triple-header in the sky: traviata documentary, eastwood's curve, luhrmann's romeo

on the trans-atlantic flight, wednesday night, i didn't sleep -- 'last night, i didn't get to sleep at all'

a song by the fifth dimension, i see, on youtube -- i forgot that -- a cleveland group, by the way -- although, on the wikipedia page about them, there's no reference...to cleveland -- i scrolled through the page, then did a search... -- nothing -- and...all of the founding members... -- not a one...born in cleveland -- nothing -- none,...in ohio -- well, we claim them,...in cleveland -- always been...a point of pride -- associate them...with...our fair city

well, i didn't sleep...because i watched three movies -- all, very good

my first choice...was a french documentary, 'traviata et nous' (the english title, 'becoming traviata') -- about the making of a recent production...in aix-en-provence (here, a link to the production i saw, three months ago, at the met) -- natalie dessay stars, as violetta valery -- the director...of the production, though, is the main player...in the production -- definitely...puts his stamp...on each...and every role -- a lot...goes into...each role, each...mannerism,...move -- amazing...how much work...is put into...each and every...little detail -- the movie...captures that...very well -- including...the final scene -- terrific -- lingers...on that -- also features...prominently...the conductor...and the musicians -- the instrumentalists -- and their interpretations...of the music -- their roles...in the drama -- at one point, as i remember it, the conductor tells the musicians, they're crying (referring to the song, the singing -- no doubt, the second...gilda-rigoletto duet -- the 'tutte le feste' duet)-- let's cry, he tells the musicians [update, august 9: reading this, as i...site this, in an e-mail to my...'opera list,' i see...i wrote down the wrong opera -- it's not the gilda-rigoletto duet, but...obviously...the violetta-germont duet, another...of verdi's...father-daughter specials]

it was in french -- don't know...if it's available...with english subtitles -- i guess so, according to the above poster

[september 10: i just read a review of this movie, in cleveland classical -- the movie was shown, four days ago, in the cleveland museum of art]

next, i watched a movie i wanted to see,...when it first came out -- 'trouble with the curve ball' -- also...very good -- well, might not be...for non-baseball people -- that, certainly, makes it...very appealing to me -- love...almost anything...to do with baseball -- the main themes, though, were...the father-daughter relationship and aging -- and includes...a romantic angle

the father-daughter...sections...were a bit overdone -- the daughter's...aspect -- aspects -- facets -- reactions -- what-have-you...struck me...as...a bit extreme -- imposed...psycho-babble -- all's well, though,....

finally, i had a choice between 'quartet'...and baz luhrmann's 'romeo + juliet,' which i've seen...a number of times -- great -- love it -- see it, whenever i have a chance (on television) -- 'quartet,' though, i just saw,...a few months ago -- and...three times, at that -- so,....

great movie -- excellent -- such...beautious lines -- they amaze -- and, on top of the story, the lines, the scenes, the drama, the thoughts,...ideas, the bard's...insights -- on top of all that,...a fantastic soundtrack -- some...super-...duper...songs

i got to the final scene -- romeo...entering the chapel...where juliet lies on...whatever-it's-called...at the front of the chapel -- and...the airline cut in, for the final announcements

i just clicked on the movie's soundtrack (on imdb), and...i noticed...that one of the tunes...is an opera song -- the 'liebestod,' from wagner's 'tristan and isolde' (which i heard in canton, two months ago) -- in the movie, imdb's page says, it's sung by leontyne price -- i don't remember that (in the movie), and i wonder...how much of it...they played -- i've gotta pay attention, next time -- maybe...i can find...that part of the movie...on youtube

oh -- another...note -- i first saw the film, soon after it came out -- my cousin...had just arrived from iraq, and...he joined me...to the theater -- i loved it -- was...entranced -- thought it...a great...adaptation...into a modern setting -- certainly,...faithful -- my cousin...i felt sorry for -- the shakespearean english

i found it -- well, at least...the song -- from the soundtrack -- i don't remember it...in the movie, though

