Squirrel breaks opera singer's nose

News.Com.AU ^ | September 06, 2006 | staff writer

[yankeedame]

Squirell breaks opera singer's nose

September 06, 2006

A SQUIRREL scampered into the bicycle wheel of an unlucky Finnish opera singer, causing him to fall, knock himself out and break his nose just ahead of the world premiere of a new opera.

Esa Ruuttunen was pedalling his way to the Helsinki Opera House last month when the squirrel ran into his spokes.

The singer ended up concussed and in a local hospital, rather than at his rehearsals for the Finnish opera Kaarmeen hetki (Hour of the Serpent), which opens on September 15.

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[Graymatter]

The singer ended up...in a local hospital, rather than at his rehearsals for the Finnish opera Kaarmeen hetki (Hour of the Serpent)...

"Moment of the Squirrel" tops "Hour of the Serpent."

[mikrofon]

Finnish opera Kaarmeen hetki

Finnish for- "Carmen, hurting"

[Liberal Classic]

Squirrel ping

[Sacajaweau]

That'll teach him to sing: "No, Nuts For You" from that famous opera:

"There Was An Old Woman Who Lived in a Shoe"

She had so many kids she didn't know what to do.

Hubby came home and after a whack and a bang

The blender was whirring as she merrily sang:"No Nuts For You"!!

[G8 Diplomat]

That's kind of a hilarious event, but I've never liked squirrells...there're some of the stupidest creatures on the planet if you ask me (aside from Demcorats). They run out into the middle of the road and stop dead still with a car coming at them at 40 mph. Dumb animals...

[Sacajaweau]

My daughter made road apples out of one. She was about 20 at the time. She cried and cried and finally got ahold of herself.

Three days later, one of my office girls called her as a rep from Cruelty to Animals...and said someone had reported her as hitting a squirrel and not reporting it. Told her that there was a $50 fine. My daughter got fuming bad.

Then Momma picked up the phone and said: "Hi Honey"!! We still like that one!! Now....She aims for them!!

[martin_fierro]

A SQUIRREL scampered into the bicycle wheel of an unlucky Finnish opera singer, causing him to fall, knock himself out and break his nose

A likely story.

1 oz creme de noyaux
1 tbsp white creme de cacao
1 tbsp light cream

Shake all ingredients with ice, strain into a cocktail glass, and serve.  

[NotJustAnotherPrettyFace]

The squirrel obviously hates Wagnerian opera! ;-)

[freedumb2003]

Squirrel breaks opera singer's nose

Now THAT is a headline.

[decal]

Basic info on the composer of Käärmeen hetki, Mikko Heiniö

http://www.fennicagehrman.fi/comp_heinio.htm

[NotJustAnotherPrettyFace]

I thought you'd appreciate a PING on this one :-).

[T'wit]

Yes, thank you, I'm delighted you pinged. This is a hoot.

Hope all's well out your way :-)

[NotJustAnotherPrettyFace]

This is Esa Ruuttunen.

He's a baritone and done a lot of Wagnerian opera, so I guess my statement above is not all that far off the mark ;-).

Päivi Nisula (Kundry) and Esa Ruuttunen (Klingsor)

Excerpt from the Review of the performance of Parsifal by the Finnish National Opera, April 2005

Special mention should go though to Jorma Silvasti's Parsifal (every inch the innocent made wise by compassion) and to Esa Ruuttenen's menacing Klingsor. In his case I have often wondered whether his vocation as an ordained Christian minister helps make him such a wonderful operatic villain; if so it's a very great asset.

[T'wit]

That's the thing of it. Klingsor was menacing the squirrel, little expecting that the squirrel would fight back. The reporter did not get the real story because he did not hear the squirrel sing, "Sie sind im Begriff, troll Hund zu sterben!" ("You are about to die, troll dog!"), before the attack.

The squirrel was a countertenor, btw.

[NotJustAnotherPrettyFace]

Too bad there wasn't a hund-en-tenor around to go after the squirrel-counter-tenor.

[boris]

Hey, that's me!

--Boris

[boris]