Spend Thanksgiving Night with WVPT and enjoy some GREAT Performance programs!

At 8pm tune-in for the new ‘Radio City Christmas Spectacular Starring The Rockettes”. This holiday special features numbers like legendary “Parade of the Wooden Soldiers” and thrill as Santa takes you on a magical ride to his workshop at the North Pole, where playful ragdolls come to life. Everyone marvels at the stunning reenactment of the first Christmas in the “Living Nativity”

Then at 9:30 you are sure to enjoy“The Three Tenors Christmas”, a holiday favorite with The Three Tenors, Jose Carreras, Placido Domingo and the late Luciano Pavarotti. Taped in December 1999 at the Konzerthaus in Vienna, accompanied by the Vienna Symphony and joined by the Gumpoldskirchner Spatzen Children’s Choir, this program features popular Christmas songs such as “White Christmas,” “Jingle Bells,” as well as beloved carols and sacred songs such as “O Holy Night,” and “Amazing Grace.”

And this is how it is done. All comments saying that Paul Potts’ version is better than this, shalt be instantly deleted.

The expression at the finale “Vincero!” is worth a million words. This is probably the most emotional performace I’ve ever seen. This is why he is The Pavarotti.

Captivat fiind de ”Suferintele tanarului Werther”,compozitorul Jules Massenet a adaptat romanul lui Goethe sub forma unei drame lirice,cunoscuta ca opera( in 4 acte) ”Werther”(1892).

”Când, în seara zilei de 12 august, cei doi îşi vorbesc despre pasiune  şi minte, sau despre pasiune şi stăvilirea ei, poziţiile sunt fără echivoc. Când Albert se pronunţă împotriva pasiunii şi în favoarea minţii: un om târât de pasiunile  lui îşi pierde mintea şi trebuie privit ca un om beat, ca un nebun, avem în faţă un vizionar. Tot aşa, ca vizionar, îi răspunde Werther: O, voi oamenii cuminţi!

Ultimele cuvinte ale lui Werther sunt binecuvântarea adresată lui Albert, logodnicul lui Lotte. Albert! Fă-ţi îngerul fericit! Şi Domnul să te binecuvânteze! În 21 decembrie, când îi adresează cuvintele de mai sus lui Albert, Werther nu mai dispunea de sine. Nu mai era un om liber, şi nici vesel aşa cum fusese înainte de a face cunoştinţă cu Lotte. Între 4 mai şi 21 decembrie Werther evoluează de la starea unui om liber la starea unuia care nu mai dispune de sine şi nici de actele sale. Încă din 8 noiembrie el îi scria lui Wilhelm: „dragul meu, sunt pierdut. Poate să facă din mine ce vrea iar în 14 decembrie admite că nu mai doreşte nimic şi nu mai vrea nimic.“

Werther se sinucide din respect absolut pentru legea morală şi păstrarea intactă a sufletului frumos. Astfel el o şi pierde pe Lotte dar o şi păstrează. Pentru că el nu se îndrăgosteşte efectiv de o Lotte carnală, de o Lotte ca simplă prezenţă imediată, palpabilă şi adevărată în carne şi oase doar. Lotte este adevărată pentru Werther ca imagine a lui, ca expresie a sufletului frumos căruia el îi aducea ofranda dragostei sale. Se poate spune, în acest sens, că Werther se îndrăgosteşte de propria sa închipuire, de construcţia imaginaţiei sale. Lotte de care se îndrăgosteşte Werther este un produs fabricat în atelierele proprii după o reţetă a tehnologiei vremii.

…iar aici,frumoasa arie,in interpretarea regretatului Pavarotti.

L’altre dia, visitant el web del dibuixant Vizcarra, vaig descobrir algunes caricatures de personatges relacionats amb el món de la música. Si passeu el ratolí per damunt de la imatge sabreu qui és cada músic, tot i que penso que no caldria…

citando il titolo di un libro di soriano, mi sembra giusto ricordare – anche se può sembrare ipocrita – il grassone più simpatico del pianeta, anche se non mi era calata la scelta di (ri)sposare la sua segretaria, la donna qualunque, anche un po’ viperetta. comunque, contento lui, contenti tutti, anche se preferisco a lui domingo prima di rimettermi a studiare, per il mio secondo d-day fissato il 20 settembre – pregate per la fille de poche – lo ricordo mentre canta la mia aria preferita, vesti la giubba tratta da i pagliacci di ruggero leoncavallo. in quest’opera, un gruppo di attori recita a montalto uffugo a cosenza, e il protagonista canio recita la parte di un pagliaccio tradito, ma canio è stato veramente tradito dalla moglie, vorrebbe chiarire, ma lo spettacolo deve continuare…citando freddie…the show must go on

“Recitar! Mentre preso dal delirio,
non so più quel che dico,
e quel che faccio!
Eppur è d’uopo, sforzati!
Bah! sei tu forse un uom?
Tu se’ Pagliaccio!

