Klaus Nomi was an Avant Garde performance artist of the late 70-early 80s. Could perform anything from Opera to Techno.
Tragically, died from AIDS in the early days of the epidemic.
Klaus Nomi - Wikipedia
Managed to belt out this glorious work before he left us.
Klaus Nomi - The Cold Song (Good Quality) - YouTube
IIRC, Klaus Nomi’s death was the first time I heard about a disease called AIDS (I don’t remember if it was even called that at the time).
That is truly glorious. Thank you.
Are you hoping for other comments on this specific performance or is this thread for referencing any “last performances?”
If this is referencing any last performances, I’ll add the final concert conducted by Yevgeny Svetlanov of Rachmaninov’s The Bells, for which I had the privilege of singing in the choir.
Svetlanov had just come from a conducting gig in France and spent the rehearsals saying little, although whether this was due to a limited fluency in English or just his nature, I don’t know. Pretty much all we got verbally were rehearsal numbers in the score to start at; the rest was entirely via his gestures, which were also fairly restrained. He spent most of the time slumped against a chair behind him.
Come the concert we saw another Svetlanov entirely - lively, energetic, smiling, and entirely committed to the music. The hall was filled with his devoted fans and he absolutely delivered a clarity and intensity that brought chorus and orchestra alike along with him.
From London he travelled back to his home in Moscow to rest; two weeks later he passed away there. It was only then that we learned that he had been riddled with cancer and that his engagements in France and London were done through an increasing level of pain and exhaustion. But on the night, on that stage, he was fully alive again one last time.
I think of Nomi as an avant guarde pop act switching back and forth between new wave growling and operatic soprano in a wildly entertaining way. Was he well thought of in the classical world?
I think many die-hard classical fans/artists/critics still look down on classical artists crossing over to pop (Pavarotti among others had that problem), and even more so on pop artists crossing over to classical. But that may be mostly a European thing, Americans have always been more relaxed in ignoring the line between both genres. So I don’t think Nomi had a good standing or was even well known in the classical scene of his time.
Thats what I know him from. On the Urgh! A Music War album.
Both. Expand as you see fit.
Honestly, I had never even heard of the guy before: the first video of this pasty guy with the hair slicked back into a Mimbari head crest I thought he was some bizarre interpretation of The Joker.
But…The Voice…how was that even humanly possible?
Decades after his passing, I thought he deserves to be re-introduced to the modern generation.
I…know…its a little screwy to post a macabre-sounding thread title, but there’s something bitter-sweet, something Romantic, something noble about pushing through the pain…yes?
Lots of countertenors and male soprani out there. Consider Randall Wong (if you don’t want to sit through the whole thing, start around 6 minutes in) or Samuel Marino, the latter of which is currently a fast-rising star in the classical world.
Apparently, I’m not the only one to be fascinated by this guy.
Ello, I’m David Bowie. - YouTube
David Bowie Tribute | The Venture Bros. | Adult Swim - YouTube