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50 responses to "Official America’s Got Talent Forum Posting Policies Are Lame"

1. # VeniceParrish commented on July 11th, 2010:

   As one of the people whose comments were removed, I appreciate being able to have a place where I can freely speak my mind.

   Be aware, that the comments that are being removed do not contain profanity or any sexual, racial or religious slurs. They are nothing more than honest comments from viewers about their opinions on the judges’ choices.

   The audience is allowed to boo the bad contestants. The audience is even allowed to boo the judges comments. The judges are allowed to laugh at and make fun of the bad contestants. Heck! Piers even walked out on the screeching redhead and he STILL sent her through! Yet we, the home viewers, aren’t allowed to freely speak our minds on the quality of contestants or the choices made?

   This is an example of the comments that are being removed:

   “I’m in shock at the judges’ choices tonight! Are they drunk or what?! People like that Indian impersonator guy, the screeching redhead lady, the sexy devil painter girl and the hand-whistler are terrible, talentless individuals and don’t deserve to be on the show. They are taking spots away from well-deserving people like the opera singer kid from Puerto Rico, the kite kid, the homeless veteran singers, and many others. They choose the terrible contestants because they think it’s a funny joke, but it’s not a joke to the talented contestants who didn’t make it. It’s heart-breaking. They should be ashamed of themselves.”

   Honestly! Does this look like a comment that should be removed?

   What is NBC so afraid of that they feel they need to remove comments that don’t kiss their butts, stroke their egos and sheepishly agree with everything they do?

2. # John commented on July 11th, 2010:

   So, I agree that it’s not right to take down people comments, but don’t you think it’s a bit harsh to call them “talentless individuals”? You saw them for 5 minutes on a TV show that was cut. That’s a little too much of a generalization to me.

   Plus, it is definitely a talent to be able to paint or to hand whistle. Maybe it’s not one worth going to Hollywood. Maybe it’s not better than some of the other talent that they sent home, but it’s still a talent.

   That said, your thought about the judges being drunk might be the issue;-)

3. # VeniceParrish commented on July 11th, 2010:

   Yes, you are correct. It is probably a bit extreme to say, “talentless.”

   As a singular ability, sure, that a person can do an interesting thing that can entertain people at a house party or bar for 5 minutes is one thing, but the ultimate goal here, that EVERYONE is, or should be gearing to, and the judges mention it quite often, is, can the “talent” carry off a 2-hour show in Las Vegas? This is the criteria for which the contestants should be chosen.

   I think I’d be pretty safe in saying that no one would be willing to pay $75+ to sit through a 2-hour show of any of these mentioned individuals.

   Completely talentless? No. Not nearly talented enough when others most definitely were? Yes.

4. # John commented on July 11th, 2010:

   VeniceParrish,
   See. This is the much better solution to moderation. I didn’t have to moderate your comment at all. I just pointed out a possible clarification and you could extend that clarification. Then, we’re all on the same page and no one is upset.

   The problem is that writing a clarification post that doesn’t incite people to get more angry is harder than it looks. So, it’s much easier for them to just moderate comments than to actually address them and clarify what they meant. Sad, but true.

   To your points, I think it’s lame that the judges mention that they need to carry on a show in Las Vegas. You’re right they do mention it all the time, but they need to stop it and find a new line. Or like you say, stick to that idea. I’d lean towards getting a new line.

   I like in Britain’s Got Talent where they get to perform for the queen. Works out much better I think.

5. # kitty commented on July 12th, 2010:

   My comment was removed today too. Basically, I was censored for saying that it’s wrong to say that “opera” singers on AGT are not really opera singers – because as NBC labeled them opera, they should be called that, never mind dictionary definition. I also mentioned – in response to someone’s post that there are no opera competitions on PBS – that “The Audition” documentary came close to be a reality program about opera competition but that the level of talent there was far above what we see on AGT. I suppose this was “personal attack”. BTW – I do know that sometimes I go on and on about opera and stray off topic, but I am always respectful towards others, if I say something by accident, I always apoligize, and this was not a long post, there were no urls, and the above were almost exactly the sentences I said. I’ve never used the word “talentless” just said it wasn’t opera which is a matter of definition and not opinion.

   I actually sent a note back to the moderator (not sure if it got through or if his account was blocked) asking just for my own future information if NBC in future chooses to label belly dancers “ballerinas”, or a jazz singer a country singer we aren’t allowed to correct it either. I also included links to Marion Webster definition of what opera is and San Francisco opera explanation of what operatic singing is.

   This is the note I got from the moderator:
   “Your post has been removed for violating the NBC TOS. Your comments were inappropriate. Posters are allowed to have differing positions on the show, what isn’t allowed are personal attacks on other posters for those views. AGT labeled those acts opera, it is not up to you to declare them, or other posters wrong for referring to them as such. Please review the forum guidelines before posting again as your next violation will result in a 10 day suspension of your account

   JD/Forum Administrator “

   I don’t think I’ll need to worry about 10 day suspension because I am not going there again. I was also considerably angry that I used a “Contact us” form on NBC to complain. After all this is not his personal blog, this is NBC board, so it’s NBC that should set the rules.

6. # John commented on July 12th, 2010:

   kitty,
   I think they’re just biased against opera;-)

   I’m sorry, but I had to read this line multiple times because it was so amazingly off base: “AGT labeled those acts opera, it is not up to you to declare them, or other posters wrong for referring to them as such.”

   Actually, it is a board and I’m a viewer and it is up to me to declare them whatever I want. Plus, who cares if I declare them opera or not? That is just absolute insanity. Thanks for the good laugh.

7. # VeniceParrish commented on July 12th, 2010:

   This is the part of the statement I liked:

   “Posters are allowed to have differing positions… it is not up to you to declare [the judges], or other posters wrong.”

   Can you spell C-O-N-T-R-A-D-I-C-T-O-R-Y? How can a poster be allowed to have a differing position without declaring that they believe somebody made a wrong decision about something? Isn’t that the very definition of having a differing position?!

   To remove a post simply because she disagrees with someone as to the definition of opera? OMG!

8. # John commented on July 12th, 2010:

   I don’t think they can spell it. They might have to consult their lawyers first.

