In singing, this refers to a soprano or tenor voice type of a vocal weight between a lyric voice and a dramatic voice, a "light heavyweight" voice.
Lyric voices are light, smooth, sweet, and agile; dramatic voices are heavy, rich, powerful, and full of emotion.
"Spinto" is Italian for "pushed" (this should not imply force) and applied to a tenor or a soprano it means a lyric voice which can be "pushed" to large musical climaxes at moderate intervals. This effect is achieved by a sharp edge in the voice's tone (squillo), which allows it to "cut" through a full orchestra (rather than singing over it like a true dramatic voice).
Since spinto voices bridge lyric and dramatic voices, they are able to play a wide range of roles in opera (but a spinto is not a common voice type).
Lyric voices are light, smooth, sweet, and agile; dramatic voices are heavy, rich, powerful, and full of emotion.
"Spinto" is Italian for "pushed" (this should not imply force) and applied to a tenor or a soprano it means a lyric voice which can be "pushed" to large musical climaxes at moderate intervals. This effect is achieved by a sharp edge in the voice's tone (squillo), which allows it to "cut" through a full orchestra (rather than singing over it like a true dramatic voice).
Since spinto voices bridge lyric and dramatic voices, they are able to play a wide range of roles in opera (but a spinto is not a common voice type).
A spinto tenor or spinto soprano may or may not have a darker color than their lyric counterparts; they often have the color of a baritone/mezzo-soprano and the high tessitura of a tenor/soprano.
Famous operatic spinto sopranos and spinto tenors include Renata Tebaldi, Leontyne Price, Michele Crider, Aprile Millo, Renata Scotto, Mario Lanza, Mario Frangoulis, Carlo Bergonzi, Placido Domingo, and Franco Corelli.
Pop singers who could qualify include Kelly Clarkson, Michelle Branch, Rachelle Lampa, Diana DeGarmo, Adam Lambert, Adam Pascal, Clay Aiken, Freddy Mercury, Steven Tyler, and Michael Jackson.
Famous operatic spinto sopranos and spinto tenors include Renata Tebaldi, Leontyne Price, Michele Crider, Aprile Millo, Renata Scotto, Mario Lanza, Mario Frangoulis, Carlo Bergonzi, Placido Domingo, and Franco Corelli.
Pop singers who could qualify include Kelly Clarkson, Michelle Branch, Rachelle Lampa, Diana DeGarmo, Adam Lambert, Adam Pascal, Clay Aiken, Freddy Mercury, Steven Tyler, and Michael Jackson.
by Lorelili July 06, 2011
1. Morally depraved, dissolute, bad, vicious, wicked or evil. Unscrupulous, corrupt. A reprobate.
2. Morally wrong, unethical.
Often confused with amoral, unmoral, and nonmoral, of which the first is the most common; immoral simply means bad and defiant of the moral principles of society while amoral means lacking in or indifferent to any morals, neither moral or immoral (neither good or bad).
2. Morally wrong, unethical.
Often confused with amoral, unmoral, and nonmoral, of which the first is the most common; immoral simply means bad and defiant of the moral principles of society while amoral means lacking in or indifferent to any morals, neither moral or immoral (neither good or bad).
The necktie psychopath is as immoral as they come, cunningly charming and manipulating their way to the top, indifferent to who they hurt along the way.
Josef Mengele led experiments that led to greater medical understanding... but were stridently immoral and cruel.
Josef Mengele led experiments that led to greater medical understanding... but were stridently immoral and cruel.
by Lorelili August 14, 2011
And adjective relating to behavior that is wrong, unethical; disregard for the conscience or moral compass.
Caligula delighted in the immoral pleasures of incest with his sisters, torture and murder of prisoners and slaves, the rapes of the wives and daughters of wealthy Romans, desecration of sacred buildings, and generally violating the rights of his people.
Israel, through tampering with information and manipulating the public, has oppressed the Palestinians and made their lives miserable for the sake of a "Jewish homeland"; such a policy sounds perversely immoral and counterproductive.
