By Don Heckman

An evening of opera at a jazz club?  An unusual combination, it would seem.  Yet, there it was Monday night: “Gala Opera Night” at Vibrato Grill Jazz…etc., featuring soprano Demetra George, baritone Ralph Cato and pianist/music director Frank Fetta.  And why not?  As the restaurant’s General Manager, Hoss Zargaran pointed out, Vibrato also includes the word “etc. – et cetera” in its title.

Demetra George

“Not that I would ever think of opera as et cetera,” he said, “but it does open the possibility for scheduling musical events that reach beyond jazz.”

As it did this entertaining evening.  Although, as Fetta pointed out in his opening remarks, one could make a case for the fact that opera and jazz share common interests in dramatic pacing, rich harmonies and unique approaches to story telling.

The production, as such, was minimal.  Fetta playing the piano, and George and Cato singing arias from Puccini, Verdi, Bizet and others, acting their roles by the sheer use of body language alone.  But it was enough.  Both singers are experienced musical artists – George a 2-time Grammy nominee, Cato the veteran of world tours with the show “Riverdance.”  In addition to their impressive singing qualities, they brought atmospheric believability to each of the arias.

Ralph Cato

Understandably, most of the selections were classics, with the possible exception of the Vision fugitive from Massenet’s Herodiade, passionately rendered by Cato.  Both singers made the most of their showcase pieces.  George wove her way through the soaring demands of Sempre libera from La Traviata, the drama of Vissi d’arte from Tosca and the buoyant Czardas from Die Fledermaus.  Blessed with a remarkable vocal instrument, singing with appropriate drama for each of her characters, George’s only problem was her employment of a vibrato so wide that it often ranged into the area of tremolo.  And she’s too gifted a talent for her singing to be defined by a single, distracting characteristic.

In addition to Vision fugitive, Cato used his rich, strong sound and flowing phrasing to make most of the Toreador Song from Carmen and Alla vita che t’arride from Un Ballo in Maschera.  But the highlight segments of the program were the singers’ impressively theatrical renderings of a pair of duets: La Traviata’s Act II duet between Giorgio and Violetta, and the Nedda and Silvio duet from Pagliacci.

Fetta’s accompaniment was both supportive and energetic, and his witty, often humorous introductions provided perspective and background for an intriguing presentation of classic operatic music.

After the program, Zargaran said that there would be more events at Vibrato displaying different genres of music.  That would make a worthy addition to Music Director Pat Senatore’s already first rate jazz scheduling, and further establish the venue as a significant destination for fine music.

A rash of the Muppets performing their rendition of Bohemian Rhapsody has infested the internets today, appealing to people nostalgic for The Muppet Show and Queen. I’m glad to report that this is not just a passing fad, the Bohemian Rhapsody video being but a string in the strong presence that the Muppets are carving for themselves in the digital realm. We’ll report more on this development after the jump, but first, the aforementioned cover:

Jim Henson created more than a trademark, developing puppetry into a national hallmark from the dregs that it had found itself, creating family-friendly television that appealed both to children and their handlers. Thankfully, despite his untimely passing, the bar he raised remains high and apparently in good hands, with this coming computer-addicted generation-to-be still capable of getting their hands on good, educational programming.

The Muppets have always married entertainment to education, and continue in this excellence by creating digital shorts that showcase classical works to a new audience in a timely, humorous fashion. Take for instance Beaker’s rendition of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, Fourth Movement, commonly known as
Ode to Joy :

That video was in fact a response to this video:

which demonstrates that the marketing department for the Henson Company are on their A-game. They’re keeping on top of trends and topics and are adapting their campaign to match not just what people are watching, but what they’re doing too.

Following that same theme, they came out with this video, introducing to many net surfers I am certain, Johann Strauss’ An der schönen blauen, known to the English-speaking world as Blue Danube, via Gonzo and his “Pitch Perfect Poultry”:

Furthermore, the Henson Company is foraying into public consciousness and seemingly attempting to fix other companies’ screw-ups with human culture. Remember MTV’s Carmen: A Hip Hopera? (The audio synch on this video is screwy, but this is probably the best part of the whole debacle, and that’s only because of Mos Def.)