bastianini-scotto rigoletto duet

another...gilda-rigoletto duet...by renata scotto and ettore bastianini -- this one, from the first act -- just...amazing -- spine-tingling

interview with the cleveland rigoletto & maestro

an interview with our marco stella, the lead of this weekend's 'rigoletto' (he belongs to us now) -- preceded by an interview with the conductor, andrea raffanini

yesterday, we rehearsed in playhouse square's ohio theater, where the opera circle production will take place, saturday evening -- it was a lot of fun -- like seeing the opera, two, three times, in one night -- such...incredibly beautiful music -- and...what gorgeous singing -- the choral pieces, along with...all the rest

in honor of marco stella, here's ettore bastianini, one of marco's favorite baritones -- if not his favorite -- along with renata scotto, in the concluding scene of act two -- the full scene -- with...so much....

i love this scene -- the music, the singing, the...feeling -- feelings -- especially the feelings -- the depth of emotion -- gilda's high notes -- soaring -- flying -- in the sky, above everything -- 'piangi -- piangi -- piangi, funciulla -- fanciulla, piangi' -- love it -- actually,...love...doesn't...say it -- doesn't...say enough -- how deeply...it touches me -- rigoletto's 'non's -- 'mia figlia...mia gilda'

as soon as the pictures arrive in my e-mail (from my phone), i'll put them here

clash of titans: mark mcgwire vs. randy johnson

what do they call it, in physics,...when...two...powerful forces...meet,...head-on

maybe,...nothing -- all i know is,...something's gotta give

i wonder...if he hit it straight, it would have gone farther -- maybe not -- maybe...the straight shot...takes away from the distance -- too...low

afterwards, randy johnson strikes out his 13th,...in five innings -- that's 13 out of 15

vin scully's latest: d-day and...

another gem -- well, i've got two -- from..."the man i love"

during last night's game, vin scully gave us a little history lesson -- actually, a big history lesson -- and a wonderful baseball story

as the top of the second began, scully...narrated

the braves hit a lot of home runs -- they're leading the national league with 81 [on the screen, a list of the top three home-run-hitting teams in the league -- below that, the dodgers, with 44 (ranking 13th)]

they also strike out a lot -- they have struck out, five-hundred and thirty-six times -- and that counts the two, tonight

they're one ahead of the rockies, and...18 ahead of the cubs -- dodgers are not really gonna get a call, if they were offering

so for freddy gonzalez [on screen], he has to exercise some patience -- they strike out a lot, they hit a lot of home runs -- and they're seven-and-a-half games in front

second inning -- brian mccann, who just picked up his one-thousandth career hit, recently

the catcher...takes a strike -- and the count, 0-and-1

all-star, six of the last seven years -- hitting 269

of course it was a matter of course to write his name in -- until buster posey arrived on the scene

so now it's posey and mccann 

brian -- solid ballplayer

hitting 314...against right-hand pitching 

takes, inside -- under the hands -- 1-and-1

are there youngsters near the television set, or the radio -- youngsters who might not know what this day is all about

the 1-1 slow curve is low -- ball two -- 2-and-1 

today is june the 6th -- but for those of us who lived through it, today is june the 6th, 1944 -- d-day

the 2-1 pitch, on the way -- swung on and missed -- 2-and-2

first of all, you have to understand about d-day [on the screen, the flag, beyond the center-field fence] -- the 'd' doesn't stand for anything -- the 'd' is derived from the word 'day,' and it really just means the day in which a military operation begins -- it's been used a lot, but, nowadays, it's only for the invasion

