This was an evening of fabulous singing accomplished by a gorgeous lyric soprano, a fine young lyric tenor with a bright future ahead of him, and a veteran lyric-dramatic baritone whose tall and exciting presence left me with chills down my spine in the most positive way ever. Enjoy the review and let me know your opinions as well.
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Ah, Boxing Day. I may be an American born from Filipino-Spanish parents but that does not stop me from celebrating the holiday, which has become a tradition to a lot of my English, Welsh, Irish, Canadian, Hong Kong, New Zealander, Nigerian, Trinidadian, and Australian friends, family members, and viewers. So, lads, lassies, and mates of all ages, I hope you enjoy these animated flick reviews hailing from merry, olde England. I still have enough holiday cheer to take a gander at this charming animated flick starring Dr. House as a rabbit, Arthur Weasley as a guinea pig, and a veteran stage and screen queen of the British media as a hamster. Then, we have this charming Raymond Briggs classic about a little girl and her big polar bear friend.
Let’s get fast and loose, and get this year’s Christmas party started with some tributes to some animated Christmas specials. Some are laugh-out-loud hilarious, while others are surprisingly deep in their stories. From Marzipan City and from the awesomely creative mind of Mr. C.H. Greenblatt, we have Chowder and the gang in search of Knish Kringle in this wonderfully hilarious holiday special, Hey, Hey It’s Knishmas! From the weird and wacky mind of David Feiss, it’s another I Am Weasel Christmas special, I.R.’s First Bike. This time it’s not only going to have some laugh-out-loud moments but also a great amount of heart when it comes to Baboon’s and Weasel’s friendship. From the great mind of JG Quintel, this is not your grandparents’ Christmas special. It’s a hardcore one, which will make you feel like you have gone on an intense roller coaster ride. Enjoy the review and let me know your opinions as well. From the DC Universe, we have a heartwarming, tear-jerking, and a brilliant character-driven holiday tale starring some of our favorite superheroes. From Jhonen Vasquez’s oddly fascinating mind, let Zim take you on a cynical, wild ride, as he attempts to take over the world disguised as the jolly old man himself, Santa Claus. From the surreal mind of the wonderful John R. Dilworth comes an unorthodox holiday special that not only features everyone’s favorite cowardly dog, Courage, but also two dancing rats, who steal the show. Here’s an Adult Swim Christmas special to tickle your funny bone starring a Hanna-Barbera superhero turned talk show host. Now we venture into an unorthodox, odd, surreal, yet utterly entertaining Adult Swim animated Christmas special starring a loudmouthed milkshake with attitude, a genius packet of fries, a childlike wad of meat, a raunchy middle-aged neighbor, and introducing a Russian lass, who gets herself into a fair amount of shenanigans. Another classic Adult Swim animated holiday special? Oh, heck yes! And this time, we are going to the depths of the sea to have a rollickingly great Alvistide with Captain Hank Murphy and his crew. Ah, Rick and Morty. An Adult Swim series that has gained popularity because of its brilliance, humor, and energetic characters and this Christmas special demonstrates it with flying colors. From Seth MacFarlane’s irreverently talented mind and skills, we have a Christmas special from the glory days of Family Guy, a show I have an on-and-off relationship with, whose first three seasons are still gems in my eyes. Finally, to conclude this year’s animated special tribute marathon, we have something from Matt Groening’s most iconic work of all time comes a holiday special, which will leave one running for a box of tissue because of how well-woven this touching story really is. Enjoy the tribute and let me know your opinions as well. Wow! This holiday season was certainly a blast. And tune in a bit later for my Boxing Day marathon with some holiday specials hailing from England.
The Members of Team Night Saturn are wishing you all Happy Holidays and a Happy New Year.