Well, The Swedish Chef, Beaker, and Animal take a shot at making you forget it all about it (sorry to have brought it up again) by taking on Georges Bizet’s most famous aria, Habanera from the opera Carmen:

Now, in closing, I would like to point out the Muppet’s social commentary, which there is a strong history of as well. This is made even more prevalent at the tail-end of those videos, where Waldorf & Statler (the grumpy old men in the box) comment on the videos they have just “watched” via the internet. If you haven’t watched these videos through to the end, go back and finish the Muppet ones, I’ll wait.

Waldorf and Statler continue with their acerbic remarks, but now through the safety of their office chairs, as here:

So not only is the Henson Company utilizing the magnificent tool that is the internet, but they’re also mocking it, gratuitously and defiantly? These guys are the epitome of digital productivity, deserving kudos, accolades, and commendations all around. Not only do they see the future, they’re actively working to make it a brighter place.

DESCARGA GRATIS LA PARTITURA DE EL ARIA HABANERA DE LA OPERA CARMEN DE BIZET. FORMATO PDF.

carmen habanera

L’article d’avui és un resum del fil que he desenvolupat al fòrum Una noche en la ópera, i que podeu llegir íntegre aquí.

La carrera de la contralt Jean Madeira (1918 – 1972) no només va ser desgraciàdament breu, sinó que a més és molt mal coneguda. La seva fama es basa gairebé únicament en els papers que va cantar a L’anell del nibelung, dels quals ja en vaig parlar fa un temps, i en la seva fenomenal Klytämnestra.

Si bé la fama la va aconseguir a Europa l’any 1955, Madeira va tenir una llarga i profitosa carrera al Met des del seu debut com a Primera Norna el 1948. Durant aquells set anys va cantar petits papers del repertori estàndard, impactant per la força i bellesa del seu registre greu i acompanyada per les grans estrelles de l’època.

Un gran exemple és la seva Cieca de La Gioconda de Ponchielli, que va cantar el 1952 i 1953 completant un repartiment excepcional: Milanov, Barbieri, Warren, Siepi… Aquí teniu Figlia che reggi il tremulo pie’, i si bé la dicció no és ni molt menys perfecta, estem davant d’una cega d’impacte.

Ara bé, el paper que va llançar Madeira a la fama va ser ni més ni menys que la Carmen de Bizet, en unes funcions que va cantar a Viena el 1955 i que van portar el públic al deliri. Per desgràcia només es conserva, que jo sàpiga, un enregistrament d’estudi molt difícil d’aconseguir i dirigit per Pierre Dervaux. Què us sembla escoltar-la, meravellosa, a l’ària de les cartes?

Madeira va cantar molts altres papers que, o bé no s’han publicat, o bé circulen de manera no oficial o minoritària: Ulrica, l’Auntie i Miss Sedley de Peter Grimes, la vella comtessa de La Dama de Piques, Suzuki, Fricka… Esperem que aquest llegat vagi sorgint mica en mica.

à Toulouse
le samedi 7 novembre 2009 à 20h30

A l’initiative de l’Association France-Turquie de Midi-Pyrénées, les pianistes turques Ilgin Aka et Gülden Teztel, professeurs au Conservatoire d’Etat de l’Université d’Istanbul, proposent un programme réunissant Mozart, Schubert, Bizet, Debussy et Liszt dans le cadre de la Saison de la Turquie en France (juillet 2009 – mars 2010).

Création : elles interprèteront une œuvre du compositeur turc, Ulvi Cemal Erkin, intitulée “Cinq gouttes” en l’adaptant au piano à quatre mains.

A bit of work out. Add your favorite opera. There you go.

This was the dress rehearsal for a revival of Francesca Zambello’s January 2007 production. It worked far better this time, mainly because Elina Garanča was such a superb Carmen. I last saw her as Cenerentola in the Metropolitan Opera’s live cinema screening, where she was excellent. Here, in quite a different role, her voice had the right edge for the part, and her acting was both seductively sexy and prettily arrogant. Compared to the performance of Anna Caterina Antonacci last time, which lacked all subtlety . . . well, there is no comparison at all. The dance sequences at Lilas Pastia’s, with professional dancers, seemed much better this time. Unfortunately the fight sequences directed by Mike Loades were still unconvincing. Designs by Tanya McCallin, with their high walls giving a sense of fateful claustrophobia, work well, as does the lighting by Paule Constable.

The orchestra gave a fine edge to the music, under the direction of Bertrand de Billy, who started things off at a galloping pace. With Elina Garanča as Carmen, and Roberto Alagna as Don José, both entirely convincing in their parts and singing so powerfully, this was a glowing performance. Liping Zhang did well as Micaela, Ildebrando D’Arcangelo was an elegant Toreador, and it was a delight to hear Henry Waddington speaking such commanding French as Lieutenant Zuniga.

Un poco de música clásica.

AHHHHAHAHAHAHAH! Finally
I have had this song stuck inside my head for months! Not being much of an opera buff I’ve struggled to put a name to it! My girlfriend is being driven absolutely crazy by me whistling it in her ear all the time and now I’ve finally found out what it is! And now i can whistle the rest at her and really piss her off!

Kemarin sambil membersihkan Mac Book Ibu saya, luar dan dalam, plus memasukan beberapa MP3 dari Mac Booknya ke BlackBerry, yang kalau dipikir lagi canggih juga yah Ibu saya yang notabene sedikit gaptek itu, punya perangkat berteknologi tinggi, kadang lebih canggih daripada saya itu, tapi bukan ini ceritanya, lanjut…saya memasukan beberapa lagu karya Georges Bizet, yang diambil dari opera Carmen, karya Bizet yang paling terkenal. Kebetulan Ibu dan saya senang sekali opera ini, walaupun saya belum pernah secara utuh menonton opera Carmen ini, walaupun rasanya pernah membeli DVDnya yang entah ngumpet di sebelah mananya kamar saya ini…

“adik-adik mu suka sebal sama kamu karena kamu suka memakai Les Toreadors, buat alarm pagi mu, sebelum kamu ke kantor…” begitu ceritanya kepada saya. Hahahaha Les Toreadors memang cocok buat bangun dan semangat ngantor, terlepas lagu ini suka dipakai di podium kehormatan di ajang F1. Dan terus terang ini bukan pertama kalinya saya mendengar cerita kalau adik-adik saya mengeluh kalau saya suka memasang lagu-lagu klasik ataupun opera, dari radio tape kamar saya. Tetapi bukan cerita tentang betapa saya menikmatinya musik klasik yang mau saya tulis di sini, tetapi betapa anehnya cara saya belajar menikmati musik klasik yang konon musiknya orang-orang “berkelas”, dengan cara yang sama sekali tidak berkelas…

Mau tahu dari mana saya belajar pertama kali Carmen-nya Bizet?, Benny Hill orang yang harus bertanggung jawab sepertinya…Eh, siapa itu manusia yang namanya Benny Hill?

Benny Hill adalah seorang komedian berasal dari Inggris, yang memulai debutnya sebagai pengisi acara komedi radio, yang kemudian hijrah ke televisi pada tahun 1949 melalui BBC, dan meraih kejayaannya mulai tahun 1955, dengan program komedinya “The Benny Hill Show”, selain membintangi beberapa film layar lebar…nah dari The Benny Hill Show-nya ini saya belajar Carmen. Gawatnya program komedi Benny Hill yang satu ini sebenarnya program komedi yang penuh slapstick, penuh dengan pelecehan wanita, dan sangat kental nuansa eksploitasi seksnya, walaupun masih dalam taraf sopan, hanya wanita-wanita bikini ataupun nyaris telanjang, tanpa memperlihatkan bagian vitalnya…(damn!), dan kalau mengingat opera musik yang berkelas, ngerti dong betapa kontradiktifnya bagaimana caranya saya belajar, eh tetapi apa hubungannya Carmen dan Benny?

Di salah satu episodenya, di era The Benny Hill Show hijrah ke produksi Thames, Benny Hill sempat membawakan interpertasinya akan opera Carmen ini, opera yang bercerita tentang seorang perempuan Gipsy pelinting lisong yang cantik rupawan nan penggoda bernama Carmen, yang diperebutkan para pria. Untuk lengkapnya? Mending nonton dulu deh, nanti nggak seru…nah versi Benny Hill kebayang dong, Benny Hill yang sangat layak mendapat julukan bocah tua nakal ini, walaupun dia sangat cerdas menurut saya, coba saja lihat komedi-komedi awalnya yang tidak hanya pamer paha, mengobrakabrik Carmen ini tentunya menjadi konyol dan seksi, lengkap dengan paha wanita yang dipertontonkan kemana-mana sebagai alat pelinting lisong…tetapi untungnya Benny Hill, tidak merusak total lagunya, mungkin ini pengaruh dari Benny yang tidak buta akan musik…dia sangat mengerti musik!, paling hanya liriknya saja yang diotak-atik, tanpa merusak komposisi Bizet. Sebenarnya lucu juga saya yang ketika itu SD, di awal tahun 80an bisa nonton Benny Hill berkali-kali, bersama sepupu-sepupu saya, dari video Betamax, mengingat buat ukuran orang Indonesia pastinya Benny Hill masuk kategori “panas”, apalagi ketika saya kuliah/awal kerja semakin kaget saya ketika salah satu televisi swasta Indonesia, menyiarkan Benny Hill, walaupun di jam tayang malam hari, dan telah dibabat sensor hampir 3/4nya, tentunya…sayangnya saya lupa TV apa yang menyiarkannya…

The Benny Hill Show sendiri terkenal dengan ending title scene-nya, orang-orang yang mengejar Benny Hill, dengan speed gambar yang di cepatkan, sehingga menyerupai gerakan film bisu ala Chaplin dulu. Dan tentunya opening/ending songnya, Yakety Sax-nya, Boots Randolph, yang sangat “monumental” itu…ini ada beberapa bukti betapa terkenalnya Benny Hill…

Salah satu versi Benny…

Ini tribute-nya

Kalau di Indonesia, mungkin salah-satu pengakuan betapa terkenalnya Benny Hill (sekaligus betapa menyedihkannya kreativitas komedian kita) dengan seringnya Benny Hill menjadi acuan Warkop DKI, era wanita seksi dan berbikini tentunya. Entah sadar ataupun tanpa sadar, atau malah karena mengira tidak semua orang bisa menyewa Benny Hill Show di rental Betamax, Warkop suka menjiplak beberapa adegan Benny Hill (dan adegan di Three’s Company, film seri Amerika, nanti dipostingan lainnya akan saya bahas), jadi betapa hebatnya si Benny ini.

Bertolak belakang dengan statusnya yang komedian, diakhir hidupnya Benny Hill sangat tragis, meninggal seorang diri di apartemennya dan kuburannya sempat di bongkar oleh fansnya, menyedihkan memang…

Terima kasih Benny…sudah mengajarkan saya Carmen…dan membuat saya mencintai Bizet…

Se llevó a a cabo en el salón principal de la Escuela, y contó con la presencia de casi un centenar de alumnos.

