my super-excellent met adventure, part 2

for the nightcap...of my day-night doubleheader, i saw 'otello'

krassimira stoyanova, as desdemona, was great -- powerful voice -- really...exploded,...when she first came out -- opened up

stoyanova and jose cura (otello)

i found another great scene from verdi -- the man has some sense for the dramatic

otello has been reduced to a groveling...worm, prostrate on the ground -- outside, the citizens of cyprus are singing the praises of the lion of venice, for his recent victory -- inside, however, iago stands astride...the defeated otello -- the utterly defeated otello -- and iago roars,...'ecco il leoni'

thomas hampson is a great actor, as well as a great singer

hampson and cura

on the subway ride after 'otello,' i was sitting next to a man reading a spanish newspaper -- on the back cover of the paper was a picture of new york mets pitcher johann santana (for weeks, i'd been singing 'meet the mets,' when i hear,...think about...the met) -- i eventually noticed that he had a plastic bag from the met opera shop -- i asked him if he attended the opera -- he said he worked in the shop -- i showed him the tie i wore (since removed...and placed in my met bag), like the ones sold in the shop

his name is ivan, he's from peru, and he was an opera singer -- he said he was there, for juan diego florez's first voice lesson, when florez was 17 and ivan was 21 -- ivan taught archeology in peru, for 12 years, and sumerian/mesopotamian mythology...were his favorite -- he said that all religions and mythologies...hail from it -- i told him about my nephew and lugalbanda -- i later asked him about santana -- he said he didn't understand baseball -- hadn't learned it

sunday morning, i went back to the met, for their backstage tour -- they're sold out, for the rest of the season, but i thought i'd give it a shot, anyway

i waited and waited,...in front of the met building, but...no tour group

meanwhile, there was a big group, on the other side of the fountain, singing -- in a foreign language

i haven't been able to insert the video of their singing (from my camera) here -- i'll keep trying

in any case, they were, all girls, and they were from the czech border-city karvina -- they were in new york, for a singing competition -- two days later, in carnegie hall -- and had a concert in st. patrick's church, monday afternoon

i was told, variously, that they sang permonik (which i heard, and recorded), za nasim humenkem and este si zazpivam

then came a group from a high school in salt lake city -- they sang a hymn -- i just looked it up -- it's called 'the saints bound for heaven' -- part of it goes, 'and through all eternity, we'll rejoice, we'll rejoice' -- i gave 'em...an opera 'bravo'

then they sang...what sounded like a polynesian song -- i caught the words...'nimoni noyay' -- that's what it sounded like

well, i then walked around the corner, to the lincoln center's newest building, the david rubenstein atrium -- i found out, there, that there were no backstage tours of the met, that day (neither the morning or the afternoon tour) -- probably because it was easter sunday -- i must check the metropolitan opera guild web-site, next time -- they're the ones who conduct the tours, and not metropolitan opera

there were, however, tours of the lincoln center complex -- they call it 'campus'

that tour included the met and the koch theater (formerly the state theater -- designed by cleveland-native philip johnson), which, amazingly, was home to new york city opera, from the time it was built, in 1964, until two years ago -- the metropolitan opera house, next door, opened in 1966

what a building boom took place there, in a matter of...four, five years

there was a dispute over the two...colossal sculptures...at the ends of the second-floor lobby -- i think it was between johnson and the director of the new york city opera/ballet, who didn't want them -- well, to resolve the dispute, johnson had the sculptures installed first, then had the building and staircases (behind the sculptures) constructed, through which...the sculptures could not be removed

there's a similar...construction...design...feat...with the met...building

the lower,...elliptical part of the main staircase...is one piece of concrete,...which had to be installed first, and the rest of the building...built around it

this must be from friday night -- the upper picture, during traviata's matinee

inside the met's auditorium, our tour-guide, sarah, talked about the acoustics of the hall, and asked if anyone wanted to sing -- so i sang the first four lines of 'vedrai carino' -- and...got into...the fifth line,...before...i was rudely cut off -- didn't have to practice much, either -- actually, i have -- in hindsight, i think i should've made a run for it,...to the stage

for my next installment -- my next trick -- my last trick -- food...and a building...that may have been designed by an old friend

my excellent canton adventure

i attended the saturday portion of this weekend's wagner symposium -- part of my...opera education -- it was organized by the wagner society of ohio, and was held in walsh university, in north canton

in the afternoon, i was introduced to the singing of jane eaglen -- a revelation

she held a master class, then talked about her career -- the interviewer, wagner society board member steve charitan, did a very nice job of pairing her recordings, and singing, of isolde and norma -- she's an amazing singer, and her rendition of casta diva...is incredible