Vesti la giubba,
e la faccia in farina.
La gente paga, e rider vuole qua.
E se Arlecchin t’invola Colombina,
ridi, Pagliaccio, e ognun applaudirà!
Tramuta in lazzi lo spasmo ed il pianto;
in una smorfia il singhiozzo il dolor, Ah!

Ridi, Pagliaccio,
sul tuo amore infranto!
Ridi del duol,
che t’avvelena il cor!”

bisoux,

la fille de poche

(originally posted on: 08/09/07 – modified on: 24/10/09)

Modena – Italia, 13 septembrie 1994! Ăştia-s artişti!

Sitting in an empty concert hall, I remember leaning over the polished banister, enthralled by the enormous sound escaping the quaking lips on a bearded chin.  I had the opportunity to attend the dress rehearsal of Puccini’s opera, Turandot, with my fifth grade class, and the memory of hearing “Nessun Dorma” for the first time has remained one of my fondest musical recollections.  The celebrated aria gives me goose bumps each time I hear it – each time my junior year English teacher’s cell phone went off with the sound of Luciano Pavarotti’s resounding “Nessun dorma! Nessun dorma!”

Luciano Pavarotti – Nessun Dorma

I get the same feeling each time my Grandmother plays her favorite recording of Paul Potts’s reverberating performance of the aria at our family’s holiday celebrations.  Potts became famous after his performance of “Nessun Dorma” on the popular TV series Britain’s Got Talent.  The aria’s presence is not that of an unapproachable operatic intellect, but that of a pop song.

Paul Potts – Nessun Dorma

The popularity of the aria, despite its operatic status, is astounding when one considers the cultural pedestal upon which opera is often placed.  As a genre, opera is intimidating to much of the American public.  This fact has a great deal to do with the foreign languages, such as Italian and German, in which many famous operas are written; Puccini’s Turandot among them, which is written in Italian.  To many of today’s music listeners, opera is fundamentally nothing more than classical music – alone, often considered an intimidating European art form – paired with incomprehensible singing and fantastical theatrical sets.  How can the average person discourse on such a topic?  It is, after all, considered “art;” not understood by the masses, but by those who have had the necessary training and who can recognize the genius of the music.  Such individuals are permitted to attend performances in great concert halls with polished banisters; only individuals such as these are expected to be enthralled by the enormous sounds and trembling vibratos that escape the lips of highly trained opera singers.  What one often forgets is the history of the pre-canonized opera.

At the time of such famous composers as Mozart and Wagner, opera was the music of the masses.  Although opera was originally confined to the royal courts of Europe, it soon became the “pop” music of the Baroque era (the late sixteenth century to the early eighteenth century) and beyond.  Opera singers became celebrities and many operatic performances were salted with a flavor of spectacle to entertain common European audience members.  Although Giacomo Puccini’s opera Turandot was not performed until 1926, it was still considered popular music by musicologists of the time.  In fact, Puccini’s style was often dismissed by musicologists as shallow because of its emphasis on melody for popular appeal.  My Grandmother herself, when playing her recording of “Nessun Dorma,” once told me that although Puccini’s operatic compositions were not considered “mature” – or elitist – operas, she could not help going weak at the knees when listening to Paul Potts.  And indeed, behind the intimidating Italian jargon lie the breathtaking words of a common young man in love:

No one shall sleep!…
No one shall sleep!
Even you, o Princess,
In your cold room,
Watch the stars,
That tremble with love and with hope.
But my secret is hidden within me,
My name no one shall know.
No!…No!…
On your mouth I will speak it when the light shines.
And my kiss will dissolve the silence that makes you mine!…
No one will know his name and we must, alas, die.
Vanish, o night!
Set, stars! Set, stars!
At dawn, I will conquer! I will conquer! I will conquer!

Lauren Corallo

That’s what happens when two of  the Greatests Singers Of All Time sing together… They did it their way

Aldous Huxley (Brave New World) is in the second row, third from the left (to his right is poet Dylan Thomas).*

It’s been so cold this week, Mr. Singh, my Outreach Connection connection was wearing a bedraggled parka as he stood on the corner flogging his paper, which is sold to support the homeless and unemployed.

