Open Thread November 23 2025

 Posted by at 6:00 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Nov 232025
 

Yesterday, the radio opera was “Iolanta” by Tchaikovsky. It’s in one act with four scenes, and is set in the 1400s, which if not exact, is probably close enough to the era in history when Islam had all the good scientists and all the good physicians (although probably not good enough to give vision to someone born blind – but hey, it’s an opera.) Like the opera “Ruslan and Ludmilla”, it’s popular in Russia and little known elsewhere, but the Met did do it for a Saturday matinee some years ago and later televised it, so I have seen it once. It’s very pretty and has a happy ending. The Muslim doctor, I think, has the best line and certainly the most relevant today: “Without inner desire, change cannot take place.” Wikipedia has a great article on it, including (not that I think anyone but me cares) the fact that the name in the Danish play from which the libretto was derived was “Iolanthe” – like the Gilbert and Sullivan operetta – and that both names are forms of “Yolanda” – which makes perfect sense but was news to me. It’s also very short for an opera – well under 2 hours – so I was able to have a little additional treat. My local station, which could not afford the second half od the summer season, decided that instead they would play a recording of a complete opera starting at the same time, so I was able to hear a substantial part of Handel’s “Rinaldo” after “Iolanta” finished. I’ve seen it once – almost certainly during the pandemic, when the Met allowed people to stream a different opera every day/night for free. When I turned it on, it was during a recitative scene, but very soon it went to an aria, and lucky for me, it was the aria which has been frequently performed in concert and recorded away from the opera (including by Celtic Woman), so I recognized it and was able to identify the opera quickly.

“Friday” in this from Democratic Underground was probably the 14th. I didn’t receive it in time for the 16th.

From The Guardian. I am putting this into Sunday’s post as good news because the judge did the right thing. However, I personally have mixed feelings. I was hoping this would backfire – that reducing the number of Republicans in some of the darkest red districts would actually make them competitive and increase our representation, not theirs. Now that will not happen – at least not in Texas.

This was from a local ABC affiliate in New Jersey, but I found it through The Smile. (off topic, but the part of the URL I cut off ended with “bfd.” Yeah, I would say so.)

Randy Rainbow – Parody of “Pink Pony Club”

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Open Thread November 9 2025

 Posted by at 6:00 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Nov 092025
 

Yesterday, the radio opera was “Parsifal” by Wagner – a good four hours. “Parsifal” is the way Germans spell “Percival,” and the allusion to the Round Table is intentional, although no other character’s name follows through. The opera traces how Parsifal became the king of the knights who are charged with protecting the Holy Grail. I won’t go into detail. Wagner quotes the Dresden Amen in it more than once, but especially at the (happy) ending. Wagner’s ideas about Christianity were somewhat warped, but if they were as warped as MAGA, that does not come through in his operas. His ideas about sexuality were also somewhat warped, also (as far as we can tell) not as warped as MAGA. I won’t push that any farther either. The man could and did write beautiful music. To anyone – and I have heard it a lot – who thinks that music, especially classical music, is “ennobling,” I say “It certainly didn’t work for Wagner.” Not that his record can compete with the Mango Monster – but pretty much everything the Monster has done hundreds and thousands of times, Wagner did at least once.

I found this through The Smile on a day when most of their news was both political and pathetic. This is neither, and I applaud the educators who are facilitating this.

I knew some of this, because last month The Root had an article on several philanthropists, of whom she was one. The article doesn’t really answer the question the headline asks, but the answer is really “because she has a soul.” If she is not already on your list of secular saints, this might be the time to add her to it.

If you can’t see the video, I couldn’t either, until I turned my browser’s media player on. I’m sorry that I won’t be around to vote for this young man for President.

Crazy Soup Mr. Tangerine Man – not the world’s best singer, no CC, and it’s from last year’s election season, but hey. It’s amusing.

