#opera glasses

[boylerpf]

Attending theatrical premieres was a characteristic habit of the aristocracy of the 19th century. The artists of the imperial theaters enjoyed great respect and sometimes even the patronage of the Romanovs. On the occasion of various memorable dates, they traditionally received precious gifts from the monarchs.

While in the theater, the noble public could not only enjoy the performance, but also discuss the latest news and make important contacts. Therefore, visiting theaters, especially imperial ones, was the same social event as a ball or an official reception. Going to the theater, like going out into society, meant observing certain rules of etiquette regarding clothing and accessories. Thus, the lady’s outfit had to be quite restrained, but complemented with jewelry and elegant accessories, such as theater binoculars by Faberge.

These diamond-studded pink enamel theater binoculars can be admired as a tour de force in their own right, especially when held up to the wearer's face during a theater performance. In this work we see the richness of decor in the Rococo style characteristic of the Faberge master Mikhail Perkhin. 1898-1903

Source - Faberge Museum

[ilovemesomevincentprice]

Vincent Price as Dr. Goldfoot

Dr. Goldfoot and the Bikini Machine (1965)

[dozydawn]

[illustratus]

La Loge (The Theatre Box) by Pierre-Auguste Renoir

[retropopcult]

Donna Reed in a studio portrait by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, April 1955.  It was MGM who had Donna change her last name from Mullenger to Reed in 1941 due to anti-German sentiment.  "A studio publicist hung the name on me, and I never did like it", she later said. "I hear 'Donna Reed' and I think of a tall, chic, austere blonde that isn't me. 'Donna Reed' – it has a cold, forbidding sound."

[danskjavlarna]

Source details and larger version.

The most intriguing vintage masks I've encountered are here.

[shewhoworshipscarlin]

Opera glasses, late 1800s, Paris, France.

[javi-stims]

Iris

👓 👓 👓|👓 👓 👓|👓 👓 👓

[tinyshe]

opera glasses

[1mysteriousstranger]

antique sterling silver lorgnette opera glasses

[buggledy]

Love it when 4:3 shows do cinematic letterboxing. Like hold on cuz...

Alright, carry on

[ishalltakeyourknees]

I am now the proud owner of a pair of opera glasses

The beauties

[artejoke]

How do you view?

Emma Ekwall, Maria Dominica Ricci, 1854, Nationalmuseum

[wildbeautifuldamned]

Antique Circa 1875 Floral Enamel Opera Glass T. Steele & Son Hartford ebay operaglass

[whumpster-fire]

Interlude

Guy 1: "I'm telling you, man, these 'opera glasses' are a complete ripoff. I even tried wearing three pairs stacked on top of each other and I still couldn't hit those high notes. It's false advertising is what it is. People oughta be sued."

Guy 2: "You fucking idiot Jerry. Why the hell would wearing glasses make you sing opera better? They're called opera glasses because opera singers use them to show off how powerful their voices are. You sing the right note loud enough next to 'em and they shatter. I can't believe you just tried to sing while wearing them. You're lucky you suck, dude, if you were any good you could'a lost an eye."

Guy 3: "You guys are so stupid. They're basically just binoculars. They got the nickname opera glasses because John Wilkes Booth famously used them to line up his shot on JFK at the New York Met opera house."

Guy 1: "How dumb do you think I am? JFK died in a plane crash, everybody knows that. Anyway, I spent a hundred fifty dollars on these goddamn things -"

Guy 3: "You're thinking of John Denver -"

Guy 1: "No I'm not, Lincoln's the one who was assassinated."

Guy 3: "Look, I swear I heard about a plane crash. I dunno, maybe he was shot down."

Guy 1: "In a fucking opera house?"

Guy 3: "Well I guess the shooter was on the roof of the opera house."

Guy 2: "No, no, he's right, JFK was definitely shot, but it had nothing to do with the opera. That's the wrong president, you're mixing him up with Alexander Hamilton."

Guy 1: "When was Alexander Hamilton shot in an opera?"

Guy 2: "In the opera Hamilton? When he has a duel with Aaron Burr? Shit, I thought you saw that dude, I'm sorry if I spoiled it."

Guy 1: "That's not an opera, that's a musical, there's a difference!"

Guy 2: "Oh yeah? What difference?"

Guy 1: "Musicals have musical accompaniment, in an opera all sounds are made using only the human voice."

