That reminds me of something I had totally forgotten about - on a kids' record by Ed McCurdy he does a story of The Teakettle That Wanted To Sing Like People. It's just lovely, if nobody knows the story I can gloss it for you. The basic idea is that the teakettle COULD sing like people, but it had to boil really hard to do it, so it only gets the chance if its owner forgets to turn it off. Then it sings "several things from Rigoletto" among other songs. Lovely little story.