Gertsamtkunstwerk

Press Freedom and Injunctions

Why waste a few good tweets when I can so easily turn them into a blogpost...!

Twitter is interesting. In that, it seems to be journalists who are so insistent that everything is fair game for newspapers. A 'free press' is a classic test of whether society is free. But almost no rights are absolute, and any right is naturally curtailed by the extent that it restricts another right.

The Media, especially the mainstream and tabloid Press make a lot of money by intruding into people's privacy and family life. Those are also rights, laid down in the Human Rights Act which was based upon the Universal Declaration of Human Rights

And people sheeplike following them thinking they're jumping on the latest 'civil liberty' bandwagon. They are in fact defending the right of the rich and powerful unaccountable newspaper industry to trample on the rights of individuals. Individuals who may be exceptionally wealthy, but have a fraction of the power of any newspaper editor or proprietor. 'Civil Liberties' has never actually been about defending the bully against the bullied.

It would be lovely to see private lives of those journos made public. Not sex, that's boring: drug/alcohol abuse; debts; medical records. Maybe exposés on how they don't recycle, or drive when they could walk. Losing their temper, falling out with neighbours.

The focus on the sex lives of the celebrities in question just shows how cynical those journalists are. They claim some moral high ground about how these celebrities cash in on a 'Mr Clean' image in sponsorship deals. Apart from it being ridiculous to think that any adult actually thinks that our heroes are saints, why only sex? If they are people unfit to be our heroes, surely this will be on account of any number of flaws.

After all, journalists are in the public eye. By their logic, they have a duty to reveal all their own flaws, sins, crimes and bad temper to public scrutiny. If they don't, they are breaking their own rules. If they don't want to be so exposed, they ought to behave like absolute angels, or stay out of the public eye.  No faults, flaws, mistakes, weaknesses or off-days. Not reasonable, is it?

People need to remember that  'adultery' & 'promiscuity' are not illegal. I rather despise those who have used this legal tussle over privacy as a Trojan horse for their odious views on sexual behaviour. They defend the 'freedom' of a Press that it is out of control and try to deny you or me the freedom to have sex with whoever (adult, consenting) we choose. What strange warriors for freedom they are!

Some of them display a nasty puritanical streak; in some cases, this is made worse by knowing that those who say 'keep it in your trousers' are two-faced hypocrites who don't, but because they are nobodies, they are confident their behaviour won't be found out.

Or assume that they won't be - until, perhaps, someone close to them becomes 'news', perhaps in tragic circumstances, and they themselves will become victims of the Gutter Press's 'Right' to write about anyone's private life without constraint.

It's disingeneous to argue that injunctions about adultery are just paving the way for covering-up the crimes of capitalism. Using a judicial process, some sort of legal instrument, doesn't mean that the cases are similar or even concerned with the same branch of law. Just look at the wide range of cases covered by any type of court eg Small Claims, Administrative Court  - for example, why should a landlord/tenant dispute be seen as precedent-setting for cases relating to sales of goods. So, there seems no logical imperative that an individual's right to privacy should necessarily lead to cover-up of corporate atrocities.

When those journalists cry crocodile tears for 'freedom of the press' ask them how many abuses of corporate or political power they've exposed. Or have they acquiesced in Big Business curtailing their newly-found-to-be-precious Press Freedom? Rank hypocrisy! As one of my Tweeps commented "How many newspapers paid any attention to Trafigura, where the same legal process was used to cover up the crimes of capitalism? Certainly none of the papers that are leading the way over the celebrity injunctions, if I am not mistaken..."

I can only conclude that the precious 'Freedom of the Press' that newspaper employees are invoking, and their followers are unquestioningly endorsing, is purely the freedom to sell newspapers that somehow titillate readers with their grubby tales of everyday life.

Frankly, if you're turned on by non-specific tales of some bloke having a casual fling away from his marriage, I hate to think what will happen if you read an explicit modern novel, let alone internet erotica!  Although, I suspect they are less interested in writing/reading vague details about a footballer having an extra-marital fling than they are in the potential for soft-porn pictures of semi-clad attention-seeking women. So, congratulations to all of you arguing so strongly for that Press Freedom. Have you really thought it through?

I have reflected on whether my views on the whole 'Superinjunction' issue is affected by me being a massive fan of the footballer who is rumoured to be at the heart of the superinjunctions issue. I have reflected, and concluded, no, I am actually intelligent enough to form views quite independently of my ability to appreciate a great footballer.

