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Sir Almaviva

@ilcontealmaviva.bsky.social

540 followers 940 following 4.6K posts

Lover of trams, classical music, maths, tea and cats. Member of the cycling lobby. 🇮🇹 immigrant in 🇬🇧. Refugees are welcome, racists are not. Lover of "Italian Effeminacy and Italian Nonsense" (i.e. opera, according to Jonathan Swift)

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Sir Almaviva @ilcontealmaviva.bsky.social · Jan 8

Let's see if I can keep it up, but I am going to try to do a thread with all the books I read in 2025, starting from the following post.

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Reposted by Sir Almaviva

HOPE not hate @hopenothate.org.uk · 18h

Reform UK's deputy leader has broken parliamentary rules by failing to register hospitality. So what's the story with Richard Tice, the French villa and the ex-Kremlin minister?

hopenothate.org.uk/2025/10/13/r...

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Sir Almaviva @ilcontealmaviva.bsky.social · 15h

In the spirit of "this meeting could have been an email": most of the time, a trilogy (series, etc.) could have just been one book.

Rachel Feder @rachelfeder.bsky.social · 22h

Tell me your most unhinged literary opinion, as a little treat

Sir Almaviva @ilcontealmaviva.bsky.social · 18h

"They don't even know the class-based distinctions of British society, the barbarians!"

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Sir Almaviva @ilcontealmaviva.bsky.social · 19h

Lorenzo Da Ponte. After writing some of the most perfect libretti, he brought Italian opera to America and was the first professor of Italian literature at Columbia University.

Katelyn Boo-urns @katelynburns.com · 22h

name an italian more worthy of an american holiday than columbus

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Reposted by Sir Almaviva

Doctora Malka Older @older.bsky.social · 1d

these are not "AI clips of European cities changed by migration", these are constructed videos designed to propagate a certain worldview - designed by the people this subhead describes as "seizing on" them

AFP News Agency @en.afp.com · 1d

In an AI-generated, dystopian vision of the British capital, a video shows Big Ben smouldering above piles of rubbish and London crowds dressed in traditional Islamic garb.

Far-right leaders are seizing on such AI clips of European cities changed by migration to promote racist views
u.afp.com/Smz4

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Sir Almaviva @ilcontealmaviva.bsky.social · 22h

a man in a brown jacket covering his mouth with his hands and the words pretends to be shocked

Alt: a man in a brown jacket covering his mouth with his hands and the words pretends to be shocked

media.tenor.com

Sir Almaviva @ilcontealmaviva.bsky.social · 22h

I came in 2016, I am a bit jealous that only those who came in 2010-2015 count as "alienating".

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Sir Almaviva @ilcontealmaviva.bsky.social · 22h

Introduce yourself using only one food you refuse to eat, one movie you’ll never watch again, and one song you can’t stand

Rotten shark (I gave a pass when I was in Iceland)
"Albakiara" (only watched it because I knew it would be bad, and it was)
"Notte prima degli esami" by Antonello Venditti

Jonathan Edward Durham @thisone0verhere.bsky.social · 2d

Introduce yourself using only one food you refuse to eat, one movie you’ll never watch again, and one song you can’t stand

Sir Almaviva @ilcontealmaviva.bsky.social · 1d

First frame of a horror film

Sudden Deth ☠️ @youreacuntmate.bsky.social · 1d

Found the worst playground in England

Sir Almaviva @ilcontealmaviva.bsky.social · 1d

They're all defying basic maths, always above average.

Sir Almaviva @ilcontealmaviva.bsky.social · 1d

She might not be the *perfect* Elvira, but I think she is very good in this recording.

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Sir Almaviva @ilcontealmaviva.bsky.social · 1d

“When you are tired of Ariosto, you must be tired of the world.” (C. S. Lewis)

Sir Almaviva @ilcontealmaviva.bsky.social · 1d

He Is, but ultimately the responsibility lies with Starmer.

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Sir Almaviva @ilcontealmaviva.bsky.social · 1d

Do a quick analysis

Marjorie James Keenan @unenthusiast.com · 2d

In honour of spooky month, share a 4 word horror story that only someone in your profession would understand.

rm -rf ~/

hammancheez @hammancheez.bsky.social · 2d

"The chancellor approved it"

Sir Almaviva @ilcontealmaviva.bsky.social · 2d

I started reading a book which promises to be quite interesting (Literature as Opera, by Gary Schmidgall, 1977) and where it talks about Händel you can tell the book was written before the massive boom in popularity of baroque opera, because it talks about those operas as largely forgotten.

