brava?
Edward Herskovitz
a friend of mine who attended the opera with me a while ago became angry
with people shouting "brava" at the end of the opera; he stated that
regardless of the sex of the performer, "bravo" is correct. i have
another friend (italian, but not an opera goer) who states that the sex
of the performer dictates which word to shout. me, i don't shout, so it's
not a problem. is there consensus on this burning question?
(i looked for a faq at rtfm.mit.edu, no luck.)
-eddie
Jay P. Winston
Herskovitz) wrote:
The word brava/o is a word which means good job. It acts as an adjective
in italian, which means that the end of the word can be o/a/i/e. For
example, it would be correct to say brave if you were cheering many women,
or brava for just one. It would be correct to say bravi if you were
cheering many men, or bravo for just one man.
Hope that helps.
Jay Winston
Estelle Gilson
Your opera fan friend is wrong and your Italian friend is right.
How about bravi for everyone?
egilson
On Apr 08, 1996 21:21:15 in article <brava?>, 'e...@chief.mri-nmr.jhu.edu
Claudia Friedlander
Herskovitz) wrote:
> a friend of mine who attended the opera with me a while ago became angry
> with people shouting "brava" at the end of the opera; he stated that
> regardless of the sex of the performer, "bravo" is correct. is there
consensus on this burning question?
I find the idea of anyone shouting "bravo" at a woman pretty silly! it's
acceptable only if the shouter doesn't know any better. In applauding a
woman, "brava" is correct. In applauding a group of people of both sexes,
I think the correct Italian word should probably be "bravi" but no one
really does that - "bravo" suffices in this case.
Kaunas
> with people shouting "brava" at the end of the opera; he stated that
> regardless of the sex of the performer, "bravo" is correct. is there
consensus on this burning question?
And don't forget that the stress in bravo/brava/bravi/brave is on the
FIRST syllable, not the second....
Musipro
> a friend of mine who attended the opera with me a while ago became angry
> with people shouting "brava" at the end of the opera; he stated that
> regardless of the sex of the performer, "bravo" is correct. i have
> another friend (italian, but not an opera goer) who states that the sex
> of the performer dictates which word to shout. me, i don't shout, so
it's
> not a problem. is there consensus on this burning question?
Jay Winston wrote:
The word brava/o is a word which means good job. It acts as an adjective
in italian, which means that the end of the word can be o/a/i/e. For
example, it would be correct to say brave if you were cheering many women,
or brava for just one. It would be correct to say bravi if you were
cheering many men, or bravo for just one man.
--Thanks, Jay, but that original poster's friend really needs to get a
life. He's sat through an entire opera (reading the surtitles, no doubt)
and quibbles about non-Italian speakers' Italian grammar? We should all
have such complaints...
Dan Ford
We had a thread on this a while back. I say brava because it is correct,
others say bravo because a) they don't know any better or b) they don't
want to sound pretentious. Your friend the opera goer is a snob. Nobody
who has studied Italian or lived in Italian could feel comfortable
shouting bravo! at a woman. (I do concede that having shouting brava you
have raised the problem of whether to bravo the rest of the cast or move
on to bravi or possibly even brave.)
But do shout, and shout anything you like, including Wahoo! The
performers did their best for you, now it is your turn.
- Dan
On 8 Apr 1996, Edward Herskovitz wrote:
>
> a friend of mine who attended the opera with me a while ago became angry
> with people shouting "brava" at the end of the opera; he stated that
> regardless of the sex of the performer, "bravo" is correct. i have
> another friend (italian, but not an opera goer) who states that the sex
> of the performer dictates which word to shout. me, i don't shout, so it's
> not a problem. is there consensus on this burning question?
Juan Carlos Radzinschi
"bravo" regardless the sex or the quantity. "Bravo" for everything, and
I'm from Argentina where half of the population is of italian origin or
italians themselves.
Juan Carlos Radzinschi
On Mon, 8 Apr 1996, Claudia Friedlander wrote:
> In article <4kc00b$e...@news.jhu.edu>, e...@chief.mri-nmr.jhu.edu (Edward
> Herskovitz) wrote:
>
> > a friend of mine who attended the opera with me a while ago became angry
> > with people shouting "brava" at the end of the opera; he stated that
> > regardless of the sex of the performer, "bravo" is correct. is there
> consensus on this burning question?