Israel, through tampering with information and manipulating the public, has oppressed the Palestinians and made their lives miserable for the sake of a "Jewish homeland"; such a policy sounds perversely immoral and counterproductive.
by Lorelili June 08, 2011
Of an age suitable for marriage, especially used to refer to a woman at the beginning of her childbearing years; nubile.
For most of recorded history in Asia, Africa, and Europe, men could be considered marriageable at 14 years and women at 12 years, although usually both parties had to be physically mature enough to consummate the marriage.
The bride is usually between 12-25 years of age, traditionally; depending on where and when the setting is, a bride 18 years of age can be seen as too young, too old, or perfectly marriageable; Ancient Greeks and Ancient Romans and Ancient Hebrews, like much of Africa and South Asia today, wanted to marry their daughters off before she gave into physical temptation and had sex before she was married. Vikings, on the other hand, preferred a bride closer to age 20, in full bloom.
The groom, on the other hand, can be any age from a few years younger than the bride to roughly her age to at least a decade older than her.
Until recently, the quinceañera and sweet sixteen parties marked a young woman's entry into adulthood and marriageable age; now that so few women are married that early, both have lost some meaning and degenerated into excess.
The bride is usually between 12-25 years of age, traditionally; depending on where and when the setting is, a bride 18 years of age can be seen as too young, too old, or perfectly marriageable; Ancient Greeks and Ancient Romans and Ancient Hebrews, like much of Africa and South Asia today, wanted to marry their daughters off before she gave into physical temptation and had sex before she was married. Vikings, on the other hand, preferred a bride closer to age 20, in full bloom.
The groom, on the other hand, can be any age from a few years younger than the bride to roughly her age to at least a decade older than her.
Until recently, the quinceañera and sweet sixteen parties marked a young woman's entry into adulthood and marriageable age; now that so few women are married that early, both have lost some meaning and degenerated into excess.
by Lorelili October 26, 2013
A segment of the wagon train headed to California in 1846. They had been enticed by young promoter Lansford W. Hastings, who advertised a new and faster route to California (which he only tested once with a horse; it turned out not only more dangerous but 125 miles longer than the charted route).
The twenty wagons of the Donner Party left the regular route in early July and headed for Fort Bridger, the first stop on the shortcut. Beginning on the shortcut in late July, they at first made good time but soon found that the trail over the Wasatch Mountains was almost impassible. Instead of only a week, the trip over the steep Wasatch to the Great Salt Lake took a whole month. Next, the journey over the Great Salt Desert took nearly six days instead of two. The shortcut rejoined the established trail two months after they had embarked on it. By late October, they reached the Sierras but an early winter storm blocked the pass. The travelers were trapped, only 150 miles from the safety of Sutter's Fort.
Trapped in the mountains from November until April, two thirds of the men died as did a third of the women and children. Desperation drove most of the Donner Party to eat the dead. A group of fifteen of the strongest immigrants (nine men, five women, and a boy of twelve) and two Indian guides set off to find help in mid-December, but when they found help in mid-January only two of the men (both married with children) were alive; all five women survived.
The twenty wagons of the Donner Party left the regular route in early July and headed for Fort Bridger, the first stop on the shortcut. Beginning on the shortcut in late July, they at first made good time but soon found that the trail over the Wasatch Mountains was almost impassible. Instead of only a week, the trip over the steep Wasatch to the Great Salt Lake took a whole month. Next, the journey over the Great Salt Desert took nearly six days instead of two. The shortcut rejoined the established trail two months after they had embarked on it. By late October, they reached the Sierras but an early winter storm blocked the pass. The travelers were trapped, only 150 miles from the safety of Sutter's Fort.
Trapped in the mountains from November until April, two thirds of the men died as did a third of the women and children. Desperation drove most of the Donner Party to eat the dead. A group of fifteen of the strongest immigrants (nine men, five women, and a boy of twelve) and two Indian guides set off to find help in mid-December, but when they found help in mid-January only two of the men (both married with children) were alive; all five women survived.
