vanmiddag zijn we samen met de tweede kleuterklas en de kinderen van de Notelaar naar het toneel in de Herbakker te Eeklo geweest.

In de zaal zien we een prachtig sneeuwwit decor. Heel passend blijkt achteraf want het is winter...

Het wordt een muzikale voorstelling en we gaan ook al direct van start met een liedje, het Lentelied. Greet begeleidt ons op een accordeon. Heel de voorstelling door wordt er gezongen en niet zomaar... neen, neen, opera op kindermaat wordt het. Voor sommigen zal het misschien even wennen zijn aan deze aparte muziekvorm.

Het verhaal gaat als volgt:

Vogel verschijnt op het toneel met een brief voor Lento, de reus uit het verhaal. Lento ligt echter nog in zijn bed want hij is snipverkouden. Vogel wekt echter zijn nieuwsgierigheid door te vertellen dat er post is voor hem. "Post? Ik krijg nooit post!" reageert Lento. Maar toch is het zo want met grote letters staat zijn naam op de brief. De brief blijkt van de winterkoningin te zijn. Ze geeft hem de raad om zijn laarzen niet uit te doen.

Als Vogel hoort wat de winterkoningin schrijft geraakt ze een beetje in paniek want Lento MOET zijn laarzen uitdoen want als hij zijn laarzen niet uitdoet zal het nooit lente worden. En Vogel wil dolgraag dat het lente wordt want ze wil een spikkelei.

Ook Rups verschijnt ten tonele. Natuurlijk wil ook hij dat het lente wordt want hij wil dolgraag vliegen... als een vlinder.

Ze gaan beiden te rade bij Vos want Vos heeft altijd goeie ideeën. Vos denkt diep na, want ook hij wil dat het lente wordt. Hij wil dansen tussen de bloemetjes en de kippetjes! Hij komt met een briljant plan: "Laten we gewoon vragen aan Lento om zijn laarzen uit te doen!" Een eenvoudig en schitterend plan, vinden ook Vogel en Rups.

Het drietal zoekt Lento op en vragen het hem beleefd maar hij wil niet... "NEEN!", is de enige reactie die ze krijgen.

Dat wordt een nieuw plan bedenken maar Vos is ten einde raad dus vraagt hij het publiek om hulp. Voor de show had Greet ons ingefluisterd dat als ze onze hulp inroepen wij moeten zeggen dat we het lentelied gaan zingen. En ja hoor, één van de kleuters wist het nog!

Met zijn allen zingen we het lentelied:

"Lente is de zon voelen op je wangen

Kikkervisjes vangen

Naar buiten zonder jas

Geen muts en ook geen das

Eendjes in het water

Lammetjes in de wei

Lente is een liedje

Lente maakt ons blij!"

En ja hoor, het werkt: Lento trekt zijn laarzen uit! En plotsklaps begint de sneeuw te smelten en verschijnt het groene gras en de kleurrijke bloemetjes! Vos danst vrolijk tussen al dat groen, Vogel heeft zijn spikkelei en Rups dwarrelt als een vlinder van bloem tot bloem.

Als dat niet goed gedaan is van ons...

Groetjes, juf Bérénice

Now's your chance! Sumernumeraries (non-singing stage roles) are needed for our upcoming production of Julius Caesar. Interested? Visit the supernumerary information site for more information.

Det var rigtig elendigt vejr, da jeg skulle i operaen søndag. Det blæste voldsomt og regnen piskede ned, da jeg gik ombord i den lille båd som sejler operagæsterne fra Nyhavn til Operaen på holmen. Egentlig synes jeg det er lidt fjollet med den tur, men det fungerer jo rigtig godt. Alligevel har massiv kritik medført, at der snart skal bygges en bro. Jeg tror at rigtig mange mennesker har glemt at tænke sig om og det er et projekt som alle kommer til at fortryde. Det tager to minutter at sejle over, men det er faktisk en pænt lang spadseretur. Det bliver ikke nogen fornøjelse, når vejret er lige som i går – slet ikke for de mange kvinder i høje hæle og aftenkjoler. Jeg tænker med skræk på, hvordan det bliver at gå den tur i snestorm, tværs over havnen hvor vinden rigtig kan få fat!

Forestillingen startede med erotik og livsbegær. Under ouverturen forlyster adskillige par sig med hinanden i erotiske favntag på scenen, indtil de elskende bliver forstyrret af døden, som danser omkring dem, mens han spiller violin. Det er som et memonto mori, der anslår operaens tema. Langsomt glider scenegulvet ud til siden og trækker samtidig sengen med Feltmarskalinden, prinsesse von Werdenberg, og hendes 17-årige elsker, greve Octavio, ind på scenen. Det var utrolig flot. Under alle akterne hang et stort spejl over scenen, som spejlede sangerne og tæppet på scenegulvet. Det var overvældende smukt. Sjældent har jeg set sådan en overvældende smuk scenografi. Disse kæmpestore spejle blev vippet og drejet, så der nogen gange var meget højt til loftet, hvilket gav en meget luftig fornemmelse. Andre gange drejede spejlet langsomt og fuldstændig umærkeligt ned, så det nærmest lå tungt over sangerne og pressede dem mod jorden, som var det skæbnens ubarmhjertige tryk.

Octavio vågner glad og tilfredsstillet sammen med Feltmarskalinden. Men han bliver fornærmet, da hun fortæller, at hun har haft den frækhed at drømme om sin mand, der er bortrejst på jagt. Octavio vil være den eneste ene og drømmer om evig kærlighed. Hans humør svinger hurtigt fra den ene yderlighed til den anden, som det er normalt hos unge følsomme mennesker. Feltmarskalinden har mere livserfaring. Lige som Father Truelove fra min yndlingsopera "The Rake´s Progress" af Igor Stravinsky, ved Feltmarskalinden at: "In youth we fancy we are wise, but time hath shown, alas, too often and too late, we have not known the hearts of others or our own". Feltmarskalinden ved at tiden er ved at rinde ud for deres kærlighed, for livet selv og for den tid hun tilhører. Hun bliver ældre – men han er stadig ung og har endnu livet foran sig.

Så hører de larm fra de tilstødende værelser. Tjenerne prøver at få den indtrængende til at vente i forgemakket, men det er forgæves. Feltmarskalindens bondske fætter erklærer selvhøjtideligt, at "Baron Ochs antichambrerer ikke".

Baronen er kommet til Wien fordi han skal giftes med den unge Sophie, datter af den nyrige og nyligt adlede leverandør Faninal. Octavio kan ikke slippe bort, men de er nødt til at skjule deres forhold og derfor forklæder han sig som kammerpige. Baron Ochs, som synges og spilles både genialt og meget morsomt af Jacob Woldt, er grov, vulgær og sjofel. I stedet for at tænke på det kommende bryllup, udbreder han sig om alle sine erobringer og forsøger sig også straks med den forklædte Octavio. Det er en meget morsom komedie.

