Yankeediva: And the show went on!!!
Joyce DiDonato blogs about her broken fibia
a look of pure astonishment from the doctor who recoiled in a bit of horror as I said I stayed on my foot for nearly 3 hours performing. Ha, silly me - apparently this kind of injury requires absolutely no weight to be put on to it
A pretty good post from DG.
I would actually go further. It actually sticks in my gut every time we have to feel sorry for someone who joins an organisation with a realistic expectation of "success" being killing other people, usually unarmed non-combatants, including children, or poor sodding bastards conscripted into someone else's army by accident of birth or by fear and intimidation or economic necessity.
I'd rather we had a day to commemorate the firefighters, customs officers, probation officers, fishermen, oil rig workers, builders, and, yes, even the police, who died while making my life better because I have a job with no realistic probability of death.
Adios amigo, adios....: LA ÚLTIMA DIE WALKÜRE
Report from the Valencia Walkure. More focus on excitement and atmosphere than the performance; definitely worth a read!
El imperio de los sinsentidos: Die Walküre (ciclo II) en el Palau de les Arts
And another!
Cantan ellas - El Blog de Maac: Die Walküre - Dominguitis en les Arts
And another Valencian report
El Blog de Atticus: LA VALQUIRIA DE PLACIDO DOMINGO. Palau de Les Arts. 24/06/09
Another report from Valencia (also read the comments)
Plácido otra vez. Plácido todavía. Plácido siempre.
(I'm catching up with a backblog)
Report from Die Walkure in Valencia on 24 June
London Daily Photo: Roo With a View
I spotted one of these near the ballerina statue on Bow Street. At the time I was too busy telling my companions how signs saying 'Do not ride on the kangaroo' are guaranteed to awaken in me an almost uncontrollable urge to ride on the kangaroo
Intermezzo: Calleja DiDonato and Hampson pass health inspection
A report from last week's concert. An entirely different take from mine!
Katherine Jenkins presents BBC series to mark 70th anniversary of Second World War - Telegraph
Good grief. TV presenting, now.
And a programme called 'The week we went to war' about Evacuees and Bombings? Yeah, that makes sense. Obviously not coming from the history department, then.
And is she going to read off an autocue or talk about herself and her role n Hitler's downfall?
Probably not the best premise for a TV programme I have ever read.
Latest headlines / Corrections and alterations made to BBC Proms Guide 2009 MUSOLIFE.COM
Just a few clarifications, corrections of mis-spellings, and a few substitutions. Obviously, other substitutions will emerge during the season
At one point I was in a good rhythm of uploading them about one an hour (whilst I was at the PC), then I got distracted.
But now I have my full set of photos I took in Paris. I suspect that 117 photos for a long weekend is slightly OTT. On the other hand, it's unlikely I shall return to Paris for sightseeing (maybe for a performance, possibly to overnight and go to Versailles), so I am glad I took so many.
Although I say it myself, I am pretty pleased with the set overall. I am so pleased that I finally got round to shooting in raw and to using an editing programme that is more sophisticated than the previous excellent but entry-level one I have used for about 7 years.
I got a good mix of the predictable tourist sites - Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame - and a whole load of others I like to think of as being my personal interpretation of what I saw. Many of these are not especially about Paris, but are a commentary on what I saw when moving around a random city.
Chantelle Houghton outdoes Katherine Jenkins with her demure new look at Silver Clef Awards | Mail Online
Oh dear, when you look more slappy than a notorious slapper it's time for a makeover. My tips would be:
get a dress two sizes bigger, it might fit;
get the roots touched up, better still, go for more brown or auburn in the hair.
get a browner lipstick, and lay off the lip gloss;
get the overbite seen to (I had that problem, nothing that a few years in a brace won't fix);
ditch the chav handbag;
get a pair of shoes that don't look so cheap, preferably ones that cover up the gnarled, knobbly feet.
Unsold tickets spark cash fears as council anniversary concert nears (From Echo)
Katherine Jenkins isn't big in Basildon, or Billericay, so it seems. There again, a concert to celebrate new sewers for Billericay. It's not exactly La Scala for 'Welsh Opera Star'
BBC NEWS | Scotland | Edinburgh, East and Fife | Body may have lain for five years
I hate this kind of story. Presumably all her bills would have been paid by Direct Debit; presumably also Cleo Gifford who lived opposite didn't really notice when this elderly neighbour, who lived alone and never had visitors, stopped 'always cleaning her brasses' and didn't think even to knock and check she was alright. I'd go anonymous if it were me, rather than saying "I think it is tragic that someone can be deceased for such a long period of time and not be found, it is really sad." Ah well, Cleo's live is now Fulfilled; she's been on the BBC.
Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.
I have to say, I like my literature distinctly middlebrow. I'm far too old for Chick Lit. I really do not want to read novels about the Yummy Mummies of Clapham; it's bad enough having almost to share a postcode with them. No thanks.
But whatever possessed me to buy a book with "Toyboy" in the title. I simply don't do Younger Men. I did, sort of, go out with a younger man once. Well, maybe a handful of times in several years. A couple of years my junior. Really nice guy, actually, and the last time I saw him, on a 45 bus, I still that felt that frisson. But what attracted em wasn't his youthfulness, anyway, but his comparative maturity. What ended it; it having hardly begun was his immaturity, his inability to commit (he's married with at least one kid now).
But me, I do older men. Why, I don't know. Basically, I always have. Even random strangers: older men are such fun to flirt with, younger men can't - it's all about them, busy checking out whether you fulfil their magazine-inspired checklist. Older men, the wise ones that is, they look into your eyes.
So this self-centred rich snob keeps shagging younger men, and then wrote a book about it. I have to say, it was well written in that it romped along. But I didn't like the character at all. I have to assume it was fiction, even though she made out it was real, with just the names changed. I just feel that the situations where she described being picked up rather stretched the bounds of credibility. Unless she wore a sign saying 'Desperate for a ffff' and, frankly, who wants to ffff a bloke who responds positively to desperation. As for the bit where she got mugged at gunpoint, come on, do me a favour: guns aren't used like that
She rejected one man because he lived in Clapham and travelled halfway across London on public transport. Clearly, she's an idiot. And a drunk-driver. She lives in Maida Vale, in a flat, for heaven's sake, hardly something to be snobbish about. And doesn't seem to have the slightest scruples about driving after an evening's drinking. All her so-called friends are loaded, and it's pretty clear she just hangs round them to ligg and freeload. Claims to be educated and experienced but clearly has no opinions or no knowledge with which to form the opinions.
It's rare that I have read a book where I took such a dislike to a main character who is supposed to be sympathetic. I rejoiced every time her toyboys dumped her. It seems that she scrubbed up well, but she must have been tedious company. She judged everybody by appearances. the most hilarious thing was when a one-night stand went disastrously wrong because she farted in bed - when the bloke was asleep. Frankly, if the guy is so shallow he dumps you because of that, he probably isn't worth pining over, anyway. But I doubt it was that reason he dumped her - she was an easy lay, he'd had her, it was time to move on.
I suppose she validated herself by her obsession with her appearance and her clothes, and it was hilarious how she equated 'richer' with 'better' even though the 'richer' came over as pompous self-satisfied bores. And as I say, it was very well written and also well edited, but it did nothing to attract me to toyboys. Give me an older man any time.
And it looks like she's written another one
Last Wednesday
Best if I get my carping out of the way first. As I'm sure everybody knows, this concert was originally meant to be Rolando Villazón accompanied by Tony Pappano on piano. When Rolando had to withdraw for health reasons, I felt disappointed; Dmitri Hvorostovsky being announced as replacement largely mitigated my disappointment.
But on Monday, a further announcement: Dima was withdrawing, due to a throat infection, or an injury, or a publicised alimony case, or something.
Of course I accept that such things happen; of course I know that the ROH was offering full refunds, no questions asked. I declined that refund (although, being in a box with friends complicates the matter!). Of course I know that to pull together a programme at two to five day's notice takes some doing. So my moans are very much a case of grumbling, rather than 'I've been wronged and demand redress.' No blame, just a honest account of my feelings.
I can't say I was bowled over by the presence of three singers, none of whom float my boat. Each of the three is widely praised, so this is very much a 'taste' thing, not some silly notion of confusing my personal preferences with objective assessment of ability. And, in fairness, none of them are singers that have ever driven me to cover my ears in aural pain. But I have chosen not to attend the operas they are in this summer, which perhaps says what has to be said
Beforehand in the pub, a group of us had a sweepstake going on what would be in the concert. My guesses were so wide of the mark as to be embarrassing. In the hiatus between announcements of Rolando's hiatus and Dmitri's replacement, someone had suggested Ian Bostridge, on account of a Lieder recital she had heard him give with Tony, at Edinburgh I think. I was firm, I don't go to an opera house to hear Lieder.
The programme wasn't available until we arrived in the house, and my heart sank. It was almost as if the only item I knew was 'Somewhere Over the Rainbow'. And I certainly don't go to the opera house to hear pop songs.
Another quibble was that as far as I could see the performers were not centre stage. I suppose it's customary for the piano to be to the side; singers often cling to the area round the piano. But for a house notorious for its poor sight-lines from the side, I think a more central position would have been better.