Dog

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Open Thread October 26 2025

 Posted by at 6:07 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Oct 262025
 

Yesterday, the radio opera was “The Pearl Fishers” by Bizet (who is more famous for “Carmen”). Carmen overshadows it, but it is performed occasionally. It contains an absolutely gorgeous duet for the tenor and the baritone which is frequently recorded and sung in concert, though. When the Met presented it on a Saturday with Matthew Polenzani (a tenor who is very popular and therefore had sung the duet a fair amount prior to playing the role) and the host asked him about the duet, he pointed out that until doing the full opera he had no idea that everything he was singing in it was a lie (and he is correct in that. But it’s still gorgeous.) The plot relies heavily on coincidence (not unusual in opera) and ends with massive destruction of property but no loss of life (both unusual in opera.) Not much of it rises to the standard of the duet, but it is still all very listenable. It’s also pretty short – barely two hours. I think I mentioned that my local station, which is public radio but not affiliated with NPR, couldn’t afford the second half of the summer broadcasts – especially after the federal funding loss – but what they decided to do was to play a recorded complete opera every week until the Met starts again. The announcer who owns a huge collection of recordings is not as old as I am, but is old enough that they may, like mine, all be on vinyl. Because The Pearl Fishers is short, when it was over and I went back to local, the opera he picked for today was still going – and I didn’t recognize it. Heck, I didn’t even recognize the language at first. My first guess was Russian, but I couldn’t exclude Czech – enough popular operas were written by Czech composers that it’s not all that unlikely. But as I heard more, I realized it was German and almost certainly Wagner; I thought I recognized the sword motif from the Ring Cycle. But when did a tenor have such a long monologue, followed by input from a bass and maybe a mezzo soprano? Maybe Lohengrin? And then I heard the tenor address the soprano as “Elsa.” Yup. It was Lohengrin. Sorry/not sorry about the “stream of consciousness” there. It seemed like a good opportunity to demonstrate that not only do I not know everything, I don’t even know as much as I think I know. The WFMT will be broadcasting Lohengrin from Bayreuth in three weeks, so I’ll get my chance to hear the whole thing (not for the first time either.)

I saved this from Democratic Underground for Sunday, so it’s not brand new. But it’s definitely good. I hope it catches on elsewhere.

This from The 19th is about a good response to a very bad situation. I’m sorry about the situation – but glad that at least something is being done.

This is from Wonkette Thursday, which I thought close enough to Sunday to hold. Even my Mom bought into the theory that if you tax rich people “too much” they’ll just move away. I guess this tax isn’t “too much” – whatever that means. (My feeling about that theory was always “Good riddance” anyway.)

Yes, four links. But can we ever have too much good news? This is from Wolves and Sheep and was written by Chris Bowers. It is neither complete not graven in stone, but as far as it goes, it looks good.

Marsh Family – “The Randy Duke of York”

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Open Thread October 19 2025

 Posted by at 6:05 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Oct 192025
 

Yesterday, the radio opera was “Louise” by by Gustave Charpentier. He didn’t call it an opera, but rather a “musical novel,” the “verismo” school was getting started at that time, and composers and librettists wanted to flag their work as different. I had heard of it for many years, but never actually heard it before. Placido Domingo recorded it in 1976 and Beverly Sills in 1977 and I missed both. Not a lot actually happens in it – just parents who want to prevent their daughter marrying the man who loves her (and she him) so they can keep her at home. But the music is pretty. Off to see Virgil now and will check in when I get home.

I’m always particularly happy to see a good news story which involves a veteran – there are so many of us who are living through various kinds of bad news. This guy is even a Texan.

This is sweet – such a small thing – wearing costumes to work – can provide so much joy to so many children. (This was actually a week ago Thursday.)

Matthew was in very critical condition and was not 100% expected to get out of the hospital alive – let alone this fast.

Call me sentimental. I’m guilty as charged.

