Ernie Kovacs - "Naughty Marietta" / "Italian Street Song" (My Heart is Back in Napoli / Zing-Zing)

[From "Kovacs Corner" on YouTube.com] - This is Ernie's wacky interpretation of the early twentieth century Victor Herbert classic, which is supposedly the first stage production to be televised by an Italian TV station (the "Enna-B-C Television Network" if you are quick enough to spot the logo on the camera). The lead singer is, of course, Ernie's wife Edie Adams who was professionally trained at the Julliard School of Music in New York City. It's another example of Kovacs lovenly tweaking the nose of the great classical music composers.

[Update June 14, 2010] Here is the link to the You Tube performance by the late Anna Moffo singing the same aria... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xynOVL_sZgo . Even through the haze of this old kinescope, I think that you can easily compare that Edie gives an enviable performance.

Category:

Comedy

Tags:

• Ernie
• Kovacs
• Classic
• TV
• kinescope
• Edie
• Adams
• Naughty
• Marietta
• Victor
• Herbert
• operetta
• Italian
• Street
• Song
• Zing
• My
• Heart
• is
• Back
• in
• Napoli
• television
• NBC

[rolko52]

If you really want to get a true appreciation of Edie's operatic ability, search "Anna Moffo - Italian Street Song" her on YT. Even the studio band did a very respectable rendition of the piece.

[EarthaKit2]

hilarious! And joyous! 

She kept in tune all that time!. Hehehheh!

[smoothiw]

Awesome !

[mikejaysmith]

That was HARRY-IOUS!!!

I knew they remade that on videotape in one of his ABC specials, but haven't seen this one before!!!