9. # kitty commented on July 12th, 2010:

   My post was a little unclear, but I think you figured it out. Basically someone called them “opera singers” and I said that because they don’t sing in opera and will likely not be heard in opera they aren’t. I might’ve mentioned that Carlos is the only one with operatic potential but with additional training. Most opera fans cringe when popera singers are called opera singers it’s a bit of a pet peeve of ours, it has to do with how difficult live opera is. Just to be fair – the other post, the one in which I said that none of the performers would stand a chance compared to contestants in a real opera competition – this one was accepted.

   @VenicePerrish – I don’t see anything at all insulting in your post. Everyone who goes to these shows should expect that somebody would call them “talentless”. Professional performers are criticized a lot worse. If one wants to be a professional performer, one needs to learn to accept criticism of any kind. Not to mention that the judges say a lot harsher things to contestants.

   BTW – this is the reply I got from the moderator to my personal message:
   I am not going to argue this with you, NBC has decided that the acts are opera, they identify them as such when they present them and just about every poster who comments on them refers to them in the same way. I am not going to have the boards cluttered with posts from you saying that all of these people are wrong because in the grand scheme of it all, it really doesn’t matter. They are singing and people are or aren’t enjoying them. We are not a professional opera forum and we do not have to be so specific, please, lighten up and just enjoy the show. I’ve warned you on this before, and your examples are taking it a little far. Again, just let it go.

   I don’t remember the examples I gave in a particular post, but it was a very short post, only a couple of sentences and no links. His warning before was when I replied to the guy who said let’s have “America got opera” competition. Maybe my reply saying – only if we have knowledgeable judges; and that there already are opera competitions was a bit off topic, but I wasn’t the one who started the discussion. But I haven’t made that many posts about opera in total, maybe only a couple of posts in 10 pages or so.

   Anyway, thought I’d mention it in the interests of full disclosure.

10. # John commented on July 12th, 2010:

    kitty,
    I’m surprised you’re talking about opera at all. You’re barely even a fan;-)

    You do have to give them a break. The moderators are probably low paid interns that wish they were producing TV shows or something and instead are stuck in a cubicle in some back room moderating the discussions based on policies made by NBC’s lawyers. Not the job I want.

11. # VeniceParrish commented on July 12th, 2010:

    Okay, so here’s my newest complaint that, I’m sure!, wouldn’t be allowed on the official site.

    Why do they re-run previously viewed portions of the show to fill in NEW episodes?

    They have done this this entire season. When it was two hours, the first hour was acts from the previous week. And I didn’t watch the first hour. This week, it’s only one hour and it’s just showing all of the third group acts, whom we ALREADY know made it or not. And so, I’ve changed the channel. Again.

    If they have a total amount of hours/episodes that they need to fill, instead of rerunning stuff we’ve already seen, just show us more/all of the acts performing and split them up over the total amount of episodes.

    I’m not understanding this at all. The minute a viewer sees that the episode is showing stuff they’ve already seen, the channel just gets changed. This, on top of all the other stupid things they’re doing, is not the way to gain viewers.

12. # John commented on July 12th, 2010:

    VeniceParrish,
    That’s an easy one. At least I think;-)

    My guess is that it costs NBC almost nothing to do the replays of the previous episode. Plus, during summer, people aren’t as glued to their TVs as during the Fall and Winter when it’s cold outside. So, they can get away with a certain percentage of people not seeing the previous episode when it was aired.

    So, it costs them almost nothing and if you look at the ratings for the rerun episode, they drop, but they’re still pretty good (excuse the runon sentence).

    Luckily, the TV Guide type website I use tells me if it’s a new show or a rerun so I don’t even have to turn it on when it’s a rerun.

13. # gilbert pagan commented on August 17th, 2010:

    My apologies for misspelling Piers.nevertheless it does not change my opinion and my sadness and disappointment in a show I thought was going up.
    It has actually become stressful to watch.

14. # Zarafa commented on September 3rd, 2010:

    So, out of curiosity, does anyone even remember what the “screaming banshee lady’s” name actually is? And if you had posted a comment bashing her or Ronneth, do you think your posts would have been banned? I betcha they wouldn’t. But don’t mess with Evancho or Prince Poppycock. Just don’t. =) No dissenting rabble-rousers allowed! How dare you suggest Poppycock might not be a full range tenor, Kitty! Just how dare you! (sarcasm)

    Yes, I too, had my comments removed regarding some of the production pets. Interestingly, I didn’t have my comments removed because they were inflammatory, nor were they harassment of another poster (which, my Swedish Chef comment regarding someone else’s unintelligible post clearly was both, yet was NOT removed). My post was removed because my comments were considered “inappropriate and bordered on contestant bashing”.

    So, how is talking about a contestant, or in my case multiple contestants, not appropriate for a message board dedicated to the show in which they’re competing? Seems like relevant, appropriate content to me. And since when is posting mater “bordering” on contestant bashing against the rules? I thought you had to be fully bashing contestants to have your posts removed, not just listing personal observations and concerns. I guess I should’ve thought before including any sort of criticism against Jackie Evancho. Yeah, that was totally inappropriate. =)

    Just for the record, I didn’t just go off at the keyboard about a bunch of rubbish; I praised her AND critiqued her, and if she’s not cut out for that, she’s not cut out for fame, full stop.

    (Kitty: I must agree with you: as much as I LOVE me some Prince Poppycock, there’s a reason he’s not in a company somewhere singing the Figaro aria in a complete production of The Barber of Seville, and there’s a reason that he did NOT sing Freddie Mercury’s part in Bohemian Rhapsody. Let’s face it: he will never be a contratenor, no matter how hard he tries, and he likely has a limited range more suitable for performance theatre, which he does phenomenally well, but not much more than chorus parts in a legitimate opera.)

    Take care, Zarafa!

15. # John commented on September 3rd, 2010:

    Zarafa,
    That’s just crazy. Who knows what they’re thinking. I’ve found that if you stifle speech it gets louder and if it’s speech you don’t want people to hear, then why make it louder?

16. # Zarafa commented on September 3rd, 2010:

    I posted another message, which was moderated before posting, so it never really got posted, and this time I was sited for SPAM. The message I posted was a reply to another poster, again regarding Jackie Evancho.

    Apparently their definition of SPAM also includes “unneeded messages on forums…unnecessary posts that don’t contribute any useful information to a topic.” From what I’ve seen on the AGT boards, that’s just about every third post on there. =) Interestingly, I was agreeing with the previous poster. That post is still there and was no more or less useful than mine. Unfortunately, my unneeded, unnecessary contribution doesn’t fit with their desired results and apparently that’s worse coming from me than other people.