Sir Almaviva @ilcontealmaviva.bsky.social · 2d

The strategy "we have not been racist enough, we need to be more racist" will not win Reform voters, but will lose votes like mine.

John Rentoul @rentouljohn.bsky.social · 2d

I think the McSweeney strategy is the right one, because most marginal seats are Labour-Reform contests

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Sir Almaviva @ilcontealmaviva.bsky.social · 2d

In my opinion it's a very good recording, live in Rome in 1969. Pavarotti and Freni are both wonderful, and Bruscantini/Giaiotti is probably my favourite Riccardo/Giorgio pair. I should listen to it again!

Sir Almaviva @ilcontealmaviva.bsky.social · 2d

The first four I could think of, some of my favourite opera recordings (and operas)!

Puccini "Turandot"
Sutherland, Pavarotti, Caballé, Ghiaurov, Krause, Pears
John Alldis Choir, London Philharmonic Orchestra
Zubin Mehta

Bellini "I puritani"
Mirella Freni, Luciano Pavarotti, Sesto Bruscantini, Bonaldo Giaiotti
Orchestra Sinfonica e Coro di Roma della RAI
Riccardo Muti

Puccini "Madama Butterfly"
Freni, Pavarotti, Ludwig, Kerns, Wiener Philharmoniker
Herbert von Karajan

Puccini "La Bohème"
Pavarotti, Freni, Ghiaurov, Harwood, Panerai, Maffeo
Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra
Herbert von Karajan

Sir Almaviva @ilcontealmaviva.bsky.social · 2d

“Even long-time critics are conceding he will probably deserve it next year.”

Reposted by Sir Almaviva

elia ayoub 🌱 @ayoub.bsky.social · 2d

Disgusting. Parents are British. Her older brother is British.

She’s fucking three years old and they’re denying her British citizenship, which is making her mum’s life a nightmare as a full-time carer of both of her kids.

Stop this shit. Just stop it.

www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...

‘Clear parallels’ with Windrush as UK-born toddler denied passport

Campaigners say lessons not being learned as three-year-old’s mother is asked to prove right to free NHS treatment

www.theguardian.com

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Sir Almaviva @ilcontealmaviva.bsky.social · 2d

Diane Keaton 💔

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Sir Almaviva @ilcontealmaviva.bsky.social · 2d

Some Salford photos from today.

A column decorated with a human face and other sculpted details.

A building with a facade that looks like a Greek temple.

Salford cathedral seen from the front, with its tall spire in the background.

A path in a park, with trees on the right side and grass on either side, covered in fallen leaves. A metal fence on the right separates the park from the pavement along a tree-lined street.

Reposted by Sir Almaviva

Zack Polanski @zackpolanski.bsky.social · 2d

Glad to see Nigel Farage has finally remembered Nathan Gill, former leader of Reform in Wales - found guilty of taking bribes from Russia.

Maybe he'll now remember how much he took from Putin's propaganda broadcaster Russia Today for all his TV appearances when he was a MEP?

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Sir Almaviva @ilcontealmaviva.bsky.social · 2d

Wonderful autumn colours in the park.

Tall trees with yellow leaves in a park. Many leaves have fallen on the ground. Behind the trees is a path with a bench on the side. Two people are sitting on the bench, and two bicycles are parked nearby. It is a sunny day.

A bridge on a river, made of iron and with stone and brick pillars on either side. On the river banks we can see some autumnal trees, and the bright blue sky, with just a hint of white clouds, is reflected in the water.

A park seen from above, with trees and an eight-shaped path which goes around a green lawn and a flowerbed. The sky is blue and there are just some light white clouds.

A path in the park, in the shade and with trees on either side. A tall tree on the left still has green leaves, while the ones on the right are red and yellow. In the background, a clear blue sky.

Sir Almaviva @ilcontealmaviva.bsky.social · 2d

Vorrei sperarlo, ma temo di no. Almeno qui nel Regno Unito, molte università sono in grossa crisi, con un sacco di gente che ha perso (e perderà) il lavoro. Non ce le vedo ad approfittare di questa occasione, se non per casi singoli.

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