Newsgroup: it.arti.musica.classica
Titolo: OPERA EDUCATION INTERNATIONAL

>The other major factor in Naxos and its related labels keeping
prices down is that they give up much of the promotion the more famous
marks employ. Since the recordings are focussed on the music and there
are seldom acknowledged "stars", stellar advertising and displays are
unnecessary. It is a different approach to marketing and seems so far
to have been a most successful one.
Mike
Best regards,
Klaus
*********************
(My apologies for the confusion in indenting of Bob's original post,
my
reply and Klaus's.)
Mike
mric...@cpl.net
Opera: 
http://mrichter.simplenet.com/
CD-R: 
http://resource.simplenet.com/
 }}
And thus spoke the authority. We re-quote:
 
"Most singers understand that recording opera is extremely expensive,
especially under our perfect studio (not live) conditions and are
happy with our modest flat fees. Look at our Fidelio cast! The bit
about being allowed only two or three takes and no chance of fancy
editing is nonsense ... artists are allowed as many takes as necessary
to get the music right. However, having said that, we expect our
artists to be well prepared unlike many big-name artists who rely on
the producer and editor to produce a good performance."
 
We ask: 
 
1. Mr. Heiman seems to have contradicted himself by simultaneously
affirming that his artists are indeed allowed "fancy editing...to get
the music right" and ranting against the "many big-name artists who
rely on the producer and editor to produce a good performance." What
exactly is the difference? Isn't fancy editing what earns producers
and editors their bacon, be it at naXos or Lucifer Classics? Or is Mr.
Heiman whining and bickering because Lucifer's console is bigger than
his?
 
2. Mr. Heiman seems to have fallen prey to the epidemic virus of
unfounded critical prejudice and the politics of defamation and
character-assassination (the rate of infection appears to be
abnormally high within the familial fraternity of
American/Anglosaxon/Anglophile critical bedfellows). His words can be
easily formulized: "Big Name + Big Label = Little Music (or Falsity)".
No need to state the converse but we'll do it anyway: "Little/No Name+
Little Label = Big Music (or Truth)". Who exactly are these many
unprepared big names? And how, where, and when?
 
3. A few years back, the authority was also quoted in "The Boston
Globe" - this other 'plug in' courtesy of
CareerHomo-turned-critic-turned-promoter Richard "local church mice
are world-class people too" Dyer. Lately, Dyer has been heard
advocating for the equal part Charity/Chimpanzee Acts that are The
Three Mo' Tenors, Andrea Bocelli, and Charlotte Church.
 
["Maestros of the Pen: A History of Classical Music Criticism in
America", by Mark N. Grant, Northeastern University Press, 1998, ISBN
1-55553-363-9:  n-o-t  o-n-e  f-o-o-t-n-o-t-e  *not one*  on Dyer ---
and this after a 25+year career behind him dedicated to latter-day
Anglo+Judeo+Homo-centric bitchery, dishonesty, and hypocrisy. And just
as long dedicated to sobbing after the footnote (but no reference),
indeed, that  w-a-s  Lucine Amara.]
 
But back to the authority:
 
"The market is shifting away from name artists, and the average music
lover is confused by bins crowded by recordings. What is the
difference between Riccardo Muti, Claudio Abbado and Riccardo Chailly
in a given piece? Whatever the difference is, it doesn't mean anything
to the average music lover who gives up and chooses our recording
because it is more reasonably priced, and the performance is just as
good. It is an absurdity for Plácido Domingo to sing 'The Barber of
Seville'; our recording is a better performance of the opera. If
Cheryl Studer were to come to me and ask to sing some of the operas
she has recorded, I wouldn't let her." {Author: Richard Dyer / Date:
19.01.1994 / Page: 61 / Section: Living Arts}
 
We comment and ask: 
 
3A. Funny but we bet that the suits at Lucifer Classics swear
t-h-e-i-r  barber gives a better haircut. Not that some of us (not
nearly enough) give a damn about Sire Domingo, at least not since his
early 90s (and thereafter) publicity and musical circus prostitutions.
 