    =/

17. # VeniceParrish commented on September 3rd, 2010:

    As it appeared to me when I first had this problem, their definitions of bashing and spam and all the other little catch phrases they use are nothing more than an excuse to put up what they want and nothing more. It does baffle me, however, that there are some posters whose comments get posted who say the same bashing, argumentative, spam type things as others who get banned. That’s what baffles me. What’s with the double standard?

18. # kitty commented on September 4th, 2010:

    @Zarafa – nope, you don’t mess with production pets this year, nor do you criticize the producers. You are right, half of the posts there could fall under this definition. Someone posts off topic, you reply to correct the guy, your post is removed for being off topic, the original post stands.

    It was better last year, I only had two posts removed last year and without warning or notice too: first was a link to a teenage girl pop singer video on you tube where she complained of her treatment by AGT judges; the second contained a link to Dorothy Bishop’s reply on this blog. Interestingly, before they removed my post, a few people saw it and replied. So a couple of pages later someone asked – but where is the link, I can no longer find the post with the link, and someone else posted the link again. This new post was left alone.

    It’s better though than “television without pity” website. I used to be there during first few of “The Apprentice” seasons, and mostly commented on that. Over there, you are supposed to read all of the pages of comments people made so that you don’t repeat anything anybody said because repeting is forbidden as are “I agree” type posts. Also, anything off-topic is forbidden and even a post that say gives a real life example of what you think is a similar situation as featured in the show to prove a point, it’s considered off topic: I saw an argument on that when some poster gave what I thought was very relevant example. Also, if someone says something less than polite (not necessarily rude) against another commenter and then apologizes for it, he gets a warning for being rude, and a warning for being off topic (in apologizing). I got my first warning there when I didn’t combine replies to multiple posts in one comment, as this is another rule. They do have interesting conversation to read, but I found posting there like walking on eggshells.

    “So, how is talking about a contestant, or in my case multiple contestants, not appropriate for a message board dedicated to the show in which they’re competing? Seems like relevant, appropriate content to me.”

    Exactly. Also, every contestants wants to become a professional, so they should get used to criticism. I haven’t read much of reviews of popular culture, but I read some opera reviews that had lines like “he has no voice and doesn’t belong on a major stage”. “her performance was so cold it seemed like Aida skated on the Nile”, etc.. I think Broadway stars get similar criticism too.

    “…but not much more than chorus parts in a legitimate opera…”

    Actually, it’s not easy to get to opera chorus either, at least major theater chorus. I read that Met chorus members earn over 100K a year, and they are all trained opera singers with separate solo careers, I heard one voice graduate say she’d kill for a job at the Met chorus. It’s better than being a soloists: steady job with benefits. I’d imagine we’ll not see Met opera chorus members on AGT…
    Regardless, AGT is about Vegas entertainment.

19. # Zarafa commented on September 5th, 2010:

    Kitty, I suspect I’ve read your comments on the NBC boards. I have now been banned with no notice, so you likely won’t see mine anymore. I have no clue which posts they’ve taken off and which they’ve left on. But it seems to me that their TOS is so open to interpretation that it makes for a lot of legal loopholeery. I can see why Jay Leno’s always trash talking their contracts. Seriously, when you have this much room for interpretation, why are you allowed to interpret, but I am not? Hmmm… I don’t remember them saying they couldn’t be sued in that policy. It would be interesting if someone where to start a class action type suit against them for the stifling of the First Amendment. (I’m not that motivated, or I might look into it. lol)

    Anyway you look at it, specificity is the key to a fair contract; NBC has the least specific TOS I’ve ever read.

    As for Poppycock being a chorusman, I’m commenting more on his voice quality than his career opportunities. Still, part of me thinks he’d have done it by this point were it not for that it’s not his thing. Some people have a winning ability to make unusually strong connections, and I believe he’s one of them. When I look at the types of things he’s done in his career, though, I can’t imagine him so confined to that sort of direction. He seems more the type to go against the common standard “this is what is acceptable; this is all you can do with what you have” mentality with which most people imprison themselves. He may have a much stronger, larger voice than we’ve heard in his AGT performances, but he hasn’t showcased it simply because he’s NOT competing for a more demanding role. He’s got a flare for the costumes and makeup. Perhaps that’s what he really wants in life, so he centres his performances around those things that matter rather than those which are merely supportive. I mean, the fact that he has an operatic voice at all tells me he has an interest, but his voice is not as well-trained as his eye for the flare he puts into his sets/makeup/clothing/wigs etc. And I’ve heard more about his decisions on fabrics, styles, wigs, etc. than I have about what training he’s had as a singer, what things he’s always wanted to do as a singer. It almost seems like singing is less than half of it. It’s hard to say what anyone’s true motive is; a good deal of time, one isn’t entirely certain themselves. Whatever direction he wants to take this persona he’s built, however, I feel he will take it. That’s his true talent. He plays the cards he’s dealt, and I think AGT has dealt him a winning hand.

    (Now THAT’S off topic. =/ Sorry.)

20. # kitty commented on September 5th, 2010:

    @Zarafa – I am sure you’ve seen my posts on AGT website, my posts are roughly similar to those here, and my pseudonim is similar. I couldn’t use “kitty” there as someone had already taken it, so I used Russian equivalent of the word. It’s a pity you got banned – this was for “unneeded post”? Yes “unneeded” is indeed subject to interpretation as I ‘d imagine 90% of the posts would be classified as unneeded. I am still OK. I stopped posting for a while – after my message about opera wasn’t posted – but started again recently. Interestingly, someone else posted something along the same lines that my original message, and this person’s message was deemed acceptable.

    I agree with you that I think Prince Poppycock isn’t really interested in straight opera career – be it chorus or opera. He might’ve be able to do it with more training, but given what competition is in opera, nobody can predict who has enough potential to actually make it (I heard out of about 2000 voice graduates, only about 200 manage to earn a living singing). His is more of a variety show entertainment, and it works. Yes, it’s off topic, but John doesn’t mind. I personally much prefer places that allow normal conversation-type communication: when people talk they often wonder off topic, and sometimes this secondary conversation ends up interesting too.

21. # VeniceParrish commented on September 5th, 2010:

    With regard to Prince Poppycock, well, first off, if you remember his interviews, he’s done all of this on his own, with no support from his family. So, whether he’s taught himself or had coaching is another thing, but there’s also the idea about a person “not fitting into a specific mold.”