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Open Thread September 28 2025

 Posted by at 6:00 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Sep 282025
 

Yesterday, the radio opera was Verdi’s “Rigoletto.” I had to use that laptop again, and I suppose I might have skipped it – it’s not as if I’d never heard it – it was one of the first operas I ever owned on vinyl. But it is also the opera which got me my “A” in Advanced Conducting. I’m actually a terrible conductor. But there’s one scena in Rigoletto that I knew I stood a good chance of putting across, and put it across I did – mostly with my face – not even controlling it – the music and situation just gave me the expressions. Also, the part of Rigoletto yesterday was sung by Quinn Kelsey, who recently got such an outstanding review in this role, and even specifically in that scena, that I wanted to hear whether he deserved it. Did he? Oh, yeah. I have never heard a baritone put as much feeling into “Io vo’ mia figlia…” as he did. And I have heard some great baritones sing it. The most famous excerpt from Rigoletto, of course, is the aria “La donna e mobile,” which is pure projection, and, although the word in that sense did not exist in 1851, I’m confident Verdi knew it (the plot of the opera itself belies the aria’s words.) But it’s also catchy, and he knew that too – so catchy that he hid it from everyone including the tenor until the day of the premier, and essentially locked the cast and orchestra up until the show opened. Opera was then so popular that by the time one opened, the town in which it was opening knew every note. But not this time. This time the audience was surprised, and completely won over. And, as projectionist as it is, it’s not really a bad thing it’s so popular and well known – it gives the ending even more punch. Today’s cartoon is a gif file that was used by Wonkette, and you will see why the late Queen Elizabeth liked to be surrounded by corgis – they were her secret service.  🤣

Fat Bear week – Sorry that this is too late to vote for – not that I could tell you how anyway – but the winner won’t be announced until Tuesday, so there’s that.

I love stories like this one from Good News Network. You’ve heard of win-win, but this is more like win-win-win-win. The animals are benefited, as well as the inmates. But so is the prison staff, because inmates in these programs are easier to work with. And so is the entire community, because the recidivism rate goes down. Kudos to Ohio.

This is not news at all – it is Borowitz. But I think TomCat would have loved it. So here it is.

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Open Thread September 21 2025

 Posted by at 6:06 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Sep 212025
 

Yesterday, I was able to hear the radio opera from my laptop. Even set up to the max, the volume was low, and I hope I won’t need to do it again. Faure was one of the Impressionists like Debussy and Ravel, but is much less known. His best known work is probably the Dolly Suite, written for a little girl nicknamed Dolly. This opera, Pénélope, based on the last part of Homer’s Odyssey (when Odysseus finally gets home), doesn’t sound much like the Dolly suite, but it is attractive. Why it’s not performed more than it is is mostly bad luck. It wasn’t a huge hit in the provinces, but when it made its Paris premier, it was well received by the audience and the critics. But within two months another premier at the same theater stole all the oxygen from everything else – it was a little ballet called “Le sacre du printemps,” or in English, “The Rite of Spring.” It actually caused riots, in which people were physically hurt. And it’s not pretty – but it is a masterpiece. But I digress. It has been so long since I read the Odyssey I had almost forgotten about the lack of trust which was normal back when there were no certain ways to establish one’s identity. Odysseus arrives in disguise, and when recognized, orders the person not to reveal him – because all the dudes waiting around for up to 20 years to try to marry his wife would have killed him (instead, he kills them.) When he does reveal his identity to Penelope, she tests him with a fib about having replaced the bed in the master bedroom (not really possible, because the bed was a four-poster and one of the posts was a living tree, and the room was built around it and the bed), and of course he freaks because he knows that, which establishes he really is Odysseus. Off to see Virgil now – will check in.

You are welcome to argue with me about whether this from The Root is good news – since it’s mostly not new, but history. But I maintain the news part is that someone whose name should have been in people’s mouths along with the names of Rosa Parks, John Lewis, and many others is finally getting recognition – at least from the black community, and it should be from us also. It’s not exactly anyone’s fault it’s coming late. Photographers speak with the images they create, not with their mouths, and images are not physically attached to them, so its too easy to forget the people behind those images.

This was apparently a federal charge; I assume that because it was tried in a federal court house and at the Times there is an implication that the prosecution was by a U.S. Attorney. But it’s good news at any level.

There is a lot of good news in this from Wonkette, and it’s from Thursday, so you may have seen some of it. But probably not all of it.