3B. Let us cut to the chase: we propose that one encompassing reason
for the present-day crisis is that the ever-so-important anecdotal and
testimonial lore and the ensuing language/narrative about the live
stage experiences  a-n-d  about the documented legacies of certain
important big-names (those immediately preceding the generation of
today's Ass-ociated Press "A List") literally fell through a
g-e-n-e-r-a-t-i-o-n-a-l  c-r-a-c-k.  Little or nothing was said.  In
retrospect, a lot of people in this rotten-eggs of a business have a
lot of answering to do. Listen in comparison, for example, to how
today's general(ized) press and the queens write about an integer to
the far left of zero (if that) such as one Ruth Ann Swenson or, for
example, Tibor Rudas' Third(rate, if that) Soprano and division by
zero (if that), one other Kallen Esperian.  Hard, very hard to
believe…but sadly true.  And this is the flip side of the same coin
--- and a penny it is --- that places the
70+-year-old-Renata-Scotto-who-made-her-debut-in-1952-or-three-years-before-Cheryl-was-conceived-and-who-is-still-in-her-prime-and-getting-better-and-who-should-have-many-of-us-wondering-what-has-she-done-in-20-years
on the cover of "Opernglas," March 2003.  Or the other septuagenarian
Montserrat Caballé, a
has-been-but-getting-better-and-still-interesting, on the cover of
"Opernwelt," April 2003.  And a penny it is.  And a penny it will be. 
Anyway, in the realm of opera, this previous generation came "too
soon" after the Marias and the Renatas and the Joans and the
Montserrats and the Vickys and the Mirellas and the Regines and the
whoevers....and "too late" for today's democratic free-für-Alles
(think of the deregulation of the airline industry in the U.S.A. -
surely it is cheaper to fly and with more options but the experience
is ghastly) in deadly mix with the quick fixes and seductions of
HyperPublicRelations and HyperText. Few artists can survive without
some form or other of critical and popular encouragement. It became
fashionable sport (nah, Mob Rule - nah, Olympics) for too influential
but equally ignorant, tin-eared and incredibly, corrosively partial
critics (and their bedroom partners) to dismiss these artists' work
faster than they could say Compact Disc (and worse: to fully ignore
too – consider the phenomenon that is the Remarkable Eclipsing and
Banishment by the press (we know of no greater form of disrespect) of
a certain  v-e-t-e-r-a-n  and  c-o-n-t-e-m-p-o-r-a-n-e-o-u-s  soprano
whose stage appearances are pre-judged to be just that: Appearances:
Phantom Ships In The Night, when noticed ---- or to fully  d-e-n-y 
the usual "critical anal(ysis)" - is that what it is? - accorded minor
lights ("Monsieur Giordani could not sustain pitch  b-u-t  the
Sicilian understanding" [by coincidence, the same understanding which,
according to the experts, eludes fellow Southerner Riccardo Muti] -
"Madame Phlegming [no other soprano before or during Renée is known to
have "taken chances"] shrieked unnaturally, gurgling and flatting two
high A naturals and her overall intonation was insecure too  b-u-t  
all that (jazzy) rhythmic integrity!" (see "Tommasini, Anthony" ---
and yet you will look in vain for his promotional write-up on that
Houston Blanche Dubois - *after* the event, that is) – "Hausfrau Void
was in customary shrill and squally voice again last night and her top
sounded tired, though no fault of her own,  b-u-t  her sofa scene was
comfortably moving --- that Svelte Lil' Debbie didn't make that final
F-sharp is none of your business." - "Irish-American AFL-CIO Heroine
Flanigan [who, by the by, tries and is carded to "sing everything"]
[no other soprano before or during Lauren is known to have "taken
chances"] could not sing Reiza's music [she replaced DeVoid, who had
also cancelled all engagements in Vienna, and for the 2nd season in a
row - not a bad thing when you try to remember – and try you must -
those Scheiße AIDAs at the MET where Crayola connected them dots and
none of the music - not to mention the brutal stupor that were Luciano
"snotty handkerchief" Pavarotti and the ever-accomodating, yes? James
"sweaty towel" Levine]  b-u-t  the visceral ennui of it all") -
"Madame Shout squalled an Elektra consistently below pitch (that's
about 75% of your evening)  b-u-t  it seems that the excitement of
some level or other of on-pitch faithfulness to and by die Juden and a
few silent-movie camp gestures secured her an unqualified
triumph...and an onstage kiss too from Jimmy Boy (or rather, Jimmy the
boy-paedophile - ladies and gentlemen, you too can have it all: from
orchestras in Munich, Boston, and naturally New York to standing Os to
gushing press coverage to paid Christian holidays to state-sanctioned
murder to state-sanctioned looting to Presidential Pardons (see "Rich,
Jonathan" - see "The Hassidic4 [that's right, not one not two not
three)" - see "Hillary 'some of my relatives are Jews' Clinton" and
the race for the NY State Senate]....provided you are "one of us" or
"with us") --- but for how much longer? ....well, all that plus Gabi
is getting better and better and better, yes?" - "Madame Attila
spreads her top like butter on warm bread  b-u-t  her cool, Nordic,
blonde looks carried the night [our bladders burst open when trying to
reconcile the paradox that is the pre(and post)occupation with Aryan
archetypes by these duplicitous pseudo-minorities in the industry (you
know who and what you are), habitually the first to cry wolf at the
whiff of perceived or real prejudice] --- and more importantly, she
took off her shoes! (but what we'd really like to know is: what
language was *that*, Querida?)" – "Debbie 'Crayola Opera Program'
Void's French (not unlike the strangely clapped Yawn Upshaw's) and any
language other than the Dixie Chicks is for and about pigeons ---
merde --- [Crayola's sour and rusty tonal quality, let alone her
musical probity, are more reminiscent of the gold you see in soiled
underwear than of the Golden Age, by far...and worse: as stupid as the
laundry water you soak and scrub it in]  b-u-t  her 'major'
contributions to Culture are 'consistent.' --- or is it the other way
'round?" - "The consensus that Madame Shorties could not really sing
Konstanze is questionable and, in the end, unfair for she is a gifted,
six-foot taller......b-u-t  more importantly, her name is not Cheryl
Studer." - "Monsieur Hiccup proved once more that you can crack loud
and wide before a Manhattan audience of tourists as long as your name
is not Cheryl Studer;  b-u-t  even better than that, the loss of
95-plus pounds, in cocktail with a widely broadcast Sob Story, are
sufficient to satisfy the most discriminating thirst of
the-below-IQ-of-47.5(that's-50%-of-something-or-other-to-you)-and-minus-set
and anyday's coverage of the Arts in the Jew York Times" -
"Maestrisssssimo of Legend, Gilbert "Lego Blocks" Kaplan, swears he
can conduct but one piece of music and one piece of music alone b-u-t,
as one of "our chauvinistic own", full coverage by the Jew York Times
is fully warranted - all that plus a recording medal from the
syphilitic Deutsche Grammophon" – "LetItRain sounded great  b-u-t  I
blame the amplification for some harshness up top" ---"Suzie B.
Anthony's soft-grained portrayals are just that, soft.  B-u-t  her
problematic top notes, at this early stage in her career already,
should be of no concern to a fabulous evening." - "Schäfer is
certainly no one's idea of coloratura  b-u-t  her hip-hop Violetta in
Berlin, under the multidimensional/psychodepth baton of Barenboim,
must be remembered as an important achievement – please don't ask
why." --- "To be sure, Christine is no one's idea of coloratura  b-u-t
 her gang-rape Gilda in London (also conducted by Sir Edward Downes of
1994 fame) caused Mickey (Mouse) Richter to significantly wet his
panties in print somewhere – at least we want to believe we read the
praise (but we can't)."
You know the skit. 
Why yes, ladies and gents, even these public acts of levitation are
denied Midland, Michigan's Prodigal Daughter --- But then, taking into
account the desperate [in vain] efforts toward reconstruction and
regeneration, toward opening new markets (undue over-exposure in Arts
Journalism and in Arts Ad(as in advertising)ministration - over who
counts - over what counts – and when and where  --- and why and how
and how much --- and for how long ---  all this being the final
vestige of their former Imperial selves), what is the increasingly
brilliant, independent-minded, informed, impartial, cultured, mature,
eloquent, and sympathetic Anglo/Judeo/Homo-centric Promotional
Universe to do with a creature refusing easy categorization? - of what
value or use is the lady? - of what value or use is the artist? - who
is neither aesthetic suppository nor psychobabble nor English (nor
pretender)  n-o-r  r-e-s-i-d-e-n-t n-o-r  c-i-t-i-z-e-n  n-o-r 
D-a-m-e  nor Faerie Queene nor Greek (nor pretender) nor
black-and-blue (nor pretender) nor Slav (how could she pretend?) nor
German (nor pretender) nor Austrian (nor pretender) nor squally
Kammersängerin nor French (nor pretender) nor Cinema Paradiso Italian
(nor pretender) nor Eastern European (nor pretender) nor
Spaniard/Latin American bombshell (they are the flavor of the moment
and how could she pretend?) nor Argentinian Tango nor Yiddishbbuk nor
Anonymous4 (that's right, not one not two not three) nor Asian (how
could she pretend?) nor Aussie nor Canadian --- nor, most importantly,
deemed sufficiently  A-m-e-r-i-c-a-n  --- n-o-r r-e-s-i-d-e-n-t  nor
MET-centric nor Manhattan/Queens/Brooklyn-ette nor Broadway belcher
nor Saint Francis-can nor Angelena nor Chicagoan nor Texan nor New
Mexican nor Washingtonian nor Saint Louis Gal nor panderer nor tall
nor thin nor heroine-overdose chic nor deaf nor dumb nor blind nor
blonde nor Blonde Ambition nor Barbie Doll nor grotesque nor
grotesquely zaftig nor power hungry nor agenda driven nor faghag nor
lesbian nor hairy chested nor cherub nor fashion rag nor glamour puss
nor arriviste nor aspirant nor aspirate nor potential nor promise
(what you hear is what you get, dear) nor apology nor antiquity nor
preserved museum mummy nor soccer mum nor sucker nor trend nor hip nor
H.I.P. nor hip-hop nor joined at the hip nor hippie nor barefoot at
Carnegie Hall nor folkie nor cantor nor castrata nor contralto nor
countertenor nor counterculture nor anarchist nor antichrist nor lyric
mezzo nor soprano on the verge of a mezzo breakdown nor vice versa nor
chanteuse nor soubrette nor starlet nor coquette nor canary nor
woodbird nor nightingale nor cuckoo clock nor tic toc tic toc tic toc
nor geriatric nor vanity record label owner nor
transposer-conductor-doubleintendant-voicecompetitor-crossoverpimp-moviemogul-realestatemagnate-restaurateur-sexsymbol-playboy-jetsetter
(all in one and one for all and all in a night) nor married to one nor
lazy nor shrinking violet nor daddy's lil' lass nor mystic nor myth
nor minimalist nor hyperbole nor Überfeminist nor Konzept nor
symbolism nor ying nor yang nor Dreams and Fables nor metaphysics nor
philosopher ("Philosophier' Er nicht, Herr Schatz...") nor scholar
(nor pretender) nor didact nor pedant nor peasant nor lecturer nor
soapbox preacher nor symposium nor musicologist nor composer (you
know, like Callas who wrote all them masterpieces now falsely ascribed
to one Bellini, one Donizetti, and one other Verdi) nor paladin of the
glorious avant-garde nor ostinato nor experiment nor rarity rat nor
rat tat tat nor archaeologist nor room temperature nor Sponsored By
Talbots nor Anglican Service nor Vivaldi postcard nor Handel MBA
[opera's answer to the 80s business phenomenon - everyone has one] nor
Britten Ph.D. nor Janácek Nobel Prize nor stunt nor parody nor
caricature nor Hallmark Card nor Disney nor Ozzie & Harriett nor Will
& Grace nor smiley face nor horseface nor humor monger (in any event,
not the shtick you grew up with) nor camp nor marketing-promo tramp
nor cliché nor slogan nor acronym nor t®ademark nor image-chaser nor
sensation-seeker nor Eurogarbage nor ez-listenin' nor pleasure ride
nor automatic cruise control nor sentiment-al nor cripple nor married
to one nor victim nor tearjerker nor nostalgia trip nor tourist trap
nor good-cause nor fund-raiser (so to speak) nor social worker nor
United Way nor Red Cross nor Katie Couric nor Walk For A Cure nor We
Are The World nor Sound Of Music nor Under the Stars nor Over The
Rainbow nor Rainbow Coalition nor Summertime nor Supper Time (nice
tunes if you can) nor fruit salad nor cotton candy nor melba toast nor
peaches in double cream nor café au lait nor cinnamon roll nor dark
chocolate nor civil/human rights centerfold nor gulag survivor nor
married to one nor refugee nor married to one nor UN Ambassador nor
married to one nor member of any one precious special interest group
(you know who and what you are)  n-o-r  m-a-r-r-i-e-d  t-o o-n-e 
n-o-r  s-t-r-a-t-e-g-i-c-a-l-l-y w-e-d-d-e-d  (you know who and what
you are) nor politician nor married to one nor inter-national
political crisis parasite nor ad-minister of propaganda nor grassroots
peace activist (you do know, don't you, that them ancient favourite
warhorses of yours composed by Bach and Beethoven and Brahms and
Schubert and Schumann and Wagner and Liszt were explicitly AND
implicitly inspired by the Israeli-Palestinian conflict --- or even
better, the epicentric causes of Israel, Zionism, and of Universal
Jewry --- everything, and we mean everything, seems to revolve around
this Axis, no? --- ask Mehta and Señor Honorario und Tolerant
Barenboim --- by the by, in a recent Chicago program of Hugo Wolf's
Lieder, the "Great Jewish Musician" [and we thought it un-Klezmer to
allude to the man's other career] in harmony with his German/Christian
sub-ordinates - a "physically handicapped baritone" and an "underpitch
soprano" (see "Kubiak, David") (the soprano is one Angela Denoke,
whose disastrous Fidelio Leonore at the Salzburg Easter Festival of
2003 under Sir Simon will surely have to be patched by the studio
wizards before the Please-Save-EMI hype campaign unfolds)  - were
heard "r-e-c-l-a-i-m-i-n-g  the true meaning of the 'heilge Deutsches
Kunst'" --- again, see "Kubiak, David" --- kindly note, please, that
no one else before ‘GJM & Co. GmbH' had accomplished nearly as much,
and in a mere evening --- but we live n' learn --- now we know that
Herr Wolf wrote his songs inspired by populations everywhere holding
hands - to promote future handholding --- and to reaffirm the
existence of a specific sexual-orientation population) --- where were
we?, ah yes --- nor married to one nor Adler Fella nor Crayola Opera
Program alumna nor Karajan-Harnoncourt-Cardiff-VeraRosza-Schwarzkopf-Auger-GeorgeLondon-RichieTucker-BelleSilverman-Albanese-Horne-Scotto-vonStade-Heggie
groupie nor traveler along the Anglo Silk Road --- the
LandOfOz-BerlinStaatsoperUDL-LaMonnaie-ENO-Glyndebourne-NYCO-Glimmerglass-StLouis-SantaFe-SanDiego-DallasO-HoustonGO-FloridaGO-WashingtonO-n-such
workshop ghettoes.
 
 
[Imagine, if you dare.]
 