    Even if Prince Poppycock were of “legitimate operatic caliber,” I have a feeling he wouldn’t go there anyway because he IS too theatrical. What he wants to do wouldn’t fit into the staid traditionality that is opera. He needs to be different and do his own thing and I think he could have a great career at making opera cool again and making younger people want to go see it.

    I can totally see him putting on some sort of rock opera. If younger people will go see opera because of him, I think one could forgive his less than perfect operatic standard.

22. # kitty commented on September 5th, 2010:

    ” I have a feeling he wouldn’t go there anyway because he IS too theatrical.”
    Well, opera is theatrical, opera is theater – it has story, characters, costumes, sets. There is no “staid traditionality” here, for example: (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PirMmnPaZsc ), in fact with some recent productions (not this one, this one was great), I miss traditionality… But yes, I see what you mean. He’d not want to play a character as written e.g. a Spanish barber or follow guidelines from a stage director. His is an act in which he takes an aria and then fits it into his own show rather than playing a role as it’s written.

    “If younger people will go see opera because of him, I think one could forgive his less than perfect operatic standard.”
    I do agree with that. In fact, I see how many of the people do go on YouTube and check out other performances of same arias.

23. # Zarafa commented on September 5th, 2010:

    I’m personally not convinced that PP’s voice is as limited as it seems on AGT. The mics are made for pop stars and more modern, subdued vocals. I don’t know that he can be adequately heard in this production, simply because there you have a sound stage that simply isn’t accustom to setting up for such a performance, not to mention the relevance of venue and audience contribution. I think it’s a hard call for sure. That’s why I say if he’s got something he hasn’t shown us, which at this point only he really knows, then he needs to open that bag in the final. He has seen his performances after the fact, and he knows if they are or aren’t true to his voice.

    I have seen his performances on AGT, but there is a huge discrepancy between TV production and live opera/theatre. Even listening to some strictly operatic productions on PBS can be disappointing. (I prefer my opera live, tbh.) Furthermore, since I’m neithert him, nor have I heard him live, or even in a studio production, I find it easier to voice an opinion rather than to guarantee that opinion’s accuracy. I only have what AGT presents me with, and when you think about it, how much can anyone learn about a person or his/her talents in what amounts to roughly 20 minutes?

24. # John commented on September 5th, 2010:

    I hope that they continue these insane policies. That just brings more people over here.

    You’re right about TWOP, I can’t enjoy something where I feel like I might break some rule that I didn’t even know about.

25. # kitty commented on September 6th, 2010:

    @Zarafa – you are right, not much can be learned from a short AGT video: people have bad days, compression of sound for tv messes it up, etc. Barbara Padilla, by the way, sounds much better in her post-AGT videos when she performed in a church or in classical music settings with Heartland orchestra, sang more difficult arias too. Here by the way was someone with operatic voice and training.

    Still, I don’t think PP is up to opera standards even if he could be with more training if that were what he wanted to do – I agree that he probably doesn’t. It’s not just about projecting or hitting notes while sounding operatic. Opera singers are held to almost the same standards of musical near-perfection as say concert pianists or concert violinists, a single missed high note or cracked note in a 3-hour performance is noticed or in some places can result in booes; legato lines cannot have audible breaks, diction, phrasing, etc. are all important, and especially artistry. PP’s artistry is in creating a fun comedy show around the aria or a song rather than with the voice. Now, I’d imagine he could’ve gotten there with training, but I lack expertise to make that determination. Regardless, I think he could sing on Broadway, but Las Vegas seems to be a really good fit.

    Well, this is really getting off topic…

    @John – yes, I hope there are more people here too. It’s more fun to chat when there are more people.

26. # Zarafa commented on September 6th, 2010:

    I agree with that, John. The more here the merrier. There was a time when I thought I’d start my own blog on the topic, but I can’t be arsed to bother. In fact, that laziness is the reason I ended up here to begin with. I looked for a blog with decent writing and frequent commentary, neither of which, might I add, is easily found. Nevertheless, it’s far easier to patronise your blog than to go off and write my own. Take that as a compliment; I’m easily annoyed with bloggers who blog but definitely do not write. From what I’ve read, you’re coherent and you understand your topic. Those are good and rare qualities in as much as the blogosphere is concerned.

27. # John commented on September 7th, 2010:

    Thanks Zarafa. The blogosphere is an interesting place, but it’s been really good to me. Luckily, people seem to like the content I create. You’re right that there really aren’t many if any other AGT blogs out there. You know I’m always happy to bring on new bloggers to the site. The criteria is that they are decent writers, coherent and understand the topic;-)

    You should also check out my other blogs: http://www.puredwts.com and http://www.puresytycd.com if you watch those shows.

28. # kitty commented on September 7th, 2010:

    @John – yes, good content here, good discussions too. I haven’t been commenting on dancing much though.

    Are you planning to cover some other shows too? I heard Trump is going to go back to the original Apprentice this season with the recession twist (whatever it might be). Didn’t you have some generic tv blog too, I think I forgot the link to it?

29. # John commented on September 7th, 2010:

    @kitty,
    I don’t have any major plans to expand. I do have a generic blog for other TV shows: http://www.puretvnet.com I just don’t find many other shows that interesting to write about. For example, I love Amazing Race, but it’s just not as interesting a show to write content about. Apprentice is kind of similar, although it could do ok with all the product spots and background info on the people involved.

    I did recently purchase: http://www.purexfactor.com/ to cover Simon Cowell’s next show X Factor when he brings it to the US next year.

30. # Zarafa commented on September 7th, 2010:

    John, AGT is the ONLY television show I watch. Anything else is peripheral, background noise provided by my easily entertained, yet extremely fun and lovable, husband. I’m usually stuck listening to something ridiculous like Tremors or Burn Notice. That’s when I say “Oh, look at that, it’s time for me to go rock the baby for an hour or so.” LOL

    As for writing decently with coherence and an understanding of the topic, that I’m not so sure. I don’t think I ever truly write about that which I understand. Writing about that which I don’t understand is so much more interesting. =) Seriously, do any of us really understand Prince Poppycock? Not bloody likely. Nonetheless, it’s way more interesting writing about him than it is pretty much anyone else currently under the blanket of célèbre. ( AGT could be considered a cause, right? =)

31. # John commented on September 7th, 2010:

    Interesting. TV is where I rock the baby. Luckily, I’m over that stage for now and can just lazily enjoy it on my Lov Sac while the kiddies sleep.

