Monday, May 14, 2012
Florence Foster Jenkins (Cover Your Ears!)
While doing my work, which requires plenty of internet surfing to find information and photographs relating to a variety of subjects, I come across the most curious things.
Today, while searching for an image to illustrate Canada's Immigration Act of 1976, I stumbled upon this. Don't ask me how. But I just had to share it with you. Perhaps you will stop saying, "Oh, I can't sing!" This lady sure as heck couldn't, but she didn't let that stop her!
For more information about this performer who couldn't sing worth a hoot but sold out Carnegie Hall, click on this link.
I've already sent it to my sister Karen for whom, as for me, listening to Florence Foster Jenkins "sing" is horribly irritating. As a matter of fact, I can guarantee Karen won't make it to the end of the recording; I didn't.
I've often heard people who can't remain on pitch while certain they are excellent singers, but I've never heard of anyone taking it to such extremes in public and so able to convince herself that her voice was worth listening to, and more: worth paying to listen to.
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I don't mind listening to bad singers like this. I think it's because I don't think singing has to be a performance. Whoever enjoys it can feel free to sing around me. Singing is fun, I hope everybody does it. Not sure why people bought the tickets, maybe she just bugged them until they gave in.
ReplyDeleteJulie
Apparently she was a high-society wealthy woman who was a devoted fundraiser for charities, etc. You'd almost think she was a comedian, though, judging by her "singing!"
ReplyDeleteI find it physically painful to listen to "bad" singing (as if there could be such a thing! all singing is a healthy activity) and will literally cringe if a performer does not, in my opinion, have the talent to be on a stage and I am in the audience listening. Singing shouldn't have to be perfect or even good ... unless you're promoting yourself as someone with a gift of voice, as this woman was.
She was probably a real old battleaxe, and people humoured her because they wanted her to give them money or something. When I think about it, I don't think I listened to the full recording either. I listened to the good singer trying to mimic the bad singing of Madame Jenkins, and that wasn't so bad. I'll have to see if I can listen to the real Jenkins to the end! Make that my challenge of the day, I've done nothing much!
ReplyDeleteJulie
A few minutes later: okay, I listened to the whole thing. Mrs. Jenkins is superb, but who wrote that terrible composition? Okay, I'm kidding. I didn't mind listening to it, but the best part was when she hit a high note suddenly, well, didn't hit it, but kind of shouted somewhere near it, I burst out laughing every time. What a hoot!
ReplyDeleteJulie