+++
author = ["authors/jenna.md"]
categories = "Humour"
date = "2014-11-19T14:39:00-05:00"
lastmod = "2015-04-27T17:56:00-04:00"
primary_image = "https://res.cloudinary.com/schmopera/image/upload/v1545409169/media/webhook-uploads/1428979522113/58853_1600x1200-wallpaper-cb1350056774.jpg.jpg"
publishDate = "2014-11-19T14:39:00-05:00"
related_articles = ["articles/ah-non-abbiamo-il-soprano.md"]
short_description = "One afternoon a few years back, after discovering these on YouTube, I showed them to a singer friend of mine; I figured they&#039;d find the collection of operatic misses as fascinating as I did. My singer friend didn&#039;t find it fascinating, perhaps due to the sympathy he couldn&#039;t help but feel for the voices. "
slug = "i-kind-of-like-black-pearls"
title = "I kind of like Black Pearls..."
+++

One afternoon a few years back, after [discovering these on YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T1blyLl4tiQ&list=RDT1blyLl4tiQ#t=531), I showed them to a singer friend of mine; I figured they'd find the collection of operatic misses as fascinating as I did. My singer friend didn't find it fascinating, perhaps due to the sympathy he couldn't help but feel for the voices. Perhaps singers will find me somewhat odd for this, but I think Perle Nere, the three-part collection of onstage misses by opera singers, was one of the first ways I became excited about the capabilities and limitations of the human voice. The collection pieces together moments like the _Rigoletto_ quartet with the tenor singing a semitone flat, crazy tenor cracks in _Aida_, missed high notes in _Flute_, onstage drunkenness, etc. It's [AfroPoli](https://www.youtube.com/user/AfroPoli/featured)'s YouTube channel, and his commentary gives context to the clips, as snarky as it sometimes may be. So, a disclaimer for the readers who sing: this may gain a reaction similar to when a guy watches another guy get hit below the belt. But I think it's neat to hear vocal "mishaps", because you can start to hear how the thing should be put together. Anyway, enjoy?

<figure data-type="video">
<iframe width="680" height="382" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/5k6c4MBG7h8" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
>/figure>

<figure data-type="video">
<iframe width="680" height="382" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/6hZweYnWdAk" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
</figure>

<figure data-type="video">
<iframe width="680" height="382" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/T1blyLl4tiQ" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
</figure>