32. # VeniceParrish commented on September 7th, 2010:

    Well, back to Prince Poppycock. While there are those out there who question where he fits in the operatic zone, and maybe I’m alone on this, but I have to say that, after tonight’s performance, I yearned for his operatic leanings, whatever they may be. His patronizing spectacle of patriotic flag waving just to get votes was, IMO, his worst performance. I hated it and, if he had done this performance earlier on, I doubt he’d be here now.

33. # John commented on September 7th, 2010:

    I can’t disagree with you there. I wonder if some might have seen it as him making light of something very important to them. I just posted all my thoughts about tonight’s show: http://www.pureamericasgottalent.com/2010/09/07/my-thoughts-on-the-americas-got-talent-season-5-top-10/

34. # Zarafa commented on September 7th, 2010:

    I’m heading to the link. Maybe the conversation will follow me. =)

35. # kitty commented on September 10th, 2010:

    More problems on NBC forum: none of my posts for the last 2 days are showing up at all. All were polite on-topic posts. None were specifically about opera. I think only about one post could’ve been slightly off topic: people were talking about whether one would pay to see “opera” in Vegas, one person mentioned Vegas prices vs opera prices, and posted totally incorrect information about Met prices (she or he said 200-300 when actual price range is $25 – 420, and with “Varis rush tickets” sold 2 hours before the performance for $20). So the person’s point was that people would pay Vegas prices, and my point was that I wouldn’t because Met is a better deal and that I’ll not pay for amplified opera performance anyway. But this was only one post which could’ve been construed as slightly off topic (even if it was very similar to the previous post). Everything else was on topic and generally complimentary towards the contestants.

    Interestingly there are a bunch of people there now who make similar comments about contestants on AGT not being really opera singers, and it seems OK for them. But it wasn’t ok for me.

    I wonder if the moderator there chooses people he wants to moderate. For these people, the posts appear only when he gets around to reading them. For other people the posts appear immediately.

    Different subject.
    About Poppycock. I may be in the minority, but I actually liked his last performance. I didn’t see it as unpartriotic at all. We have movies that took a serious subject and made it into a comedy (e.g. Mel Brooks movies), and I see this as something similar. I saw Poppycock’s performance more like an entertaining variety vaudeville-style performance.

    Slightly different. What do you think about this music selection for Poppycock. It’s from an operetta by a Hungarian composer Kalman (he worked in Vienna, hence the original language is German; but operettas are most often performed translated):
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EUiKMHAhJmI

    It could be translated into English, in most countries it’s customary to translate operettas.

    @Zarafa – “Anything else is peripheral, background noise provided by my easily entertained, yet extremely fun and lovable, husband.”

    What about PBS? Where I live they have Met HD broadcasts. Also, back in January they showed “The Audition” documentary which to me was the best competitive reality show: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=odqrkmePyPQ

36. # VeniceParrish commented on September 10th, 2010:

    Re: AGT moderating “rules.”

    Once you’re “labled” as a “troublemaker,” your email address is put into a “warning” group and they have to read all of your emails first, before posting. Quite frankly, I think the overworked and already narrow-minded moderators just choose to immediately delete the posts rather than take the time to read them and really make an unbiased decision on whether they are “acceptable.”

    Re: Prince Poppycock and the Red, White and Blue

    I, personally, didn’t think that his last performance would be seen as unpatriotic. My concern came more from the idea that, when a person or group is (perhaps desperately) trying to go for what they perceive as “the majority,” the safe bet has always been to wave the flag and stand behind it because, after all, it would be unpatriotic to dislike anyone for singing “God Bless America,” wouldn’t it?! Given PP’s growing popularity, I thought that move was unnecessary and, basically, tacky. Hiding behind the flag and shouting patriotism from the rooftops is for closet facists who are trying to subvert the Constitution. I just think that maybe PP is concerned for his clearly gay image and wanted to reach out to the middle class of the midwest and, sadly, waving the flag is usually the way to do that.

    Re: PP’s future performances.

    The one you suggested is playful, but it’s still “serious” and, please forgive me, German. A harsh language to listen to. Sorry. After all, he’s really trying to appeal to the non-operatic for the most part. PP’s opera type is beyond playful. It has to be comedic and plain tongue-in-cheek. I think satyrical operas like Gilbert and Sullivan are his style. The Three Little Maids from The Mikado would be perfect for him. Also the Pirates of Penzance. I think “The Bat” could be good too, but I don’t mean Der Fledermaus. I mean the Americanized, English, comedic version called The Bat.

37. # kitty commented on September 11th, 2010:

    “The one you suggested is playful, but it’s still “serious” and, please forgive me, German. A harsh language to listen to.”

    Actually, my selection was not serious, but exactly the same genre as Die Fledermaus, and is often translated into the language of the country where it’s performed. I thought he’d sing it in English. The lyrics is a little contrary to his gay image as they go like this “It’s not possible to live without women, they is no sun light without them …. if I ever get to the paradise, I’ll run away from there again to the one who’ll tempt me with her beauty”. Something like it, it’s quite silly. It’s actually less “operatic” then Die Fledermaus and in Central Europe performed in special “operetta theaters” rather than opera theaters.

    This genre of Viennese operetta is not well known in the US – Die Fledermaus and Lehar’s The Merry Widow are probably more known than Kalman’s operettas, but it’s the same genre – funny, a little silly musical comedy of late 19th early 20th century, but the one that uses classical style of singing.