Plácido in concert and on the internet

Some lovely photos from the concert in Tokyo a month ago

En imágenes: Plácido Domingo conquista a Tokio junto con soprano argentina

A clip from Israeli Tv, including an interview, in Spanish with Hebrew subtitles, and footage from Iphigenie en Tauride in Madrid

 

A picture with Ana Isabelle, with whom he appeared in concert in San Juan Puerto Rico on 17 April

Jukéate con Ana Isabelle @ concierto de Plácido Domingo

 

Conductor Alondra de la Parra interviews Plácido in the Mexican magazine Quién, Queridísimo Plácido

Plácido Domingo en una velada inolvidable - Ve vídeo y fotos

And from Mexican magazine, ProOpera:

Plácido Domingo: “La ópera es lo que más me inspira”

Plácido Domingo en México

Seis décadas de Plácido Domingo en México

(these last 3 are .pdf files, so a bit difficult to run through Google translate...I shall just have to read them very slowly!)

The Blog Villazonista has the interview on site

Video advertising his concert in Toronto on 4 June

Placido Domingo: “The song is not yet finished.”

Interview in which he outs himself as a Beyoncé fan...

Interviewed on video by Marvin Hamlisch, last Friday. This was hosted by Facebook, and I assume you have to be a member of FB to watch it. It also presents the opportunity to pay to watch the Toronto concert live - on Facebook (except if you're in Canada). It seemed slightly bizarre - or demeaning - watching Marvin Hamlisch explain how you can pay using 'Facebook Credits', but I demeaned myself and paid using some Facebook credits which turned out to be £7.72 (YMMV). That will be something like half one in the morning for me. I'll double check before my disco nap that evening!

Another interview

An interview and feature, from the time of his 70th birthday gala in Madrid. Definitely worth a read, all 11 pages. (In Spanish)

And, finally

Washington National Opera closes season with a lackluster ‘Don Pasquale’

Watching him working his heart out in the pit, giving it his all, but drowning out the singers and leaving ensemble sections adrift in the process, I realized that Domingo conducts much as he sings: with ardor, complete commitment, slightly overdone gestures and an involuntary tendency to focus attention on himself. These are all great qualities in a leading tenor, but they aren’t so great in a conductor, particularly in an opera that calls for a light touch and an adroitness with ensembles.

Oops...

(I think it's itme to publish this blogpost, even though I am sure there are lots of articles etc I have missed - so I might make a follow-up post, soon)

Iphigénie en Tauride in Washington

 

Plácido Domingo: At 70, a voice for the age

 he’s 70 this year, and he still sounds pretty darn good...

...Domingo being Domingo, he’s not ending his official Washington tenure with just one opera — he’s conducting “Don Pasquale” as well...

...He looks into your eyes, he speaks graciously, even to a critic whose writings have, at times, caused him considerable displeasure. He often starts conversations with a personal touch, commenting on a spouse or child, a detail that it’s hard to believe he could remember...

...how human he is, how gracious, and how he treats everyone as if they’re the most important person in the world.

The article mentions Handel's Samson as a possible future role. Which, in my opinion, would be wonderful!

Placido Domingo wraps up tenure with National Opera: Even as he departs, Spanish tenor shows few signs of slowing down

 "I don't know which will come first, my vocal or physical limitations," he said. "I am afraid to sign [contracts to sing] four or five years from now, but they keep encouraging me, and I think, well, as long as I am not trying to sing Romeo at my age; that would be ridiculous."

In ‘Iphigenie en Tauride,’ Placido Domingo’s star still shines

the quality of the voice remains: the golden tone, the ping to the sound, even, perhaps, the long habit of being the center of onstage attention. Amid all the other singers, he made you want to listen to him...

...There was no sacrifice for Domingo. Not only was his character spared at the end of the opera, but the singer didn’t even schedule in a break after the show. The very next day, there was a rehearsal for “Don Pasquale” before the annual Opera Ball, held in his honor. Chalk up another one for star power.

Spanish tenor Domingo sings farewell to Washington

At 70 years old, he climbs ladders, rolls on the ground and his voice shakes the room: Placido Domingo is Oreste in "Iphigenie en Tauride"

The Glory and the Gloom:Washington National Opera bids farewell to its leader Placido Domingo with a somber and beautiful Iphigénie

Domingo is an incredible baritone. Not only does he hold real presence and power in this range, he gives it the golden lift and expressive essence of his tenor. It is unusual, riveting and truly glorious.

Savoring the rare beauty of 'Iphigenie':WNO production of Gluck opera soars with Domingo, Racette

If opera had somehow become so unfashionable, so unthinkable that no one dared create another one after 1779, we'd still be well off, for that would mean we'd still have an incredible work from that year — Christoph Willibald Gluck's "Iphigenie en Tauride"

Opinions, I imagine, will vary over the starkly modern set design and sometimes oddball costumes...The net effect suggests a vintage episode of "Star Trek." It seems that the hapless Oreste and his buddy, Pylade, have landed on one of those planets where Captain Kirk and Mr. Spock found themselves surrounded by strangely fascinating women...

...(There's quite a bit of climbing done on those rungs by cast members, even the septuagenarian Domingo, which must make some backstage personnel awfully nervous.)

