I was sorting out the CDs and found one that I'd forgotten I had - Florence Jenkins interpretation of opera.
Listen to this:
Poor old Flo had pots of money but no talent. She aspired to be an opera singer and maybe in a way put the truth to that old adage - "It aint over until the fat lady sings".
Born in 1868 and living to 1944 Florence was famous or, infamous for her amateur performances, with historian Stephen Pile calling her her "the world's worst opera singer".
"No one, before or since," he wrote, "has succeeded in liberating themselves quite so completely from the shackles of musical notation." - Wikipaedia
Despite the fact that she couldn't sing well she was nevertheless adored by a great many musicians and New York celebrities with Cole Porter, Enrico Caruso, Sir Thomas Beecham and others being 'fans'.
Although she was a rich socialite she had unhappiness in her life. Her first husband gave her syphilis a year after they married. She understandably booted him out but because of this she felt unable to have 'romantic' relationships with other men including a man she met later and felt close to.
Problem no 1 is that she sings very flat. Poor old Flo, some of us have done performances like that - or nearly as bad.
ReplyDeleteI've sung much worse.
ReplyDelete