    These are other selections from the 1971 movie version of the same operetta. The original title is Die Csardasfurstin or literally The Csardas Princess (csardas is a Hungarian dance), but it’s often translated to English often as The Gypsy Princess, not sure why. The first selection is in English – I have no idea how someone got it, I have this movie in German with English subtitles would get English if I could. The “romantic leads” are American soprano Anna Moffo and German tenor Rene Kollo, both acting and singing:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JZWF6yjcFLY
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DfM4GxzNYWc

    This is the same selection I posted in previous post, but from this movie.
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E__zIOpPazg — The guy who acts and sings it is an musicals/operetta performer rather than opera. His is a less serious character than the first couple. In Viennese operettas there were often two happy couples at the end – the first couple is more serious and the second one more comical.
    From same movie:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0L1md7VQn8Y

38. # Zarafa commented on September 12th, 2010:

    Kitty, We don’t actually own a TV. We get it all on Hulu, which is why I’ve only bothered voting once. We never see anything live. =) And even if we did get high def opera we don’t have high def speakers. Mind you, we have two of the best computers on the planet, but never bothered to fulfill their audial potential. Haha! I guess it’s a matter of priority. Quad core processor, max RAM and two full-terabyte hard drives, or high quality sound with no storage and subprime playback? Personally, we could have lived with less machine, as many people do without complaint; but my husband builds PCs, so I guess that means the tower of power is more important than the wall of sound. Besides, if we decide to update the speakers, we could blast the roof off’a this place. We are capable, just not sufficiently motivated. Our neighbours have no idea how grateful they should be for that. =)

39. # kitty commented on September 12th, 2010:

    @Zarafa, yes if you don’t get live tv you’ll like not get these PBS performances: HD doesn’t matter, they’d simply be not in HD but could still be seen, but I don’t think they ever rebroadcast: most of this stuff is copyright at the Met.

    I found several full opera performances at the Met on you tube, some old, one new, but I don’t want to post the links here: such an open advertisement would simply cause the uploaders to get a not-so-nice message to remove them so much sooner. If you have a you tube account, I could send them to you there.

    Two other ways to watch free opera on the internet though not from the Met are:
    1. http://www.medici.tv – they broadcast classical music and opera performances from different places occasionally, live broadcasts are free and remain on their free list for several weeks thereafter. There are no operas available there now, but earlier this year they had a live broadcast and then streaming video of Operalia Grand Final – this is a very prestigious internation opera competition, a way to see young singers. They require registration, but they don’t ask for anything but email and they don’t try to sell you anything. They also had Don Giovanni from Glynderbourne.
    2. Indiana University School of Music has live as well as webcast streaming of their opera performances. It’s young singer/student productions, but it’s professional quality. I really enjoyed their Lucia di Lammermoor a few months ago. No registration is required at all, you just cilck and watch their webcasts whenever you feel like:
    http://music.indiana.edu/iumusiclive/streaming/
    Right now it says server not found in the video area, but I think it’s a temporary bug, I’d imagine it’ll be fixed soon. When it’s fixed, you just select a performance at the bottom and double click on it. They have to fix it by September 24th when they’ll have live streaming of their performances:
    http://www.music.indiana.edu/opera/

    Then, there are always Met HD broadcasts to a movie theater near you. Plus, you can always come to NYC and go to the Met…

    BTW – I also bought a powerful computer with 6G RAM and 5i pentium, but I am a software engineer and sometimes work from home, so I created a VMWare image of my work laptop and am running it on my home computer.

40. # John commented on September 12th, 2010:

    Wow! A couple nerds. All this talk of quad core processors and VMWare images gets me all worked up. Who would have thought that tech people would be talking about AGT and opera? Good stuff.

    kitty,
    What type of software do you do?

41. # Zarafa commented on September 13th, 2010:

    Kitty, how funny! My hubby and I used to run VM on both of our PCs, but my laptop is strictly Linux so I don’t bother with it anymore. We’ve been kicking around the idea of building a Hackintosh lately, but while the software is relatively inexpensive, some of the hardware adaptions are pretty outrageous. VMware is really the best option, but it sure would be nice to have a fully apple supported device.

    Um… What were we talking about again? =)

42. # kitty commented on September 13th, 2010:

    John,
    I work in research division of a major it corporation (you can probably figure out which one from the rest). Did different projects over the years – first compiler on main frame, then racf, then something else, then anti-virus software (10 years ago, whatever knowledge I had is outdated), right now I am mostly involved with cloud computing.

    @Zarafa, isn’t John great? In NBC board we’d be thrown out for off topic posts…

    I have Windows XP on my laptop where I do most of the development, thought I connect occasionally to Linux images at work for testing. It’s all java so it doesn’t matter. At home I have Windows 7. Using my home computer for work directly would’ve been a lot of hustle — there are zillion requirements of stuff I need to install and stuff I can’t have, I didn’t want to bother. So I just used free VMWare p2v converter to create an image of my laptop putting it to an external hard drive, then copied it to my home machine and used free vmware player to run it.

43. # John commented on September 13th, 2010:

    I think the idea of off topic posts are funny. Mostly because if it’s a forum, then you should allow people to talk about what the people on the forum want to talk about. Sure, there’s certain forums where it’s better to focus, but generally it should be open for whatever interests the community of users.

    It’s like saying you go to a party at someone’s house and you start talking about cars. Imagine the party host throwing you out for talking about something off topic. How silly would that be? Yet, that’s what many do online.

44. # VeniceParrish commented on September 14th, 2010:

    Now to get back on topic!

    After watching tonight’s final performances, here are my thoughts.

    4th place: Prince Poppycock. I’m afraid that, just as Piers said, our ingenious comedic operatic darling took himself too seriously and he blew it. Just as it’s been argued here, he’s NOT that great of an opera singer; what he is is a great performer, and to do the song he chose tonight, you gotta be beyond great. He wasn’t. So sad.

    3rd place: Fighting Gravity. Great group and I, too, believe that they’ll have a show in Vegas, but when they’re going up against Michael Grimm and Jackie Evancho, they just really aren’t going to be able to compete.

    1st and 2nd are gonna be tight. Michael Grimm and Jackie Evancho. I adore Michael Grimm and have from the beginning. His song choice tonight was absolutely perfect and his performance was equally perfect. Jackie Evancho chose an extremely difficult song and executed it perfectly. So who do I choose?

    It comes down to chances and opportunities in life. Michael Grimm is 30 and he’s fought tooth and nail every inch of the way and isn’t going to have too many more chances. Jackie is young and still has everything in front of her, both in years as well as, I am guessing, finances.

    Since Michael Grimm was in one of the first groups to audition, I have had much longer to be his supporter and, for all these reasons, Michael Grimm is my personal choice and favorite. He will get all 10 of my votes.

45. # kitty commented on September 15th, 2010:

    @Venice Parrish
    I am not sure the order is quite that predictable.

    I have no real clue about the order, but here are my thoughts about contestants:
    Prince Poppycock. I agree he took himself too seriously. He is not an opera singer, his voice is nice but lacks resonance and colors to really express what he sings. He also doesn’t have the technique. I don’t think you need to be beyond great on these shows – Boyd for example had pitch and breath support problems throughout, but his voice itself was better. Plus, since Potts and Boyd, many viewers took time and listened to professional performances.