 
E-N-V-Y = D-E-S-T-R-U-C-T-I-O-N
but
S-I-L-E-N-C-E = D-E-A-T-H
 
 
Enter into the equation the contemptibly stupid (discerning,
discerning) audiences who (wanted to and still do) believe everything
they read...and voilà, the science gives the (false)
i-m-p-r-e-s-s-i-o-n  of yielding the expected (forced) hubris. Then
add the ones who stayed away from attending these artists'
performances because they were simply told to do so (in so many
words). Never mind the  c-o-w-a-r-d-s  who  n-e-v-e-r  attended,
self-admittedly, but who later saw fit to publish obituaries passing
for legitimate eyewitness report (again, check out "Maestros of the
Pen: A History of Classical Music Criticism in America", 1998, by Mark
N. Grant, and see if you can spot "Dyer, Richard"). Never mind the
h-y-p-o-c-r-i-t-e-s  who, in addition to prematurely and irresponsibly
issuing death certificates (see "Davis, Peter G."), years later were
caught with their pants down performing auto-erotica to the tune of
"Returns Triumphantly!" (see "Davis, Peter G."). Little wonder many
ceased listening --- and begin listening with others' ears and without
their own little heads and hearts they did.  But leave it to the
bloodless (and if you don't have blood you don't need a heart and if
you don't have blood you will find yourself thirsty, very thirsty,
guaranteed) - it is in fact their exclusive province - to accomplish
such feats. No, they were/are neither Maria nor Renata nor Renata nor
Joan nor Leonie nor Gwyneth nor Anja --- impeccable vocalists that
they were --- and why should they be? --- Take the particularly
complex case of a fascinatingly complex yet elemental yet thoroughly
modern and yet not artist...Cheryl Studer --- was/is the backlash
really for l-a-c-k  o-f  q-u-a-l-i-t-y  or  l-a-c-k  o-f 
a-r-t-i-s-t-i-c w-o-r-t-h?
 
A decade or so later there's a perceptible sense of panic and fatigue
among critics, industry folk, and fanatics (naughty word but only and
only when linked with you-know-who) alike, most shockingly noticeable
within the gated communities of the old and the jaded, who can be
heard loudly cheerleading anyone (and we mean anything)....
 
 
[....as long as their names are  n-o-t  Cheryl Studer.]
 
 
[God Willing.]
 
 
[And yet more Enchantment/Jubilation courtesy of the
Panacea/Schadenfreude of Cheryl Studer-Free Zones/Ground Zeroes.]
 
 
[God Willing.]
 
 
[Young Ones - Do not be duped by the hollow enthusiasms of the age ---
ever seen a sad clown?]
 
 
[But now, oh today....Music and Art....or rather, what passes for
it....and every new product or stage appearance tossed our way by the
Star System we hate to love (certainly a system long preceding but
fatally ran to the ground by the quasi-empty rhetoric and prissiness
of political correctness run amok and afoul, and the Gestapo-like
censorship tactics of the instinct/thought-control police, in concert
with the 'World Music Congress' - the Rudases, the Breslins, the Sire
Jonases, the Mehtas, the Holenders (whose nose is long and arrogant
enough to sniff all the way to the Volksoper and as far as Berlin),
the Levines, the Maazels, the Heimans [sic], the Previns, the
self-professed rap-music fans of the world (see "von Dohnányi,
Christoph" --- uncle must be spinning in his ashes --- ladies and
gentlemen, more often than we are led to believe, death CAN be in
vain), The Three or Four or Five or Six or Seven Whores - we are
losing count -, Best Friends & Co. Inc. Ltd. S.A. GmbH – the Ozawas
and the Gergievs too (both would rather accommodate the Blind n'
Pop(ular) Lounge Singer these days than the likes of Gorchakova ---
yes, to this level we have sunk) are prime shareholders (and puppets)
in this "J-u-d-e-r-e-i" - that's right - i.e., by the Star System of
Bocelli, of course, or Hampson (now pretty much an undisputed
by-the-book Straussian, Wagnerian  a-n-d ...hear hear...Verdian...of
Stature, don't you know) or the Alagnas (f-a-k-e  recordings of
Verdi's -Trovatore- for Sire Tony/EMI and Bizet's -Carmen-, also for
Sire-to-be Whoever/EMI --- Grecian Approximation No. XXV - we have
lost count - has not sung Leonora or Carmen where it counts, on the
stage) or the other Bocelli comrade, Fleming....well, all of it  h-a-s
 sudden Meaning and Necessity, so the public relationists tell
us....the Magic courtesy,  n-e-i-t-h-e-r  because of especially great
voices nor exceptional interpretive wills or personalities  n-o-r 
because of remotely acceptable  n-e-w  music, but because:
 
NUMBER 1:  their names are  n-o-t  Cheryl Studer
 
and
 
NUMBER 2:  ...*in good portion and out of proportion* due to the
PromoOp-Catchpenny that has become 9.11 and its aftermath --- a
monstrous crime monstrously debased by the Infernal Spinning Wheel of
opportunism and commerce and avarice and mayhem and revenge and murder
(widely disguised as justice) --- a tragedy now symbiotically hijacked
to peddle everything from Arms Races to Far Right-ism (see "Sharon,
Ariel" --- how come we don't hear strings of consistently shrill High
Cs crying for  h-i-s  removal and disposal of  h-i-s (that is, ours)
Weapons Of Mass Destruction --- the latest government
double-standard/media buzzword and insult to our dignity and
intelligence --- this time, however, we applaud Barenboim for being
practically the only one playing fiddle on the roof --- the root, the
root --- of the problem) to Nationalism to Patriotism to Requiems to
Anglo-Zionist Terrorism --- the latter conducted both musically and
extra-curricularly, most prominently with (critical mass-destruction)
Heavy-Metal made in the squeaky clean U.S. of A. and paid for with 
y-o-u-r  humble American tax dollar (as if you had a choice) and the
blood of  y-o-u-r  sons and daughters. --- So why won't Israel and its
Business/Washington lobbyists fight their next door neighbors, which
include Iraq and now Syria and Iran, all by themselves and with  
t-h-e-i-r  o-w-n  currency and leave us all a-l-o-n-e  a-n-d  i-n 
p-e-a-c-e?]
 
[Consequently, would that  t-h-e  o-t-h-e-r  terrorists went home
too.]
 
[Did we fail to add that the terrorists need the U.S. as much as the
U.S. needs them?]
 
[As it turns out, no other country --- no other --- is as arrogant, as
infantile, as selfish, as bellicose, as disrespectful, as insulting,
as pervasively poisonous, as dubious, as abusive, as destructive, and
as DANGEROUS as the USA (in "universal" coalition with its satellites:
its former occupier the UK and the UK-occupied Palestine, Israel). And
we mean militarily, economically, politically, diplomatically,
spiritually, culturally, and philosophically – about the latter five,
it is the stuff of bankruptcy courts and all are on equal footing.
Sviatoslav Richter knew (better yet, f-e-l-t) this and never came
back. Brigitte Fassbaender too. Tragic.]
 
 
[In other words, and in some order or other of appearance...
 
 
NO BLOOD FOR THE NEW AMERICAN CENTURY
NO BLOOD FOR THE WILLIAM KRISTOLS
NO BLOOD FOR THE PAUL WOLFOWITZES
NO BLOOD FOR THE ARI FLEISCHERS
NO BLOOD FOR THE ALAN GREENSPANS
NO BLOOD FOR THE JOE LIEBERMANS
NO BLOOD FOR THE LEFT AND RIGHT-WING JEWISH LOBBIES
NO BLOOD FOR SHARON'S SANDBOX
NO BLOOD FOR THE DONALD RUMSFELDS
NO BLOOD FOR THE JOHN ASHCROFTS
NO BLOOD FOR OIL
NO BLOOD FOR VENGEANCE
NO BLOOD FOR THE MARIONETTE/MINSTREL ACTS OF
     SIR COLIN POWELL AND DAME CONDOLEEZA RICE]
 
 
[Discuss, if you dare.]
 
 
[About the new studio-product ('tis is what we call them fakery, no?)
from EMI ---IDOMENEO---, we have read puff like "a recording that
n-e-e-d-e-d  to be made." --- after all, it contains the antipodean
missionary of all things English, Sire Charles; British Will o' Wisp
Bostridge; Bocelli collaborator Frittoli; and, to top it all, the New
(Age) Callas – the organically-grown, FDA approved, anodyne, pastel,
drab as damp cardboard, and dull as fishwater LetItRain Hunt(hyphen –
I married a techie with composer pretensions + I too have a little Sob
Story in circulation - what is yours?) Lieberson.  But do not for a
second believe the ad-men....for this product is yet more of the
ho-hum variety.]
 
[And don't forget that LetItRain is an  "a-r-t-i-s-t", sensitive and
musical - albeit a part-time one - but please understand that very few
others are as musical, let alone sensitive and artistic].
 
[About the new DECCA ---COCKSUCKER BLUES---, we have read fluff like
"A New  F-i-r-s-t  L-a-d-y  of Bel Canto - Renée Fleming very nearly
manages to shake the insistent ghost of Maria Callas." (see
"
www.andante.com
") --- But we are neither deaf nor naïve nor stupid.
You see, n-e-v-e-r  e-v-e-r  f-o-r-g-e-t, we insist, that sopranos of
the caliber of Cheryl and Maria, bruised of voice and heart or not,
n-e-v-e-r  e-v-e-r  s-t-o-o-p-e-d  this low (below the navel) in the
style department. But after all, the new product (scooped up in a
studio about 4 years ago and not ejaculated onto the marketplace until
2 to 3 years later) is being pushed under a neon sign that reads "Bel
Canto" complete with a $2 rebate incentive  b-e-l-o-w  its already
reduced repo artistic value - ya know, in the manner of the
stereo-typical toupéed and polyester-clad used-car salesman –
cajoling, cheap, cheesy, insincere, sleazy, slimy, slippery, sticky --
in that order -- and that's the singing -- a raw deal.]
 
