Rita Shane is a Bad. Bitch.

I love opera because there is no holding back. Opera is about extremes- extreme emotion, extreme betrayal, extreme love, extreme hate -- everything to the nth degree-- and I love how its heroine's never hold back. The women of opera are dying, suffering, being tortured and betrayed, all the while loving or hating (or both) with more intensity and devotion that we can ever fathom.  I think it is the intensity of emotion in opera that is so compelling-- watching people who are not afraid to feel and express all the things which we shy away from for the sake of civilized society.  Watching an opera is also a lesson in why we choose to keep those emotions in check, due to the fact that things rarely end well.

One of my favorite and less well known opera divas is Rita Shane. Rita Shane's rendition of the Vengeance Aria from Magic Flute is absolutely ridiculous. To have a voice this size that is able to move that fast is totally freaking unbelievable- in my opinion you will not find a better rendition of this famous aria.  Love love love. Listen-- its only 2 1/2 minutes and she kills it. And how sick it is that its called the Vengeance Aria? In this moment, The Queen of the Night (also a badass name)  is ordering her daughter, Pamina, to kill the Queen's rival-- and letting her know she will be cursed and die if she does not do as she's told. 

Ok-- now that you heard the best-- please listen to this one. It's just too funny.  Florence Foster Jenkins was a rich NY socialite who wanted to be an opera singer. She would rent out concert halls and make her friends come listen to her perform. She is the single most awesomely bad singer in existence. But hey, she loved it and she did it so whatever.