    But what may work for Poppycock is that 1) he already has a strong fan base and 2) Pierce buzzing got some viewers voting just to spite Pierce.

    Fighting Gravity – not sure, I wasn’t awed by this performance.

    Jackie again choose a piece too difficult for her. She was flat in some places, some low notes were just not good. She was far far from perfect. Who told her to choose the same piece Barbara Padilla did last year? She is choosing these difficult pieces that are not only beyond her abilities, but that also have many versions available for comparison.

    This is by the way what annoys me in the whole crossover genre. In classical music, students work first on simpler pieces, but get them really perfect: not just notes, but tone, breath support, phrasing, diction, EXPRESSION (!). It’s considered far better to take a simpler piece and get it really perfect than to choose a difficult piece and not even hit the right notes. This is true for both instrumental and vocal music. What is easy anyway? A famous mezzo Cecilia Bartoli doesn’t consider it’s beneath herself to sing a simple art song like “Se tu m’ami” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=THTUCtExVbo which every voice student and teenager taking voice lessons sings (e.g. here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ClXPcFa7XbU ) Pavarotti sang “vaga luna” – another art song. Yet, crossover singers with far less abilities feel it’s better to show off they sing difficult pieces.

    Jackie was fantastic when she did “Pie Gesu”. She could have done “Amazing Grace” and be equally fantastic…. but it had to be “Ave Maria”.

    Michael Grimm was good, probably the best of the bunch, but I am not sure that he has quite as big a fan base.

46. # zarafa commented on September 17th, 2010:

    Well, here’s me, a day late and a dollar short, per usual. I think it’s great that you nailed it Venice. As I’ve mentioned before, I never watch anything live. I’m glad to catch it the following day. I’ve managed to vote once the entire season, and that’s only because the Internet voting window allowed me to watch each performance Ex Post Facto, and my insomnia-induced state of bewilderment allowed me enough freedom to decide which underdog I liked best. (I’d never vote for my picks, as they tend to do just fine on their own. I like to keep it interesting. =)

    And Kitty, thank you. You’re the one person I’ve yet to read who heard Jackie flattening out. It seems that people are so terribly smitten with her, that they can’t hear her flaws. She had a loss of air in there, too; though I have to say, she did well picking it up, considering she was past toeing the line on that song.

    I have a confession (which isn’t really a confession, as it’s likely painfully obvious): I don’t know a whole hell of a lot about opera. I love listening to it, and I have perfect pitch, which makes me very finicky, and I even have some knowledge about various operas and techniques. I do not, however know the names of many famous opera singers. To be perfectly honest, I know the names of more dead opera singers than I do live ones, and that’s more funny than sad when you consider that I learned about most of them through old movies and television shows, e.g. Kitty Carlisle. I learnt about her from the Marx Brother’s movie, A Night at the Opera. In fact, that’s the precise film that piqued my interest in opera as a kid. Having that off my chest I can freely say this: Whoever that woman was who came and sang with little Jackie (my husband tells me she’s Christine from Phantom of the Opera, which I never cared for so couldn’t say one way or the other), she should be thanked. Now, I wasn’t thrilled with her performance either, but again, I prefer my opera live. After years spent listening to old 78s and remastered films that still sound like wax cylinders, I fell in love with live opera the first time I took a seat in the boxes at Detroit Opera Theatre for Marriage of Figaro some 16 or so years ago. Regardless, she had the SENSE to tell Jackie, and the entire nation/world that Jackie should be saving her voice and preserving it. I sincerely hope her advice was expounded on to her mother and those others who are involved in her general exploitation. That girl has a gift, a true talent. The problem is that she’s going to trash her vocal cords if she keeps up singing songs that are not meant for her limited vocal growth. I don’t remember the singer’s name, my husband is at work, so I can’t ask him, and I’m not in the mood to Google anything at the moment (believe me, my ADD would have this post left far behind if I even get close to started on Google). I still think it was wonderful that she said that directly to Jackie. Right there to her, because it’s HER voice, and she’s a child who is pushed to perform at a peak beyond what she can comfortably do. Hearing that from her favourite singer is probably the BEST thing I’ve seen come of her time on AGT, and it made me beyond happy. I was annoyingly pleased with it, actually. Then, I’m sure I needn’t have told any of you that. =)

    So, could I write more? Of course I could. I mean, there was so much to write about. Will I? Nah. I think I’ll spare you the rest. =)

    Take care,
    Zarafa.

47. # kitty commented on September 17th, 2010:

    The woman who sang with Jackie was Sarah Brightman. She is a classical crossover/musicals singer. She is good in musical theater (like Phantom; btw – she is the wife of Andrew Lloyd Webber), but her attempts at opera arias are just not up to opera level. She seems a nice person though and may have introduced a number of people to opera with her flawed performances of arias. I am glad Sarah told it to Jackie. I read shew as warning Charlotte Church, and everyone was up and arms about it how she was jealous, except for she turned out to be right.

    I can understand Jackie and her parents though: the future is always uncertain, this is a very competitive field and with all child prodigies others catch up later on. Listen how Nadine Sierra sang “O mio babbino caro” when she was 16:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dTIxSOhr024

    We don’t know how Nadine – who is 21 now – sounded at 10 as she clearly wasn’t performing then. There are many talented kids out there who aren’t performing; there are kids who sing at the major choruses including child choruses in operas (like Carmen or Hansel and Gretel). Some of these kids may develop operatic voices later on.

    So the idea may be: why not take what they can now and let the future take care of itself; make millions at 10 and then had a husband and kids when older. But there must be some happy medium. Beverly Sills performed as a child from 3 to 10, then “retired” until 16. Julie Andrews I think continued to perform as a child in parallel, but restricted the number of her appearances. Jackie could still perform but choose pieces that are within her range, her lung power and that she can really feel emotionally and make them perfect.

