Opera Singers as Wax Figures at Musée Grévin in Paris

Opera blog Intermezzo reports today that Cecilia Bartoli has joined the ranks of fellow opera singers Maria Callas, Roberto Alagna and Luciano Pavarotti, by becoming a was figure herself at Musée Grévin in Paris, France. Check out another shot of Ms. Bartoli at the unveiling as well as photos of the other singers after the jump.

"No Reservations" Features Plenty of Opera in the Kitchen

Looking back to the 2007 film, No Reservations featuring Catherine Zeta-Jones, Aaron Eckhart and Abigail Breslin, there is enough opera interspersed throughout that it could be a fourth character. Original scoring for the film was done by Philip Glass. The film itself is no Academy Award-winning film, but it is a charming romantic story from director Scott Hicks (Snow Falling on Cedars, Shine and Hearts in Atlantis).

Some of the clips included in the film:

"Celeste Aida" Aida (Luciano Pavarotti)

"O mio babbino caro" Gianni Schicchi (Renata Tebaldi)

"Libiamo, libiamo" La Traviata (Luciano Pavarotti, Joan Sutherland)

"La donna é mobile" Rigoletto (Joseph Calleja)

"Un bel dì vedremo" Madama Butterfly (Renata Tebaldi)

"Cielo e mar" La Gioconda (Luciano Pavarotti)

"Nessun dorma" Turandot (Luciano Pavarotti)

A full synopsis of No Reservations is after the jump.

"Kate (Catherine Zeta-Jones) is the master chef at the trendy 22 Bleecker Street Restaurant in Manhattan. She runs her kitchen at a rapid pace as she coordinates the making and preparing of all the fantastic meals and personally displays the food to perfection on every dish. She intimidates everyone around her, so her boss sends her to therapy. Kate hates to leave the kitchen when a customer wants to compliment her on one of her special dishes, but she is ready to leave the kitchen in a second when a customer insults her cooking. Kate's sister is killed in a car accident and her nine-year old daughter Zoe (Abigail Breslin) moves in with Kate. With all of Kate's problems, the boss hires a new chef to join the staff. Nick (Aaron Eckhart) is a rising star in his own right and could be the head chef of another restaurant, but he wants to work under Kate. Kate begins to feel threatened by Nick, because he has a different style of running the kitchen. Nick loves to listen to opera when he cooks and to make the staff laugh. With all that is going on in Kate's life, falling for a man is the last thing she was looking for. There is some kind of chemistry between Kate and Nick that can only go one way. Yet life will hit her in the head when Kate's boss offers Nick the head chef job." [Source]

Ol' Blue Eyes Listened to Opera, So Says His Last Wife Barbara

The crooner & opera legend Luciano Pavarotti

"Frank Sinatra could be a difficult man, and it’s to the credit of Barbara Sinatra’s new memoir Lady Blue Eyes that she doesn’t ignore her husband’s temper. But those stories are just part of a larger picture that she paints in the book, from Sinatra’s romantic nature to his passions for music, cooking, and King Charles Spaniels. Barbara Sinatra met her future husband while she was married to Zeppo Marx, one of the original Marx Brothers. Give her this: She has interesting taste in men.

What music did Frank Sinatra listen to? He listened to a lot of opera, and concert music. He never really listened much to popular music. He wasn’t a harsh critic of other singers, unless you asked him a direct question. Of the later vocalists, he liked Tony Bennett. He thought he was great. And Dean Martin was like a brother – he always said that 'Dean thinks funny' – and Sammy Davis. He liked their music, and a lot of their arrangements were similar to his arrangements." [Source]

Photo Flashback: Luciano Pavarotti

Luciano Pavarotti photographed by Fabrizio Ferri.

GLEE Followers Rejoice and Mourn In Latest Episode

For fans of the television show Glee, the Warblers at Dalton Academy have a long-standing tradition of giving a canary to a new member. The latest inductee to care for the bird was Kurt. Featured in several of the episodes, the bird has served as a story line linchpin for the musical hit show. Last night's episode will probably be most remembered for the long-awaited kiss between Blaine and Kurt, but opera folks may have been giddy to see Pavarotti being protected from drafts by Kurt's Burberry cage cover. Kurt loves the bird for his "optimism and love of song." *Spoiler alert: The canary dies of an apparent stroke, which prompts Kurt to sing a memorial rendition of "Blackbird" by the Beatles. It is also the moment that Blaine realizes his true feelings for Kurt. Pavarotti the canary even had his own Twitter account and Glee wiki page. Watch the full episode and check out lots of screen caps after the jump.