Notorious Ruth Bader Ginsburg Would Love To Be A Great Diva

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg marries Michael Kaiser, former
president of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing
 Arts, and his partner John Roberts in August 2013.

"People seeking clues about how soon the Supreme Court might weigh in on states' gay marriage bans should pay close attention to the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg told a Minnesota audience Tuesday. Ginsburg said cases pending before the circuit covering Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and Tennessee would probably play a role in the high court's timing. She said 'there will be some urgency' if that appeals court allows same-sex marriage bans to stand. Such a decision would run contrary to a legal trend favoring gay marriage and force the Supreme Court to step in sooner, she predicted. She said if the appeals panel falls in line with other rulings there is 'no need for us to rush.'....Ginsburg spent 90 minutes before an audience of hundreds discussing her two decades on the Supreme Court as well as her days as an American Civil Liberties Union lawyer. In a question-and-answer period, she predicted that cases dealing with the environment and technology would make for watershed decisions in years to come. Privacy of information carried on smartphones in the context of criminal searches could be particularly big, Ginsburg said. 'You can have on that cellphone more than you can pack in a file cabinet,' she said. The liberal justice said the court is the most collegial place she has worked as she fondly described her close relationship with conservative Justice Antonin Scalia. She made sure to plug a comic opera about the two of them — Scalia/Ginsburg — that will debut next year in Virginia. And the 81-year-old Ginsburg elicited plenty of laughter by highlighting a Tumblr account about her called the 'Notorious R.B.G.' and a never-realized dream job. 'If I had any talent God could give me, I would be a great diva,' she said." [Source] See pictures of Justice Ginsburg with the many opera divas (and a few divos) she has befriended over the years, including Renée Fleming, Leontyne Price, Plácido Domingo, and Marilyn Horne, after the jump.

Opera Singers Appearing On Johnny Carson's The Tonight Show

Although we don't have video footage of Robert Merrill, Risë Stevens, Jan Peerce, Patrice Munsel, Richard Tucker, Julia Migenes, Sergio Franchi, Grace Bumbry, and Roberta Peters, from their appearances on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, we are fortunate to have footage of Judith Blegen, Luciano Pavarotti, Beverly Sills, Martina Arroyo, Marilyn Horne, Carol Neblett, and Plácido Domingo, from the program. As a bonus watch Kathleen Battle performing on The Tonight Show, with Johnny Carson's successor Jay Leno, after the jump. [Source]

Wynton Marsalis Interviews Martina Arroyo On CBS This Morning

Watch Wynton Marsalis interview Kennedy Center Honoree
Martina Arroyo for CBS This Morning, after the jump.

Washington Post Salutes Martina Arroyo Via Anne Midgette

Metropolitan Opera Guild Luncheon to Honor Marilyn Horne

The lady of the hour: Miss Horne

77th Annual Guild Luncheon
Jackie! Celebrating Marilyn Horne

October 31, 2011 12:15 PMWaldorf-Astoria

The honoree of this year’s Annual Guild Luncheon is the legendary Marilyn Horne. Join us as we salute one of the greatest singers of our time, with appearances by her colleagues and friends, video performances and a vocal tribute by Stephanie Blythe. Guests at the luncheon will include June Ander­son, Lucine Amara, Mar­tina Arroyo, Har­o­lyn Black­well, Judith Ble­gen, Richard Bonynge, Nedda Casei, Barbara Cook, Frank Corsaro, John Corigli­ano, Dwayne Croft, Tyne Daly, Ray­mond Gniewek, Florence Henderson, Martin Katz, Jean Kraft, Shir­ley Love, John Mac­urdy, Spiro Malas, Terrence McNally, Marnie Nixon, Betsy Norden, Roberta Peters, Eve Queler, Samuel Ramey, Regina Res­nik, Ren­ata Scotto, Rita Shane, Bryn Ter­fel, Ben­ita Valente, Deborah Voigt, Fre­der­ica von Stade and Robert White.

TICKETS
Regular Tickets: $250 ($125 tax-deductible)
Benefactor Tickets: $475 ($350 tax-deductible)
President’s Circle Tickets: $750 ($625 tax-deductible)
Benefactor Tables for Ten: $4,750 ($3,500 tax-deductible)
President’s Circle Tables for Ten: $7,500 ($6,000 tax-deductible)

Buy tickets for the event by clicking here.

Happy Birthday: Martina Arroyo

"Im Abendrot" R. Strauss, 1967 Cologne

Martina Arroyo, born February 2, 1937, is an operatic soprano of Puerto Rican and African-American descent who had a major international opera career from the 1960s through the 1980s. She was part of the first generation of black opera singers to achieve wide success and is viewed as part of an instrumental group of performers who helped break down the barriers of racial prejudice in the opera world. Arroyo first rose to prominence at the Zurich Opera between 1963–1965 and quickly rose to leading soprano at the Metropolitan Opera from 1965-78. She was also a regular presence at the world's best opera houses including La Scala, Covent Garden, the Opéra National de Paris, the Teatro Colón, the Deutsche Oper Berlin, the Vienna State Opera, the Lyric Opera of Chicago, and the San Francisco Opera to name just a few. Best known for her performances of the Italian spinto repertoire, she excelled in her portrayals of Verdi and Puccini heroines. Her last opera performance was in 1991, after which she has devoted her time to teaching singing on the faculties of various universities in the United States and Europe. [Source]