"Anguish and dismay now filled all hearts. Husbands bowed their heads, appalled at the situation of their families. They cursed Hastings for his false promises and broken pledge at Fort Bridger... Mothers in tearless agony clasped their children to their bosoms with the old, old cry, 'Father, Thy will, not mine, be done.' It was plain that try as we might, we could not get back to Fort Bridger. We must proceed, regardless of the fearful outlook." -Eliza Donner (1843-1922)
The third rescue party captured perhaps the most poignant scene of the Donner Party.
"The picture of distress... They had consumed two children of Jacob Donner. Mrs. Graves’s body was lying there with almost all the flesh cut away from her arms and limbs... Her little daughter, about 13 months old, sat at her side, one arm upon the body of her mangled mother, sobbing bitterly, crying, 'Ma! Ma! Ma!'"
"I have not wrote you half of the trouble we’ve had, but I have wrote you enough to let you know what trouble is. But thank God, we are the only family that did not eat human flesh. We have left everything, but I don’t care for that. We have got through with our lives. Don’t let this letter dishearten anybody. Remember, never take no cutoffs (shortcuts) and hurry along as fast as you can." -Virginia Reed (1833-1921)
The third rescue party captured perhaps the most poignant scene of the Donner Party.
"The picture of distress... They had consumed two children of Jacob Donner. Mrs. Graves’s body was lying there with almost all the flesh cut away from her arms and limbs... Her little daughter, about 13 months old, sat at her side, one arm upon the body of her mangled mother, sobbing bitterly, crying, 'Ma! Ma! Ma!'"
"I have not wrote you half of the trouble we’ve had, but I have wrote you enough to let you know what trouble is. But thank God, we are the only family that did not eat human flesh. We have left everything, but I don’t care for that. We have got through with our lives. Don’t let this letter dishearten anybody. Remember, never take no cutoffs (shortcuts) and hurry along as fast as you can." -Virginia Reed (1833-1921)
by Lorelili December 18, 2011
A period of early modern European history (spanning from the 1400s to the middle 1600s) during which there was an increased paranoia and thus hysteria that there were witches practicing forms of vice to harm the people... and these "witches" were thus tried and executed for it.
Contrary to many pagan sources, the death toll of nine million people, almost exclusively women, who were trying to keep their indigenous pre-Christian religions alive, is about as real as the Blair Witch Project; records show that somewhere between 50,000 and 300,000 people were tried (and about 48% of them executed) on charges of witchcraft.
The loss of nine million people would severely have crippled society. And those tried and executed were, by and large, Christians who asked for God to save them; anybody with strange quirks, liberal views, red hair, suspicious skin marks (freckles, birthmarks, moles, warts, etc), animal companions, or some difference that called attention, you were suspect. You were especially vulnerable if you were a woman, but roughly 25% of the victims were men (virtually all of Iceland's accused were men).
And many countries were virtually untouched by the this frenzy; Ireland saw only four "witches" executed while Russia saw ten executions; Germany, Switzerland, and eastern France saw the most hysteria.
Contrary to many pagan sources, the death toll of nine million people, almost exclusively women, who were trying to keep their indigenous pre-Christian religions alive, is about as real as the Blair Witch Project; records show that somewhere between 50,000 and 300,000 people were tried (and about 48% of them executed) on charges of witchcraft.
The loss of nine million people would severely have crippled society. And those tried and executed were, by and large, Christians who asked for God to save them; anybody with strange quirks, liberal views, red hair, suspicious skin marks (freckles, birthmarks, moles, warts, etc), animal companions, or some difference that called attention, you were suspect. You were especially vulnerable if you were a woman, but roughly 25% of the victims were men (virtually all of Iceland's accused were men).
And many countries were virtually untouched by the this frenzy; Ireland saw only four "witches" executed while Russia saw ten executions; Germany, Switzerland, and eastern France saw the most hysteria.
