Queen of the Night
Florence Foster Jenkins is the subject of a recent play called Souvenir, which is being performed currently in Brentwood. She was the original so-bad-it’s-good, William Hung abomination in music. And she proved before Ashley Simpson that all it took was confidence and amazing marketing prowess to sell out a major venue like Carnegie Hall.
I remember first hearing her sing a Mozart aria in a music class, where as students you aspire to all the greatness that you are studying. A teaching assistant put this on a CD player, and it was hard not to completely crack up. Flo is not just bad, but she’s bad in a delightfull unmusical way. You can hear all of the insecurities laid bare, and that makes it schadenfreude-fun! I mean, she even decides to add a few notes at the end of it…the very idea that she’s “improving” on Mozart. How could you not love it!
Queen of the Night from The Magic Flute (mp3) - Florence Foster Jenkins Buy
And just in case you don’t think that’s bad, listen to how it’s supposed to sound.
Queen of the Night from The Magic Flute (mp3) - Beverly Hoch Buy
