The Opera - Part IV - "La Traviata"

The last, but, most certainly not the least, of the operas that I attended in the Smithsonian Madness at the Met program was "La Traviata", produced and with the sets designed by none other than Franco Zeffirelli.

Of all the operas that I wanted a picture of, I wanted "Traviata" the most, because of Zeffirelli's gorgeous sets, but since this is not a new production at the Met, I couldn't find pictures anywhere. I searched and searched, but no picture. In lieu if that, I chose the picture of the Grand Tier Restaurant in the Metropolitan Opera House, where we ate dinner the evening we saw "Traviata". The food and the service were quite good. I had an excellent salmon dish, one of the best I've ever had. I'm picky about my salmon. And it's so convenient to go unhurriedly to the seats afterwards.

There are those who don't like Zeffirelli's opera sets, because, in their opinion, they overwhelm the whole production, but I loved them. Yes, they're de trop, but so is "La Traviata". The two were a good fit. The ballroom and the country house were feasts for the eyes. We saw some of the pieces of the set up close on our backstage tour, those that could be pushed to the side. The audience, including me, gasped when the curtain opened for the first time.

"Traviata" is my favorite opera of all, and it was the first that I ever heard. When I was in high school, a friend had an extra ticket, and she begged me to go. I said no, but she continued to ask, until I gave in, and we went to hear the opera. I thank her to this day for practically forcing me to go, because I fell in love. The music is so beautiful. The story is a simple, tragic love story, the libretto taken from La Dame aux Camélias by Alexandre Dumas, fils.

To my mind, there is no way that the sets could take away from the beautiful music, the lovely coloratura voice of Ruth Ann Swenson as Violetta, the courtesan, the tenor, Matthew Polenzani, as Alfredo, her aristocratic lover, and the wonderful baritone voice of Thomas Hammons, singing Germont, Alfredo's father. The orchestra, under the direction of Marco Armiliato, did its part to make the evening an absolute joy for me.

Before hearing "Peter Grimes" the first evening, we dined at SanDomenico. The food and service there were quite good, too. The soup course consisted of a purée of fresh borlotti bean soup with unshelled spelt. It tasted very much like New Orleans style red beans, but it was, of course, more liquid. I told that to the chef, and he didn't appear too thrilled. I guess he did not realize what a high compliment that was. My main course was fillet of Chilean sea bass, which was delicious. It was the whitest fish I have ever seen, almost glowing in the semi-darkness.

This is the last of the opera posts, and I do not want a second career as a music critic. Writing about opera is hard work for me, because the great gaps in my knowledge make me fearful of making a terrible gaffe. For whoever may be interested, I will gather all four posts in a group and post them on the sidebar as a tribute to my short life as an opera critic.

Production and Set Design - Franco Zeffirelli
Conductor - Marco Armiliato
Violetta - Ruth Ann Swenson
Flora - Leann Sandel-Pantaleo
Germont - Thomas Hammons
Baron Douphol - John Hancock (How about that?)
Dr. Grenvil - LeRoy Lehr
Gastone - Eduardo Valdes
Alfredo - Matthew Polenzani

Please Pray, Invisible Friends

Wormwood's Doxy said...

Mimi--I'm going to ask your prayers for my David today. His father died rather unexpectedly yesterday afternoon. He was 85 and had Alzheimer's---but he had not been ill, so it was something of a shock. Thanks.
....

David is a junior, so his dad’s name is David too. His mom’s name is Doris. They celebrated their 65th wedding anniversary this summer---I can only imagine how hard this is for her.

Thanks for your prayers…I have come to have great faith in the prayers of my Invisible Friends…

Good News From San Joaquin!

From Episcopal Life:

A jubilant celebration of Holy Eucharist concluded the March 29 special convention in the Episcopal Diocese of San Joaquin and made official Bishop Jerry Lamb's role as provisional bishop.

