song, most of all and nobody can sing it like him.

    I didn't know your daughter is an opera singer. Is she with one opera company or is she freelance?

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  23. Beautiful singing that transported me right away...thank you, Willow.

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  24. Marie saw the Three Tenors in concert in Paris??? I'm sooo jealous!

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  25. No one ever calls me, not even my friends - I guess they know I'm all too often surfing the interweb or blog world so they send me emails. Fabulous Other Half by contrast has a following of foreign folk who call at inappropriate times and will not believe that the person with the unfathomable name enjoys our hospitality NOT!

    Yes, Pavarotti was also a Libra - small wonder we like him then Willow.

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  26. Missing the master of voice...but thank goodness is voice will on. :o) The night my sister was in labor (which was just last week, our niece born last Thursday!), while we were waiting on happy news of the baby's arrival, I was listening to the radio, and Nessun Dorma came on...I was awash in tears listening...thinking what a wonderful world my niece will be coming into where she will hear such music, such voices, such art--a very powerful moment, in which I too was renewed of the worlds blessings. Happy Day, Willow :o)

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  27. Well, wrong callers apart, I would say that probably the music you played when your children were little, had a teeny weeny role in what they did when they grew up. So, good for you, well done! I'm not an opera lover but Pavarotti was one of my favourite singers ever.

    Greetings from London.

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  28. We have all probably had an experience like that with the wrong numbers -- I know I have since I move so often... but that was a perfect (and really funny) description of the dilemma! Bravo.

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Inject a few raisins of conversation into the tasteless dough of existence.
― O. Henry (and me)