[crack of the bat...on ball] a drive into right -- quig comes over -- reaches up and backhands it, for the out

so mccann hits it hard, and lines out to yasiel puig -- that puts a big grin on the face of both ethier and puig -- [replay] mccann hit it hard, and yasiel just moved in, and picked it off

one away -- and the batter...is dan uggla

dan uggla is struggling -- hitting just 179

and he rolls one, up along third -- no balls and one strike

let's get back to d-day, a little bit -- the invasion of normandy -- operation overlord

but,...more importantly, really, you have to realize what happened, in the two months before...june sixth -- i mean, after all, the germans were well embedded, in the normandy coast [close-up of flag, on pole] -- embedded they were -- so they had to be softened up

the strike-one pitch is high -- 1-and-1

so, in april and may of 1944, the allied air forces lost... -- are you ready -- twelve-thousand men -- in the two months before the invasion

the pitch is swung on and missed -- and the count, 1-and-2

they also lost over two-thousand aircraft -- so they paid a tremendous price, just to get ready...for june sixth

one ball and two strikes -- greinke deals -- that's a little low -- two-and-two, the count

and then, finally, the night before -- june fifth -- a lot of parachutists -- paratroopers -- were dropped behind the enemy lines -- again, all a part...of setting up the invasion

2-2 pitch -- strike-three call

so, uggla...strikes out -- third strikeout for greinke -- two outs, second inning -- no score -- and the batter will be...ramiro pena, who's done very well, at third base

ramiro pena,...hitting 333, in the last two weeks -- at short -- he's also played second and third

hitting 375, with three home runs,...against right-hand pitching -- and, overall, batting 321 

greinke, into the windup, and delivers -- and the first pitch, in, for a strike 

there were five beaches...in normandy -- five -- the united states had two beaches to cover -- utah...and omaha -- the allies -- the british, canadians,... -- had gold, juno and sword

here's one, hit over the head of gonzalez, down the right-field line -- so, pena, on his horse, heading for second -- and he is in there, with a slicing double

so the switch-hitter hits a flare into right -- down the line -- and, with a two-out double, the batter will be b.j. upton

puig, making a strong throw, but had no chance

so pena continues...his solid hitting -- and here is...the other brother -- b.j. -- hitting only 153 -- i mean, here's a fellow who hit 300 for the rays -- but that was six years ago -- he had 28 home runs, last year, and he hit 246

right-hand batter -- and takes, low -- ball one -- 1-and-0

now b.j.'s given name is melvin emmanuel -- but do you know what 'b.j.' stands for -- 'bossman junior' -- the boss man [laughs], that's his father, manny's, longtime nickname -- bossman junior -- the 1-0 pitch, on the way -- off the plate -- ball two

b.j. -- a couple years older than justin

the father, manny, was a football and a baseball star at norfolk state 

two balls and no strikes, the count

greinke, out of the stretch -- looks at second -- back -- and misses low

so, fallen behind, 3-0, to upton 

tim hudson, on deck [on screen, hudson, swinging, in the on-deck circle]

hudson, so far this year, has six hits -- one home run -- and three runs batted in

tim federowicz goin' out to talk to greinke 

so it was d-day -- and early that morning, the u.s. troops arrived -- on utah and omaha -- turned out, that...omaha was a bloodbath -- compared to utah -- and the invasion was underway

3-0 pitch, in for a strike -- and the count, 3-and-1 

on that day, d-day, they have verified twenty-five-hundred...american fatalities -- a total of...four-thousand, four-hundred and fourteen dead...on the beaches -- about a thousand canadians and british, on gold -- and the same number at sword

3-1 pitch, on the way -- and that's taken for a strike -- 3-and-2 

the total german casualties on d-day, somewhere, as high as, maybe, nine thousand 

so, when you see the flag, when you see the calendar, when you hear the day...june the sixth -- especially for the youngsters...listening and watching -- don't ever forget it 

3-2 pitch...is high -- ball four

so b.j. draws the walk -- the braves have runners at first and second, with two out -- and tim hudson, comin' up

hudson, hitting a very solid 273

strikes out,...less than a third of the time 

any pitcher, who strikes out, less than half,...certainly is considered a problem 

so, two on, two outs -- second inning -- no score 

greinke, ready, and delivers -- for a strike -- and the count, 0-and-1 

when it is all said and done -- and june the sixth was the beginning...of the battle of normandy -- over four-hundred and twenty-five thousand...allied and german troops were killed -- four-hundred and twenty-five thousand

strike-one pitch...is down and away -- one ball and one strike

so it's not as if i know all these things -- i looked them up -- only because i want...the kids, especially, to never forget this day -- i think it's an obligation 