"What you have been about and what I have been about these last months, weeks, days, even hours is not really about building a new diocesan structure," Lamb said during his sermon. "As I understand it, what we are about is the proclamation of the Good News that Jesus is the Christ and that we do this from within the base of our Episcopal and Anglican tradition because that's who we are: members of the Episcopal Church and members of the Anglican church."
....

Half of the offertory was assigned to Lamb's discretionary fund and the other half, Lamb told the congregation to loud and sustained applause, would be given to the Diocese of Louisiana, which continues to rebuild after hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori led Lamb and the congregation through his formal seating as provisional bishop. That part of the service included recognition that Lamb had been duly chosen and accepted by the members of the diocese.

I had tears of joy in my eyes as I read about the glorious weekend of the convention and the installation of Provisional Bishop Lamb and tears of gratitude in my eyes as I read of the sacrificial giving by the Diocese of San Joaquin to the Diocese of Louisiana, my diocese, at the time that the people of San Joaquin have such great needs of their own in rebuilding their diocese.

"It is about how you and I will rebuild this Episcopal diocese so that at its core it will proclaim and live the Gospel or Jesus Christ," he said. "The diocese must have its roots firmly in Christ Jesus and live out the baptismal promises we all have renewed in one way or another this past week."

Lamb acknowledged that "there is no getting around the point that this is a very, very unique situation in the life of the Episcopal Church and in the life of this diocese."

"These past years and months have left hurt and confusion. We came together both last night and today to heal and seek God's will for our next steps in the journey to wholeness in the body of Christ and to answer our call to proclaim the Good News."

Everyone involved heeds "God's presence and grace," Lamb said.

"We also need each other and we also need those who are not here for one reason or another," he added. "Whether they are hurt or confused or fearful, I believe our first obligation is to reach out to others in this diocese and to invite them to come home. And when they do come home, brothers and sisters, they must be welcomed with the love of Christ and into the open arms of the community. And it will not be easy. There is much re-structuring -- re-building -- to be done. We will begin in an attitude of reconciliation."

From another article in Episcopal Life:

[Presiding Bishop] Jefferts Schori had told the participants earlier that the convention had been called because Bishop John-David Schofield had been deposed or removed from his diocesan seat after having abandoned the communion of the Episcopal Church, and because the Standing Committee removed because it took actions "which violated their ability to hold office in this church."

No Church Today

I didn't go to church today. Yesterday, I got up at the crack of dawn to go to New Orleans for my grandson's First Communion mass and celebration. I was happy to do so, because I truly wanted to be there with him. But getting up and rushing out in the morning (my definition of "rushing out" is quite broad to include anything earlier than 9:30) definitely makes me cranky, and I tend not to recover until I've had another night's sleep. Even though the church service that I attend is not until 10:30 AM, today I just could not get going, even for that. Maybe that makes me a bad Episcopalian and even a bad Christian. I do feel some guilt, because I am a regular pew warmer on Sundays. There you have it.

I went online to read "The Daily Office" and to the "Lectionary" for the daily readings and read them all and said the prayers. I especially like the prayer quoted below from the "The Daily Office". And yes, I know that this is not the same as the gathering of believers to worship God. I believe firmly that the gathering of the faithful is essential to my life as a Christian, but I trust that an occasional miss for no particularly good reason may be forgiven.

Psalm 146

Praise the Lord!
Praise the Lord, O my soul!
I will praise the Lord as long as I live;
I will sing praises to my God all my life long.

Do not put your trust in princes,
in mortals, in whom there is no help.
When their breath departs, they return to the earth;
on that very day their plans perish.

Happy are those whose help is the God of Jacob,
whose hope is in the Lord their God,
who made heaven and earth,
the sea, and all that is in them;
who keeps faith for ever;
who executes justice for the oppressed;
who gives food to the hungry.

The Lord sets the prisoners free;
the Lord opens the eyes of the blind.
The Lord lifts up those who are bowed down;
the Lord loves the righteous.
The Lord watches over the strangers;
he upholds the orphan and the widow,
but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin.

