After months of reading archives at RoR all pre 2005 and seeing the depth of deep thought that went into so many of them I noticed that many of these same people are here! I also noticed that the ones causing shit and forgot to remove thier mouths from mamas tit are not..ie kilbourne and other such wankers.

True to the name SOLO PASSION.  Is alive and well and is a refreshing spot to sit back and enjoy.  Yup  people get into some pretty good debates and no not all who post are objectivists..so what. 

From a couple of months ago:

Hayley is flat and boring. But with Schubert's Ave Maria all you have to do is hold the vocal line and let the beauty of the music speak for itself. Apart from a slight falter caused by nearly running out of breath at the end of the first "Maria gratia plena" she does that. Add Bryn's harmonising, Jose and some nice schmaltzy backing to the mix, and you have magic.

While Bryn Terfel is quite good at times, Hayley Westenra has always been quite flat and boring. I don't think she is any better in this clip.

Is it strange...I don't ususally disagree with you.

Loved it. Sorry!

...Westenra and Terfel?

This sounds terrible. Are you taking the piss?

Try this for magic!

I'm so glad you finally watched. This is MADE for heroines like you.

It is what, if I may say so, sets SOLO apart from the anal-retentives.

Irishman Cresswell and I had a hilarious conversation this afternoon. About setting up fatwa.com to keep Objectivists informed as to who is not speaking to whom, and who has flounced from where.

I told him Diana's site already did that.

In any event, I say again, Jose embodies the virtues of a SOLOist, way better than most professed Objectivists, who are just baby tantrum-throwers masquerading as philosophers, and tribalists. Tibor, not posting on SOLO because Nathaniel forbids him to?? Sciabarra, because Barbara forbids him to?? Most Hsiekovians, because Leonard doesn't need to forbid them to??

Babies. Babies everywhere. We'll never make progress this way. This is the point I so desperately want folk to get. Am I wasting my breath?

Linz

It is sadly rare that we find the inspirational in this modern coil, but this interview was a real treat for me to watch, Linz, and I'm glad I finally took the time to do so.

I don't need to say why, as I think Carreras himself captures it best in his comment at the end, that this kind of interview "doesn't happen often." You tapped into his soul. I echo Claudia that those few beats of pause before his answer to almost losing his life are palpable.

Bravo to you for such a job well done. I'm going to start taking notes on your interviews.

Jennifer

-- Food Philosophy. Sensuality. Sass.

I found One hand, one heart on iTunes and I'm downloading it now.

Wm

If you want to hear Jose at his best, SOLO-Mail me privately and ask for a full list of recommendations. But at minimum, his Cavaradossi with Marton and Samson with Baltsa, both recorded after his illness, are sublime. And One hand, one heart, recorded for West Side Story with Kiri, could be uncomprehended only by a spiritually lobotomised Phyllistine.

I watched this and was inspired to make an iTunes purchase. Bravo!

Wm

Here's a great review I just saw on Amazon of an opera CD featuring Jose's idol and inspiration, Mario. It's from someone rightly pissed off at the masturbationary nit-picking of Mario's singing. This person truly "gets it":

I am sick and tired of all these technical reviews and critical remarks leveled against everything Mario Lanza did in his short life! True, musically Mario made some mistakes....but so has every other great tenor in history....from Caruso to Pavarotti and beyond! And perhaps he sang some arias with too much fortissimo....so what? Every single song on here, be it among his best or worst work, is a masterpiece when compared to renditions of the same arias by other, more legit and operatically acclaimed tenors. In order to "get" Lanza one must discard all notions of "finesse", "grace" and " elegance" for Lanza operated, and sang on raw, unadulterated, gut wrenching emotion. THAT was the genius of Mario Lanza. We can argue for another 40 years as to his operatic legitimacy...for nought! Lanza was a VOCAL master and his approach to song was as unconventional and idiosyncratic as was his life. That's what makes these songs so special and unique. No one other than perhaps Corelli had the voice and the balls to sing with such uninhibited emotion and that's what this CD is all about. It is a testament of a great voice. The fact that Lanza did not have the benefit of a great conductor or teacher guiding him through most of his career, makes these recordings all the more great. He sang the music as he felt it and that's a big no-no in the stuffy, overbearing and self-righteous world of opera. Lanza earned millions of dollars because his voice touched all who heard it. His art brought more people to opera than all the leading tenors of his day combined....and this during the golden age of tenors and opera as a whole! ...All I can say is that, if you wish to hear opera arias sung in a way such as will never be heard again in our lifetime, then this is a CD for you. If you want proper, technically proficient opera, sung by some big name opera jerk, then stick to that....you'll only end up feeling like all the other good people who have so much negative to say about this CD.

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Glad you got it.

V-S

What a wonderful job and wonderful memory that all of us can benefit from forever for your excellence as an interviewer.

Congratulations, sir.

Casey

His wry comment, "Doesn't happen too often" remains among my favourite moments ever.

That was very special. Two moments struck me as considerably beautiful... the first was him singing My Way in front of Sinatra. The look of passionate captivation on Sinatra's face was so touching. The second moment was you asking him what he had learned from coming so close to losing his life. The beat of silence as he genuinely searched his mind for an answer and then his naming "establishing a dialogue between people... tolerance." This gave me pause. I took that to mean to understand and to be understood by people (whom you value) is one of life's greatest rewards. Did he elaborate on this at all?

You must have felt deeply proud when he complimented you on the quality of your interview. He was so... grateful.

There's a moment in the uncut interview when I mention Jose's Manon Lescaut with Kiri. His eyes light up and he says a soft, boyish "thank you." I think that's the moment when he realises I know what I'm talking about. Anyway, if you don't have it, get it!

I'm surprised Mr. Elliot hasn't been crowing about Jose's remarks about Sinatra.

Way cool.

Just wow. I would happily kill for the chance to sit down and talk with such a magnificent artist.

Carreras was the perfect romantic lead. His singing radiated passion with every note, and his acting was excellent. I have a DVD of his 1982 La Boheme at the Met with Teresa Stratas; I paid an arm and a leg for it, and the first viewing gave me my money's worth ten times over. If there's interest, we can watch it at SOLOC5.