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

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

thank-yaw,...groucho

here's why i've been saying...'thank-yaw,'...for the last...four, five,...however-many months -- i was watching...'day at the races,' on tcm, and...'bob's your uncle' -- thank-yaw

then, last week, in great lakes theater's...outreach play...'double heart' (david hansen's prequel...to 'much ado' -- his backstory...for beatrice and benedick), he used the line...'if i get any closer to you, i'll be behind you'