That's an easy question to answer with a little known fact. Several unopened packages of Hostess Twinkies were found in the tomb of King Tut. They were a bit dry, but still edible. ;)
In 1951, Renata Tebaldi AND Mario del Monaco made their US debuts in San Francisco singing AIDA. Those were the days. We'll never hear anything like that again...
I studied with the initial Person who "discovered" Renata Tebaldi...She attended the choir at the First Congregational Church in West Hartford , CT. under Music/Organist director, Dr. Gordon W. Stearns, Sr. He launched my career later in 1968.
I think potassium sulphate was featured as the murder weapon in a Perry Mason episode, though I could be wrong. It might have been a double barreled Twinkie.
Never knew the longevity of a Twinkie. The box was always emptied in a matter of minutes after I brought them home. Glad to know this Aida performance is as good as a Twinkie and that it will be around for centuries to come. THANKS DAVE.....
Thanks, Dave, this ranks right up there with your video comparing the packaging of Hamburger Helper with that of classical CDs. You have a great gift for putting two unlikely items next to each other in order to highlight what they have in common.
When Amneris tells Aida, “Trema, vil schiava, spezza il tuo cuore,” the autograph score has “spezza il tuo Twinkie,” but Verdi crossed that out. Probably because it’s hard to sing.
I assume there are monetary reasons for taking these things out of print and then reissuing them... maybe something to do with sales declining shortly after release, and if it goes OOP you allow some time for anyone who missed it the first time around to want it so that when you rerelease it they can buy it then... though I have to doubt if this strategy has much validity in this modern age where most people listen via downloads/digitally anyway. I also wonder given the sheer amount of music released now if it's really possible for new references to develop. That really seemed a product of a time when you had a handful of major labels that had much more control over the market and much less competition so that enough people COULD hear the same recording(s). I get the sense talking to classical fans these days that we all live in very different bubbles in terms of what and how we listen. I talk to many who only listen to classical via RU-vid, and I find it hard to blame them as I've found many wonderful channels and performances--and all for free!
Your video is as entertaining as it is serious and informative. Hurray for Twinkies! Wish we had them in the UK, especially since embalming is so costly. I do wish classical music recordings had a half life approaching that of plutonium (or at least banana filling.)
It is incredibly unfortunate that Harteros is no longer singing. She has such a beautiful voice and a strikingly graceful stage presence. She never sang Aida in a live performance if I remembered correctly but the recording is a loving memorabilia of her artistry.
Harteros cancelled all her engagements, but as far as I am aware, she has not retired. Her partner seems to be severely ill, so she‘s taking a break to focus on her personal life. That also seems to be the reason for her frequent cancellations over the last few years.
Dave, I've long been impressed by the second string to your bow, as it were - your magisterial knowledge of SNACKS (many of them sadly unobtainable this side of the Atlantic). How about matching snacks to pieces of music? Which tone poem is enhanced by vanilla creme (I assume it's spelled that way)? I'm digging into some salt'n'sweet popcorn right now and thinking 'Chabrier". But is that wrong? Help!
Would this have been a unilateral decision by Warner, or would at least Pappano and/or Kaufmann (the biggest star) have had to sign off on it? Or does this sort of decision vary according to contract?
A) that list of ingredients for a Twinkie is as scary as the prospect of nuclear war: but if someone wanted to make one at home, would they need all the ones Dave has listed? B) I find it hard to believe the Muti Aida with Caballe, Domingo, Cossotto and Cappucilli is not the Reference Recording, it is utterly superb.
I wish I could buy all the cds I want immediately, but I have to make choices and have a long waiting list. I would estimate that 50% are no longer available on cd, and that 25% are not in stock. How can the Sutherland Pavarotti Turandot not be available?
Isn't it unfair to compare the longevity of anything with a Twinkie? The Twinkie will always win. P.S. The point made is fair, though. The record companies do not allow enough time for anything to be bought. It's like they don't understand their own customers. We are not made of money, give us some time.
My advice on the Twinkies is, if you cannot pronounce the ingredients, don't eat them. As for "Aida" I think I will stick with either the Domingo recording on Sony, or the Zinka Milanov recording on RCA. Or of course any of the Leyontine Price recordings.
Evoking beginner's privilege (to say stupid things) I wonder if anyone has ever thought as I do that Beethoven's 9th would be an ever greater work if the third movement were excised. I know this heresy of the first order but still I suspect this has come up before. In any case I think it opens up a potentially interesting general discussion about cuts made by composer or conductor/performer.