 
IF YO NO KEEP ‘EM ENTERTAIN' N' DISTRACTED, WHO GONNA FIGH' YO WARS?
 
 
Blue-Collar/Working-Class Cheap Labor (and the aesthetics, or lack of,
of - see "Flanigan, Lauren" - see "Radvanovsky, Sondra" - "see Goerke,
Christine" - see "Eastern Europeans" – see "the little touring
companies that could") and Blitzkrieg-style Public Relations and
Marketing have been summoned to the cause of salvaging something or
other from the debris of these self-appointed arbiters of taste and
self-avowed "opera/music lovers'" own making. And thus have the armies
of businessmen landed, triumphantly, with portfolios chock-full with
the losers, the useless, the amateurs, the pedigree-less, the
unaccomplished, the homo-geneous, the vocally faceless, the emaciated,
the pretty, the photogenic, the grotesque too, the church rodents, the
H.I.P.-voiced, the H.I.P.-mannered, the pedigree-less, the correct,
the obedient, the mega amplified, the firefighters, the policemen, the
construction workers, the factory slaves, the custodians, the
industrial quality, the white trash, the divas next door; the divas
next door with the cute children as gimmicks; the divas next door who
are so nice and behave so well and who must reassure us about it; the
divas next door who seek psychotherapy and then have the distaste to
announce it; the vedettes next door who love all that jazz and then
scat and squat through  e-v-e-r-y-t-h-i-n-g  that is European  a-n-d 
Classical and not --- but then, in music that requires precisely that,
the phlegm gets in the way of that thang called swing; the divas next
door who thrive on wrestling, meatloaf, and fish n' chips --- and look
and sound it; the garish mansions next door who marry well,
transgenderly; the divas next door who, although already in their 40s
and beyond, must appease us by "taking baby steps to protect their
voices" and who swear that that's why they will still be in their
prime in extreme old age; the divas next door who swear we will want
to hear them then; the optically challenged, the physically
handicapped, the sob stories, more sob stories, the victims, the
politics of victimhood, the politics of sexual orientation, the
politics of identity, the politics of we-are-holier-than-thou, the
politics of lifestyle, the politics of triviality, the politics of
image, the politics of banality, the politics of favoritism, the
politics of corruption, the politics of indecency, the politics of
fleecing, the politics of the willing, the politics of coalition (the
U.N. need not apply), the politics of the willful, the politics of
oppression disguised as liberation, the politics of extracurricular
social agendas, the politics of inadequacy, the politics of "The
American Peepole," the politics of dumbing-down, the politics of the
lowest possible common denominator, the pedigree-less, the
pedigree-less, the pedigree-less, and yet more of that. And some more
sob stories. And not to be missed: the Teddy Bears (think of – well
not really, since you can't – the cancellations, the vocal troubles,
the gross embarrassments of stunt-ed live programs - everything from
Beg Your Indulgences to Public Regrets to Tosti to Walkouts - by, for
instance, Juan Dieguito Flórez, the Bocelli and Sissel comrade
Domingo, the other Sissel and Bocelli comrade-in-arms Terfel, and
Heppner – no matter - the insulted audiences correspond to their
cheating with tears and Standing Os --- but no surprise here, for it
is nothing but another perversion of our desensitized, demoralized,
diseased, frivolous, diluted, and vulgar days --- f-u-c-k, even
Joseito "Leukemia Sob Story" Carreras became the object of one of
these demonstrations - and this in the enlightened and improved and
newly innocent and important again (so it goes) Salzburg of the summer
of two-thousand-and-two-after-christ --- to you that's 20+ years after
the Spaniard lost IT).
 