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Open Thread September 14 2025

 Posted by at 6:00 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Sep 142025
 

Yesterday, the radio opera (although for the rest of the season, starting yesterday, I’ll be listening on line. Not surprising. Broadcasting these costs local stations money which they now do not have) was another double bill – this one more conventional than the previous one this season – it’s so standard that Opera lovers often just call it “Cav and Pag.” The “Cav” is Cavalleria Rusticana, and the “Pag” is I Pagliacci. Both are from the “verismo” school, which means they are about ordinary people, no nobility or divinity allowed. And they are generally fairly violent. In Cav the violence occurs off stage, but in Pag it is right on stage – and the killer gets the last word – “The comedy is over.” Both include some absolutely gorgeous music, such as “Vesti la giubba” from Pag, which at least used to be very well known way beyond the circle of opera lovers. I don’t know whether it still is..

“Martini Glambassador” is a fan, not an employee of Wonkette. But every day, seven days a week, she provides a .gif file for its “TABS” newsletter. Sometimes they are cute and funny – sometimes just funny – sometimes just cute. I took a screenshot from this one because I wasted to say, “Just look at that tail!” Snow leopards’ tails are distinctively thick, particularly when compared to the tails of other felines. They are also long, but you can’t really see that anywhere in the .gif. The snow leopard who showed off for me in the Pueblo Zoo made a point of showing me the length of his/her tail as well as its girth.

I’m not trying to push Wonkette – I do realize its style is not for everyone – but this certainly appeared to fit into the category of good news. And, yes, I am envious. I don’t have a clue how hard it is for a sentence to hold up in Brazil – but st least they have arrived at one, which is certainly more than we can say.

Of all states which sometimes show up in the news cycle for leading the way – let’s just say New Mexico appears less often than some others. But today, here it is – and a really important way to be leading. I expect this will radically improve the economy of the state. If it spills over into neighboring states, I hope we are one.

This story is courtesy of our Mitch. And I received it just in time for today. Many thanks, Mitch

John D. Cundle is a Canadian doing his best to help us.

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Open Thread September 7 2025

 Posted by at 6:00 am  Open Thread, Personal, Politics
Sep 072025
 

Yesterday, the radio opera was a double bill: “Dido and Aeneas” by Henry Purcell and “The Seven Deadly Sins” by Kurt Weill. The performance was from Copenhagen. The two don’t have much in common, but perhaps that was the intention. Purcell lived from 1659-1695, during the baroque period. Kurt Weill lived from 1900 to 1950. We all know Weill from “Mack the Knife,” of course – but (at least in my generation) know “September Song” equally well but don’t know that it was also from a Broadway show – “Knickerbocker Holiday.” His “The Seven Deadly Sins” was called a “ballet chanté” rather than an opera because the man who commissioned it was married to a dancer who bore a strong resemblance to Weill’s wife, singer Lotte Lenya, and it was written for them, so the central character, Anna, is written as a split personality. I have heard of it, and read about it, but never actually heard it until yesterday. It is satirical – I would not take moral advice from it. For just one example, the last sin addressed is greed – and the conclusion is that Greed is good – just like Gordon Gecko. Danielle de Niese, who doesn’t just sing opera, but also on Broadway, in films, and on television – though much of that is not in the U.S. – but y’all might have heard of her – sang both personalities as well as Dido in this broadcast. The most famous aria from “Dido and Aeneas” is one of those “Don’t Cry for Me” pieces which irritate me in principle, because I don’t think you need to be Elizabeth Kübler Ross to be aware on some level that grief for someone’s death is really grief for our own loss of that person, not “for” the person who has died, so telling us not to grieve is really telling us not to heal. Not that I would expect the character of Dido, who, if she lived, did so in the 12th or 13th century BCE – and the aria is well known because it is beautiful. Off to see Virgil – will check in upon return.

NBCU Academy is clearly associated with the National Broadcasting Company, since the peacock is in their logo. And it appears to be working to ensure that aspiring journalists can get excellent education for that career. Given that (for just one example) Alan Dershowitz was educated at (and later even taught at) Yale Law school, their participants are not going to be 100% ethical. But it’s still a good thing, and far better than nothing. And this story from their project really is good news.

And this story from The 19th is really just amazing – and, in Louisiana, you know they did not get a lot of encouragement or assistance from the state, so they were working with virtually nothing but themselves.

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