The Lord will reign for ever,
your God, O Zion, for all generations.
Praise the Lord!

John 14:1-7

‘Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house there are many dwelling-places. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, so that where I am, there you may be also. And you know the way to the place where I am going.’ Thomas said to him, ‘Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?’ Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you know me, you will know my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.’

Thomas reminds me so much of myself. Had I been present with Jesus, if I had not understood his' words, I would have asked for an explanation, just as Thomas did.

Prayers of the People

We pray to Jesus who is present with us to eternity.

Jesus, light of the world,
bring the light and peace of your Gospel to the nations ...
Jesus, Lord of life,
in your mercy, hear us.

Jesus, bread of life,
give food to the hungry ...
and nourish us all with your word.
Jesus, Lord of life,
in your mercy, hear us.

Jesus, our way, our truth, our life,
be with us and all who follow you in the way ...
deepen our appreciation of your truth,
and fill us with your life.
Jesus, Lord of life,
in your mercy, hear us.

Jesus, Good Shepherd who gave your life for the sheep,
recover the straggler,
bind up the injured,
strengthen the sick
and lead the healthy and strong to new pastures.
Jesus, Lord of life,
in your mercy, hear us.

Jesus, the resurrection and the life,
we give you thanks for all who have lived and
believed in you ...
raise us with them to eternal life.
Jesus, Lord of life,
in your mercy, hear us.

Living God,
for whom no door is closed,
no heart is locked:
Draw us beyond our doubts,
till we see your Christ and touch his wounds where they bleed in others.
This we ask through Jesus Christ our Savior,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and forever. Amen.

Collect

Almighty and everlasting God, who in the Paschal mystery has established the new covenant of reconciliation: Grant that all who have been reborn into the fellowship of Christ’s Body may show forth in their lives what they profess by their faith; through the same Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Readings:

AM Psalm 146, 147; PM Psalm 111, 112, 113
Exod. 14:5-22; 1 Joh 1:1-7; John 14:1-7

A Note From Michael Moore

So? ... A Note from Michael Moore

Monday, March 24th, 2008

Friends,

It would have to happen on Easter Sunday, wouldn't it, that the 4,000th American soldier would die in Iraq. Play me that crazy preacher again, will you, about how maybe God, in all his infinite wisdom, may not exactly be blessing America these days. Is anyone surprised?

4,000 dead. Unofficial estimates are that there may be up to 100,000 wounded, injured, or mentally ruined by this war. And there could be up to a million Iraqi dead. We will pay the consequences of this for a long, long time. God will keep blessing America.

And where is Darth Vader in all this? A reporter from ABC News this week told Dick Cheney, in regards to Iraq, "two-thirds of Americans say it's not worth fighting." Cheney cut her off with a one word answer: "So?"

Read the rest here. And watch the video from Think Progress.

Bu hey! Michael Moore is fat and wears a baseball cap. Plus he's from a working-class background. We really shouldn't pay attention to him, right?

Thanks, Ann.

Off To First Communion Celebration

I tried to find a cute First Communion picture to post, but no luck. My next to youngest grandson will be receiving his First Communion tomorrow this morning in New Orleans. We'll be eating out afterwards at one of the Chinese restaurants where they cook right at the table. The kids love that. The chef tosses food to them. It's OK, because we're in a closed room, so if the chef misses, he doesn't hit other customers.

Also, say a prayer for my son's cat, Stormy, who has urinary track problems. He's pretty sick, and the children will be upset if anything happens to him. Although he is a mixed breed, he looks just like a pure-bred Russian blue, and the breed is genetically predisposed to have the urinary problem.

UPDATE: I found a picture. That's a pretty accurate representation of the children, but the priest didn't look quite like the one in the pictures. Too treacly?


UPDATE 2: This is not a picture of Stormy, but it looks very like him.