And thus today's so-called "A-List" (really, nothing but a paid
announcement transmitted by the "Ass-ociated Press"), the P®ops, the
Pops, the Popp Clones (she of the intellectual and revisionist and
hyperkonzeptual and seminal programs, right Sir Peter?), the Grümmer
Clones, the Callas Clones, the Tebaldi Clones, the Sutherland
Wannabes, the Steber Clones, the Schwarzkopf Clones, the Sarah Vaughn
Clones, the Price Clones, the Janowitz Clones, the Fischer-Dieskau
Clones, the Furtwängler Clones, the Cut n' Paste Composites --- poor,
pitiful facsimiles  a-l-l ---, the Little Names, the Wannabes, the
Crossover Hustlers, the Bubblegum, the New Age Mongrels, the
Postmoderns, the Postmortems, the Multiculturalists, the Community
Initiatives, the Soundbites, the Marketing Love Couples/Traumpaars (in
the tradition of Peter n' Ben, Sir Peter n' Saint Lucia, Galina n'
Misha, Richard n' Joan, Edita n' Friedrich, Dietrich n' Julia, Anja n'
Wieland, Christoph n' Anja, Christa n' Walter, Walter n' Elisabeth,
Maria n' Ari, Plácido n' Marta, Nicoletta n' Luciano n' on n' on n'
on, we have lost count: Peter n' Petra, Angela n' Roberto, Mia n'
André, André n' Anne-Sophie --- by the widest and longest possible
stretch of the imagination, her greatest career move since Karajan and
since commissioning two or three (m)utterly charmless and obsolete 
b-u-t  oh-so-rigorous! works for fiddle), the Divine, the Fabulous,
the Delicious, the Magnificent, and the Little Labels That Could all
have it relatively easy in comparison to that preceding generation.
And the critical standards --- what standards? - whose? --- have
reformed, or rather, have doubled and tripled and....But injury is
often prone to insult. Hell, standards have liquified and then
evaporated vis a vis the new generation. It is no longer Sound Music
Criticism but Lowest-Common-Denominator Public Relations Spin [and
much worse: the fixation with that elusive something known as
---technique--- technique and organization and perfection as ends in
themselves: music-making as athletic match: missing the forest for the
trees --- but this is another angle for another day]. So much so that
it has become strangely and suddenly  K-o-s-h-e-r  once more (Jesus!,
how many more times are we going to hear about market
over-saturation?) to make records [and  K-o-s-h-e-r  too to be an
"American Opera Singer" --- whatever that may mean] (remember when you
and I were advised to please  r-e-j-e-c-t, swiftly AND wholesale, them
records [or anything containing Cheryl Studer --- or, for that matter,
any, and we mean any attempt at open discourse of her art? --- have
you forgotten the longstanding  p-r-e-v-e-n-t-i-o-n  measures taken by
the taste/censorship police in these forums in order to curtail all
possibility of even the minutest measure hinting of favourable
discourse on her art?] --- oh, you know the litany --- something about
digital and generalized and faked and frigid and manufactured and
calibrated and illusory and un-necessary and un-fair and in-competent
and in-personal and contrived and in-experienced and un-felt and
in-expressive and ex-pensive and un-communicative and dull and null
and sterile and perfect and flawed and clinical and precise and
international (curiously, we hardly read such venom spouted at
failed-serialist-turned-serial-partitur-surgeon Pierre Boulez) and
this and that and that and this - beautiful even - artistic even - you
know, the toxic byproduct of uncontained Kapitalismus - the same
Kapitalismus that gave us such goodies as Meyerbeer Halévy & Sons,
penicillin, Bocelli & Sons, cheap sentiments, more penicillin, Alan
‘my-competence-includes-championing-the-OJ-Simpson-cause-and-the-case-for-torture-but-as-a-Jew'
Dershowitz, more penicillin, the Holocash, the Armenian, Russian, and
Chinese Holocausts no one *and we mean no one* made an Industry of,
the current Holocaust under our noses in Congo no one hears or cares
about, Convenience Dictatorships, convenience stores, preservatives,
PCPs, cigarettes, cancer, sunglasses, sunblock, suntanning, more
cancer, opera glasses, the megaphone, the horn, the microphone, the
photograph, the ("fideistic" and most pleasurable) Mapleson cylinders,
maple syrup, Marston Records, naXos, the phonograph, the light bulb,
gaslight, lamps, shades, nostalgia, animated pictures, the telegraph,
the typewriter, carbon paper, the telephone, the clock, the metronome,
the pitch fork, the antenna, the satellite dish, the radio, the
television, bandwidth, TV dinners, the calculator, the metric system,
calendars, famine, feast, walkie-talkies, headphones, headsets,
X-rays, MRIs, cat-scans, night vision goggles, Google, Yahoo, beepers,
intercoms, elevators, escalators, bicycles, stationary bicycles,
stationery, faster trains, the automobile, the jet plane, motorbikes,
snowmobiles, surfboards, skateboards, rollerblades, ice skates,
rollercoasters, houses of horror, houses of cards, houses of mirrors,
Martha Stewart, Wal-Mart, NASCAR, The Vagina Monologues, Cori Ellison,
Anne Midgette, Manuela Hoelterhoff, the efforts to erode the
composition and sound and culture of the Vienna Philharmonic (in the
manner of any American country club and of your favourite
International-sounding orchestra), trailer parks, fast food, junk
food, malnutrition, gluttony, obesity, anorexia nervosa, nervousness,
bulimia, lawn mowers, snow blowers, vacuum cleaners, detergents, mops,
brooms, dust pans, rags, sponges, shags, wigs, afros, mini-skirts,
bellbottoms, platform shoes, pajamas, lingerie, bikinis, stockings,
lava lamps, disco, beat poetry, grunge, turbos, sedans, vans, buses,
minibuses, limousines, tanks, bulldozers, canoes, motor boats, sail
boats, battleships, submarines, B52s, F16s, space shuttles, robots,
rockets, missiles, bombs, stealth bombers, torpedoes, landmines,
telescopes, Star Wars, Nuclear Races, Weapons of Mass Destruction,
Agent Orange, palm trees, palm pilots, Napalm, Nepal, note pads,
Post-Its, Hiroshima, Dresden, Vietnam (to name but a few of these
insignificant mishaps), MOABs (about the test in mid-March of 2003 of
such destructive a WMD --- that the fireworks in Florida generated as
much environmental, moral, and philosophical concerns all around as
blinking an eye speaks volumes of the collective swamp we are),
Apaches, Indian Reservations, indians, cowboys, Kleenex (we often
cultivate and then feed you the Sob Stories but we also arm you with
the tissue to wipe out the tears --- all on OUR terms), duct tape, gas
masks, mascara, cosmetics, perfumes, Tammy Faye Baker, Mary Kay, Pink
Cadillacs, Tupperware, bingo, lotteries, the welfare system, WICs,
Vegas, Niagara Falls, casinos, Elvis, brilliantine, hairspray, hair
dryers, exhaust fumes, exhaustion, stimulants, sleep deprivation,
sedatives, alcoholism, depression, depleted Ozone layers, synthetic
fibers, fiberoptics, boxing, wrestling, rugby, frying bacon, monaural
sound, analog tech, reel-to-reels, 8-tracks, the cassette, the LP,
stereo systems, stereo sound, surround sound, boom boxes, faxes, paper
clips, nail clippers, paper shredders, photocopiers, laser printers,
overnight mail, the (unfortunate and devastating to the testimonials
of a vast majority of contemporary artists) digital technology, the
PC, laptops, lapdogs, alarm clocks, wristwatches, dishwashers, ice
boxes, refrigerators, toasters, ovens, microwave ovens, food
processors, blenders, the CD, SACD, the walkman, the minidisc, the
famous (pitch re-engineered) Richter CD-ROMs, the (disgracefully
influential, sound-engineering-bag-of-tricks-wise) Anglo/Judeo
DECCA/Culshaw/Solti Ring, MTV, commercial infrastructures, eBay, Spam,
frozen French fries, burnt-thin-weak American coffee, diners, Java,
Starbucks, generators, engines, batteries, bartering, butter,
department stores, super stores, supermarkets, mega stores, shopping
malls, strip malls, overdevelopment, superstores, parking lots,
overspending, high debt, low savings, high crime, rampant violence,
credit cards, more credit cards, Carte Blanche (for some --- you know
who and what you are), bonus points, more fleecing, more penicillin,
toothpaste, toothpicks, magazines, annual reports, filing cabinets,
paper paper paper everywhere, papered halls, confetti, more paper
shuffling, bureaucracies, red tape, yellow ribbons, deforestation,
tourism, eco-tourism, Chevron/Texaco, Tibet, Mt. Everest, B&Bs, R&B,
hotels, hostels, motels, park benches, jacuzzis, T- lifts, plastic
surgery, breast implants, Vail, Viagra, ski resorts, Park Ave.,
Madison Ave., boulevards, summer homes, increasingly short vacations,
ice cream, cotton candy, cotton balls, Q-tips, ear plugs, The Boston
Pops, more wallpaper, formica, wood paneling, pop tarts, lollipops,
soda pop, pop psychology, popcorn, corn flakes, vitamins, herbs,
steroids, gymnasiums, hoola-hoops, pinballs, Chinese checkers, yo-yos,
Yo-Yo Ma, Tan Dun, John Williams, Bobby McFerrin, PBS, Yanni, more
wallpaper, jams, jelly, jell-o, J-Lo, day-glo, go-go, psychedelia,
fans, air conditioning, wallpaper, Vivaldi, The Four Seasons, 600+ 
variations on a theme, silk flowers, plastic flowers, fake spring
water, faux marble, faux fur, faux leather, animal rights, stuffed
animals, 
andante.com
, 12,000 other music websites, the pirates,
special effects, the VHS, HTML, the WWW, Apples, Windows, ATMs, FTD,
LSD, FTC, IMF, DNA, UPS, the cell phone, the LD, the DVD, MP3s, HMV,
Opera In The Original (that's English to you, naturally and
perennially), survivor shows, SUVs, BMWs, VWs, IRAs, 401Ks, BBQs, bb
guns, water coolers, televised war crimes, video games, Andy Warhol,
instant soup, instant gratification, Instant Opera, Opera For All (a
noble Konzept but it's just that the "critical masses" ain't there any
longer…nor do they care to be), Shock n' Awe, more penicillin, Toys r'
Us, CNN operas, soap, soap operas, Oprah, Howard Stern, more
penicillin, Hollywood blockbusters, Hollywood stereotyping (but seldom
of "their own" --- you know who and what you are), Jewish Racism (an
issue of semantics for we hardly dare call it what it is), more
penicillin, Sellars Konwitschny Neuenfels Beito Wilson & Zambello, yet
more penicillin, El Niño, latrines, toilet stalls, more penicillin,
yet more Regietheater, yet more penicillin, graffiti, tattoos, wax,
S&M, M&Ms, teflon, styrofoam, disposable incomes, tax loopholes, tax
havens, creative accounting, ENRON, insurance scams, for-profit health
care, nannies, nurseries, nursing homes, retirement communities,
inner-city squalor, overpriced sneakers, gangs, segregation,
not-in-my-backyard liberals, country clubs, fraternities, underpaid
overseas labor, economies of scale, ever widening income gaps, The
Gap, GNP, all out grossness, waste dumps, twisted metal, scrap heaps,
junkyards, scaffolds, the ENO, more penicillin, red light districts,
peep shows, more penicillin, laxatives, aspirin, contraceptives,
antacids, the legal and illegal drug culture, the corner drugstore,
super drugstores, syringes, methadone, band-aids, prophylactics, test
tube babies, petri dishes, no culture, bagels, pretzels, lox, hummus,
Hummers, hybrids, Vilar gardens, Vilar foyers, Vilar lobbying, Vilar
titles, Vilar entitlements, Vilar defaults, Vilar foreclosures,
phallic skyscrapers, corporate-filtered news and op-eds, supply and no
demand, no supply and demand, overflow, overlap, overhead, exaggerated
price markups, unpaid overtime labor, the cheapest labor since slavery
and then bread --- the Economy of Volunteerism, more fleecing,
multitasking, micromanaging, compartmentalization, specialization (and
yet today we celebrate in the best way we can, posthumously, the
versatility, repertory escapades and diamantine vocalism, yes?, of a
century+ ago of, say, the immortal [and Jewess] Lilli Lehmann or, for
that matter, of anyone – provided their last name is not Studer --- 
and for that matter, how many of you experienced either one where it
counts?),  teleconferencing, telemarketing, wireless technology (but
what are we really communicating?), multimedia, microchips, silicon
(perhaps all that sand in the Middle East, which includes Israel,
could be put to good use – BLOOD FOR SAND? --- nah, not worth it),
underutilized solar energy, superhighways, software, hardware,
peripherals, acoustically enhanced opera houses and concert halls,
euphemisms, masked balls, virtual reality, cloning, artificial
intelligence, Callas martyrs, more penicillin, Caruso, Ponselle,
Callas, more Callas, more penicillin, Flagstad, Nilsson, more EMI
Callas re-re-re-re-re-releases, more penicillin, yet more Sony Glenn
Gould re-re-re-re-re-compilations, yet more penicillin, etc. --- and
of course, the same Kapitalismus that has transmitted the Oh So Long
Anticipated, Oh So Very Important and, at last!, Oh So Necessary 
EWIGE  WELTKULTURERBE  belonging to, for example and randomly,
Bocelli, Barenboim, Zubin ‘I owe my career to the Jews' Mehta,
Petra-Maria, E-di-ta! E-di-ta! E-di-ta!, Beverly, Sir Simon, Ozawa,
Renée, Gergiev, Galina, Aprile [these days reduced - or is it
enhanced? – to croon, pathetically and below the note, opposite Danny
Boy The 9.11 NYPD Singin' Cop], Alessandra, Jessye, von Otter,
Schäfer, "Marilyn Monroe Purr" and "Broadway Casting Agent's Dream"
Debbie (see "Ross, Alex" and "Tommasini, Anthony" respectively) - (a 
f-a-k-e  recording of R. Strauss' -Friedenstag- for Sinopoli/DGG ---
"...Deborah Voigt's Maria...was in fact dubbed in after the recording
was completed, after the original soprano had dropped out...."
-'Fanfare', Sep/Oct 2002, p. 214), Cathy, Kathy, Jane, Ruthie Ann!,
"Veteran Wagnerian" Karita (see
CareerHomo-turned-critic-turned-promoter "Tommasini, Anthony") - (a 
f-a-k-e  recording of Schoenberg's -Gurrelieder- for Sire Simon/EMI -
http://andante.com/magazine/article.cfm?id=17979
), Violeta (a  f-a-k-e
 recording of Poncielli's –Gioconda- for Sir-to-be Viotti/EMI – Urmana
has yet to sing Gioconda where it counts, on the stage – but at least
she is still in possession of her renowned italianità and coloratura
abilities, yes?, sufficient to render her a Favorite of critics and
maybe, just maybe, to secure some paltry Please-Save-EMI sales),
Waltraud - and much much more) ----- for naXos, FARAO, Rare Opera, Mom
& Pop, even for Lucifer Classics.  No matter.
 
 
[But......we are afraid it's  t-o-o  l-a-t-e  --- because the
registers, they ain't ringin' (and all too often and in contradiction
to what we are led to believe, not just the cash ones).  Regrets.]
 
 
3C. How exactly is naXos alleviating the crisis of overcrowding and
confusion among consumers? In opera titles alone, they have recorded
yet  a-n-e-w:  Boheme, Fidelio, Butterfly, Tosca, Flying Dutchman,
Barber of Seville, Aida, Rigoletto, Magic Flute, and on and on and on.
Correct us if we are wrong but these bread and butter works were not
lacking in existing documentation, whether historical or not,
hysterical or not, distinguished or not, low end or not. And the
combined sad efforts from naXos simply do not measure up. Why pay
less, then, when you can get better and more for twice the price?
 