The second most popular book of the Burning Times (after the Bible) was the Malleus Maleficarum ("The Witch's Hammer"), an absolutely humorless and misogynistic guide to "finding witches".
Southwestern Germany saw the worst of the Burning Times; Wurzburg saw several hundred executed through the late 1620s, including several priests and a number of children.
There were allegedly towns, largely in Germany, where there were no women left after the Inquisitors came through.
Southwestern Germany saw the worst of the Burning Times; Wurzburg saw several hundred executed through the late 1620s, including several priests and a number of children.
There were allegedly towns, largely in Germany, where there were no women left after the Inquisitors came through.
by Lorelili July 11, 2008
The daughter of a king and queen.
The wife of a prince or a woman who holds the office in her own right.
In England, before the Tudor era, there was no female equivalent to princes, dukes, earls, or barons; every female of royal or noble rank below the queen was simply known as "The Lady..."
The vast majority of the female population who is called "princess" is not of royal or noble ancestry... and they probably should count that as a blessing, since royal ancestry does not guarantee power, beauty, intelligence, or any gifts; as pawns in a big political chess game, princesses and queens and noblewomen in general usually had no real power. With a few exceptions, a noblewoman was usually just a manager for the estate and a baby machine for the family dynasty.
The wife of a prince or a woman who holds the office in her own right.
In England, before the Tudor era, there was no female equivalent to princes, dukes, earls, or barons; every female of royal or noble rank below the queen was simply known as "The Lady..."
The vast majority of the female population who is called "princess" is not of royal or noble ancestry... and they probably should count that as a blessing, since royal ancestry does not guarantee power, beauty, intelligence, or any gifts; as pawns in a big political chess game, princesses and queens and noblewomen in general usually had no real power. With a few exceptions, a noblewoman was usually just a manager for the estate and a baby machine for the family dynasty.
Katherine of Aragon was demoted from Queen to Dowager Princess of Wales when Henry VIII divorced her for Anne Boleyn. Katherine's daughter was demoted from "The Princess Mary" to "The Lady Mary".
The Disney Princess and media portrayals are often highly inaccurate portrayals of royalty; real princesses usually did not befriend commoners and were often married off into other royal families to act as clown cars for their in-laws. Contrary to Disney, any fun and games generally ended at an early age for noble children; they had jobs to do as heirs to family politics. Court intrigue was also a major threat to them and their families; they were never really sure of where their friends and families stood. And as long as she was of royal blood, it didn't matter whether a princess was ugly, stupid, deranged, or sickly; royals marry other royals or nobles, for commoners are generally discouraged (regardless of inbreeding).
Disney's only real princesses are Snow White, Aurora, Ariel, Jasmine, and Pocahontas; Cinderella was either nobility or gentry while the rest were commoners.
The giggly young woman with clothes scrawled with "Princess" in sparkly letters gave little thought to the actual significance of the word. She also had no idea that her Han zi tattoo actually said "prostitute" instead of "princess".
The Disney Princess and media portrayals are often highly inaccurate portrayals of royalty; real princesses usually did not befriend commoners and were often married off into other royal families to act as clown cars for their in-laws. Contrary to Disney, any fun and games generally ended at an early age for noble children; they had jobs to do as heirs to family politics. Court intrigue was also a major threat to them and their families; they were never really sure of where their friends and families stood. And as long as she was of royal blood, it didn't matter whether a princess was ugly, stupid, deranged, or sickly; royals marry other royals or nobles, for commoners are generally discouraged (regardless of inbreeding).
Disney's only real princesses are Snow White, Aurora, Ariel, Jasmine, and Pocahontas; Cinderella was either nobility or gentry while the rest were commoners.
The giggly young woman with clothes scrawled with "Princess" in sparkly letters gave little thought to the actual significance of the word. She also had no idea that her Han zi tattoo actually said "prostitute" instead of "princess".
by Lorelili January 10, 2011