Don't ya hate that when you discover that you've been saying something incorrectly for rather a long time ?
In this case, I think since about 1998 whenever I've been describing to anyone the paroxysms of laughter I used to dissolve into whilst singing The Anvil Chorus with the Cantabile Singers, I've explained that we were singing “The Anvil Chorus from La Trattoria”… Only last week did I spot this same piece in the songbooks at choir practise and discover that it's actually from “Il Trovatore” – La Trattoria is actually the name of a restaurant in Adelaide where my friend Nick works.
Nobody seems to have picked me up on it so far mind you, so I'm not 100% sure whether nobody knew any better, or it's the kind of mistake that's so embarrassing that nobody wants to publicly correct it… Mind you, nobody seems to be stopping George W. Bush from saying “nucular”, either.
I'm glad I'm not the only one who's made this mistake though – the 2004 Perth Intervarsity Choral Festival have decided that there's an Anvil Chorus in La Traviata as well… At least they were closer – their mistake was still a Verdi Opera, and not a restaurant.
But why this sudden obsession with operas ? The choir I was starting to get involved with have been signing some cool opera chorus stuff, but I'm a little bummed out cos last night I finally auditioned for the choir and didn't make it through cos my sight-reading wasn't up to scratch. It was like losing on Pop Idol, only less cool. If there IS anything less cool than Pop Idol…
And as it's opera related, The Ring Cycle is being staged in Adelaide at the moment – Marty and Fi have been working on various bits of it, and from all account it sounds like it would be absolutely awesome to see, if not completely out of my price range… and the real question on my mind would be whether I could avoid singing to myself “Oh mighty hunter of great fighting stooooooooock… might I enquire to ask… nyaaah, What's up Doc ?”.