Posts Tagged ‘new york’
Opera Goes to the Movies, 1935-Style
It’s less and less common to see classical music represented in popular culture these days, especially in a positive sense, so imagine my delight when I recently saw that Turner Classic Movies was airing Love Me Forever, a 1935 film starring Metropolitan Opera soprano Grace Moore. I’m rather ashamed to admit I didn’t know Moore’s […]
Florence Foster Jenkins: A Diva Gets Her Due
I was about 20 the first time I heard a recording of Florence Foster Jenkins. A friend put it on at a dinner party where all of the attendees were singers, and everyone, myself included, laughed uproariously at Mrs. Jenkins’ intonation, pronunciation, and diction. Many derisive comments were made about her having merely been a […]
In Stitches
Two years ago, I got into historical reenacting and docent work. I owned a lot of vintage clothing at the time – still do – but nothing remotely appropriate for Georgian or Regency events. I found a couple of gowns that will just barely pass muster for the latter period (they have zippers! Quel dommage!) […]
Gotta Scoot!
A few weeks ago, I subbed for Kati on a Sunday morning, and, feeling the need for some exercise after devouring a few too many fundraiser goodies, I decided to ride my bicycle to work. Kati often commutes by bike herself, as do Jonathan and Mark. The ride in was very easy despite the darkness; […]
My turn to play groupie!
Judith recently had a wonderful fangirl moment with Emanuel Ax; now it’s my turn. For some years, I’ve been a devotee of Dmitri Hvorostovsky’s singing. Jim and I have seen him perform operatic roles, song cycles, and recitals, all brilliantly. I had the chance to interview “Dima” in 2002 when he was in town to […]
Wonderful Town, Indeed: Our Top 5 New York Recs
When Jim and I go out of town, we often get away to it all rather than from it all. As such, New York is one of our favorite vacation spots. Here are our Top 5 NYC recs! 5. Take the subway or walk whenever possible. Both will afford you a wealth of people-watching opportunities! […]
Teju Cole’s Open City
The Nigerian writer, Teju Cole, who was born in the US, grew up in Nigeria, and now lives in Brooklyn, visited the MFA Reading Program at the University of Baltimore recently, and we had the great privilege of having him visit our International Writing Workshop beforehand. He is also a photographer and an art historian […]
Une Voyageuse Fabuleux
The Charles Theater is presenting The Metropolitan Opera’s live HD broadcast of Massenet’s Manon tomorrow & I’ll be on hand to greet audience members, hand out “swag”, & enjoy the show. Not a bad way to spend a Saturday, right? It gets better. Sara Stewart, a wonderful, talented woman who’s a member of […]
Breathing the same air
It was a first for me. I have never before been to the opera when a singer gave an encore of an aria in the middle of the performance. I guess it depends on the opera, and an opera buffa certainly lends itself to it more than, say, Wagner’s Ring Cycle! Well, if you were […]
Flying with Twyla
Twyla Tharp – for a start, isn’t that a wonderful name to conjure with? (Her parents clearly had a vivid imagination—her younger sister’s name is Twanette.) I’ve known of Twyla Tharp’s work, peripherally, for years, and loosely associated her with Martha Graham, Merce Cunningham, Paul Taylor—that style and period of choreographers—but I had never seen […]