i've added it to my...collection

one of the pupils in the master class, christina carr, will play maddalena, in opera circle's production of rigoletto, mid-june -- in playhouse square -- i gave her...my two cents' worth...on the quartet -- actually, it's...a couple-millions' worth [may 4: christina carr had said that she wasn't familiar with the part, the scene, and...had just purchased the libretto, during a layover in new york, on her way to cleveland]

in the evening, the canton symphony orchestra performed four wagner pieces and stravinsky's rite of spring

i was really impressed by the orchestra -- amazed to see...some...dozen cellists, and, maybe,...eight bassists -- although i was informed (by two members of the wagner board) that this was necessitated by wagner's music, and that the orchestra brought in musicians from indiana, pittsburgh, and other...points...unknown

the conductor, gerhardt zimmermann, has been there since 1980

hometown girl amy yekel (who was sponsored by the ohio wagner society) sang the liebestod from tristan und isolde and brunnhilde's immolation scene from gotterdammerung

the sublimity -- the sublimeness -- of the liebestod...struck me,...for the first time

in between, the orchestra played ride of the valkyries -- which always brings to mind...my main man bugs bunny's classic 'what's opera, doc?' -- years ago, i played for my nephews and niece, when they were...littler

in looking for the bugsie classic, i saw, to my amazement, that it's been done, on stage -- here are two productions

then, of course, there's robert duvall, who's one of my favorites

before the concert, i found, by chance, in belden village, a really good italian fast-food place -- piada -- part of a chain -- a woman in line told me she'd been to one in columbus -- i'll see about getting one...to these parts

i just looked for them, on-line, and,...lo and behold, there's one on cedar, just west of warrensville -- you'll find me...there

look what love can do...to you: lacrime

leading off, enrico caruso -- what a great lead-off hitter

batting second, beniamino gigli -- look out, though,...he's got a gentle touch -- he can lay one down

batting third, jussi bjorling -- maybe he should be batting cleanup, but...i'm kind of batting them, by age

cleaning up, our female...member -- our token female -- nana mouskouri -- hey, we need a woman, don't we, to clean up

batting fifth, mario lanza -- man, i'd like to have him...on my team -- he was...batting third, but then i saw...gigli...at the other end of the dugout

in fact,...there's lanza again, stealing second -- stealing the scene

next up, fritz wunderlich -- our switch-hitter, swinging...with a german bat

batting seventh, luciano -- he's touchin' all the bases

next up, domingo -- remember, he pronounces his name...plathido (as in throw)

and batting ninth, josep carreras

wow -- what a lineup -- how'd you like to have those guys...in the bottom of your order

on the bench, we've got some youngins -- all,...from the latin leagues

the king of the high seas...can hit 'em out of the park -- and here,...he sails around the bases...twice -- a rare feat, especially nowadays

rolando's also going around the bases twice -- what's going on here

and look -- one of our regulars, doing double-duty, waving ramon vargas in from third

here's marcelo alvarez, back when he was with an argentinian minor-league team -- no hesitation step...from the kid

good guys...to have on the bench

and we're back to the top of the order

moffo, merrill, candid camera, burl ives, bjorling

in her last interview, moffo talks about her relationship with robert merrill

moffo and merrill -- 'ditte alla giovine'

then there's this great appearance by merrill,...on 'candid camera'

here, she sings 'chacun le sait, chacun le dit,' from "la fille du regiment,'...on burl ives's tv show (1964); then, with ives, 'turn around' ('where are you going, my little one')

finally, merrill -- very funny -- talking about jussi bjorling, and a recording of the quartet

for more quartet -- quartets -- including one...with bjorling

great interview with 'la bellissima'

lindsay perigo...is quite a satirist/political commentator too

my super-excellent met adventure

thanks to my old friend ahmed, i got two tickets to see diana damrau and placido domingo...in 'traviata' at the met, two saturdays ago -- i so wanted to see this show -- damrau is great, and... -- well, what can you say about domingo -- you know, he pronounces his name 'plathido' (as in 'throw') -- and maybe all spaniards pronounce it that way -- because there was a king...who couldn't make the 's' sound (i'll have to find out...who/when...this was), and...'bob's your uncle' -- 'it's-good-to-be-da-king'

well, ahmed, incredibly, came through

'traviata' was the matinee, and the evening's show was 'otello,' with thomas hampson as iago (i saw him in akron, a few weeks ago) -- i planned on buying a standing-room ticket for 'otello'

the only time i attended a show in the met before -- in '96, i think -- i bought a standing-room ticket, and, at intermission, was handed a ticket for a seat, by a man...as he and his date were exiting the theater -- now, not having anybody...to use the second ticket for traviata, i realized, as i was approaching new york, friday evening, that i might be able to exchange one of my tickets.... -- and...'bob's your uncle'...again

i found out, however, that you can't exchange tickets, day of show, and...i just made it...to the box office,...before it closed, at eight o'clock -- super...'bob's your uncle'

what a splendid weekend of opera -- topped off...by visits to my journalism-workmate from jerusalem jill hamburg...and my cousin raouf -- and their families -- very nice visits

raouf, i could call...my oldest friend -- he was born, 14 days after me (also in england), and, when i wouldn't drink my mother's milk, our mothers...traded us, and...'bob's your uncle' -- delicious -- and...i've been drinking milk, ever since -- well, not really, but....

