Sunday, June 1, 2008

TODAY'S TWD: SIX CHARACTERS IN SEARCH OF A LIBRETTIST

The website for Classical Singer magazine has posted pictures of its annual High School Competition and College Expo which was held over Memorial Day weekend at the Marriott at Brooklyn Bridge. And there I am!

So it's time for another Deep Six List here at Inner Toob, and this time we're looking at six other big mouths - opera singers from the TV Universe.

THE DEEP SIX:
OPERA SINGERS OF TOOBWORLD

Babbo Bonino, 'Bonino'
Bonino was a world-famous opera singer who had to abandon his touring after his wife died, leaving him to raise their six children. This arrangement didn't go over well with his manager and his valet, however. (This was a live sitcom, in which star Ezio Pinza sang once every episode.)
Played by: Ezio Pinza


Joseph Pinino, 'Encore! Encore!'
Due to his digestion of a bad clam, Pinino collapsed during a performance of "Pagliacci". The real misfortune was that the doctor who performed the stomach pump on him damaged Pinino's vocal chords in the process. With his career ended, Pinino moved back home to his family's vineyard in Napa Valley.
Played by: Nathan Lane


Giuseppe Casanetti, 'Quella Ragazza' ('That Girl')
In the episode "A Tenor's Loving Care", Casanetti refused to give any interviews to reporters, only to Ann Marie. When it turned out that all he was interested in was to chase Ann around his stateroom on an ocean liner, Ann faked a cold to fend off his advances.
Played by: Carroll O'Connor


Liese Kohl, 'Keen Eddie'
Reversing the roles, Liese Kohl pursued American Detectve Eddie Arlette who was assigned to protect her in London. In "Achtung Baby", Maurice Lange was intent on killing her by following the plot of the opera in which she would be appearing, "Il Destino Della Regina". (I'm not sure if that's a real opera or not; Google doesn't come up with the appropriate hits.)
Played by: Josie Lawrence


Jackie Hartman, 'The Odd Couple'
Felix Unger thought he found his perfect "Carmen" in Jackie, the food critic at Oscar Madison's newspaper. However, she was very shy and wouldn't perform unless Oscar was onstage with her as support. (She had a crush on the sportswriter.) In the end, Oscar convinced Jackie that her talent didn't need anything more than a shot of confidence. (Which she displayed by telling Felix to bug off.)
Played by: Marilyn Horne


Rosanno Bertolucci, 'Murder, She Wrote'
On the night of his gala premiere performance in San Francisco, Rosanno Bertolucci suffered a heart attack - after allegedly shooting a man in the alley behind the opera house. Luckily for the tenor, the facts of the case (depicted in the episode "When The Fat Lady Sings") didn't add up for Jessica Fletcher.
Played by: Theodore Bikel


And I couldn't help but throw a Joker in the deck.....


The Joker, 'Batman'
The Dynamic Duo figured out the Joker's clue of a clown doll and they showed up at a live broadcast of the Gotham City Opera's production of 'Pagliacci'. The title role turned out to be played by the Joker in disguise at the end of Part One for "The Joker Is Wild", which was the first appearance by the Clown Prince Of Crime on the TV series.
Played by: Cesar Romero

BCnU!
Toby OB



"Now is not the time to compare nobody to nobody else!
Now is the time for love
!"
Giuseppe Casanetti
'That Girl'


1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the last several posts (about TV opera). Really fun and interesting stuff. The three of us have all really been enjoying them.

Anne didn't even share that pic with me.

Great time last weekend. Thanks for being a part of it.

Joe B.