Opera-Singing Beauty Pageant Contestant Wins Miss America

Miss America 2012 Laura Kaeppeler of Kenosha, Wisconsin

Age: 23
Education: St. Joseph High School | Carthage College
Platform Issue: Circles of Support-Mentoring Children of Incarcerated Parents
Scholastic Honors: Dean's List; Outstanding Senior Music Major Award,; Music Department Honor's Recital Participant
Career Ambition: To become a Speech Pathologist
"A college professor described the Kenosha native who is now Miss America as humble and genuine. Laura Kaeppeler was crowned Miss America 2012 on Saturday night in Las Vegas. She attended Carthage College in Kenosha, where she majored in music and vocal performance. She sang opera during the competition, where her platform was supporting and mentoring children of incarcerated parents. Carthage assistant professor Gregory Berg accompanied Kaeppeler to recitals as a pianist and worked with her in 2010 as the music director of The Magic Flute, where she was the lead soprano. He said she never craved the spotlight or attention and it was a challenge to get her more comfortable being on the stage." Check out her Miss America performance of "Il Bacio" by Luigi Arditi during the talent portion of the competition after the jump. [Source, Source]

Vacation Destination of Maria Callas and Mick Jagger in the 60s?

"Spangled seas, hot sun, freshly-squeezed orange juice. There are few early morning pleasures quite so seductive, especially when it's miserable back in England. It is easy enough to find such joys in California, but that is an 11-hour flight and an eight-hour time change away. The beautiful little Moroccan port of Essaouira, with temperatures that do not drop much below 22c even in January, is California practically on our doorstep. The huge hotel rooms, the dazzling light, delicious food and the year-round sporty lifestyle catering for windsurfers, golfers, horse riding enthusiasts - everything smacks of Malibu this side of the Atlantic. But the town also has a fascinating history and such beautiful medieval architecture that it was used in Orson Welles's award-winning film of Othello. There is even an Orson Welles square. I have been going to Morocco ever since the early Sixties. The combination of lingering French sophistication from the days of the protectorate, the flavours of the hot African south, the geometric Arab designs coupled with the romance of the nomadic Berber tribes make it irresistible. I know this beautiful country from the writers' city of Tangiers, in the North, to Goulimine, the gateway to the Sahara, but I have come late to Essaouira, midway down on the Atlantic coast between Casablanca and Agadir. What a wonderful place to have saved till last. It was discovered in modern times by rich European hippies. Musicians from Mick Jagger and Jimi Hendrix to Maria Callas, came here in the Sixties to immerse themselves in the local beat." [Source] Looking for a place to stay in Essaouira? Check out the Maria Callas suite at the Riad Lotus O'Marine after the jump.

Mystery of Life: Who Is That Soprano?!

In CDW's latest commercial there is an audio clip of "Ah! Sweet mystery of life" from Victor Herbert's Naughty Marietta. Now the real mystery is who that soprano is singing on the soundtrack. Here are a few options:

Hulda Lashanska

Jeanette McDonald

Beverly Sills

Gracie Fields

What about Eleanor Steber? Deanna Durbin? Patrice Munsel? Barbara Cook? Marni Nixon? Elizabeth Futral? Virginia Croskery?

Enrico Caruso Signs Victor Contract in 1904

In celebration of the legendary tenor Enrico Caruso signing a record contract with Victor Records on this day, here is a performance of "Una furtiva lagrima" from L'Elisir d'Amore recorded on February 1, 1904.

Who Is Loulie Jean Norman?

If you think you've never heard the voice of this coloratura, chances are good you're wrong. The Alabama-native was born in 1913 and quickly racked up a long list of memorable performances, mostly unseen:
- Began her career performing with Mel Tormé in the 1940s and appeared as a back-up singer on "California Suite."
- A member of the Ray Coniff Singers with frequent collaborations with arranger and husband Gordon Jenkins.
- Provided the high-lying vocalise for the opening credits of the original Star Trek theme in 1966.
- She dubbed the singing voices for Diahann Carroll (Porgy and Bess 1959), Juliet Prowse (G.I. Blues 1960) and Stella Stevens (Too Late Blues 1961).
- Sang the role of the Princess for the recording of the Jerry Lewis 1960 film Cinderfella.