La Orquesta Sinfónica Municipal de Avellaneda, brindó el miércoles 26, un concierto didáctico en la Escuela Normal Superior Próspero Alemandri para un centenar de alumnos de la misma, padres y directivos, en el marco de los festejos por el 90º aniversario de la escuela durante este año. Los gran cantidad de presentes asistieron atentamente a la clase brindada por el Director de la misma, el Maestro Aníbal Ditarelli, quien detalló cada una de las familias de instrumentos que componen una orquesta. Posteriormente, la Orquesta interpretó dos obras completas del compositor francés, Georges Bizet, en las que se pudo apreciar la calidad musical de la Sinfónica Municipal. Previamente, el Secretario de Cultura, Educación y Promoción de las Artes, Hugo Caruso destacó este intercambio entre la Escuela y el Arte, ya que según sus palabras: “La Educación es un alimento para crecer culturalmente”.

Au programme pour cette rentrée, un ensemble d’œuvres découvertes en mai et jouées pour la première fois à l’occasion de la fête de la Musique, le 21 juin 2009, à la Bibliothèque Municipale d’Hérouville Saint Clair.

• Marche funèbre d’une marionette, de Charles Gounod (1818-1893)
• El Portenito, d’Angel Villoldo (1861-1919) arrangé par L. Letassey
• Coral et Violentango, d’Astor Piazzolla (1921-1992)
• Jeux d’Enfants, de Georges Bizet (1838-1875)
• Charlie et la chocolaterie, de Danny Elfman (1953-  )  d’après le film de Tim Burton du même nom.

Georges Bizet

Despertador tocou às 9h30 (igual ontem), e eu fiz o mesmo procedimento de levantar, desligar e voltar a dormir, e o sono (somado com a preguiça) era tamanho que nem celular ouvi tocar, tampouco baterem na porta para limparem o meu quarto.

Levantei, conscientemente e por livre arbítrio, somente depois das 12h.

As horas passam rápido, então o pouco que fiz depois de acordar (ir ao banheiro, falar ao telefone, ficar na janela do quarto olhando o arredor e tomar banho) já consumiu umas quatro horas do dia, o que hoje é algo bom, pois não terei muito o que fazer, e ficar parado esperando por algo é entediante.

Chegando no centro de Verona, depois de dar uma caminhada rápida entre as mesas dos restaurantes, fui até a bilheteria da Arena di Verona para comprar meu ingresso na área gradinata (ou em inglês unreserved stone steps – assentos de pedra não reservados) que custou €21, e parti em busca do Museo di Castelvecchio.

Tentei fazer uma filmagem interessante, mas me senti um absoluto babaca, então se eu conseguir salvar algum trecho da filmagem eu coloque no Youtube. O Museo é bacana, como sempre, trata-se de um castelo (ou algo similar) que tem uma área de onde você pode ter uma vista bem legal de toda Verona, tem um ponto mais alto também, um pouco perigoso de subir (uma escadinha de pedra sem corrimão) mas que te dá uma vista melhor ainda.

Precisava esperar o portão abrir, e eu havia entendido que abriria apenas 19h50, mas abriu antes. Eu cheguei muito antes, fiquei sentado lá em frente, olhando para as pessoas e ouvindo música, e a fila começou a se formar na minha frente, ao meu redor, e antes que aquilo crescesse e me consumisse eu resolvi levantar e assumir meu lugar.

Estavam vendendo alugando almofadas, que na verdade eram mais estofados soltos de cadeiras, quadrados e firmes, para quem fosse assistir ao espetáculo nas cadeiras de pedra. Claro que eu não peguei um, mas em compensação eu gastei €4 em uma água tônica (dentro da Arena) que pensei ser água natural. Compensei (?) gastando outros €4 em uma Pepsi.

Ao meu lado tinha um signore de 64 anos (segundo ele próprio), que me lembrou um pouco aquele velho do filme Peixe Grande, e ele cismou em conversar comigo mesmo depois de eu falar que não falava italiano (aquela minha famosa frase da viagem que inicia qualquer diálogo meu). Foi incômodo, mas nos divertimos um pouco: apesar de não entender muita coisa, a gente se uniu para tirar sarro do cabelo de duas senhoras ou da barriga de um outro cara (ou de qualquer coisa, o cara era um fanfarrão).