3D. "Oh but it does mean something, it does", we say. So the "average
music lover" has become the barometer of quality and relevance? Indeed
they don't deserve Muti, Abbado, or Chailly (however much they deserve
the three-minute-aria-cum-top-ten-hit and however little they give a
dime or deserve whatever happens before and after the goddamned Big
Tune). And is the Hulun Hu Tympany Orchestra really better than
Amsterdam, Dresden, Berlin or Vienna? (although, truth be told, too
many of us have heard the Vienna, for one, play and sound like a
school of simians under the stick shift of a colonized and assimilated
but loyal to Queen Mum, and thus celebrated, Indian cabbie).
 
3E. And Cheryl Studer, she's not one of the unwashed, is she? Were
they her contemporaries, would Mr. Heiman have singled out Callas,
Tebaldi, Sutherland, or Caballé, to name but a few, in this manner?
After all, they were/are *Daughters Of Lucifer*, to our benefit.
Presumably naXos treats its "illustrious" roster with more dignity,
respect, and vocal support. Speaking of vocal support, perhaps the
crafty and clever Mr. Heiman is unaware that *his own* Floria Tosca
(Madame Nelly Miri-a-e-i-o-u --- "más sabe el burro que tú")
reportedly bombed in the same role in Orange, France in the year 2000
a-n-d  as Norma at the ROH, London, also in 2000 – and many more times
elsewhere since. However, the Tosca and Norma catastrophes, to name
but only two, strangely failed to make a dent in the armory of the
"cognoscenti" and their media spokespeople. For those not "in the
know", Madame M is rumoured to be the Bastard Child of the Incestuous
Union of the Twins Callas and Heiman, now all grown and matured into a
very 'Rare Opera' singer complete with numerous fancifully edited
recordings to her name.  No matter.
 
4. Many of us have heard naXos' Caruso edition, and not just naXos',
(mind you, not that the long-deceased tenor is remotely a Heiman
discovery/original --- and neither are --- not one --- any of the
others --- not one --- that Sir Heiman & Co. keep dumping as
remasterings upon this reverential but funereal shopping cart). We
have to wonder what Mr. Heiman's authoritative producers and editors
(and his Public Relationists) would have made of the great man today
for violating at least a couple of standards of sound conduct such as
throat-clearing smack in the middle of a take and a glaring false
entry at the beginning of another? And what of the poor pianist?  Good
God.
 
----------------------------
 
Considering the Grand Meltdown (not lacking the "Grand Manner" you
prefer) of new opera recordings (on Compact Disc alone?) from the
Universal Classics family of labels (DGG, DECCA, Philips)....and now
apparently EMI Classics too....let us take a Long and Hard (as you
like it) look at the following repertorium ---
 
* Title role in Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor, rec 8/90, London SO,
Marin, Lucifer Classics
 
* Hanna Glawari in Lehar's Lustige Witwe, rec 1/94, Vienna PO,
Gardiner, Lucifer Classics
 
* Countess in Mozart's Nozze di Figaro, rec 1-2/94, Vienna PO, Abbado,
Lucifer Classics
 
* Countess in Mozart's Nozze di Figaro, rec 5/91, Vienna PO, Abbado,
Lucifer Classics VHS
 
* Title role in Rossini's Semiramide, rec 7/92, London SO, Marin,
Lucifer Classics
 
* Florinda in Schubert's Fierrabras, rec 5/88, Chamber Orch of Europe,
Abbado, Lucifer Classics
 
* Title role in R. Strauss' Salome, rec 12/90, Deutsche Oper Berlin,
Sinopoli, Lucifer Classics
 
* Gilda in Verdi's Rigoletto, rec 6/93, Metropolitan Opera, Levine,
Lucifer Classics
 
* Gilda in Verdi's Rigoletto Act III, rec 9/91, Metropolitan Opera,
Levine, Lucifer Classics
 
* Desdemona in Verdi's Otello, rec 5/93, Opéra Bastille, Chung,
Lucifer Classics
 
* Violetta in Verdi's Traviata, rec 1/91, Metropolitan Opera, Levine,
Lucifer Classics
 
* Elisabeth in Wagner's Tannhäuser, rec '88, Philharmonia, Sinopoli,
Lucifer Classics
 
* Elisabeth in Wagner's Tannhäuser, rec '89, Bayreuth, Sinopoli,
Lucifer Classics
 
* Senta in Wagner's fliegende Holländer, rec 1/91, Deutsche Oper
Berlin, Sinopoli, Lucifer Classics
 
* Gutrune in Wagner's Götterdämmerung, rec 5/89, Metropolitan Opera,
Levine, Lucifer Classics
 
* Title role in Floyd's Susannah, rec 3/94, Opéra de Lyon, Nagano,
Lucifer Classics
 
* Marguerite in Gounod's Faust, rec 2/91, Toulouse, Plasson, Lucifer
Classics
 
* Salomé in Massenet's Hérodiade, rec 11-12/94, Toulouse, Plasson,
Lucifer Classics
 
* Donna Anna in Mozart's Don Giovanni, rec 9/90, Vienna PO, Muti,
Lucifer Classics
 
* Konstanze in Mozart's Entführung aus dem Serail, rec 4/91, Vienna
Symphony, Weil, Lucifer Classics
 
* Queen of the Night in Mozart's Zauberflöte, rec 7/89, ASMF,
Marriner, Lucifer Classics
 
* Giulietta in Offenbach's Contes d'Hoffmann, rec 87/88/89, Dresden
Staatskapelle, Tate, Lucifer Classics
 
* Matilde in Rossini's Guglielmo Tell, rec 12/88, La Scala, Muti,
Lucifer Classics (also on VHS & DVD)
 
* Madama Cortese in Rossini's Viaggio a Reims, rec 10/92, Berlin PO,
Abbado, Lucifer Classics
 
* Title role in Spohr's Jessonda, rec '84, ORF Orchestra, Albrecht,
Lucifer Classics
 
* Chrysothemis in R. Strauss' Elektra, rec 1/90, Bavarian RSO,
Sawallisch, Lucifer Classics
 
* Chrysothemis in R. Strauss' Elektra, rec 6/89, Vienna PO, Abbado,
Lucifer Classics
 
* Empress in R. Strauss' Frau ohne Schatten, rec 2-12/87, Bavarian
RSO, Sawallisch, Lucifer Classics
 
* Empress in R. Strauss' Frau ohne Schatten, rec '92, Vienna PO,
Solti, Lucifer Classics
 
* Title role in Verdi's Aida, rec 6/94, Covent Garden, Downes, Lucifer
Classics
 
* Odabella in Verdi's Attila, rec 6-7/89, La Scala, Muti, Lucifer
Classics
 
* Odabella in Verdi's Attila, rec 6/90, La Scala, Muti, Lucifer
Classics Video
 
* Elena in Verdi's Vespri Siciliani, rec 12/89-1/90, La Scala, Muti,
Lucifer Classics (also on VHS & DVD)
 
* Drolla in Wagner's Die Feen, rec 7/83, Bavarian RSO, Sawallisch,
Lucifer Classics
 
* Elsa in Wagner's Lohengrin (from Bayreuth), rec 6/90, Bayreuth,
Schneider, Lucifer Classics (also on VHS)
 
* Elsa in Wagner's Lohengrin (from Vienna), rec '90, Vienna PO,
Abbado, Lucifer Classics VHS & DVD
 
* Eva in Wagner's Meistersinger, rec 4/93, Bavarian State Opera,
Sawallisch, Lucifer Classics
 
* Irene in Wagner's Rienzi, rec 7/83, Bavarian State Opera,
Sawallisch, Lucifer Classics
 
* Ortlinde in Wagner's Walküre, rec 8/81, Dresden Staatskapelle,
Janowski, Lucifer Classics
 
* Sieglinde in Wagner's Walküre, rec 2-3/88, Bavarian RSO, Haitink,
Lucifer Classics
 
* Zemlinsky's Der Geburtstagder Infantin, rec 83, Berlin RSO,
Albrecht, Lucifer Classics
 
* Coloratura Arias by Bellini (Sonnambula/Norma), Verdi
(Traviata/Trovatore), Donizetti (Lucia/Lucrezia Borgia), Rossini
(Barbiere/Semiramide), rec 4/89, Munich RSO, Ferro, Lucifer Classics
 
* Mozart Arias (Entführung/Zauberflöte/Idomeneo/Nozze/Giovanni/Clemenza/Cosi),
rec 9/89, ASMF, Marriner, Lucifer Classics
 
* R. Strauss' Vier Letzte Lieder/Wagner's Wesendonck-Lieder/Isolde's
Liebestod, rec 1/93, Dresden Staatskapelle, Sinopoli, Lucifer Classics
 
* Isolde's Liebestod, rec 1/88, Bavarian RSO, Tate, Lucifer Classics
 
* Wagner Gala (Tannhäuser/Lohengrin/Meistersinger/Walküre), rec 12/93,
Berlin PO, Abbado, Lucifer Classics (also on VHS)
 
* First Europakonzert - in Prague (Mozart: "Non mi dir"/"Ch'io mi
scordi di te-Non temer amato bene"), rec 5/91, Berlin PO, Abbado,
Lucifer Classics VHS & DVD
 
* Covent Garden Gala (Otello/Traviata/Fledermaus), rec 7/88, Covent
Garden, Barker, Lucifer Classics
 
* Sacred Works (Bach/Schubert/Mendelssohn/Handel/Mozart/Gounod/Faure/Poulenc/Bernstein/Bruch),
rec 3/91, London SO, Marin, Lucifer Classics
 
* Samuel Barber Songs, rec 9/92, Browning (R.I.P.), Emerson String
Quartet, Lucifer Classics
 