>
Lennart Lindgren
lennart
Lis K. Froding
How about once shouting BRAVA and once BRAVO.
But please also consider the eardrums of those around you.
Lis
Jens Gyldenkaerne Clausen
Correct me if I'm wrong - this topic was discussed in a - long - tread,
not so long ago (I beleive it was here in r.m.o. but possibly it could
have been r.m.classical.*).
Personally, I would agree with one of the final posters from the "last"
round (can't remember the name), stating that the word "bravo" is adapted
(don't know if this is correct English) by many foreign languages. Hence
the word should be used and transformed according to national rules.
In short - that is: If you're Italian (or Italian wannabe ;)) use
bravo/a/i/e - if you're not, use bravo (no matter the gender/number on
stage). What foreigners should do in Italy??? Use their ears ;).
Just my .25 kr. (Danish Kroner)
--
/jens
[long .sigfile removed]
Allan Wilkinson
match the gender or number of the word they modify. Hence, if 'bravo'
were an adjective, (which it is not in English), it wouldn't change when
applied to a woman or to a group. According to Webster, 'bravo' is either
a noun or an interjection. Since as an interjection, it means 'well done'
or 'good job', there would seem no reason to change the ending of the
word.
Having never attended opera in Italy, I cannot comment on proper usage
there. A Spanish friend mentioned that only the 'bravo' form would be
correct in his homeland.
Allan Wilkinson
SirodEnaj
missed it:
l) "Bravo" IS an adjective.
2) Shout "bravo" for a male singer.
3) Shout "brava" for a female singer.
4) Shout "bravi" for either a group of male singers or for a mixed cast.
5) In the unlikely event of an all-female cast ("Suor Angelica"?) shout
"brave."
6) Don't shout too loudly and go on an ego trip and annoy the people
around you. People want to praise and note the singers, not pay attention
to you.
Basta, per pieta'!
SirodEnaj
Juan Carlos Radzinschi
Correction, not spanish friend, just spanish speaking friend from
Argentina-South America. I really don't know what is going on in Spain
but I never heard the usage of "Brava". I believe that you are correct.
Juan Carlos Radzinschi
> Allan Wilkinson
>
>
Joe
too...@ix.netcom.com(Lis K. Froding) wrote:
----------------<bravi>----------------
Joe
--
"Any idiot can face a crisis: It is this day-to-day living that wears you out." -- Anton Chekhov
Michael Yampol
salo...@peabody.jhu.edu (Claudia Friedlander) writes:
>
>In article <4kc00b$e...@news.jhu.edu>, e...@chief.mri-nmr.jhu.edu
(Edward
>Herskovitz) wrote:
>
>> a friend of mine who attended the opera with me a while ago became
angry
>> with people shouting "brava" at the end of the opera; he stated that
>> regardless of the sex of the performer, "bravo" is correct. is
there
>consensus on this burning question?
>
>I find the idea of anyone shouting "bravo" at a woman pretty silly!
it's
>acceptable only if the shouter doesn't know any better. In applauding
a
>woman, "brava" is correct. In applauding a group of people of both
sexes,
>I think the correct Italian word should probably be "bravi" but no one
>really does that - "bravo" suffices in this case.
____________________ REPLY SEPARATOR ______________________________
No, I hear "Bravi" all the time, directed at the entire ensemble. I
shout it too (on those dwindling occasions when the quality of the
performance warrants it).
Michael Yampol\
NYC
Russ MacKechnie
are shouting about, the term of choice is "Bravi!"
--- Russ ---
Stefan Pilczek
Carmen Z. Catoni
bravo. It is directed at the work the performer did. When fans of a
certain singer want to show their unconditional fidelity to that
performer (usually female) then they shout brava, if it is a female. I
always found this a bit fanatic, and prefer to reward the good result,
independently of the person who did it, The individual can sometimes be
an annoying person, yet his or her work can deserve admiration.
HAPPY LISTENING!!!
Luis A. Catoni
Miami, Fl.