1-and-1, the count to hudson -- pena and upton...out on the lines

the next pitch -- in the dirt -- and a swing and a miss, by hudson -- 1-and-2, the count to tim 

the atlanta braves -- they've won five straight -- 15 outta 19 -- and the other note -- and freddy gonzalez knows about it, by heart [gonzalez, on the screen] -- if the braves...score first,...they are...25-and-3 -- 25-an'-3 [with a chuckle in his voice] 

hudson waiting -- greinke trying to get out of the trouble

the 1-2 pitch -- off-speed -- nubbed, in front of the plate -- federowicz throws to gonzalez, and that's it 

no runs, a hit, a walk, and two left -- and, at the end of an inning and a half,...no score

the baseball story (not a direct quote):

today is don sutton bobblehead day

[sutton threw out the ceremonial first pitch (before the game), to old battery-mate steve yeager]

doug harvey was a marvelous umpire -- he always told this story about don sutton -- i can't vouch for its...what's the word -- veracity -- but...he always told this story...about don

don was a great pitcher -- all-time leader for the dodgers in innings pitched, wins, shutouts -- he's in the hall of fame -- but he was always...suspected of doctoring the baseball

nothing was ever proven, but...there was always this suspicion -- that maybe he was using sandpaper

well, don was pitching, one day, and, that game, doug harvey was behind the plate

doug calls time out, and he goes out to the mound

"let me see your glove, don"

sutton hands him the glove

doug searches the glove, and he finds a piece of paper there

on the paper it says: you're warm, but it's not here

the swedish-italian connection; rigoletto comes to cleveland

yesterday (or was it the day before), i heard this incredible rendition of 'o soave fanciulla'...by jussi bjorling and renata tebaldi

all right -- i don't like the word 'incredible'...so much -- it was, certainly,...gorgeous -- amazing -- spine-tingling -- profound -- well,...you fill in...your own....

well, that combination...of a swede and an italian...connected, nicely, with my recent meeting of marco stella, the product of another...swedish-italian...duo -- marco's father is italian; his mother is swedish -- macro lives in gothenborg (pronounced 'yot'ti'bori' -- i think i got that right) -- and he's a very good guy

marco's in cleveland, to play rigoletto, on june 15, in a production by our local...opera circle -- in a return of opera to downtown cleveland -- playhouse square

i met marco, wednesday, after he performed with dorota sobieska, with her husband, jacek (yat'sek) on piano -- in a preview concert

i only caught part...of gilda's death scene...of the concert -- i'd come from the much-more-important concert of my nephew's fifth-grade...orchestra/band/chorus -- he plays the flute (like me, when i was a couple of years older than him)

speaking of...me -- my...musical...involvements -- i tried out for rigoletto's chorus -- joined in...two rehearsals -- couldn't cut it -- can't read the stitches on the fastball, couldn't hit the curve -- why, i couldn't even tell the difference between a fastball and a breaking pitch -- didn't know the count -- my batting stance...was a mess -- swinging...at all kinds of pitches -- fishing.... -- it was fun...fishing, though -- i'll keep on fishing

i might still get...to walk on stage

someone who will definitely be on the stage...is christina carr, as maddalena -- i met christina, a couple of months ago, at the wagner symposium, in walsh college

i just told marco about the great bjorling-tebaldi duet, and asked him if there's anything special -- in opera -- in history -- culturally -- between italy and sweden

'no,' he said, 'i think i'm writing that chapter'

i told him i was going to write this, and he...very helpfully...suggested a link...to a sample of his singing -- why didn't i think of that -- where does he get off,...telling me...how to do my job,...what to do

here goes

by the way, marco...loves his uncle bob

well,...here's another swedish-italian...coupling -- bjorling and pavarotti -- also from 'la boheme'

where do they get off...doing that duet