    I don’t have perfect pitch, but I had piano lessons as a child and voice lessons when in my late 20s-early 30s. I was not particularly talented though and exceptionally lazy. My voice teacher had a number of students, mostly amateurs like me, but one girl, Joanne, was really really gifted with a very promising mezzo (my teacher organized little gathering when all of us sang, so I had a chance to hear others). When I met Joanne, she was 15, and she wasn’t yet singing arias. She sang songs like “Vittoria, Vittoria mio core”, “Caro mio ben”, “Se tu m’ami”, “danza danza fanciulla gentile”, “violette graziose” (you can look them up, I am sure there are versions on you tube, both by famous singers and teenagers) also “I feel pretty” , and she worked on them before singing them in public to make them perfect. She did a couple of Mozart arias later on – “Voi che sapete” from the Marriage of Figaro and a year or so later “non so piu cosa son cosa faccio”. She went on to study voice professionally, then got a job with Brooklyn opera, but I haven’t heard of her since. Maybe she got married and changed her name, but she didn’t manage to “make it big”. It’s a difficult business.

    There are by the way so many of these art songs (not to mention Broadway songs or folk songs). In English too, like “Drink to me only with thine eyes” or “The last rose of summer” by John Stevenson . This is Deanna Durbin singing “The last rose of summer”:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4FyzxhLWUxY

    I think people are simply not used to the sound of classically trained voices or voices like Jackie’s that have operatic potential, and they are impressed at how beautiful some of the tones are like Jackie’s high notes that are amazingly clear. Plus, she is a child and a beautiful one at that, and is really good for her age, not to mention better than most adult pop singers and some crossover ones too.

    In terms of today’s opera singers, the best way to find out about them is just watch Met HD broadcasts to the movie theaters (since you don’t get PBS Great Performances at the Met broadcasts). I am sure there is a movie theater near you that has them; just go to metopera.org, click “Watch and Listen” and then HD broadcasts.

    Here are some names for you. This is not an exclusive list and in no particular order, but once you start listening to them on YouTube, there’ll be links to other singers:

    sopranos:
    coloratura and light lyrics: Natalie Dessay, Diana Damrau, Ruth Ann Swenson (best performance of O mio babbino caro among contemporary singers, I think), Sumi Jo; younger singers – Angela Gilbert, Rachel Gilmore, Kathleen Kim, Eglise Guitierrez

    full lyrics and spintos:
    Renee Fleming, Anja Harteros, Angela Gheorghiu, Indra Thomas, Anna Netrebko, Sondra Radvanovsky, Daniela Dessi, Barbara Frittoli, Ana Maria Martinez (she also has some coloratura ability), Karita Mattila, Elizabeth Futral, Ailyn Perez

    dramatic: Deborah Voigt, Lise Lindstrom, Janice Baird

    Dramatic coloratura: Alexandrina Pendatchaska, Angela Meade (this is a young singer, and it’s not clear if she is really a dramatic coloratura or a strong lyric spinto with coloratura ability).

    mezzo sopranos (all subtypes): Elina Garanca (lyric but can do coloratura), Joyce diDonato (coloratura), Dolora Zajick, Jennifer Larmore, Denyce Graves, Rinat Shaham, Olga Borodina, Viveca Genaux (coloratura)

    tenors (all subtypes): Ben Heppner (dramatic), Piotr Beczala, Jonas Kaufmann, Frank Lopardo, Roberto Alagna, Juan-Diego Florez (leggiero), Lawrence Brownlee (leggiero), Frank Porretta, Ian Bostridge, Ramon Vargas, Marcello Alvarez, Rolando Villazon (had a gorgeous voice, but wrecked it by bad technique; had surgery to remove nodules on vocal cords, is trying to get back), Michael Fabiano (only 24 and has already made debuts in leading roles at La Scala and the Met, very promising), Stephen Costello, James Valenti

    countertenors: Nicholas Spanos, David Daniels, Brian Asawa

    baritones: Thomas Hampson (ok he isn’t young), Peter Mattei, John Rawnsley, Thomas Allen, Stephen Powell

    basses and baritones-basses; Greer Grimsley, Michele Pertusi, Luco Pisaroni, John Relyea …

    Again, this isn’t exclusive list. There probably are a number of today’s singers I missed, some maybe better than some of those I mentioned.

48. # John commented on September 19th, 2010:

    I found it interesting that they had Sarah Brightman working with Jackie. Pretty cool for her. Although, I must admit that Sarah Brightman’s performance with Jackie was terrible. She slaughtered Andrea Bocelli’s portion of the song. Although, it was fun for a 10 year old little girl to outperform her.

    She did give Jackie some great advice. Props to her for saying that to Jackie. Sarah does seem like a genuine person and her and Andrea together have done some fabulous work together.

49. # kitty commented on September 20th, 2010:

    Yes, it was pretty cool. Sarah did give Jackie a good advice. Unfortunately, judging from the forums a lot of people jump on Sarah, accusing her of envy (this seems to be a common accusation to anybody who dares to say anything that can be perceived as remotely critical) and so on. I read somewhere, not sure it’s true, that Sarah gave a similar advice to Church. At the time she was also accused of envy, but she turned out to be right.

    Unrelated – for those who are interested, you tube has a new movie version of Rigoletto filmed on location in Mantua (nice views) that was recently shown on Italian tv. Domingo plays/sings the baritone role of Rigoletto (and is severely criticized for that by commenters). I watched it yesterday, and I think that while one can find flaws in singing/production if one is really critical, the overall combination of singing, music, scenery, acting and performers’ looks make for a beautiful movie.

    No subtitles – but I’d imagine opera fans here will know the plot of Rigoletto. searching for “Rigoletto synopsis” would tell those who don’t know Rigoletto the plot.

    I am a bit reluctant posting the link here as I don’t want those who might object to this being uploaded seeing it “advertised” and asking the person who uploaded it to remove it too soon (I am sure it’ll happen eventually). At the same time, I am not sure if the Italian owners of this movie would really be reading this blog. So, maybe if there is some interest here, I’ll post the link to the 1st of the videos involved.

50. # kitty commented on September 20th, 2010:

    Well, it seems other blogs posted the links to this movie without worrying if this would somehow speed up this video’s removal. So maybe I worry too much.

    Here are the relevant links:
    play list for ACT ONE (complete), you can see remaining videos there too, maybe not in playlist format, though given that some parts are only 2 minute long, playlist is vastly more convenient:
    http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=D3EB14470140011D

    I think once you get to last video, you’ll see the one after it too.

    The plot:
    http://www.metoperafamily.org/metopera/history/stories/synopsis.aspx?id=263

    If you want to read a complete libretto, then locate Rigoletto in the table, click on E (for English) in the Libretto column: http://www.opera-guide.ch/opern_komponisten.php?uilang=de&first-letter=V