Re: opera/bel cantoDespite having a lifelong affinity for and association with
opera--I worked in promotions for a number of opera companies in the US and U
K--I somehow managed to dislike the film version of Patchett's novel even more
than the written one. Astounding...Sent via the Samsung Galaxy S10e, an AT&T 5G
Evolution capable smartphone
-------- Original message --------From: Lawrence Helm
<lawrencehelm@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> Date: 11/19/20 7:52 AM (GMT-08:00) To:
lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Subject: [lit-ideas] After finishing Bel Canto
Knowing that Adriano is reading Bel Canto, I
don't intend to say anything that might spoil it for him, but I
will observe that I read several reviews afterwards, and all
that I read were favorable until I got to the Amazon reviews.
Some of those were very negative without being specific. I
wondered if the negativity had to do with an unfamiliarity with
opera. I am not an opera buff to the extent that Katsumi
Hosokawa (of the novle) is, but I have gone through periods when
I listened to nothing else and so recognized all the pieces
described as being sung by Roxane Coss. On one occasion I
stopped reading to play a particular aria and tried to imagine
which soprano might have been Patchett's model. I found it was
a friend of Patchett's but perhaps not a big opera star.
Bel Canto was published in 2001, and then in 2018
a movie was made. Renee Fleming was apparently considered for
the role, but agreed with the decision to use Julienne Moore --
with Fleming doing her singing for her.
Lawrence