The Great Disconnection

Yesterday, I took the time to read the whole of Bush's speech at the National Museum of the Air Force in Ohio. Yes, the seven pages of drivel, stupidity, and mendacity from the Bizarro World of Bush. I'm not linking, but you can find the whole of it at the White House web site.

Here are a few quotes from our dear leader:

On the security side, the surge has brought important gains, which I discussed in detail last week in a speech at the Pentagon. In Baghdad, we've worked with Iraqi security forces to greatly diminish the sectarian violence and civilian deaths. We've broken the grip of al Qaida on the capital. We've weakened the influence of Iranian-backed militias. We've dramatically improved security conditions in many devastated neighborhoods in what some have deemed a "re-liberation."

We liberate them, and then we re-liberate them. How much more of our liberation can they take?

Initially, the United States paid for most of the costs of training and equipping the Iraqi security forces. Now Iraq's budget covers three-quarters of the cost of its security forces, which is a total of more than $9 billion in 2008. And soon, Iraq should, and we expect them, to shoulder the full burden of their security forces.

Yes, but we're still spending $12 billion a month there.

Some, however, seem unwilling to acknowledge that progress is taking place. Early in the war, they said the political situation wasn't good enough. Then, after Iraq held three historic elections, they said the security situation wasn't good enough. Then, after the security situation began to improve, they said politics, again, wasn't good enough. And now that political progress is picking up, they're looking for a new reason.

No, it's an old reason, Mr President. It seems to be security again, not to be nitpicking or anything.

You know, when I mentioned justice of the cause, you see that when Americans in full battle gear hand out books to children, hand out books to total strangers. You see it when they defuse bombs to protect the innocent, or help organize a town council meeting. And you see that, there could be no doubt that America is a force for good and decency. (Applause.)

So to give books to the children, we had to invade their country. Many of the children's schools are now destroyed, and if the schools are standing, because of violence in the area, attending school may be too dangerous for the children. Were there bombs to be defused before we invaded?

Four thousand of our finest citizens have sacrificed their lives in this mission. Every one of them was loved. Every one is missed. And we thank God for the gift of these brave Americans

-- and we ask Him to comfort their families. Every one of them will be honored throughout our history. But the best way to honor the fallen is to complete the mission, and lay the foundation of peace. (Applause.)

To honor the fallen and the maimed, we must allow more troops to die and be maimed.

Earlier yesterday, I had read Today I read in McClatchy of the violence in Iraq:

Baghdad

12 mortars hit the Green Zone starting at 10 am until this report was prepared at 2 pm, Thursday, said Iraqi Police. The U.S. Embassy said no one was injured.
....

Updating Sadr City news, since the fighting started on Monday until now, the toll has reached 38 killed and 47 wounded, Iraqi police said.
....

Random fire by gunmen passing in a speeding car killed a father and his son, 13 years old in Talbiyah, north Baghdad at 5 this afternoon.
....

4 mortar rounds hit the US military base in Rustamiyah at 6.30 pm. No casualties were reported and no comment was available from the US military at the time of publication.
....

5 unidentified bodies were found in Baghdad by Iraqi Police today. 1 in Ur, 1 in Zayuna, 1 in Husseiniyah, 1 in Mansour, 1 in Alawi al-Hilla, Sheikh Ma'roof.
....

Basra

Fighting in Basra between the Mahdi Army and the security forces has been ongoing since early Tuesday, and the toll of the fighting is at least 97 killed and around 300 injured, a medical source in the Directorate of Health in Basra said.
....

Diyala

5 unidentified bodies were found in a mass grave by security forces in al-Zor area, Muqdadiyah district, 25 km to the east of Baquba.
....

Salahuddin

Gunmen attack a Sahwa, US sponsored militia, member's house in al-Khadhraa neighbourhood, downtown Samara and kill both him and his son and injured his wife and one of his daughters. Joint forces, Iraqi army and US military announce a curfew in order to search for the armed group, said First Lieutenant Muthanna Shakir. US military did not include this report in their release.

I have included only a sampling of the violence reported by McKlatchy.