Em um momento da noite cheguei a pensar que ele fosse aqueles velhos tarados que gostam de meninos novos (ui eu sou novo) mas pareceu que ele era apenas alguém que puxava papo com qualquer um, ele fez isso com o casal grego (acho) do outro lado, com as senhoras da frente (que tiramos sarro do cabelo), com um casal italiano (cujo homem da relação parecia o Steve Carrell), com os vendedores de livros e programação do espetáculo, com os vendedores de água etc.

Agora falando do espetáculo (Carmen, di Georges Bizet): maravilhoso.

Para começar: os assentos de pedra são os melhores lugares, pois você tem a melhor visão do palco e de toda a cena (só precisa escolher os setores D ou F e ficar no meio da Arena – de frente para o palco), e o espetáculo, apesar de eu não entender nada de italiano tampouco da peça, foi muito legal. O pouco que posso dizer é que por ser de noite, tudo fica lindo com as luzes: a Arena ficou toda escura, e só o palco e a área da orquestra ficava iluminada, e isso vale o preço.

A ópera também, mesmo para quem não entende nada (como eu) vale a pena assistir, é um laço cultural interessante, principalmente quando os atos terminavam e gritos como bravo precediam os aplausos.

E é muita gente no palco, no começo você fica meio perdido, porque no centro está acontecendo uma cena, e nas laterais (destacadas com um grande forro vermelho) acontecem outra cena, mesmo sendo apenas pessoas dançando ou encenando algo que, aparentemente, não significa nada tão vital.

O cansativo é que tem mais de 3 horas (20 minutos de intervalo entre cada ato), e começando às 21h termina por volta da 00h30, somando com o fato de sua bunda estar em um assento de pedra (original da construção).

Salvou a vida ver que há vida depois da meia-noite no centro de Verona, mesmo que dispersa e diminuindo a cada minuto (são geralmente pessoas terminando de comer, ou saindo do espetáculo), o que me encorajou a ir ao restaurante (o mesmo que tirei a foto daquela fatia de pizza do tamanho do motor de Monza) ter a refeição (completa) do dia: bebida, fatia de pizza e sobremesa (cheesecake, igual o do outro restaurante) custaram por volta de €13.

Voltei de taxi para o hotel, e hoje não irei usar a internet do hotel, deixarei para amanhã depois que realizar o checkout (desta vez, confirmado o dia certo para não dar mais problemas).

Agora preciso dormir, para conseguir acordar cedo amanhã e não ter problemas por aqui.

Concierto Homenaje a Nuestra Señora de la Asunción

Orquesta Sinfónica Municipal de Avellaneda
Maestro Invitado: Aníbal Emilio Ditarelli

Catedral de Avellaneda-Lanús
14 de agosto de 2009

Programa

Obertura “Las Hébridas” Op.2
FELIX MENDELSOHN

Sinfonía Nº1, en Do Mayor, Op.2
LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN

Suite Nº1 de la ópera “Carmen”
GEORGES BIZET

Agnes Baltsa is apparently a great singer, though I wouldn’t know since this is the first opera I’ve ever audited, but what I do know, without a doubt, is that she’s too old for the role of Carmen. To be sure, all four of the leads in the 1987 Met version of Carmen are vastly too old for their roles. All the makeup in the world doesn’t hide it, and I become fairly uncomfortable watching them prance around performing the roles of teenagers, really sexy teenagers, and I keep thinking of Hamlet telling his mother “you cannot call it love; for at your age / The hey-day in the blood is tame, it’s humble, / And waits upon the judgment.” And I cry, and I cry, and I cry, and I cry.

A note by the Royal Opera House mentioned that contemporary reviews found the music replete with dissonance, which is difficult to imagine in an age when Carmen feels like a three-hour salad dressing commercial (by the way: salad comes from the Latin for ’salt’–which means that a plate of vegetables is nothing but a plate of vegetables until you dress it, fool). A note by the San Francisco Opera described Carmen’s death as being the ultimate act of love for herself and Don José. I don’t see any evidence for this, partially because Carmen reads her fate in the cards and only afterwards seems bent on seeking its reality. But most of all, I think she’s just a fickle whore for whom such an ending, if truly an act of love, is too good.