Domingo uses his age-defying voice to keen effect as he creates a vivid portrayal of the tormented Oreste. It's still a thrill to hear that golden sound.

The tenor's phrasing is wonderfully nuanced, allowing him to make telling interpretive points in the brilliant mad scene of Act 2. Likewise, Domingo gets deep into the scenes where Oreste and his treasured friend, Pylade, debate their fate.

Video clip

And another video clip

 

It's worth taking a look at Washington National Opera's blog

Placido Domingo’s big farewell at Washington’s Opera Ball at Chinese embassy

Photos and photos from the Washington Opera Ball

Iphigenie en Tauride dates: May 6,9,12,15,17,20,25,28, 2011

Don Pasquale (conducting) dates: May 13,18,21,22,26, 2011

I do like that picture at the top. He's looking particularly hot and hunky in that one, I think!

Werther at the Royal Opera House

I don't rate Werther as an opera. I find its tale of unrequited love to be quite dreary. Perhaps the original story by Goethe is more edifying, but, frankly, dear reader, my life is already ebbing away*; no need to waste it reading stuff to find out!

Werther illustrates why La Traviata is a great opera. A simple narrative of love found, lost and found again, but too late, shines a light of human nature: bourgeois so-called morality of Germont père, the weak immaturity of Alfredo, and the generosity of Violetta. The main characters are convincing, and likeable, even  the men, despite their flaws. The music moves me emotionally; I never find it contrived; and afterwards, it's easy to hum a half-remembered phrase.

Werther is a story of a self-centred two-dimensional character who pines for a cardboard cut-out; the work never examines any contradictions, never even asks how Charlotte feels at being cast as the girl who blindly obeys her mother's dying wish, never considers the risk he poses to her respectability (and thus viability); the music contains some clunking climaxes that are suppose to signify heightened emotions , but just seem like sub-Hollywood schmaltz. A poor imitation of Eugene Onegin.

So, the Royal Opera House this season. I have enjoyed The Pearl Fishers, a ghastly opera with a fine cast in concert; I walked out of Adriana Lecouvreur, bereft of  its diva, with a subdued off-form tenor and utterly pointless in the annals of human history; I loved the mainly static and dull production of Tannhauser, a great opera with a superb cast; I endured the crass forgettable Anna Nicole with its, again, superb cast and amazing staging.

And Werther, a fourth rate opera with a pleasant but un-thought-provoking staging. And an excellent cast.

Let's be honest, my main reason for booking this was for Rolando Villazón. I kept the faith and I booked a Balcony Seat for opening night. I was alarmed at scurrilous rumours that he had already cancelled months ago, and I delighted at reports from the Royal Opera House that he was in rehearsal and he was sounding great. But still, I did worry. I even got confused when applause broke out at 7.30 and I couldn't see the Cancellation Lady walk on stage; it took me a moment or two to realise that we were welcoming Tony Pappano into the orchestral pit.

So Werther: nicely pleasantly enjoyable without moving me at all, either musically or dramatically. Nothing to fire my imagination or make me ponder deep things.

Audun Iversen and Eri Nakamura were aurally pleasant as Albert and Sophie. Albert played as a suitably forgettable decent but dull chap; Sophie as a slightly irritating but inconsequential perky type.

Sophie Koch sang gloriously as Charlotte. Her voice doesn't create a visceral reaction in me, but it was uniformly pleasant, often quite gorgeous in its richness and reliable.

And Rolando, lovely Rolando! In conversation with one of my friends from the internet, I was shocked to realise that it is seven years since I first heard, and adored, Rolando in Les Contes d'Hoffmann. We're both a lot older and have been through a few things since. Some of them even 'together'!

It seems wrong to focus on all the things that vocally he wasn't. He wasn't pushing his voice, he wasn't straining, and, as I remarked euphemistically to several people, his voice hasn't got any bigger. I was sat in an acoustically sweet spot, but wonder how well I would have heard him in a less fortuitous seat. He was fine when the orchestra was subdued, but when the orchestra pumped up into one of those schmaltzy climaxes, he was noticeably not soaring above it.

I have often stated that I am not interested in the size of a voice. Indeed, some big voiced singers are monoliths, unable to vary the volume and colour, and bellowing because they can't place their voice.

Rolando has a deliciously sweet voice, with some steel in it. And most of all, he is a committed and convincing performer, almost making think that Werther was a complex character with actual feelings for Sophie his supposed love-object, rather than just for his own ego. From the first moment he appeared, during the overture, to his dying gasps, he was the tortured poet. Not a particularly likeable tortured poet, but a believable character. He projected anguish, and, by Act III was singing more comfortably.

I went to the Stage Door afterwards, but a messenger relayed the unsurprising news that there was a First Night Party and if anyone was going to appear it would be much later. I was tempted to wait, on the off-chance, because it would not have surprised me if Rolando did appear later, but I decided it was wiser to head home.

 

* calm down; just relatively speaking!