As for the performers. I am a bit naughty saying the Three Stand-Ins because it was billed as Antonio Pappano and Friends, the friends being singers Joyce Di Donato, Joseph Calleja and Thomas Hampson, and Vasco Vassiliev, violin.
I can't really criticise their performances, well, I feel it would be nit-picky to do so. I did not like Joyce's programme one bit. Various Rossini arias I didn't know (I don't like Rossini) and, as well as 'Rainbow', some Jerome Kern, also not my bag. I thought she should have left the jazz-style stuff well alone, although Tony demonstrated he has great Jazz hands. But she didn't seem to realise that you have some swing, some syncopation, to sound like you do jazz.
I thought Joseph Calleja was clearly second rate. I won't dispute that his basic voice contains a beauty that, on the whole, he uses well. But he simply didn't do anything for me. I soon bored of his O souverain O juge O pere; he didn't seem to want to convey a story to me. He had started with some songs that interested me not, and his final solo piece was 'Because', which, I think, takes considerable balls to perform without any sense of irony. And I was not the only one who noticed that he seems to have had a hair-transplant or be wearing a wig, or something. And on the style front: black suit, black shirt. Should have ditched the white or silver tie and worn the shirt open at the neck.
I suppose if I came away with a positive, it was Thomas Hampson. Not that he actually sang anything from opera, which was remiss in an opera house (but see above). He sang a Mahler song cycle, which was all well and good, but in the absence of surtitles or printed words, and without any prior warning, those of us who didn't previously know the cycle were left guessing as to what it was about. It sounded impressive and I got the distinct impression he was telling a story. I also liked the two songs he sang from his upcoming American song CD.
I know a lot of people have tended to be understanding and forgiving to the ROH in what were trying circumstances. And I stress once again that they offered a full refund at every stage of this saga.
But I did think - suppose I had paid £80 for a stalls seat, and ended up with a recital I wouldn't have paid £30 for at the Barbican. Because of the circumstances, it would have been far better to cancel than to present a ragbag of unconnected works without anything that resembled a structured programme, and, with the exception of a rather fine Pearlfishers' Duet from Hampson and Calleja at the end, nothing that actually involved the various non-Pappano participants singing together.
And of course, I am very grateful for the artists who agreed to perform at such short notice, although I assume they also got an appearance fee none of them would have budgeted for.
Despite what you may think from this review, I did enjoy the show, although I am sure that is largely due to the convivial company, and the several glasses of wine rather than to the substance of the concert.
Positive affirmation for your every move, Cali-style (from little.red.boat )
Agh agh agh agh
Intermezzo: secrets of reaching the youth audience revealed
A plan to drive youngsters away from congregating at a shop by playing classical music failed — when the children became fans.
Comienza pre-venta para concierto de Plácido Domingo en Venezuela - Musica - EL UNIVERSAL
2nd September Caracas; also mention 5 September Cartagena de Indias, Columbia
El CVC entrega la medalla de plata a Plácido Domingo, Zubin Mehta y Helga Schmidt
Plácido Domingo pone en pie al Palau de les Arts con 'La Valquiria' de Wagner
with 35 second video clip
Honorary “Brand Spain” Ambassadors Receive Credentials
The new honorary ambassadors for Brand Spain, among them Agencia Efe, NBA player Pau Gasol, tenor Placido Domingo and researcher Margarita Salas, received their credentials on Thursday from Crown Prince Felipe.
Opera singer's wife demands improved divorce terms - Telegraph
One of the world's leading opera singers (Dmitri Hvorostovsky) is being pursued in a British court by his first wife, a former ballet dancer, for a greater share of his million pound fortune.
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'La Valquiria', para todos | Valencia | elmundo.es
So, tomorrow's Walkure from Valencia, with Plácido as Siegmund, is being shown on Big Screens in Brussels, Manchester, Liverpool, Bristol, Swansea, Imola, Ravenna and Sofía.
That's no bloody good for people who don't live in those cities, and are ending up going to a recital at ROH of three singers they have realised they don't actually like
new flash website. Bad bad bad bad.
Why can't they focus on content, rather izzy whizzy flash-driven gimmicks?
Twitterers claim victory over loaded Daily Mail gypsy poll | Journalism.co.uk Editors' Blog
They say it reached 96%; someone I know saw it at 100%, which can only be possible as a result of rounding within a very large population!
I signed this because it annoys me that these people can get away with their lies.
I looked down the list of signatories, and without actually counting, I noticed that it was predominantly male, perhaps a ratio of 3:1 or even 4:1.
I find that just as annoying. Why is this? I can't believe it's because a disproportionate number of women simply don't care what tosh is being brainwashed into children.
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