Baronen har brug for Feltmarskalindens hjælp til at vælge den mand som skal være hans Rosenkavaler, hvis opgave det er at overbringe bruden en sølvrose. Marskalinden foreslår Octavio....

Sammen med sit følge begynder baronen at planlægge brylluppet, mens Feltmarskalinden holder morgenaudiens. Det er vigtigt for baronen at sikre sig, at han får et stort gods i morgengave af sin velhavende svigerfar. Andre forsøger at forklare ham, at det per definition kun er bruden som får en morgengave. Det er baronen ret ligeglad med. Når han har nedladt sig til at gifte sig med en borgerlig, så ville det "være et passede udtryk for deres taknemmelighed". Det er simpelthen et fornuftsægteskab, hvor han sælger sin adelstitel. De nyrige får den eftertragtede titel og baronen får en stor forume. Det ser man med garanti også i dag. Man kan købe adelstitler ganske billigt på nettet, men jeg er ret sikker på at prisen er en helt anden, når der også følger slægt og historie med.

Til Feltmarskalindens morgenaudiens kommer en stor mængde forskellige mennesker, som søger hendes protektion. Hun bliver konfronteret med alle dele af samfundet: rige og fattige, adelige og borgerlige, journalister, kunstnere osv. Denne opera foregår egentlig i 1770 i brydningstiden mellem rokkoko og oplysningstiden. Alle disse mennesker repræsenterer samfundsforandringerne der nærmest trænger ind og skyller gennem fyrstindens sovegemak, og varsler en ny tid hvor adelsmagten er dømt til undergang, mens kapitalisme, demokrati og menneskerettigheder vinder frem. Der kommer også en fattig, blind operasanger, som forsøger at vække hendes medlidenhed og vinde hendes understøttelse. Det er svært ikke at se det som en særdeles ondskabsfuld parodi på en vis italiensk operasanger. Den pågældende er tabu på min blog – og jeg må med skam indrømme, at jeg morede mig. Det er kun ærgerligt, at de ikke samtidig havde fået plads til en mobiltelefonsælger!

Endelig bliver Feltmarskalinden alene og reflekterer over tidens gang. Hendes vemodige resignation er gribende og hjerteknugende. Ann Petersen er absolut fantastisk og fængslende som den kloge og resignerede Feltmarskalinde, der accepterer tidens gang uden at kny. Hun udstråler en ophøjet værdighed og indre ro, som er bjergtagende midt i hendes triste reflektioner. Hun følges af hjerteskærende violiner fra orkestergraven, indtil blot en enkelt violin svinger sig ind i en smertefuld solo. Da Octavio vender tilbage, fortæller Feltmarskalinden ham om sine tanker, men han forstår hende naturligvis ikke – hvilket kun gør scenen endnu mere tragisk. Hun virker så alene og forladt med alt sin tristesse. Hun ved at han snart vil finde en anden og yngre kærlighed. Hun er hjælpeløs i skæbnens vold, som vi alle er det. Den forelskede Octavio har naturligvis ikke meget forståelse for Feltmarskalindens visdom – som altid er ung kærlighed lidenskabelig, idealistisk og kompromisløs.

I Faninals palæ bliver Octavio modtaget med stor spænding. Men da han afleverer sølvrosen er det som om at tiden går i stå for ham og Sophie. De er blevet forelskede. Endelig ankommer den uforskammede Baron Ochs, som er uhøflig, ubehagelig og grov. Gisela Stilles guldstemme er fabelagtig og hun er simpelthen dejlig som den smukke Sophie. Da hun møder baronen første gang, behandler han sin kommende brud som en ko på et dyrskue. Hun bliver frastødt og kalder ham en hestepranger. Men Sophies adelsglade far Faninal er lige så opsat på det kommende ægteskab, som baronen er opsat på at få fingre i hans penge. Det forhindrer dog ikke baronen i at forsøge sig med alle tjenestepigerne, mens han samtidig opfordrer Octavio til at flirte med Sophie, så hun "kan vænne sig til det". Det kommer alt sammen ægtemanden til gode senere, fastslår baronen. Imens udtænker Octavio en udspekuleret plan for at afsløre den vulgære og liderlige baron, og dermed redde Sophie fra ægteskabet: Octavio skal igen optræde som tjenestepigen og arrangerer et hemmeligt stævnemøde med baronen.

Dette stævnemøde er hylende morsomt. Baronen anstrenger sig for at forføre Octavio, som spiller den bly og uskyldige tjenestepige. Endelig får baronen lokket ham/hende med i seng og straks springer sladderjournalister og paparazzifotografer frem og tager billeder af det ømme par. Faninal bliver tilkaldt, politiet ankommer og alle forsøger at forklare og bortforklare deres egen rolle i skandalen. Alt er kaos og forvirring. Midt i det hele kommer døden og driver dem alle ind i en fejende og hvirvlende dans rundt i lokalet. Døden leder an i dødedansen...eller er han i virkeligheden bagest i kæden, så han jagter alle de dansende med sin le? Endelig ankommer Feltmarskalinden som stopper galskaben og snart får alt opklaret med sin fornuft. Bittert og sørgmodigt erklærer hun, at farcen er slut, livets farce. Hun taler om baronens komedie, men mener samtidig sit eget liv. Det er naturligvis også en henvisning til oplysningstiden, som vender op og ned på alt og alle. Da baronen bliver afsløret som en skamløs vellystning, forsvarer han sig med at alt er tilladt i farcen. Men realiteterne har indhentet ham og oplysningstiden er fornuftens tidsalder. Allerede i første akt siger Feltmarskalinden, at "den der omfavner ofte holder aldrig fast". Nu er det slut for baronen, der er så kompromiteret, at ægteskabet er en umulighed. Feltmarskalinden reder alle trådene ud, de unge får hinanden og hun står alene tilbage i værdig ensomhed.

Feltmarskalinden udtrykker en hjerteskærende livsvisdom. Der er altid en pris som skal betales, når farcen slutter. Livet er ikke en komedie og operaen rinder ud som en tragedie. Det er simpelthen storslået. Feltmarskalindens melankolske værdighed og hendes dybe alvor er rørende. Hun accepterer sin skæbne med vemodig, men behersket og ophøjet ro. Jeg ville gerne se Ann Petersen som Feltmarskalinden igen og igen. Jeg kan simpelthen ikke forestille mig at det kan gøres bedre. Jeg er bestemt ikke en tudeprins, men jeg var dybt berørt. Jeg er overbevist at Ann Petersen kan konvertere selv den største operahader.