He told me he’ll be moving his location indoors to the Metro Hall lobby once the really cold weather hits.

I’m glad I caught him in his usual spot because his regular cover feature, “Notable Quotables,” this issue was my favourite one so far:

“After silence, that which comes nearest to expressing the inexpressible is music.”  Music at Night, 1931
— Aldous Huxley (1894-1963)

Did you know?

● Huxley’s novel The Doors of Perception (1954) developed a cult following in the psychedelic 1960s, and inspired the name of the rock band The Doors.

● Huxley also appears on the sleeve of The Beatles’ landmark Sgt. Pepper (1967) album.

● He died of cancer on November 22, 1963 – the same day as C.S. Lewis and John F. Kennedy.

*To find out who else is on the Sgt. Pepper cover, go here.

P.S. Here are two of my favourite examples of “expressing the inexpressible” … in fact, neither one is even in English.  Enjoy!

Contigo en la distancia:

On Friday all eyes will be on Ireland who is set to vote for the second time on the Lisbon Treaty. A second rejection could paralyse the European Union or lead to a radical change in its very nature. For instance there could be different circles of involvement in EU affairs for every country (it’d be a mess).

Recent polls give reasons to be optimistic and I had to smile when I watched this interview of Ireland’s Minister for European Affairs Dick Roche, the moment he compares this referendum to his proposal to his wife: “I had to ask her several times to marry me before she decided that she would marry me and I’m very pleased I persisted.”

Ireland and Europe have been an odd couple for years but many agree that Ireland’s Economic Miracle between 95 and 2007 has something to do with Ireland being part of the European Union. How about sport? Ireland exported a few gems from Roy Keane and Keith Wood to the UK or Tony Cascarino to France. An Italian coach took over the national team and Ireland’s still undefeated in the qualifying round of the FIFA World Cup 2010.

But to me – the best examples of Ireland-Europe cooperation are to be found in music. Here’s a Top 5.

5.  Ireland + France – Neil Hannon meets Air (Between waking and sleeping)

4. Ireland + Germany – Róisín Murphy meets the town of Cologne (I absolutely love this song [The truth]- the tight white top even more)

3.  Ireland + France – Perry Blake meets Emilie Simon (Graine d’étoiles)

2. Ireland + France again – Boyzone meets Alliage (Te garder près de moi)

(If you can’t joke on your own blog)

1. Ireland + Italy – U2 meets Pavarotti (Miss Sarajevo – just fucking brilliant)

I’ve been thinking a lot this week about my personal taste in music and how it is so completely different from that of my better half and most of my friends. The catalyst to my brooding is that over the next three nights, I’ll be attending three shows, one of which I’m into. Tomorrow I’m going to see Ani DiFranco at The Vic, Thursday is Joshua Radin at House of Blues, and Friday is Brandi Carlile at House of Blues (I know I should just set up a tent at HOB). I love Brandi. How can you not? The chick has pipes! Radin I’m not too familiar with, but his style of music falls into that which bores me and makes me fall asleep. For that show, however, I’m at least getting some good time in with a good friend who I haven’t had lots of time with lately. Ani… now this is the show that mainly got me thinking. I just do not like   Ani DiFranco’s music. It’s sooo….. I don’t even know. It all sounds the same to me. And that same-sound is a sound that completely grates on my ears and nerves. I know what you’re thinking – Garvey, you’re going to get your gay card revoked. Don’t worry, my friends have had my name on the revocation list for years and it has yet to happen. Apparently I’m so gay that I can continue my dislike for such musicians as Ani, Ferrick and the Indigo Girls (gasp!) and still retain my black platinum gay card.

So here I sit, listening to Matt and Kim, wondering how it ended up that the majority of my friends are into the same kind of music and I’m the indie/punk/rock cheese that stands alone (clearly a stinky cheese). One of my friends enjoys periodically calling me a music snob, but I don’t think that’s true. And to be honest, she’s a huge jag anyway (you’re welcome :/ ). If people come to me with new music that they want me to check out, I will give it the time of day and give it a true listen. It’s just that if it comes from most of my friends or my better half, it tends to bore me.

I like listening to music with friends and I like talking about it and going to shows. It is important for me to have people in my life with whom I share this particular interest. I grew up in a family that was really into music – particularly classic rock and Italian opera. I used to sit in our basement by myself and listen to my parents’ kick ass record collection including the likes of Elton John, The Who, and The Doors. The first tape I ever owned was a Beatles 20 best tape and I know that Luciano Pavarotti is the best tenor that has ever and will ever live. My mom used to refuse to give into us when we wanted whatever fad was popular at school (i.e. hypercolor tee shirts), but when I wanted Pearl Jam’s Ten the day it came out, she drove my little ass over to the local record store, bought it for me, and then left me alone to enjoy it for the rest of the night. I don’t necessarily expect that level of appreciation for my musical loves, but it would have been nice if, when I was trying to play the new Gossip album for my better half and friend the other day, they had made it through more than one song before asking me to turn it off so we could talk.