* Beethoven's Missa Solemnis, rec 8/91, Vienna PO, Levine, Lucifer
Classics
 
* Beethoven in Berlin (Ah! Perfido/Choral Fantasy/Egmont), rec 12/91,
Berlin PO, Abbado, Lucifer Classics (also on VHS)
 
* Brahms' German Requiem, rec 10/92, Berlin PO, Abbado, Lucifer
Classics
 
* Schubert Lieder, rec 1/90, Gage, Lucifer Classics
 
* Salzburg Recital (R. Strauss/Schubert/Debussy), rec 8/92, Gage,
Lucifer Classics
 
* Mahler's Klagende Lied, rec 11/90, Philharmonia, Sinopoli, Lucifer
Classics
 
* Mahler's Symphony No. 2, rec 11/92, Vienna PO, Abbado, Lucifer
Classics
 
* Mahler's Symphony No. 8, rec 11-12/90, Philharmonia, Sinopoli,
Lucifer Classics
 
* Mahler's Symphony No. 8, rec 1/94, Berlin PO, Abbado, Lucifer
Classics
 
* Verdi's Requiem, rec 6/87, La Scala, Muti, Lucifer Classics
 
* Verdi's Requiem, rec 11/91, Vienna PO, Abbado, Lucifer Classics
 
* Beethoven's Symphony No. 9, rec 4/89, Philadelphia Orchestra, Muti,
Lucifer Classics
 
* Bruckner's Mass in F Min/Mozart's Vespers, rec 3/77, MIT Choral
Society, Oliver, Lucifer Classics
 
* Donizetti's Requiem, rec 1/84, Bamberg SO, Gómez-Martínez, Lucifer
Classics
 
* von Schweinitz's Messe Op. 21, rec 7/84, RSO Berlin, Albrecht,
Lucifer Classics
 
* R. Strauss Choral Works, rec 9/84, RIAS Kammerchor, Gronostay,
Creed, Lucifer Classics
 
"L-A  Ú-L-T-I-M-A..........que ríe, ríe mejor."
 
Bravissima Cheryl Studer, verlorene Tochter.  Very beautifully and
exquisitely done.  A most wonderful, exemplary, and unforgettable
legacy, a legacy of  e-x-c-e-p-t-i-o-n-a-l  q-u-a-l-i-t-y  a-n-d 
d-i-s-t-i-n-c-t-i-o-n.  Thank you for Artistry of  u-n-c-o-m-m-o-n 
i-n-t-e-l-l-i-g-e-n-c-e  and  i-n-s-t-i-n-c-t --- the work of a
consummate being.  Thank you.  Thank you for Dedication, Seriousness,
and Integrity.  Thank you for remaining True to your self, to the
artform, and to  m-u-s-i-c.  Good Music.  Thank you for a Universe of
Sound and Texture and Expression and Communication  a-l-l  o-f 
y-o-u-r  o-w-n.  Thank you for  g-e-n-e-r-o-s-i-t-y.  Thank you for
H-i-g-h  I-n-d-i-v-i-d-u-a-l-i-t-y.  And (to boot) High Individuality
within the bondage of the Tradition.
 
Thank You.
 
And thank you too, Universal, EMI and Sony, for having had the
foreskin to recognize and capture genius in our midst (now that these
dinosaurs' [delusional] populist causes, causes palatable to the
Anglocentric and their Axes-[oh irony!]-Of-Love, have caused them to
trim....ouch....their future....for that squeaky clean look and
sound....and potent[ial] self-extinction).
 
----------------------------
 
And now, a little something to ponder about ---
 
"Things got pretty rough at the last Philharmonic concert. A bitter
battle broke out over Liszt's 'Mephisto Waltz.' It was the standees
and a part of the gallery, resolved to give their all, against the
parterre, the mountain against the marsh. On the one side we had
youth, intelligence, idealism, good judgement, enthusiasm and
conviction; on the other dullness, frivolity, debility, ignorance,
arrogance, materialism. Such were the contending forces.
 
There was a lot of applause, but a lot of hissing, too. Since, as we
all know, these Semitic hissing sounds traditionally served the
'chosen people' as shibboleth in combat with their neighbors, it was
not hard to determine who it was that so emphatically proclaimed both
their dissent and their identity. Indeed, these 'chosen people'
habitually make a great show of their exquisite taste. They are always
ready to recognize in Beethoven a good composer. And yet there are
those who see nothing heroic in the courage of such convictions. What,
then, can we call courageous? Let it pass. These excellent and
generous souls will surely enrich the National Guard with a doughty
legion of tailors, and thus be of service to the state. You can take
an oath on that.
 
To take seriously the ludicrous behavior of these worthy parterre
subscribers toward the works of a genius such as Liszt would be like
punishing children's bad manners with the rack. We are not so cruel.
But it is well to look for what it is that causes the public to behave
like an ill-mannered child and to think like a well-groomed cad. How
is it, we ask, that Liszt's compositions are rejected by the majority
of our degenerate public? The answer is made uncommonly easy for me,
since it is contained in the question. But then why, someone could
object, do Beethoven, Mozart, Haydn, etc., appeal to this same
degenerate public? The objection is so banal, the answer so obvious,
that any blockhead could handle it easily. But should someone choose
to ask me what I mean by degenerate public, I accept the challenge
gladly, and am ready with the answer: a degenerate public is one that
is content to be the ward of a degenerate press.
 
It is a public of newspaper readers. That is the source of all other
evils. That is the source of the thoughtlessness, frivolity,
dependence, distraction, insensibility and, above all, the bias
against those works condemned to death by the press. If this were an
ingenuous public, it would not tolerate for another day the shameful
chains it now fastens to itself voluntarily. But the habit of
cud-chewing has already become too delightful to permit the slightest
effort to use one's own teeth. Thus, this public receives its
impression of a work of art not directly, but from the review in the
newspaper, to be had in concrete form for a patent. Go then to the
apothecary, and buy yourselves some nux vomica or some other purgative
if you want to have an impression. The effect remains essentially the
same, and you spare yourselves the price of the ticket. And so a
public, the despicable tool of a despicable press, will pass judgement
on the works of a genius! A sluggardly mob that enters the concert
hall as if it were a toy store, reduces the noblest possessions of
mankind to idle diversions, and then, if that is not satisfactory,
arrogantly turns its back on the work of art and ceremoniously
hisses...fie, fie, and once again fie!!!
 
Given such circumstances, it is hardly surprising that Liszt's
original compositions have excited a lively 'for' and 'against'
whenever they have been played in Vienna. This time the applause from
the standees was still far from constituting a demonstration when a
few hot headed Philistines signalled, stupidly enough, the shibboleth.
That was pouring oil on fire. The applause grew louder, and rightly
so, since it was directed no less at the splendid accomplishment of
the orchestra and its conductor, Hans Richter, than at the work
itself. And did not the wonderful performance of this Lisztian
composition merit the most extravagant praise? What did Liszt's
admirers do to excite the drowsy parterre to a counter-demonstration? 
They were simply giving due honor to service rendered."
 
Hugo Wolf 
Vienna
25 April 1886
 
----------------------------
 
A HARPSICHORD GLISTENS AND TRIUMPHS
 
You and I, we know that something in the air is profoundly 
d-e-g-e-n-e-r-a-t-e  when a nobody of a harpsichordist and her
twinklin' little instrument command more respect and accolades and
anal(ysis) from 'the chosen people' (The Rake's Progress --
http://www.operajaponica.org/reviews/dvd/rake96dvd.htm
) than those
ass-igned a certain soprano.
{{It is a delight to find an ebullient, effective recording on DVD.
There are some flaws, to be sure, but overall this disc provides an
exciting and entertaining evening of opera. Credit must be distributed
liberally among composer, librettist, cast, conductor, orchestra,
designer and recording crew.
 
The central voice in this opera is that of the rake himself and it is
difficult to picture a more effective one than Jerry Hadley. He seems
to find the music easy, which is as it should be, and he realizes the
'progress' by effective acting with voice and body. Upshaw is hardly
less attractive as his true love. Her challenges are primarily vocal
and she conquers them so easily that one does not even hear that they
were encountered. Pederson is a bit less satisfying, presenting a
colorless devil accurately; one would hope for more 'bite' in the
character and in other productions one finds a more interesting and
less shadowy Nick. This reviewer found the casting of Henschel as Baba
disturbing since it appears to exploit her physique; still, she
delivers a fine performance so presumably was comfortable with the
casting. Those four and all the other soloists show exemplary
enunciation and accuracy; even the chorus is generally understandable.
 
The production is remarkable with brilliant sets and costumes
prompting the viewer to look forward to the insights offered in the
next scene. While some of the choices need a second viewing to
decipher, none so dominates the stage that it distracts from the
performance. Tom's jeans and tee shirt are consistent even as he
achieves and loses wealth; the implication that he is the same man
throughout is clear and relevant, while simply adding a hat shows his
advancement. Makeup is used effectively, with reality reflected in the
natural appearance of Ann throughout and Tom at the beginning and the
end, where grotesquerie is used when he is dissolute. Why, then, the
artifice for Trulove and the near-natural appearance (beard aside) of
Baba? More viewings will be needed to appreciate those.
 
Technically, the disc ranks among the best of its era. The picture is
crisp throughout. Sound is effective stereo without surround; clarity
is exemplary and Ann Beckman's harpsichord glistens without blaring -
just right in performance and in recording. Subtitles are in English
only and cannot be suppressed; that is unfortunate since their style
and color (yellow) are sometimes diverting and they are superfluous in
this performance.
 