Mens Feltmarskalinden står ensom og fortabt i sidste akt, og skildrer livets barske realiteter, er der et stort smadret spejl over scenen. Spejlet viser tæppet på scenegulvet, som er holdt i mørke efterårsfarver. Det ser ud som om rødbrune og gyldne efterårsblade driver stille og vemodigt ned af livets ustoppelige flod. Jeg har aldrig set noget så smukt.

Det var en fantastisk forestilling. Gang på gang fik jeg kuldegysninger over hele kroppen af alt denne skønhed. Man må endelig ikke forveksle Richard Strauss med wienervalsens ikon Johann Strauss den yngre. Men denne opera foregår i Wien 1770, selvom opsætning foregår i 1911, og Richard Strauss har naturligvis brugt den fejende wienervals i Rosenkavaleren. Hugo von Hofmannsthal har skrevet librettoen, der er lige så imponerende og betagende som musikken. Marco Arturo Marelli har skabt scenografien, der er så smuk at det er overvældende. Rosenkavaleren var en stor oplevelse og jeg var fuldstændig beruset da jeg gik hjem efter forestillingen. Det var en meget lang forestilling – næsten 4½ time. Men den var ikke et minut for lang. Tværtimod. Jeg håber dybt og inderligt at Det Kongelige Teater sætter denne forestilling op igen næste sæson, så jeg får mulighed for at se den igen – og igen og igen.

Jeg tror også at visse anmeldere har været fortryllede af forestillingens magi og skønhed. Flere af dem har svunget sig op til lyriske højder.

Gregers Dirckinck-Holmfeldt skriver om "nydelsen af de strausske sopranorgasmer" og i Kristeligt Dagblad skriver Mikael Garnæs i sin anmeldelse, at "De to sopraner er en udelt fornøjelse."

I Information skriver Peter Nielsen, at "Det er sjældent, at man bliver både æstetisk og intellektuelt tilfredsstillet af en opera. Sådan én er Rosenkavaleren". Videre skriver han, at "Ann Petersens marskalinde synger med en afdæmpet renhed, som jeg aldrig har hørt magen til før."

Jakob Levinsen har skrevet en fantastisk spændende anmeldelse i Jyllandsposten, hvor han skriver: "Operaens nyopsætning af ”Rosenkavaleren” rammer historiens tone af kynisk humanisme. Og den luksuriøse ironi Richard Strauss’ musik forløses, så det er en fryd."

I Politiken skriver Thomas Michelsen, at "Det er en mand med totaltalent, der har sat Richard Strauss’ muntert vemodige ’Rosenkavaleren’ op i Operaen."

I Berlingske Tidende uddeler Søren Kassebeer 4 stjerner til forestillingen, ud af 6 mulige, og kalder selve operaen for "en af operalitteraturens fineste frembringelser."

By  M.A.S.

(Og denne posten kan gjerne ses i sammenheng med tidligere post om kastratsangere og deres forlengelse til kontratenoren, og til H K Sveens post om det samme [i tillegg peker den framover mot en kommende post om posthumane stemmer – men mer om det senere]).

]]> http://gtltornt.wordpress.com/?p=2510 Mon, 06 Oct 2008 23:05:43 +0000 Mei http://gtltornt.ar.wordpress.com/2008/10/07/damrau-como-lucia-el-estreno/ Siguiendo con la Lucia de Diana Damrau os dejo los vídeos que ha subido Lilith del dia del estreno el 3 de Octubre, su debut oficial como Lucia.

Le acompañan Michaela Martens como Alisa, Vladimir Stoyanov como Enrico, Sean Panikkar como Arturo, Cecilia Brauer solo de armónica de cristal y Stefán Ragnar Höskuldsson solo de flauta; todos ellos dirigidos por Marco Armiliato.

Regnava nel silenzio.

Il dolce suono.

Ardon gli incensi.

Spargi d'amaro pianto.

Vídeos de Lilith89ibz. Gracias, Lilith.

This is a story about Witches, Druids, nudism, the opera, and Italy.
I’d like to start by dedicating this talk to my father, who now in his 84th year, can still remember swimming naked with both the protagonists of this talk, at a nudist resort in Hertfordshire – probably Five Acres, part-owned by Gardner and the site of the first shrine of Wicca, the witches’ cottage where his coven meetings were held, or possibly Spielplatz, just nearby and the site of Britain’s oldest Naturist Utopian community. He can’t remember what the three of them talked about as they lay in the sun afterwards, but perhaps one day I’ll ask him to be hypnotically regressed to recall the conversation.
There they were in the pale English sun: the editor of a history magazine and two of the key figures in the 20th century revival of European paganism.
It was around 1954 or1955 that this happened: a key time for the emergence of this phenomenon. The Witchcraft Act was repealed in Britain in 1951, and in 1954 Gardner’s book ‘Witchcraft Today’, edited by Nichols, was published which began the process of popularisation of witchcraft and the promotion of Wicca specifically as a religion or magical path. The following year - 1955 - was destined to be the year in which the worlds of opera and the inner mysteries of Paganism and specifically Druidry collided to produce a triad of unique and powerful manifestations: it was the year two of the greatest opera singers the world has ever known began their careers thanks in differing ways to the Druids.
Pavarotti’s singing career was launched at the Llangollen eisteddfod in 1955 when he sung in a male choir from his town in Italy that won a prize. He returned to sing at Llangollen 40 years later in 1995. And Maria Callas’ career was launched when she played the Druid priestess Norma in Bellini’s opera that same year. And in the same year that these two stars began their extraordinary trajectories across the firmament of world opera, an opera - Michael Tippet’s ‘The Midsummer Marriage’ - was performed for the first time in London that also owed its existence in a certain way to one of the inner mysteries of both Wicca and Druidism.
What on earth was going on? What were the stars doing in 1955? Let’s home in on the details to look at the unfolding of this phenomenon more closely.
Let’s go back to 1951 - the year the Witchcraft Act was repealed. Where were Nichols and Gardner that year? In Italy - and specifically at Pompeii. We do not know whether they were there together or independently, but Professor Ronald Hutton, author of the definitive history of Wicca, tells me “I doubt that the dual appearance at Pompeii was a coincidence; they were probably together, but I cannot document it.” Philip Heselton, biographer of Gardner, feels that “they probably didn't go together. Gerald was always in the habit of "wintering abroad" for about two months each year, mostly January and February, to avoid the severity of the English winter, which did not suit him and brought on his asthma. In none of his letters does he mention Ross being with him. The most likely thing would perhaps be that Ross went to Pompeii some time during the summer of 1951 and told Gerald about what he had seen, which made Gerald curious to go and see it, perhaps even to choose Italy as the destination of his annual ‘wintering abroad’ trip.
Let me read you now an excerpt from Nichols’ account of his visit, published in my father’s history magazine Past & Future August 1960 and titled Extract from ‘An English View of Italy - Pages from a Travel Diary in Holy Year 1951’

ITALY - INITIATION AT POMPEII

At Pompeii too graves and darkness dominated. One wanders for hours; everywhere there is the scent of thyme in the quiet air, the ancient shops, the runnel-like streets with stepping-stones, the school and gymnastic ground, the forum, the town’s temples, administrative offices and public lavatories, all stand in a silence of sunlight.
And amid this sunlight the darkest thing was the most impressive, that dim Villa of the Mysteries of Isis or Orpheus. Large painted rooms of initiation and instruction; the mother Isis, Silenus and his masks, Bacchus, the little cupid, the bride prepared for the mystic marriage, the child being instructed in the scripture of the legend. These realistic-imaginative paintings, with their background of heavy red, make a concrete impact on the mind as the reconstructed shops, the statues and the wall inscriptions, somehow do not. Some great emotional discharge had occurred here, an untold story wished to be heard from the pictures. What was it that these walls wanted to say? Some message of discovery of a truth, some deep conviction of the oneness of spirit with flesh, of old Silenus ridiculed with masks, of Venus as a young woman whispering her secrets into the ears of the young bride-to-be with a curved veil… and the young lad being taught from the book, what is he learning? That the mysticism of the flesh is the way of life? I cannot accept that this may be merely a normal villa with eccentric décor, merely because it is not built in temple fashion; nobody really knows, but I feel that this was a place of enlightenment. This ‘villa’ was most probably a temple for initiations into the women’s part of an Orphic cult, exempt from interference, run by an emperor’s sister.

***

Italy exerted a powerful influence on the development of modern Wicca through the work of Charles Leland, which influenced Gardner and those around him such as Doreen Valiente. The Charge of the Goddess is probably the single most influential piece of writing that ‘sets the tone’ and attracts people to Wicca. Although it has often been re-worked  - by Valiente, Starhawk and others – it is the Italian material recorded by Maddelena and translated by Leland, that lies at the heart of the Charge, and I think it is important to recognise the importance of this contribution of Italy to the core vibration or essence of Wicca.
So here these two Englishmen were in Pompeii absorbing the influence of the Goddess, of “Venus as a young woman whispering her secrets …That the mysticism of the flesh is the way of life…”
My proposal here is that they both metaphorically drunk from the cauldron of the goddess – from the well of her inspiration, in Italy but also elsewhere, and that they then mediated the inspiration they received in different ways that resulted in the two most vibrant expressions we have of paganism today: Druidry and Wicca.
They returned to England and over the next few years cooperated on the book that was to launch Wicca into the world. As a ‘sign that they were free’ they met together at the two naturist resorts I mentioned. In fact they had probably begun meeting, first at Spielplatz and then at Five Acres, during the war.
Here we have the wonderful image of two men sitting naked on a lawn in Hertfordshire talking about the subjects that fascinated them – religion, paganism, history, magic – while German bombs rained down on London. One – Gardner – in his fifties, the other in his thirties.
Both men realised that the world needed a return to a spirituality based upon a love of the Earth and her Seasons – the ravages of war and industrialisation made it obvious. Both men had drunk from the same well, but different hands had cupped the water – so let’s see how different, and yet how similar they were:
Both men never had children, were asthmatics, keen nudists, and well-travelled. They both became ordained as Christian ministers in obscure unorthodox churches. They both became Druids – Gardner at least eight years before Nichols, who joined the Ancient Druid Order in 1954. And they both had significant help in their work from formidable female companions – Doreen Valiente for Gardner and Vera Chapman for Nichols.
But there were critical differences between the two men – Gardner was married, Nichols a life-long bachelor. Gardner was self-educated (he managed to avoid school altogether) while Nichols was a Cambridge Academic. Gardner was a hedonist, Nichols an ascetic. Gardner was a maverick and politically conservative, while Nichols was keen to be accepted by society and was a socialist.
The result of their being so different – almost polarised one could say – was that the inspiration of the Goddess, the need in the World Soul for a new religious impulse, flowed into two complementary channels. The flamboyant maverick Gardner developed a religion that was sensual and worked practical magic, the more restrained and cerebral Nichols threw his energy into promoting an approach that was more intellectual and was concerned with the magic of artistry, of bardistry, more than with the magic of spell-making.
Here is how I explained Nichols’ direction in ‘Journeys of the Soul’ to be published by Thoth Books or The Oak Tree Press in 2009: “In 1954, the year ‘Witchcraft Today’ was published, Ross finally became a member of the Order that Gardner had joined at least eight years earlier. He retained an interest in Wicca, but by now he knew enough about Druidism and Wicca to make his choice. The historian, mythologist and poet in him could not help but choose the path of the Bard and Druid. Historically he could trace Druidism far more completely than Wicca, which we now know was so much a product of Gardner’s creative synthesis of medieval magic, Tantric ideas gleaned from his life in the East, mythology and folklore. Having helped Gardner with his book, Ross might well have also realised the degree of ‘creativity’ involved. From a mythological perspective his choice was also clear: the corpus of Celtic and British material arose out of the recorded tales of the Bards - the oral tradition of Druidry being finally encoded in the tales and legends recorded by Christian clerics from the sixth century onwards. And finally, poetically, his choice had to be that of Bardism - he had spent the last thirty years exploring the relationship between poetry and the sacred. We can also suggest that the choice was conditioned by his character - favouring the apparently more cerebral path over the more overtly sensual. Ronald Hutton suggests that Gardner also saw Druidry and Wicca in this light:  ‘[Gardner’s] characterization of the presumed relationship between Wicca and Druidry in ancient times, made in that book [The Meaning of Witchcraft], is a mirror image of the contrast between the two men. In this reimagining, Druidry became the more cerebral, detached, elitist and intellectual tradition, while Wicca was made the religion of popular festivity and sensual experience of the forces of nature and divinity’.”
Half a century later, we can see how much the two different paths Gardner and Nichols chose to promote have flourished as a result of their involvement. Just as the two key proponents of Druidry and Wicca in the modern era were united in many ways, so are these two paths, with their (usually) threefold initiation systems, their use of the circle, the directions and the elements, and their 8-fold cycle of seasonal celebrations. But they are also as different as were those two men. Many people find them sufficient paths on their own, but many also find the two paths work well together. If Nichols and Gardner were alive today, many of us would want to hear them speak at the same conferences, teach beside the same well.
Comparing the differences between them and the gifts they gave to the world shows how creativity can arise from the meeting of complementaries – how diversity and difference rather than conformity and unanimity fosters creativity.
And if they were alive today I’m sure both of them would be delighted to tell us of the story of their travels in Italy – and of how they were inspired by the Charge of the Goddess, whose resounding words ‘And so ye shall be free in everything’ echoed through their lives, inspiring them to foster two extraordinary paths of freedom.

Si tenés menos de 40 años, muy probablemente nunca hayas escuchado ópera, ni sepas quiénes son los tres tenores. Dejaaaaame que te cuente y además de conmoverte, de paso vas a aprender un par de cosas importantes.

Luciano Pavarotti nació en Módena, Italia, el 12 de octubre de 1935 (bajo el signo astrológico de Libra) y solía soñar con ser una estrella del fútbol. Por fortuna para nosotros, se convirtió en una estrella de la ópera y llenó estadios con gente que quería oírlo cantar en lugar de verlo jugar con una pelota.

Días después de su muerte (6 de setiembre de 2007, como dijo Elton John, un día triste para la música y para el mundo) me dediqué a realizar mi primer podcast musical. Un homenaje a Luciano Pavarotti de 93 minutos, que incluye 22 temas donde canta junto a estrellas de la música de otros géneros que de seguro conocés:

Eric Clepton, Celia Cruz, Jarabe De Palo, Lionel Ritchie, José Carreras, Plácido Domingo, Andrea Bocelli, Laura Pausini, Brian Adams, Celine Dion, Tracy Chapman, Eros Ramazzoti, Bono, Elton John, Zucchero, Frank Sinatra, Joe Cocker, Alex Britti, Sting, Liza Minelli y las Spice Girls.

Descargalo desde aquí

o desde el Canal 5 del Earth Music Network.

Los otros dos tenores, Plácido Domingo y José Carreras, además de realizar junto a Pavarotti una serie de exitosos conciertos denominada "Los Tres Tenores" protagonizaron una historia conmovedora que podés conocer en un par de minutos. A mí me llegó por correo electrónico, vía una presentación de Powerpoint y ahora la podés ver en línea gracias a slideshare:

[slideshare id=214786&doc=placido-domingo-y-jose-carreras-1198957771143719-4&w=425]

Y si sos de esas personas que juzgan por las apariencias, te voy a demostrar que éstas engañan. Prestá atención a este video del concurso BGT (la versión británica de Latin American Idol) donde un tipo gordito llamado Paul Potts, que es vendedor de teléfonos, medio asustado, va a concursar... ¡cantando ópera! jajaja. Fijate al principio, las miradas que se cruzan entre los jurados...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bEo5bjnJViA

Y aquí los 3 tenores con la dirección de Zubin Mehta, y la misma canción: "Nessun Dorma":

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MDtcidMR_6I

Y de yapa, te dejo esta otra interpretación, que recuerdo, me la enseñó "la señorita Adela" en la clase de Música, cuando estaba en 7mo grado de la escuela primaria, y estuve en el coro: Domingo, Carreras y Pavarotti, cantando "Torna a Surriento".

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mV1It133yWU

Podés ver más de Pavarotti y otros artistas en video, en esta selección de duetos-homenaje. No te olvides de compartir.

Statistics show that Internet Explorer is dominating the web, owning approximately 75% of internet-users.  At a distant second, remains Firefox, with around 18% of market share.  Safari and Opera trail far behind, with only 6% in Safari and opera a mere .7% of browsing.

Microsoft has dominated the browser market for a while now, and negative effects are obvious.  Currently, this browser holds the position of the worst browser currently available, as at lacks speed, offers poor standards compliance, and hogs memory throughout the user's computer.  All of these negative aspects plague a near 3 quarters of Internet-users.

No matter how Microsoft attempts to put these numbers, many people are obviously receiving a below-standard browsing experience.

At this day and age, Mozilla and Apple, along with Opera, are shaking things up.  Testing from many procedures show that Firefox 3.0 is by far the fastest browser, being a large 10x faster than Microsoft's internet explorer.

Besides speed, Opera offers the best CSS standards compliance, and is about 10% better than what Firefox supports.

Mozilla continues to use a large amount of promotion and publicity stunts, one being their "Download Day Guinness World Record" attempt will attempt to encourage people to change browsers. 

Although Mozilla takes this route, Apple takes a much more agressive approach, moving safari agressivly through the market.  Although this is how its been, the company has backed down from how it origionally automatically pushed Safari onto users by integrating their "Sfotware Updater" program on the Mac.

More than this, Safari isn't turning out to remain a secure web browser as Apple had assured, so this tends to questions the company's agressive decision to push its code so strongly.  For apple, gaining their market share seemed to be their main goal, regardless of their cost.

While all of these browsers have their unique qualities, over the next month we'll be examining each browser.  It will look into each positive and negative aspect of each browser. 

The beginning week will host Internet Explorer, followed by Firefox, and then Safari and Opera in that respective order.  Also, a small glimpse of the Browser Wars' new look, Google Chrome will be shown in the final week.

Expect the first article, featuring Internet explorer, to release on October 12th, 2008.

On Friday, T-Bone Tommasini wrote in-depth regarding Mortier's troublesome relationship with the board of the City Opera. Chairwoman Susan Baker made some reassuring comments, confirming that the board is "galvanized" around a series of proposals Mortier made during a recent meeting, and that patron money is still coming in.

But the very next day, word came that the company layed off 11 administrators at the same time Jane Gulong, their executive director, decided to leave since Mortier "effectively eliminated her job."

It's amazing how much the trials of the City Opera are mirroring a political campaign/election. Mortier is being called on to show face and sell his agenda during a time when the organization seems to be facing political and financial crisis. Mortier's flirtation with the Bayreuth Festival certainly didn't help consumer confidence.

The City Opera hopes this season's main performance fare, "Looking Forward", a series of low-cost concerts in each borough, will foster community interest in the 20th century program Mortier has planned for his first full season in 2009-2010.

In a performance review today, Anthony Tommasini expresses doubt that it will do the trick, but thought Saturday night's Staten Island installment proved that at least the performers of the New York City Opera are still eager to put on a show. NYCO Director of Media Relations Pascal Nadon confirms that Mr. Mortier was not in attendance, although it's been said that Mortier will only spend a few weeks of the entire season in New York.

It's also telling that some of the big developments in this saga, like the firing of staff members and even early rumors that Mortier was looking for jobs outside of his City Opera gig, have only come to light after prodding from the press, or at the very least, well after rumors had begun flying. It's understandable that organizations--like campaigns--try to keep these kinds of twists and turns, many of them unpredictable, under tight control. But this task becomes less and less manageable with each surprise plot twist.

