Yesterday, the radio opera was not a single opera, but a compilation of arias, duets, choruses, and overtures from various operas by George Frederick Handel which have been performed at the Met, to honor the 300th anniversary of his opera “Rodelinda.” Compilation episodes like this are always bittersweet – one gets to hear some of the greatest singers of all time – many of whom are retired or even dead – which can lead to grieving their loss all over again. Handel was not Bach, but he was a contemporary of Bach, so there are similarities of style. If you are wondering why a German-born composer transplanted to England wrote so many Italian operas (and oratorios), it’s because at that time in history Italian operas were all the rage in Europe and especially in England – until “The Beggar’s Opera” premiered and made them virtually obsolete overnight. This of course cramped Handel’s style – but eventually he got his revenge with “Messiah.” He didn’t write it to get revenge, and was surprised it became such a success, but it certainly did. Yesterday’s program stuck with opera written as opera, not oratorios, not even oratorios which have subsequently been successfully fully staged. Of course the music was beautiful. I’m not sure Handel could have written anything ugly if he had tried with both hands for a week. Clever, yes, but not ugly. The classic example of his tone painting is from “Messiah” – the chorus “All we like sheep (have gone astray)” – the syllable “stray” seriously goes astray, all over the staff, for several measures. Also, the meme today is a quote shared by Robert Reich last week. Since he appears to have started signing off unrelated columns with “You look great,” I wanted y’all to know why, in case I use one with that signoff. Well, off to see Virgil now. Will check in upon return.
Referred by The Smile, this story may not fully qualify s good news yet, since it’s still in the “promising” stage as opposed to “confirmed.” But if confirmed, it will be huge good news.
Well, The Root was, at least for me, correct about this story. Maybe at least in part because I’ve been there (except for the broken ribs.) If you’re expecting a Heimlich story – it’s much bigger than that.
From CBS news referred by The Smile. Nice of Bari Weiss to allow it to be published /s. Seriously, I’m not autistic nor am aware of ever having known someone who was (though I did have a co-worker with Tourette’s for a while – didn’t bother me) but I do have enough empathy to be deeply impressed by this story.
Belle
Dog
