[mythtv-users] WAY OT, was: It's over, the RIAA is toast

[Brian Wood]

On Mar 6, 2008, at 3:59 PM, Jay R. Ashworth wrote:

> On Thu, Mar 06, 2008 at 03:54:41PM -0700, Brian Wood wrote:
>> Well I'm listening to Wagner at the moment. Probably the most-heard
>> composition by him as far as the general public is concerned would be
>> the Wedding March from Lohengrin, or perhaps the "Ride of the
>> Valkyries".
>
> I prefer the prelude to act 3, myself.  Beautiful piece of music.
>
I don't want to tell you what I paid for 7th row orchestra seats at  
the Met for the entire Ring Cycle, but I'm sure you can guess.  
Brunhilde was sung by Hildegarde Barens, who is (or was) actually a  
practicing attorney, but with a voice that can kill.

I understand she insisted on the old tradition of being paid in cash  
at intermission. A later general manager of the Met put a stop to that  
tradition by having a wheelbarrow full of coins brought out to a  
nostalgic diva.

Some years ago the Library of Congress noted that of all the listings  
they had by individual name, the top of the list was Jesus Christ (not  
too surprising).

What was surprising was that number 2 on that list was Richard Wagner.  
I would have figured Hitler or Stalin, but not Wagner.

That may have been skewed a bit because a lot of Nazi material  
referenced him in one way or another. He was supposedly Hitler's  
favorite composer, if so it proves he had at least one thing right.

beww