At this point, anything the City Opera can do to convince the public that the organization isn't going to implode and disappear through some parallel dimension Carrie-style vortex, is much welcome.

The next "Looking Forward" is coming to Brooklyn on November 2. Let's hope audience interest, administrative leadership, and fiscal liquidity, can last that long.

Bem cedinho, fui conhecer a igreja de Santo Estáquio, uma das maiores de Paris e pertinho de onde o dia anterior havia terminado.  E também uma das mais bonitas e mais aleatórias, sob o ponto de vista arquitetônico.  Ainda fui brindado com o ensaio de uma artista no órgão de tubos da igreja para a apresentação daquela noite.  Impressionante como é que aquela japinha conseguia tocar tantas notas ao mesmo tempo, com tanta rapidez e técnica, com cada um dos dedos das mãos e cada um dos pés, simultaneamente.

Dali por diante, a manhã do dia 10 foi só incerteza e frustração: a greve dos funcionários públicos federais (que eu tinha tomado conhecimento no dia anterior) afetara também os monumentos nacionais de Paris (todos os relacionados no site monum.fr, à exceção do Arco do Triunfo, até porque, se o Arco fechasse ao público, haveria rebelião de turistas em Paris, e não haveria polícia no mundo capaz de conter a fúria da multidão).  Dei de cara com a porta na Concirgerie e na Saint Chapelle.  E a greve era de 48 horas, tempo demais para quem só tinha umas 160 horas para gastar na capital francesa.

Na hora, lembrei do Ricardo Boechat, que sempre criticou a greve dos funcionários públicos brasileiros, que impediam os cidadãos de exercer seus direitos junto a repartições públicas, ou que afetavam os estudantes, privando-os das aulas.  Ele sempre elogiou os lixeiros parisienses que, ao fazerem greve, avisavam os distintos co-cidadãos com antecedência, para que eles não se tornassem vítimas do movimento paredista.

Comigo acontecia exatamente o que sempre aconteceu no Brasil.  Os funcionários públicos parisienses me haviam eleito como inimigo e vítima de seu movimento paredista.  Caro Boechat, eu que lhe escuto todas as manhãs, confesso que fiquei decepcionado.

Isso causaria uma mudança de rumo dramática, ao menos para mim, no meu ser metódico e programado de ser.  Embora meu roteiro contivesse todos os horários de abertura e fechamento de todas as atrações turísticas que eu pretendia visitar, eu não me lembrava exatamente quais monumentos estavam abrangidos pela greve.

Mudança de planos feita, sofrimento interno assimilado, rumei para um ponto turístico de Paris meio mórbido: as catacumbas de Paris.  Eu já tinha, honestamente, desistido de visitá-las, mas a Fiona insistiu.  Fazer o quê?  Ela manda.  Muitos degraus para descer e exatos 84 degraus para subir, após cerca de 35 minutos de caminhadas por labirintos subterrâneos, úmidos e mal iluminados, às vezes escorregadios, cercados por ossos e teias de aranha.  Eu adorei (já conhecia, mas foi bom ver de novo, depois de tantos anos), mas não voltaria lá não.  Para mim, já foi suficiente.

Sem mais lógica nenhuma, o roteiro reprogramado de última hora indicava me dava a opção de ir ao Museu Rodin - que eu ainda não conhecia.  Um lugar bonito, uma mansão com jardim, perdida (melhor seria dizer "preservada") no meio de Paris, com inúmeras obras de arte de Rodin.  A fila na porta foi um pouco desanimadora, mas passou rápido (eu também não tinha outra alternativa a não ser enfrentá-la).  O museu é bom (senão ótimo), principalmente para quem tem saco (como eu) de ler as explicações contidas no folder, nos cartazes e nas peças.

O sujeito da bilheteria do Museu Rodin não me vendeu meia-entrada, porque eu tinha (e ainda tenho) mais que 25 anos de idade.  Perguntei se havia outra promoção na qual eu me enquadrasse.  Ele disse que a única promoção que havia para pagar menos era de comprar os bilhetes do Museu Rodin e do Museu D'Orsay (que fica ali pertinho) juntos.  Topei, afinal de contas, na minha reprogramação, o D'Orsay era o próximo da lista.  Mas ele se recusou a me vender o bilhete combinado, alegando que os funcionários do D'Orsay também estavam de greve.  Só que lá, o visitante não era refém da greve (Ricardo Boechat dará pulos de alegria ao ouvir esta): os funcionários abriram o museu para visita gratuita.  Com isso, ganhavam a simpatia do público (parisiense ou estrangeiro) à sua causa e ainda faziam doer no bolso dos políticos a sua manifestação.

Assim que terminei a visita do Museu Rodin, acelerei o passo para o D'Orsay.  Parei para comer no caminho, numa birosca metida a chique e que vendia sanduíches (sempre eles!) na Rue de Bellechasse.  Cheguei, entrei e relaxei, sem fila, sem aporrinhação, sem gastar dinheiro.  Um espetáculo (os fatos e o museu em si)!  Mas o museu não estava com todas as suas alas abertas, o que nem de longe tirou o brilho da visita.  Ficou, na verdade, o pretexto para voltar a Paris e revisitá-lo.

Uma caminhada pelo rio Sena até o Louvre só serviu para constatar, efetivamente, a hora que ele abriria no dia seguinte.  O meu roteiro estava correto.  Dali, de ônibus, ir até a igreja de La Madeleine foi um pulo.

Como alegria de pobre dura pouco, o próximo item da lista modificada, o Panthéon, estava fechado, também por causa da greve.  Mas um cartaz colado na porta indicava que ali a greve duraria apenas 24 horas.  "Greve é igual em tudo que é lugar, até na desorganização", pensei.

O jeito foi me contentar com um prêmio de consolação: a igreja de Saint-Etiénne du Mont, ali do lado: uma pequena caixa de jóia, eu diria.  Pequena e graciosa, naquele estilinho gótico parisiense (com algumas inovações, tal como a igreja de Santo Eustáquio).  Um charme, imperdível.

Como ali naquele canto de Paris não tem mais nada para fazer, peguei um ônibus e passeei tranqüilo até o centro de Paris, na Rive Droit: a Place de la Concorde, onde saltei e de onde caminhei pela Rue de Rivoli até a Place Vendôme.  É ali que fica o Hotel Ritz e, não por acaso, onde podem ser vistos vários carrões em Paris, daqueles que você nunca viu na vida nem sabe o nome (exceto os tradicionais Rolls Royce, com sua marca característica na parte dianteira).

Dali a caminhada continuou até o Palais Garnier, vulgarmente conhecido como Ópera de Paris.  Entrei mas não o visitei, porque a sala de concertos estava fechada para a realização de ensaios.  Dava para voltar outro dia.

No fim do dia, uma baita surpresa, durante um passeio descontraído pelas Champs Elisée.  Após a vitória de Portugal sobre a República Tcheca pela Eurocopa, eu me senti na Avenida da Liberdade, em Lisboa, tamanha a quantidade de portugueses que ali festejavam, a pé, de moto (principalmente) ou de carro, buzinando e agitando bandeiras.  Bastante divertido.

Apart from seeing a lot of old friends, the highlight of my visit to London was without question Don Giovanni at the Royal Opera at Covent Garden. I have seen Don Giovanni so many times now (and in so many media - see here) that I almost didn't go - I was also a bit uncertain as to whether I could get a ticket at a price I could afford, since the show was technically sold out. I showed up only an hour before the (12 o'clock matine) performance, however, and I was able to get a standing room ticket for only 11 pounds - less than I would have paid to see a film at a Leicester Square cinema, apparently. You know a performance is good when you don't feel tired after standing for three and a half hours.

The soloists and the orchestra were magnificent, but that's not what made this production unforgettable. (I am not enough of an opera connoseur to distinguish between a great singer and an excellent singer, unfortunately. I'm also not a hundred percent sure which of the many alternating Giovannis I was watching). It is the combination of Francesca Zambello's direction and the late Maria Bjoernson's designs that sets the stage on fire - literally, during the dazzling finale. This made sense when I was reminded that Bjoernson is largely responsible for the spectacle behind the most spectacular (and most operatic) of West End spectaculars, The Phantom of the Opea. (Ironically, Phantom already pays tribute to Don Giovanni in the "Don Juan Triumphant" sequence). Bjoernson died in 2002, the year this production premiered.

Mozart's opera doesn't necessarily contain a large amount of spectacle: it is only in the fifteen minutes that all hell breaks loose, literally. Zambello and Bjoernson (with Paul Pyant's lighting), however, have made the magic last through the whole four acts. There is a sense of heightened sexuality, an eroticism which surrounds every aspect of the production, which is normally absent from productions that involve powdered wigs and ruffled shirts. Somehow, while making their Giovanni seem even more brutish and villainous than in more decorous productions, they still make him inexplicably attractive. It is only in the last act, when he physically humiliates Donna Elvira, that this Giovanni entirely looses the audience's sympathy. But by then, his fate is already sealed, so that the apocalyptic finale feels both exciting and cathartic.

The entire production is well acted, which is even more suprising when the quality of the singing is so high. The physical demand on the singer/actors is high: both Leporello and Giovanni have a lot of climbing to do, and William Hobbs' fight sequences are exhilerating. As the Met continues to remind us on its publicity, "great opera is great theatre", after all. Even sparse and underacted productions of Mozart's "perfect opera" can be breathtaking, but this production does justice to both the opera and the theatre.

Har modtaget "Opera's Second Death" og har læst de første 20-30 sider. Vejret: Smukt. Aktiemarkedet: Blødende. Dagens musik: Mozarts "Don Giovanni".

In program: Cesar Franck, Charles Gounod, Emerich Kalman, Augustin Lara, Jean-Baptiste Lully, S. C. Marchesi, W. A. Mozart, Giacomo Puccini.

Recitalul are loc la Muzeul "Casa Muresenilor", intrarea publicului facandu-se pe baza de invitatii care se ridica anticipat  de la sediul muzeului, in functie de numarul locurilor existente.

Sponsor permanent: BISTRO DE L`ARTE.

Muzeul "Casa Muresenilor" Brasov
Piata Sfatului nr. 25
Tel./Fax: (40)268-477864
www.muzeulmuresenilor.ro
casa_muresenilor # yahoo.com

Di seguito il verbale dell'ultima riunione

1) Partecipazione al LINUX DAY
il 25/26 ottobre parteciperemo a Cinisello al linux day. Non avendo ancora pronti i materiali rispetto al progetto "acessibylinux" (VEDI SOTTO PER CAPIRE DI COSA SI PARLA), cercheremo di mantenere viva la rete creata con liberamente (www.liberamente08.tk). Inoltre abbiamo proposto alla rete la possibilità di fare una linux night il 25 sera alla ciclofficina della stecca, idea che sembra essere piaciuta.

La serata sarà di puro divertimento (dopo una giornata di smanettamento ci vuole...), la ciclofficina è un posto accogliente (forse un pò intasato dalle bici) e che ben si presta a iniziative di questo genere, chiaramente è possibile sviluppare ulteriori contenuti ricordando però che ad oggi siamo pochi e che molta manodopera dovrà essere utilizzata per il bar e per la chiusura di fine serata.

2) GRUPPO LINUX OPERA
abbiamo deciso di promuovere e allargare il nostro gruppo. Sono fissate e seguenti date:
- 7 ottobre
- 21 ottobre
- 18 novembre
- 16 dicembre
alla riunione del 7 ottobre abbiamo invitato ufficialmente l'assessore all'innovazione tecnologica Corrado Anelli (che dopo liberamente 08 si era dimostrato interessato all'argomento)
Le riunioni si terranno all'internet cafè della biblioteca di Opera dalle ore 21,15 in via Gramsci 21.
Durante queste riunioni, oltre a definire obiettivi e strategiedi lavoro del gruppo faremo la manutenzione dei pc del bar.
Si è inoltre pensato di caratterizzare ogni incontro in modo formativo per il gruppo, dedicando parte della serata all'approfondimento dei software di uso più comune.
per proporci ad un pubblico più giovane c'è anche in cantiere un torneo di giochi in rete.

3) ACCESSIBYLINUX
per ora ci stiamo formando sull'argomento, creando una rete di soggetti competenti.
Oltre alla presentazione del gruppo, sarà argomento principale della prossima riunione.
"accessibylinux" è un progetto pensato per rendere accessibile l'utilizzo dei pc a tutti quei soggetti che, per vari impedimenti, non riescono o non possono farne uso (vedi stranieri, persone diversamente abili,...). Un progetto di abbattimento del digital divide.

Ci vediamo al POP Bar di via Gramsci a Opera!

Opera Linux Group - LIBERAmente

En base a lo que acabamos de exponer, podemos afirmar rotundamente que la Release Candidate es una fase en la que se corrigen errores de última hora para poder lanzar un producto con una garantía mínima de seguridad, usabilidad y estabilidad.

Dicho todo esto, hay que decir que Opera 9.6 parece estar llegando al fin de su desarrollo. El pasado 1 de Octubre recibiamos la noticia de que la RC 1 había sido lanzada (dicha noticia no fue publicada en el blog puesto que, por aquel entonces, este blog no había nacido todavía) y hoy día (la noticia data más bien del día 4 de octubre) recibimos la noticia de que Opera ha lanzado la segunda RC 2 de este estupendo navegador. Personalmente llevo probándolo desde la versión Beta 1 y he de decir que no aporta muchas novedades con respecto a la versión estable 9.52.

Sin embargo, desde el blog de Opera, parecen tener claro que el nuevo navegador va a traer muchas novedades con respecto a la actual versión 9.52. Así pues, considero oportuno que hagamos una pequeña recapitulación de las nuevas características que se incorporaron a Opera 9.6 RC 1 con respecto a Opera 9.56. El changelog de la RC 2 lo desglosaremos más abajo (lo pondré en Inglés por la sencilla razón de que soy un poco cazurro traduciendo, lo siendo, :( ).

Opera 9.6 RC 1

• Fixed error pages when entering unknown protocol.
• Fixed an issue where custom search engines would not get a favicon.
• Fixed an issue that would prevent links in frames *from* being opened by keyboard
• Fixed Fast Forward on Google search results pages.
• Fixed an issue where only a few feed itmes would be fetched.
• Text strings on the feed preview page are now localizable.
• Added a fallback feed title for feeds without titles, and added handheld style sheet to the feeds preview.
• Changed default global history to 1000.
• Added new default speedial.ini.

Cambios en Mail:

• Fixed an issue where followed contacts would not be properly unfollowed.
• Fixed an issue where only the first followed contact would be shown in the Followed Contacts access point.
• Fixed an issue where the Followed Thread icon would be lost after restart.

Cambios en Windows:

• Fixed a bug where network paths that start with \\ would not work, which in particular caused issues with sent mail when storing profiles on network drives
• Fixed installation problems on Windows NT 4.0

Cambios en UNIX:

• Fixed an issue where text with specified size suddenly disappears on Qt4 builds.
• Qt4 builds are static - for now.

Esto en cuanto al Changelog de la RC 1. En la RC 2 los cambios son:

• SSL error pages now display again
• Fixed an issue where RSS 1.0 feeds sent as text/html would not be recognized
• Fixed an issue where opening links with the keyboard after an inline find would open the link twice
• Some stability fixes (proxy crasher should be fixed, please test those that reproduced it before)

La verdad es que la lista de cambios es bastante amplia, aunque no se si se notarán en la navegación cotidiana. Sea como fuere, disfrutad de esta nueva joya que nos brinda Opera. Para poder descargaros esta nueva versión de Opera:

• Windows
• Windows Classic
• Macintosh
• Macintosh (Intel-only)
• UNIX

Now, with great pleasure I must announce Agent Angie, as promised, I will be rolling out other writers as I go and now its time for Angie to take the stage. No, she doesn't wear high-tech kimonos and do triple flips, but she does have a keen eye for culture and from now on will be a valued agent of Brooklyn Socialite reportage.

Get Ready! Here's her first post.

The website features interviews, previews, and reviews on independent and traditional classical music, dance, theatre, and independent film, as well as the most comprehensive arts calendar in the Metro area, fiona's list. A true grass-roots movement, KCMETROPOLIS.ORG brings together the voices of many expert writers, musicians, musicologists, and arts aficionados to present the most extensive and exciting coverage ever offered of our rich performing arts community!

One of the first features of the new site is an interview with Lyric Opera of Kansas City general manager Evan Luskin. Check it out!

The most fun part of the race was exchanging early-Sunday-morning greetings with fellow Christians. There is a team that wears shirts which read “Jesus is Lord” on the back. I have seen these guys (and women) in many Washington road races. There are other teams with Scripture verses on the back of their shirts. Whenever I pass one of them, I always say, “Praised be the Lord Jesus Christ!” The response is always something like “Praise Him!” or “He’s the One,” or just a smile between heavy breaths.

[caption id="attachment_723" align="alignright" width="211" caption="Final Scene of La Traviata"][/caption]I ran a decent race—a little faster than last year. But, after saying Mass, the most impressive thing I managed to do today was to stay awake through every minute of a matinee of La Traviata. The thing is, it was not hard.

I did NOT have beer bottles in my jacket pocket which were then shattered by the soprano arias (See the stupidest beer commercial of all time.) Nor did I put my pocket-radio earphones into my ears to listen to the football game. (I did not have to: My mom texted me every time somebody scored.)

I freely acknowledge that I am sorry that I missed the game. I heard the first quarter on the radio on the way up to the Kennedy Center, and things were not looking good. Sam was ticked-off. Sonny was despondent. Obviously, there was a great change for the better later in the game. Who could expect anything less these days?

But I am not that sorry I missed the victory. Let me tell you what ran through my mind from 2:00 to 5:00 o’clock this afternoon: How have I managed to live 38 years of my life without La Traviata?

[caption id="attachment_722" align="alignleft" width="225" caption="Verdi Square in Manhattan"][/caption]I thought I had been having a pretty full life. Certaintly, the Lord has been good to me. But something has been missing. What have I been thinking? I have been going about my business as if nothing were fundamentally wrong. I never realized the urgency of being acquainted with La Traviata. A friend even gave me the DVD of the Zefferelli movie version two or three years ago; I never bothered to watch it. Biggest mistake of my life.

One of my companions this afternoon classed the opera as one of Verdi's "popular" works. I do not care. I do not care that it is the Walt Disney World of operas, the one opera everyone has heard of. It is absolutely wonderful, from beginning to end. I was completely enchanted.

I would love to give you a full digest of the entire moving spectacle. I would love to explore all the themes, which include: mortality, bourgeousie social pressure, hedonism, masculine honor, fatherhood, fortune-telling, and bull-fighting. But let me leave it at this for now: Violetta is one of the most beautiful characters I have ever encountered.

She is a bad person, a “woman who strayed” (which is what “la traviata” means). The true love of a pure, innocent man transforms her into a noble, self-sacrificing soul. Their love is stronger than social propriety. Everyone else underestimates what Alfredo and Violetta mean to each other. The jealousy which makes the story tragic is so intense and so violent because the love which inspires it has the power to redeem. The music expresses it all.

I used to wonder if Verdi really deserved to have his own square at 72nd and Broadway in New York City. Yes, he is a great musician. Otello is incredibly powerful, but we have Shakespeare primarily to thank for that. Verdi's Requiem is admirably intense, but again he is capitalizing on something that preceded him. But now that I have seen La Traviata, I concede Verdi his square in New York. I concede him much more. He is a genius. La Traviata is a work of consummate solidarity with humanity.

Plus, the Skins beat the Eagles! The Skins are going to win the division! The Skins are going to the Super Bowl!

As Alfredo sings at the beginning of Act II, it's as if we were in heaven.