Guy 3: "That's A Capella, you moron, not opera! The difference is opera doesn't have lyrics."

Guy 2: "They have lyrics, they're just in a foreign language."

Guy 3: "How the hell would you know, you don't know any foreign languages."

Guy 2: "Sure I do, there's French, there's German, there's Spanish, Italian, Mandarin, Esperanto -"

Guy 1: "Wait, you speak Mandarin?"

Guy 2: "You didn't ask if I spoke any, you asked if I knew any. I've heard of dozens of foreign languages."

Guy 3: "Mandarin's a fruit you idiot, he's making shit up!"

Guy 1: "I know he's making shit up, I was just testing him. And - wait a minute. Maybe you're making shit up, because I know damn well a Mandarin's a musical instrument."

Guy 3: "No, it isn't. It's a type of citrus."

Guy 1: "It is too, it has strings, a round body, a neck -"

Guy 3: "That's a banjo."

Guy 2: "You're both wrong, it's a Mand-O-Lin."

Guy 1: "No, a mandolin's a machine that slices fruit and vegetables. I'd know, my cousin turned his hand into salami on one a couple years ago after smoking pot at work."

Guy 3: "I know what I'm talking about, I play the banjo. Mandolin's a character from Star Wars."

Guy 2: "The sci-fi movies?"

Guy 3: "Well, technically they're a space opera."

Guy 1: "What the fuck, dude? How can you have an opera in space? There's no sound in a vacuum!"

Guy 2: "I dunno about that, man, mine's pretty noisy."

Guy 1: "How noisy? Do you think it could break a pair of opera glasses?"

Guy 2: "Probably not. It doesn't just take volume, it takes precise pitch control."

Guy 1: "Precise pitch control? So you're admitting there are other factors at play? That'll break glasses all by itself unless you're throwin' a wiffle ball, singing doesn't even enter into it."

Guy 2: "Why is everything about baseball with you, Jerry?"

Guy 1: "I'm not making it about baseball, you're making it about baseball."

Guy 3: "I've got a brainteaser for you guys. If you put a pair of opera glasses on a vacuum cleaner, could it break another pair of opera glasses next to the vacuum?"

Guy 2: "I don't appreciate you two making fun of me. Opera singers can break glasses with their voice, that's scientific fact. Look, I can show you on YouTube, there's this one soprano who shattered a whole stack of wine glasses."

Guy 1: "Wine glasses? If they can break wine glasses why would they make specialized opera glasses just for that purpose?"

Guy 2: "Wine glasses aren't all the same size, shape, or thickness. It wouldn't be a fair test."

Guy 1: "Okay, then in any of your videos have you actually seen anyone break a pair of opera glasses by singing?"

Guy 2: "No, but I haven't seen any singer wearing them while breaking wine glasses either."

Guy 1: "Of course you haven't, that would be cheating?"

Guy 2: "Oh, so you're admitting you were trying to cheat at opera?"

Guy 1: "It's not cheating if you use them as a training aid, that's what they were invented for."

Guy 3: "No, they weren't, I'm telling you, they're used by hunters, snipers, birdwatchers…"

Guy 2: "Those are binoculars!"

Guy 3: "Yes, that's the modern term, because opera is no longer a dominant art form, but during the Kennedy Presidency -"

Guy 1:"Oh here we go with Kennedy again. He wasn't killed by John Wilkes Booth, he was killed by Darth Vader."

Guy 3: "You said he died in a plane crash."

Guy 1: "Yes, he was shot down, in Star Wars, but it wasn't a space opera because there's no such thing."

Guy 2: "JFK was shot down by Darth Vader?"

Guy 1: "What? No, I mean Obi Wan Kennedy."

Guy 2: "It's Kenobi, dumbass."

Guy 3: "We didn't have a President Kenobi, we had a President Kennedy. Jesus Christ…"

Guy 1: "Don't bring him into it, he wasn't shot and he wasn't in an opera!"

Guy 2: "What about Jesus Christ: Superstar?"

Guy 1: "I told you guys, operas and musicals are different things."

Guy 2: "It's a Rock Opera, that's what they call it!"

Guy 1: "Oh, give me a break: first space operas, now rock operas. You guys really think I'm gullible, don't you."

Guy 3: "Well, you did waste a hundred fifty bucks on opera glasses because you thought they'd make you better at opera. The prosecution rests."

[smbhax]

Harper’s Weekly December 23, 1911 cover illustration by Valentine Sandberg