Overall, the word for this disc is 'delightful'. It rewards repeated
viewing and serves the work well.}}
Now consider this shibboleth ---
 
http://www.operajaponica.org/reviews/dvd/aidaroh94dvd.htm
 
Verdi: AIDA
 
Reviewed by Mickey (Mouse) Richter
27 May 2002 
Cast: Cheryl Studer (Aida), Luciana d'Intino (Amneris), Dennis O'Neill
(Radames), Alexandru Agache (Amonasro), Robert Lloyd (Ramfis), Mark
Beesley (Il Re), John Marsden (Messenger), Yvonne Barclay
(Sacerdotta), Chorus & Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent
Garden, Sir Edward Downes (conductor). Elijah Moshinsky (director)
{{One can now prove that it is possible to make a performance of Aida
dull. Singing and conducting are altogether competent, but the only
elements of this release which enliven the work are those of the
production - and they are more often confusing or distracting than
constructive. Lloyd infuses some life into his character, but Beesley
is both vocally and dramatically subpar. D'Intino has some moments of
expression but they are not those most needed; the opening scene of
Act IV, for example, is flaccid. Studer, O'Neill and Agache sing all
the notes and none of the music. Many points in the score are marked
'a piacere', but the pleasure of the artists appears to be to do
nothing at all. The effect is altogether colorless - a grey and
pointless recitation of one of the most vibrant scores in opera.
 
Color is present on the screen in profusion, thanks to the striking
sets and costumes. Unfortunately, those bear little relationship to
action in the work. Where the banks of the Nile seem to be represented
in Act III by poles topped by cat figures, the same symbol is carried
into the first scene of Act IV, clearly suggesting that the designer
had something else in mind. It is difficult to believe that the
stunning, traditional production of the La Scala Aida with Chiara and
Pavarotti came from the same director as this one. Characters mill
about on stage, doing mysterious things and thereby diverting
attention from what is written and what is being sung. For this
reviewer, any production requiring explanation is in and of itself
faulty.
 
Technically, this disc is fine with clear sound and picture. Large's
direction is in line with his preference for extreme closeup. Many
find that distracting even on tape; on DVD, often seen on a large
screen, it can be even less attractive, but that is a matter of
personal taste.}}
And thus spoke our hero.  We re-quote:
 
{{One can now prove that it is possible to make a performance of Aida
dull. Singing and conducting are altogether competent, but the only
elements of this release which enliven the work are those of the
production - and they are more often confusing or distracting than
constructive. Lloyd infuses some life into his character, but Beesley
is both vocally and dramatically subpar. D'Intino has some moments of
_expression but they are not those most needed; the opening scene of
Act IV, for example, is flaccid. Studer, O'Neill and Agache sing all
the notes and none of the music. Many points in the score are marked
'a piacere', but the pleasure of the artists appears to be to do
nothing at all. The effect is altogether colorless - a grey and
pointless recitation of one of the most vibrant scores in opera.}}
 
Let us ponder some more:
 
"Things got pretty rough at the last Philharmonic concert. A bitter
battle broke out over Liszt's 'Mephisto Waltz.' It was the standees
and a part of the gallery, resolved to give their all, against the
parterre, the mountain against the marsh. On the one side we had
youth, intelligence, idealism, good judgement, enthusiasm and
conviction; on the other dullness, frivolity, debility, ignorance,
arrogance, materialism. Such were the contending forces.
 
There was a lot of applause, but a lot of hissing, too. Since, as we
all know, these Semitic hissing sounds traditionally served the
'chosen people' as shibboleth in combat with their neighbors, it was
not hard to determine who it was that so emphatically proclaimed both
their dissent and their identity. Indeed, these 'chosen people'
habitually make a great show of their exquisite taste. They are always
ready to recognize in Beethoven a good composer. And yet there are
those who see nothing heroic in the courage of such convictions. What,
then, can we call courageous? Let it pass. These excellent and
generous souls will surely enrich the National Guard with a doughty
legion of tailors, and thus be of service to the state. You can take
an oath on that.
 
To take seriously the ludicrous behavior of these worthy parterre
subscribers toward the works of a genius such as Liszt would be like
punishing children's bad manners with the rack. We are not so cruel.
But it is well to look for what it is that causes the public to behave
like an ill-mannered child and to think like a well-groomed cad. How
is it, we ask, that Liszt's compositions are rejected by the majority
of our degenerate public? The answer is made uncommonly easy for me,
since it is contained in the question. But then why, someone could
object, do Beethoven, Mozart, Haydn, etc., appeal to this same
degenerate public? The objection is so banal, the answer so obvious,
that any blockhead could handle it easily. But should someone choose
to ask me what I mean by degenerate public, I accept the challenge
gladly, and am ready with the answer: a degenerate public is one that
is content to be the ward of a degenerate press.
 
It is a public of newspaper readers. That is the source of all other
evils. That is the source of the thoughtlessness, frivolity,
dependence, distraction, insensibility and, above all, the bias
against those works condemned to death by the press. If this were an
ingenuous public, it would not tolerate for another day the shameful
chains it now fastens to itself voluntarily. But the habit of
cud-chewing has already become too delightful to permit the slightest
effort to use one's own teeth. Thus, this public receives its
impression of a work of art not directly, but from the review in the
newspaper, to be had in concrete form for a patent. Go then to the
apothecary, and buy yourselves some nux vomica or some other purgative
if you want to have an impression. The effect remains essentially the
same, and you spare yourselves the price of the ticket. And so a
public, the despicable tool of a despicable press, will pass judgement
on the works of a genius! A sluggardly mob that enters the concert
hall as if it were a toy store, reduces the noblest possessions of
mankind to idle diversions, and then, if that is not satisfactory,
arrogantly turns its back on the work of art and ceremoniously
hisses...fie, fie, and once again fie!!!
 
Given such circumstances, it is hardly surprising that Liszt's
original compositions have excited a lively 'for' and 'against'
whenever they have been played in Vienna. This time the applause from
the standees was still far from constituting a demonstration when a
few hot headed Philistines signalled, stupidly enough, the shibboleth.
That was pouring oil on fire. The applause grew louder, and rightly
so, since it was directed no less at the splendid accomplishment of
the orchestra and its conductor, Hans Richter, than at the work
itself. And did not the wonderful performance of this Lisztian
composition merit the most extravagant praise? What did Liszt's
admirers do to excite the drowsy parterre to a counter-demonstration? 
They were simply giving due honor to service rendered."
 
Hugo Wolf 
Vienna 
25 April 1886
 
----------------------------
 
M-U-S-I-C OF THE FUTURE
 
Berg, Alban / Wozzeck / Marie
Cajkovskij, Pëtr Il'ic / Evgenij Onegin / Tatjana
Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus / Così fan tutte / Fiordiligi
Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus / Don Giovanni / Donna Elvira
Puccini, Giacomo / Manon Lescaut / Manon Lescaut
Puccini, Giacomo / Tosca / Tosca
Strauss, Richard / Capriccio / Gräfin 
Strauss, Richard / Salome / Salome
Verdi, Giuseppe / Ballo in Maschera, Un / Amelia
Verdi, Giuseppe / Don Carlo / Elisabetta
 
MORE M-U-S-I-C....REDIVIVUS 
 
Beethoven, Ludwig van / Fidelio / Leonore
Lehár, Franz / Lustige Witwe, Die / Hanna Glawari
Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus / Idomeneo / Elettra
Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus / Nozze di Figaro, Le / Contessa d'Almaviva
Strauss, Richard / Elektra / Chrysothemis
Verdi, Giuseppe / Aida / Aida
Verdi, Giuseppe / Otello / Desdemona
Wagner, Richard / Meistersinger von Nürnberg / Eva
 
AND YET MORE M-U-S-I-C
 
Strauss, Richard / Arabella / Arabella
Strauss, Richard / Ariadne auf Naxos / Primadonna/Ariadne
Strauss, Richard / Frau ohne Schatten, Die / Kaiserin
Strauss, Richard / Rosenkavalier, Der / Marschallin
Wagner, Richard / fliegende Holländer, Der / Senta
Wagner, Richard / Lohengrin / Elsa von Brabant
Wagner, Richard / Tannhäuser / Elisabeth
Wagner, Richard / Walküre, Die / Sieglinde
 
----------------------------
 
"The dangers of life
are infinite
And safety is among them."
 
--- Goethe
----------------------------
Greetings from Vienna,
Helmut Fischer

...A Community Outreach Initiative...
----------------------------
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
Mike
Best regards,
Klaus

Mike


You know the skit. 

hands - to promote future handholding. But Wolf was more than that –
he was gracious and generous, which stands as a synonym for:  in
addition to reaffirming the existence [and illegal expansion] of
Israel, he also sought to reaffirm the existence of a specific
sexual-orientation population --- and all this, ladies and gentlemen,
for a song) --- where were we?, ah yes --- nor married to one nor

NO MORE BLOOD FOR THE NEW AMERICAN CENTURY
NO MORE BLOOD FOR THE WILLIAM KRISTOLS
NO MORE BLOOD FOR THE PAUL WOLFOWITZES
NO MORE BLOOD FOR THE ARI FLEISCHERS
NO MORE BLOOD FOR THE ALAN GREENSPANS
NO MORE BLOOD FOR THE JOE LIEBERMANS
NO MORE BLOOD FOR THE LEFT AND RIGHT-WING JEWISH LOBBIES
NO MORE BLOOD FOR SHARON'S SANDBOX
NO MORE BLOOD FOR THE DONALD RUMSFELDS
NO MORE BLOOD FOR THE JOHN ASHCROFTS
NO MORE BLOOD FOR OIL
NO MORE BLOOD FOR VENGEANCE
NO MORE BLOOD FOR THE MARIONETTE/MINSTREL ACTS OF
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Wagner, Richard / Tristan und Isolde / Isolde


 wrote in message
news:da04e600.0305...@posting.google.com...
Please visit my home page..........  I need to find new boys........
http://profiles.yahoo.com/pineiro_gabriel