The president's disconnection from the reality of Iraq is astounding. How can anyone treat him with any seriousness? How do any of us live our lives as though none of this is happening?

What Happened To The Pink Elephants?

From the Telegraph:

A New Zealand man who claimed he was raped by a wombat and that the experience left him speaking with an Australian accent has been found guilty of wasting police time.

Arthur Cradock, 48, from the South Island town of Motueka, called police last month to tell them he was being raped by the marsupial at his home and needed urgent assistance.

Cradock, an orchard worker, later called back to reassure the police operator that he was all right.
....

Police prosecutor Sergeant Chris Stringer told the court that alcohol played a large role in Cradock’s life.

From Lapin labeled, "This week's silliest story!"

More Prayers, Please

Blogger Kate Morningstar said...

My Dad's in hospital as of yesterday. I thought it would be a very short stay, and he'd die in the next few days. But there's something they can do that will make him more comfortable and able to breathe, without fixing the problem. They're saying, after they've done it, they're planning to send him home early next week. It will still be soon.

Dad's illness is a logical consequence of what he's done in his life. I believe that in the next phase of his existence, whatever that is, he will be offered healing he wouldn't or couldn't take in this phase. And that at some point, he'll be able to move into that healing.

A big part of the problem is -- he is completely unwilling to accept the possibility that there is a Source of All Healing and Help, or a next phase of existence.

I made his favourite kind of cookies this morning, and I'm going now to deliver them to the hospital. We do what we can.

Kate, you did good with the cookies. Prayers for your dad that he finds healing, comfort, consolation, and the peace that passes understanding, and that he finds hope in the Source of all hope. Prayers for you and your family, too, that the love of God surround you all.

From The General(s) To The Particular

The two articles from the Associated Press appeared one beneath the other in my local newspaper, just as I post them here.

From the AP via MSNBC:

In the confidential confines of a Pentagon conference room known as "the Tank," President Bush moved one step closer to temporarily halting U.S. troop cuts in Iraq.

No decisions were announced at the closed-door session Wednesday, but officials said later that the heads of the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps indicated they would go along with a halt.

The chiefs stressed, however, their concerns about the accumulating strains caused by an Iraq war that is now in its sixth year and that has forced the Army and Marine Corps in particular to keep troops in combat longer and on more frequent tours than officials believe can be sustained in the long term.
....

The chiefs' concern is that U.S. forces are being worn thin, compromising the Pentagon's ability to handle crises elsewhere in the world.

From the AP via USA Today:

FORT STEWART, Ga. — Army Staff Sgt. Robert Brown's third deployment Iraq was also his longest -- he was 39 when he left, and he turned 41 the day before he returned to Fort Stewart on Wednesday.

His wife, Taura Brown, and 4-year-old son Jacob had a cake waiting for him at home that said, "Happy Birthday and Welcome Home."

Brown was part of the first Army division tapped for a third combat tour in Iraq. He was among 500 soldiers from the 3rd Infantry Division's 1st Brigade returning Wednesday from a 15-month deployment to Iraq. The rest of the brigade of 4,000 troops will return in the next two weeks.

"The only thing I want to do is just go home and be around nobody but them," said Brown, of Chatham, La., as he pulled off his helmet and flashed a wide smile at his wife and child.
....

At least 75 soldiers from the 19,000-soldier division died during the latest deployment, the military said.

The division helped lead the charge to Baghdad in the 2003 invasion, and returned to Iraq in 2005.

During their third deployment, division soldiers had their tour stretched to 15 months -- compared with the typical 12 month rotation -- as the Pentagon boosted troop levels in Iraq to crack down on violence from insurgents.

"It seemed like forever," said Spc. Bradley Glasscock, 33, of Wilmington, Ind. "We were already three months into the deployment when they told us we'd get an extra three months. So it seemed like we stopped and started over again. We were just biting at the bit to get home."

I was going to comment, but res ipsa loquitor.