Anyway, seeing as I don’t know anything about opera and thus shouldn’t make comments, I’ll briefly mention the things I find interesting about the character of Micaela:

“To illustrate: opera, as a matter of convention, demands solo voices…a soprano, contralto, tenor and bass in primary roles; there are vocal combinations of these four timbres, a chorus, orchestral interludes and accompaniments. The heroine, Carmen, conceived by the composer as a contralto, needed the light, lyric quality of a soprano voice as a foil. Mérimée’s gypsy had no female rival, so that Bizet felt obliged to invent one: Micaela” (Nowinski).
…

“The most frequently criticized artistic concession, on the part of Bizet, is his creation of Micaela. She springs to life, fully grown like Athena, based on a single mention in Mérimée. Purists invariably conclude that she represents a violation of the author’s original story. Don José’s reminiscence of a Basque maiden is simply personified–a legitimate, conventional tool, used by dramatists. Seen in this light, and as a vocal foil for Carmen’s contralto voice, Micaela assumes genuine validity.”

I need a soprano, so how about an imaginary soprano who always knows where to find Don José, with whom other characters don’t particularly interact (except the soldiers at the outset, the situation that, according to San Francisco Opera, illustrates her pluck and tenacity), who acts as a convenient reminder of an absent mother, and disappears when the protagonist forgets to shave. Micaela. These are loose ends, that we don’t know what becomes of her, or the mother, and unfortunately I just don’t care.

And that’s the problem so far. When I see this I feel like I’m watching ART. Levine waves at the audience before each act, and after each act the players come out and bow and hold hands and we’re constantly reminded, as if their wrinkles didn’t do it for us, that this isn’t real. It’s ART. They each spent a minimum of five years learning how to breathe properly, and the emotions they draw from us aren’t nearly so important as the emotions we imagine should be drawn from us. It’s heavy-handed.

“Complex problems confront us when we seek to define ‘meaning.’ . . .Cone maintains that when the [composer] sets a poem to music, he actually chooses ‘one among all its forms,’ that ‘he delimits one sub-set within the complete set of all possible forms.’ This unique concept, Cone suggests, ‘might be termed a latent form of the poem; and . . . the composer’s task is to make the latent form patent by presenting it through the more specific, inflexible, and immediate medium of music.’ In summary, he asserts: ‘Ultimately there can be only one justification for the serious composition of a song; it must be an attempt to increase our understanding of the poem.’“

This reminds me of the second line in Fitzgerald’s This Side of Paradise: “His father, an ineffectual, inarticulate man with a taste for Byron,” a line that effects in me considerable discomfort. Art must be created for somebody, mustn’t it? I mean, somebody who gleans something more than cocktail-talk from it. And to sit here and watch an orchestra of secretaries, and a stage of secretaries (witness: Micaela’s two minutes of sighs and breast-clutching as she awaits the audience to shut the hell up), and to be told that This is ART, this is brilliance…I simply cannot believe it. Anything gained or understood from this must be purely from our own expectations of its gravity and depth, not from what’s actually there. What should be a combination of all these forms at their greatest heights rather feels like mediocrity, mediocrity, mediocrity, and I feel nothing, though I swear I try.

Anyway, I suppose what I’m getting at is that I enjoy What a Girl Wants so much because even if I don’t believe it, I can at least pretend to believe it because Amanda Bynes’ prettiness merits it. I pretend because I want it to be real because she’s pretty. So, in short, if opera is to gain my adoration, either the players must become younger, or the stories all have to be about old people and whatever their concerns happen to be, I dunno, groceries or Medicare.

Obviously, I saw the 1987 version from the Met. I read “Sense and Sound in Georges Bizet’s Carmen”, by Judith Nowinski. The French Review © 1970. And the lectures I heard from the Royal Opera House and the San Francisco Opera, I honestly don’t have any details on them.