jill, and her family, spent last school year in china, where she taught journalism and communications (as a fulbright scholar) at the foreign-languages university in beijing -- she and her 13-year-old son kenny...put together a 'slide show'...with music...about ancient sites in china -- kenny's very interested in architecture and history (among other things), and he...pressed the rest of his family...to travel inside the country (they made 17 trips, during the year), and...they discovered...how little attention...is paid...to the ancient sites in the country -- the communists...tore old things down (including the walls of old cities) -- persecuted and executed...practitioners of traditional...hand...crafts

so, for his bar mitzvah, kenny is raising money for the world monuments fund -- i thought it belonged to the u.n., but i was wrong -- kenny's using his (rich) 'slide presentation'...as a vehicle

back to my day at the met

my approach to the green -- the batteries in the camera died, on the ride -- those things...get eaten up fast

i'm there

look where i'm sitting

the good doctor grenvill,...waiting -- waiting...for violetta

i'm taking it all in -- excited...to be here

i wanna know what this sculpture (above the proscenium) is all about -- one person said it's to do with work

each seat -- and even...each spot...in the standing-room...elbow-...counters (padded counters) -- has one of these little screens -- problem is, they're at chest level, and...don't lend themselves to seeing the action on the stage...and reading...the text -- you have to...look...up and down -- repeatedly -- you can switch to german, spanish and italian -- no french, to my surprise

at intermission, i walked around, took in the sites...and angles

a display case, downstairs, of memorabilia and photographs from verdi operas; there are...a number of these, around the house

this man, in a purple-and-black met uniform (he plays shortstop -- actually, he's the rover), goes around, chiming the warning bells

back inside, this lone...clarinetist...was practicing

on the conductor's stand

after intermission, peter gelb came onto the stage

oh-oh -- could only be bad news -- obviously, about domingo (who hasn't appeared yet)

gelb said the same -- then went on,...that in the history of the met, no tenor has confronted more challenging roles than domingo -- today, though, he's facing a different kind of challenge -- allergies -- and that he wanted us to know

my reaction was...why does he even need to have such an announcement made

well, he was great, in 'di provenza'

this audio recording...is supposedly from the performance i attended

after the show, a man sitting in the row in front of me said, if that's how he is, when he's not well, i'd like to see how he is, when he's fine -- he also said...that domingo wants to be perfect

this very large painting of domingo...is on one side of the downstairs lobby

damrau was great -- singing, acting,...the whole thing -- she's just...irrepressible -- inimitable

her delicate...parts...were especially...beautiful -- noteworthy

i love this...song,...duet,...sequence of songs...that starts with 'dite alla giovine' -- another great...father-daughter...pairing...by verdi

then...this great scene, where she's singing...from flat on her back (also, reportedly, from march 30)

and the grand finale (from this production)

during one of her bows, she did a spin -- i didn't catch it, on camera -- i think this is the tail end of it

after the first show of the run, the radio announcer for the met...said she jumped, up and down -- she'd said that violetta was her dream role, and doing it at the met...the utmost of dreams

the albanian tenor saimir pirgu...was very good, too

i liked his acting...much more than matthew polenzani's, who struck me...as a bit of a dip, not only in the role of alfredo (in the met simulcast), but, also, in their...'stuarda' and 'elisir' -- pirgu's singing was excellent too

on the left, maria zifchak (annina)

that's (tie-less) conductor yannick nezet-seguin, kissing damrau's hand

i've gotta include...an anna moffo...recording ('e strano... sempre libera,'...from a live performance)

i can't resist -- another...amazing rendition (hey, i didn't include...two -- maybe...more -- and there's the great one...from her...'debut recordings')

you can also go...to her...farewell... -- her 'addio' -- and...marie mclaughlin's

as i have time, i'll write more -- there's...that evening's 'otello,' with a very dramatic scene (verdi's got some...sense -- capacity -- flair -- ...for the dramatic -- see, the quartet...from 'rigoletto'); there's my meeting...a lovely man...on the subway, who was taking a lesson, when juan diego florez was taking his first; and, the next day, a tour of lincoln center, during which...i sang for the group...in the met,...right there, in the auditorium -- stay tuned -- i could spend...the next couple months, writing about...this trip