Now that I’ve taken care of the opera singers’ for this year, it’s time for me to take a look at some of my favorite classical crossover singers and their respective holiday albums. Charlotte Church and Placido Domingo have struck again and this time they have brought in a couple of friends, the splendidly elegant Vanessa Williams and the warm-hearted Tony Bennett. Ah, the charismatic, down-to-earth, and simply put fine, Billy Gilman. He was a charming, young country-singing prodigy as a lad and nowadays, he still keeps his trademark charm, lovability, and wonderful appeal. To make your holidays warm and cozy, we have the fine, down-to-earth, gentleman of a crossover singer, the one, the only Josh Groban. He is additionally joined by a fine selection of songsters, who have accompanied him on this holiday journey. Finally, we have the queen of classical crossover, Sarah Brightman, gracing the listeners with her lilting soprano voice, which gave life to the melodies she sang. This concludes my overall holiday album review marathon for this year, yet do stay tuned for some animated holiday special tributes and lookbacks.
My Classical Christmas Album Review Marathon continues with a plush-toned coloratura soprano accompanied by fine pop star singing up some Polish holiday melodies, a lovely British nightingale, a gorgeous Swedish lyric-dramatic mezzo-soprano, an iconic German lyric baritone known for his style, ease, and manner, and a great and famous Welsh bass-baritone with a versatile repertoire. First on this list is the absolutely astounding, amazing, and awesome Aleksandra Kurzak accompanied by the fine and elegant pop star, Sebastian Karpiel-Bulecka, and they have a fine selection of Polish Yuletide melodies to keep you all warm and toasty. Wesołych Świąt! Next, we have the sweet songstress of a nightingale from England, yet currently based in Prague, the lovely Christina Johnston, known to the world for her extensive upper register with her brief yet magical holiday album of famous tunes. Veselé Vánoce! Thirdly, we have the gorgeously flexible and awesomely eclectic lyric-dramatic mezzo-soprano hailing from Sweden, Madame Anne-Sofie von Otter, and her alluring collection of melodies not only from her homeland but also from different lands and centuries. God jul! Fourth, we step back in time for the fabulous Berliner lyric baritone, Herr Hermann Prey, and his selections of Lieder well-suited to this holiday season. Frohet Neuet! Finally, we have the great Welshman! The mighty yet down-to-earth, Mister Bryn Terfel, who is offering us a great selection of not only the popular classics but also some wonderful Welsh melodies. Nadolig Llawen! I hope you continue to enjoy this album review marathon, as there will be more to come. Happy Holidays!
My Christmas has been getting super exciting all thanks to these awesome, uplifting, and extremely energetic tenors, who are not only well-known in the operatic world but also in making the holidays exciting and euphoric! First, we have the ardent and adamant French-Sicilian offering a trifecta of Christmas albums, complete with holiday classics, sacred songs, and some songs, which have ended up becoming my absolute favorites. To grace us all with his exceptional musicianship, the ever pristine, gallant, and charming Mexican lyric tenor, El Gran Señor Ramon Vargas, demonstrates his alluring singing voice in this Christmas album, complete with a masterful conductor, a serene Baroque orchestra, and a lovely children’s choir. Feliz Navidad a todos! Then, we have the greatest trio to not only grace the opera world but also the music world in general. That’s right! It’s the legendary Three Tenors, Luciano Pavarotti, Placido Domingo, and Jose Carreras singing up a blizzard not only our favorite Christmas Carols but also some fine chamber music. Buon Natale a voi tutti! To wrap up this festive tenor celebration, we have the handsome, dashing, yet ill-fated cavalier of a lyric tenor, Fritz Wunderlich, caroling the night away with such grace and beauty alongside such wonderful colleagues like Hermann Prey, Gundula Janowitz, and Christa Ludwig. Frohe Weihnachten an euch allen!
A charming and enchanting production of The Nutcracker, in which the action is transported from Germany to the lovely, quiet, and calm village of Porvoo. Enjoy the review and let me know your opinions as well.
Last night’s performance of Die Zauberflöte, or in Finnish Taikahuilu, was greeted by a veritable constellation of the finest singing actors the Finnish National Opera had to offer. Enjoy the review and let me know your opinions as well.
Let the Finnish holiday festivities begin!