# Did you just see that?!?!?!



## prettyhippo (Apr 19, 2011)

So, as I watch all these opera dvds and operatic concerts, my mind is bombarded with questions. Mainly, was that a huge glob of spit I just saw fly across the screen? I find it distracting when in the middle of a beautiful aria, the tenor is holding a soprano in his arms, singing sweet nothings to her, and all of a sudden BAM! Spit fires from his lips, or he drools and casually wipes it on his sleeves. 

So, do the singers who are the victims of this phenomenon even care that what could very well be a loogie, just splattered on them?

And then, during outside performances, have these singers ever swallowed a bug? If so, can they keep singing, or do they choke and die?

Singers tend to get close to each other while singing, is there a rule to keep your breath smelling fresh?


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## ComposerOfAvantGarde (Dec 2, 2011)

Answer to question 1: Perhaps not. 

Answer to question 2: Yes they choke and die. It's 100% guaranteed. 

Answer to question 3: No need to if they are good singers/actors.


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## sospiro (Apr 3, 2010)

There was plenty of spit & sweat being spread during Rigoletto a Mantova. Didn't seem to distract the singers though!


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## MAuer (Feb 6, 2011)

prettyhippo said:


> So, as I watch all these opera dvds and operatic concerts, my mind is bombarded with questions. Mainly, was that a huge glob of spit I just saw fly across the screen? I find it distracting when in the middle of a beautiful aria, the tenor is holding a soprano in his arms, singing sweet nothings to her, and all of a sudden BAM! Spit fires from his lips, or he drools and casually wipes it on his sleeves.


I think this may be one of the few drawbacks to opera DVDs -- sometimes, we see a little more of the "action" than we'd prefer. But this is part of a live performance; it's part of singing, and I'm sure all of the performers understand that and have learned to deal with it.


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## Sieglinde (Oct 25, 2009)

A Hungarian tenor wrote in his autobio that once he swallowed a mosquito during Kodály's psalmus Hungaricus and missed a few lines till he could continue, and because of that people thought he doesn't know the piece right.


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