Alex Ross comes up with the goods, Pavarotti in 1979, in prime form, singing "Che gelida manina" from La Boheme. Puccini's soaring score is among the most beautiful, not only for its melody, but in the way that it supports the singer's voice, as it lifts and opens.
A voice to get lost in:
"More than 100,000 people have paid their respects to Pavarotti during the 48 hours he lied in state in the Duomo. Two JumboTrons are broadcasting the live feed from the Duomo in Modena's two largest squares, to try and accomodate the tens of thousands of well-wishers who couldn't enter the Duomo.The Italian Foreign Ministry let it be known that books of condolences for il Maestro are available to well-wishers around the world at Italian embassies and consulates."
[See opera chic for complete details, where you can also quickly overdose on all things opera. My own appreciation of opera - and I'd call it that, not "love" - comes from my grandfather, and, er, not from 'my people', if I can make such an outrageous distinction ... LOL.]
Meanwhile, h-t on this to Clive Davis, whose blog I don't visit enough, but who comes up with this, which is perhaps related enough to the "Best Movie Line" theme to reproduce:
Like a fair part of the rest of the country, it seems, I'm heading to see Atonement tonight. (As I haven't read the book or the reviews, I'll be going in with a more or less open mind.) So why do I have this sense of foreboding? Because it might turn out to be another of those over-hyped cinematic disappointments. I hope it's not an omen that Matthew d'Ancona compared the buzz to the drawing-power of The English Patient and Shakespeare in Love, because I loathed both of them. And then, as I've said many times before, there was the pain of sitting through Casino Royale, I Love The Huckabees, American Beauty, The History Boys, etc, etc. But, really, The English Patient has long been my choice as The 20th Century's Most Irritating Film. Nothing comes close.
See the rest, especially for Sinefeld fans (many of who are more avid than might be popularly believed).