So, after much babbling, my point is that I wish my better half and friends liked some of the same music that I like. Or at least gave it half a chance. I don’t know, what do you think? Is this something that’s important to you? Or is it akin to caring about what your friends’ hair looks like? Actually, I also prefer my friends have good hair as well. Maybe I’m just high maintenance…

I’ll try to get reviews up for all three shows. I have hopes that either DiFranco or Radin will change my mind and turn me into a fan. If not, I’m pretty good at snark.

Posted by Garvey

no words.

i got something to say!

an excerpt from a gchat  convo between me and bean:

aaaaaand that about sums up our relationship with grace jones.

ps: click the picture! you will NOT be disappointed. scout’s honor.

I was going to begin by saying that you mustn’t all start writing romances after this blog, but then I thought that if you did, I’d most likely find myself reading some very good romances some time soon. (Well, not soon soon, publishing takes time. But soon.) It’s not the genre that is bad, it’s the quality of the writing. Just as I have a fondness for opera singers singing popular songs, really. It’s supposed to be really dreadful that they do, but I like popular songs, and I love them being sung by someone who really knows how to sing. Take Pavarotti singing Ti Adoro. Wonderful!

Anneli Rogeman who is editor of my favourite Swedish magazine Vi usually writes good editorials, commenting sensibly on whatever topic she has a go at. I tend to agree most of the time. I was just a little disappointed with her latest editorial, where she attacks light reading.

At least, I think she is. In the summer I blogged about what Swedes were reading, and mentioned the latest publishing phenomenon, Lars Kepler. He’s a pseudonym. Now he has been outed, and Anneli Rogeman is disappointed. Lars is in actual fact two very ‘proper’ authors, married couple Alexandra and Alexander Ahndoril (yes, really!), about whom I know virtually nothing, living in exile as I do. But they are good, I understand that much. Good as in serious, and promising to reach greater greatness in future.

Or they would, had they not stooped so low as to write for the man in the street who has little interest in literature. She moans that now we will lose years of real books from them, as they’ve been contracted to write eight books. But surely, they have the right to write anything they like? This way they will provide reading material for many more people than their ‘proper’ writing would. That’s not a bad thing, I feel. I don’t know what this Lars Kepler book is like, but assume it’s a well written novel; that they have written lighter, not badly.

AA and AA stand to make a lot more money doing this. I can see that this would be attractive. But it seems this is to be sneered at. You have proper literature for the few and possible financial hardship, versus ‘rubbish’ and authors who are well off. Hm. Tricky.

Apparently there are five reasons for writing under a pseudonym, according to Anneli Rogeman. To get read at all, if you’re a woman, say. To attract curiosity and attention. To joke with the establishment. To avoid ruining your ‘proper’ writing. To simplify your own name.

The reason I got a little incensed with the editorial was that an old favourite of mine was listed under the second reason, and was rubbished by Anneli Rogeman. I now feel that my earlier fondness of and appreciation for Bo Balderson* has been ruined in my mind. His crime novels from forty years ago are only mediocre, it seems. It was just the fact that none of us knew who BB was that made people buy the books. Really? I read them because they were funny, and I enjoyed them. The mystery was fun too, but even now that BB has been found to have been a mere primary school teacher (and I expect my Vi to be less scathing on the subject of being a ‘mere’ anything), I still like him. I wished he’d turn out to be King Gustaf VI Adolf, but this is OK.

OK, so let’ move back from mere school teachers to potential Nobel prize winners; they are still allowed to write what they want. And if they do a light genre well, then that is good and will give pleasure to many. Maybe one day they will sink so low as to write for children. No, surely not…

(*Footnote – Bo Balderson wrote crime novels about a sleuth who just happened to be a government minister. He was really only an affable, wealthy man with about 14 children, but he accidentally became a minister because his galoshes were too large. He is assisted in his sleuthing by his long suffering school teacher brother-in-law; a man with bad nerves. At the time almost every public person in Sweden was suspected of being Bo Balderson. I really favoured the theory that it was the King.)

Astazi am reascultat piese ale catorva dintre cele mai mari voci masculine ale lumii: