Newsgroup: it.arti.musica.classica
Titolo: CANADIANS AGAINST THE SHIBBOLETH

"In life, democracy.
In art, aristocracy."
--- Arturo Toscanini
----------------------------
On 26 September 2000, the so-called great Mickey (Mouse) Richter
performed a 'plug in', heroically, on behalf of Klaus Heiman [sic],
the so-called authority behind ---naXos---:
http://listserv.cuny.edu/Scripts/wa.exe?A2=ind0009D&L=opera-l&P=R10995
Thus spoke the authority:
"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 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: "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
CareerFaggot-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  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 one 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 big reason for
the present-day crisis is that the ever-so-important anecdotal
lore and narrative of the live stage experiences  a-n-d  documented
legacies of certain important big-names (those immediately preceding
the generation of today's so-called "A List") literally fell through a
 g-e-n-e-r-a-t-i-o-n-a-l  c-r-a-c-k.  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-for-all (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 Hyper Public
Relations, Hyper Text, and Cyberspace. Few artists can survive without
some form 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 Remarkably Perverse Eclipsing by the press of
a certain
v-e-t-e-r-a-n  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 analysis" - is that what it
is? - accorded minor lights ("Monsieur G could not sustain pitch 
b-u-t  the Sicilian
understanding" [the same understanding which, according to the
experts, eludes fellow Southerner Riccardo Muti] - "Madame F [no other
soprano before or during Renée is known to have ever "taken
chances"] shrieked unnaturally, flatting two high A
naturals and her overall intonation was insecure too  b-u-t  the
gowns" - "Hausfrau V was in customary 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" - "Irish-American AFL-CIO Heroine F
[who, by the by, tries, and is carded, to "sing" "everything"] [no
other soprano before or during Lauren is known to have ever "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 those
Scheiße AIDAs at the MET where Crayola connected them dots and none of
the music - not to mention the brutal stupor that were 
Pavarotti and the ever-accomodating Levine]  b-u-t  the visceral
collision") - "Madame Shout squalled an Elektra consistently below
pitch (that's about 75% of your evening) but no matter: the visceral
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 from Jimmy Boy the
Paedophile (or rather, Jimmy the boy-paedophile - ladies and gents,
you too can have it all: from orchestras in Munich, Boston, and
naturally New York to standing Os to gushing
press coverage to state-sanctioned murder to Presidential Pardons (see
"Rich, Jonathan" - see "The Hassidic Four [that's right, not one not
two not three but four)" - 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? --- stay
tuned
---....well, all that plus Gaby is getting better and better and
better, yes?" - "Madame Attila spreads her
top like butter on warm bread but her cool, Nordic, blonde looks
carried the night" - "Debbie 'Crayola Opera Program' Void's French is
for and about pigeons [let alone a sour and rusty tone reminiscent of
the gold you see in soiled underwear...and worse: as stupid as the
laundry water you soak and scrub it in] but 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
singer......but 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; but more importantly, the loss of 95-plus
pounds, in cocktail with a widely broadcast the-dog-ate-the-homework
medication Sob Story, are sufficient to satisfy the most
discriminating demands
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 but,
as one of "our own", full coverage by the Jew York Times is fully
warranted - all that plus a recording under the
syphillitic Deutsche Grammophon" ---you know the skit--- why yes,
ladies and gents, even  these acts of levitation are denied Midland,
Michigan's Prodigal Daughter --- But then, taking into account the
desperate [in vain] efforts toward reconstruction, toward opening new
markets (undue over-exposure in Arts journalism - over who counts -
over what counts - and when and
where ---and how--- being the final vestige of their former Imperial
selves), what
is the increasingly brilliant, independent-minded, impartial,
cultured,
mature, and sympathetic ---right?--- Anglocentric Universe to do with
a creature who refuses categorization? - of what value or use is the
lady? - of what value or use is the artist? - who is neither 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 German (nor pretender) nor Austrian (nor pretender) nor
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)
nor Argentinian Tango nor East Coast Yiddishbbuk nor Anonymous 4 nor
Asian nor Canadian nor Aussie --- 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 blonde nor Blonde Ambition nor grotesque nor
grotesquely zaftig nor power hungry nor faghag nor lesbian nor cherub
nor hairy chested nor fashion rag nor glamour puss nor aspirant nor
aspirate nor potential nor promise (what you hear is what you get) nor
apology nor preserved museum mummy nor soccer mum nor sucker nor trend
nor hip nor H.I.P. nor barefeet at Carnegie Hall nor castrata nor
contralto nor countertenor nor counterculture 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 tic toc tic toc
tic toc nor geriatric nor vanity record label owner nor
transposer-conductor-intendant-voicecompetitor-crossover-moviemogul-realestatemagnate-restaurateur-sexsymbol-jetsetter
(all in one and one for all and all in a night) nor lazy nor shrinking
violet nor daddy's lil' lass nor mystic nor minimalist nor hyperbole
nor Überfeminist nor Konzept nor dreams and fables nor metaphysics nor
philosopher ("Philosophier' Er nicht, Herr Schatz...") nor scholar
(nor pretender) nor didact nor pedant nor peasant 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 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 MD nor
Janácek Nobel Prize nor cliché nor stunt nor parody nor caricature 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 trademark 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
Katie Couric nor Walk For A Cure nor We Are The World nor Sound Of
Music nor Under nor Over The Rainbow nor Rainbow Coalition nor
Summertime nor Supper Time (nice tunes....if you can) nor fruit salad
nor cotton candy nor peaches in double cream nor café au lait 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 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  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
Beethoven and Brahms and Wagner and Liszt were inspired by the
Israeli-Palestinian conflict --- 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 this
musician's other career] in harmony with his German/Christian
sub-ordinates - a "physically handicapped baritone" and an "underpitch
soprano" (see "Kubiak, David") - were heard "r-e-c-l-a-i-m-i-n-g  the
true meaning of the 'heilge Deutsches Kunst'" --- again, see "Kubiak,
David" --- please note that no one else before GJM had accomplished
nearly as much, and in a mere evening - of course, we know now that
Wolf wrote his songs inspired by populations everywhere holding hands
- to promote future handholding) nor married to one nor Adler Fella
nor Crayola Opera Program alumna nor
Cardiff-VeraRosza-Domingo-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-n-such
workshop ghettoes.
[Imagine, if you dare.]
[Imagine, if you dare.]
[Imagine, if you dare.]
[Imagine, if you dare.]
[Imagine, if you dare.]
[Imagine, if you dare.]
[Imagine, if you dare.]
[Imagine, if you dare.]
[Imagine, if you dare.]
[Imagine, if you dare.]
[Imagine, if you dare.]
[Imagine, if you dare.]
[Imagine, if you dare.]
[Imagine, if you dare.]
[Imagine, if you dare.]
[Imagine, if you dare.]
[Imagine, if you dare.]
[Imagine, if you dare.]
[Imagine, if you dare.]
[Imagine, if you dare.]
[Imagine, if you dare.]
[Imagine, if you dare.]
[Imagine, if you dare.]
[Imagine, if you dare.]
[Imagine, if you dare.]
[Imagine, if you dare.]
[Imagine, if you dare.]
[Imagine, if you dare.]
[Imagine, if you dare.]
[Imagine, if you dare.]
[Imagine, if you dare.]
[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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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 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
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 not Maria or Renata or Joan or Leonie or Gwyneth 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 fans alike, most
shockingly noticeable within the gated communities of the old and the
jaded, who can be heard loudly cheerleading anyone (and we mean
anyone)....
[....as long as their names are  n-o-t  Cheryl Studer.]
[....as long as their names are  n-o-t  Cheryl Studer.]
[....as long as their names are  n-o-t  Cheryl Studer.]
[....as long as their names are  n-o-t  Cheryl Studer.]
[....as long as their names are  n-o-t  Cheryl Studer.]
[....as long as their names are  n-o-t  Cheryl Studer.]
[....as long as their names are  n-o-t  Cheryl Studer.]
[....as long as their names are  n-o-t  Cheryl Studer.]
[....as long as their names are  n-o-t  Cheryl Studer.]
[....as long as their names are  n-o-t  Cheryl Studer.]
[....as long as their names are  n-o-t  Cheryl Studer.]
[....as long as their names are  n-o-t  Cheryl Studer.]
[....as long as their names are  n-o-t  Cheryl Studer.]
[....as long as their names are  n-o-t  Cheryl Studer.]
[....as long as their names are  n-o-t  Cheryl Studer.]
[....as long as their names are  n-o-t  Cheryl Studer.]
[....as long as their names are  n-o-t  Cheryl Studer.]
[....as long as their names are  n-o-t  Cheryl Studer.]
[....as long as their names are  n-o-t  Cheryl Studer.]
[....as long as their names are  n-o-t  Cheryl Studer.]
[....as long as their names are  n-o-t  Cheryl Studer.]
[....as long as their names are  n-o-t  Cheryl Studer.]
[....as long as their names are  n-o-t  Cheryl Studer.]
[....as long as their names are  n-o-t  Cheryl Studer.]
[....as long as their names are  n-o-t  Cheryl Studer.]
[....as long as their names are  n-o-t  Cheryl Studer.]
[....as long as their names are  n-o-t  Cheryl Studer.]
[....as long as their names are  n-o-t  Cheryl Studer.]
[....as long as their names are  n-o-t  Cheryl Studer.]
[....as long as their names are  n-o-t  Cheryl Studer.]
[....as long as their names are  n-o-t  Cheryl Studer.]
[....as long as their names are  n-o-t  Cheryl Studer.]
[....as long as their names are  n-o-t  Cheryl Studer.]
[....as long as their names are  n-o-t  Cheryl Studer.]
[....as long as their names are  n-o-t  Cheryl Studer.]
[....as long as their names are  n-o-t  Cheryl Studer.]
[....as long as their names are  n-o-t  Cheryl Studer.]
[....as long as their names are  n-o-t  Cheryl Studer.]
[....as long as their names are  n-o-t  Cheryl Studer.]
[....as long as their names are  n-o-t  Cheryl Studer.]
[....as long as their names are  n-o-t  Cheryl Studer.]
[....as long as their names are  n-o-t  Cheryl Studer.]
[....as long as their names are  n-o-t  Cheryl Studer.]
[....as long as their names are  n-o-t  Cheryl Studer.]
[....as long as their names are  n-o-t  Cheryl Studer.]
[....as long as their names are  n-o-t  Cheryl Studer.]
[....as long as their names are  n-o-t  Cheryl Studer.]
[....as long as their names are  n-o-t  Cheryl Studer.]
[....as long as their names are  n-o-t  Cheryl Studer.]
[....as long as their names are  n-o-t  Cheryl Studer.]
[....as long as their names are  n-o-t  Cheryl Studer.]
[....as long as their names are  n-o-t  Cheryl Studer.]
[....as long as their names are  n-o-t  Cheryl Studer.]
[....as long as their names are  n-o-t  Cheryl Studer.]
[....as long as their names are  n-o-t  Cheryl Studer.]
[....as long as their names are  n-o-t  Cheryl Studer.]
[....as long as their names are  n-o-t  Cheryl Studer.]
[....as long as their names are  n-o-t  Cheryl Studer.]
[....as long as their names are  n-o-t  Cheryl Studer.]
[....as long as their names are  n-o-t  Cheryl Studer.]
[....as long as their names are  n-o-t  Cheryl Studer.]
[....as long as their names are  n-o-t  Cheryl Studer.]
[....as long as their names are  n-o-t  Cheryl Studer.]
[....as long as their names are  n-o-t  Cheryl Studer.]
[....as long as their names are  n-o-t  Cheryl Studer.]
[....as long as their names are  n-o-t  Cheryl Studer.]
[....as long as their names are  n-o-t  Cheryl Studer.]
[....as long as their names are  n-o-t  Cheryl Studer.]
[....as long as their names are  n-o-t  Cheryl Studer.]
[....as long as their names are  n-o-t  Cheryl Studer.]
[....as long as their names are  n-o-t  Cheryl Studer.]
[....as long as their names are  n-o-t  Cheryl Studer.]
[....as long as their names are  n-o-t  Cheryl Studer.]
[....as long as their names are  n-o-t  Cheryl Studer.]
[....as long as their names are  n-o-t  Cheryl Studer.]
[....as long as their names are  n-o-t  Cheryl Studer.]
[....as long as their names are  n-o-t  Cheryl Studer.]
[....as long as their names are  n-o-t  Cheryl Studer.]
[....as long as their names are  n-o-t  Cheryl Studer.]
[....as long as their names are  n-o-t  Cheryl Studer.]
[....as long as their names are  n-o-t  Cheryl Studer.]
[....as long as their names are  n-o-t  Cheryl Studer.]
[....as long as their names are  n-o-t  Cheryl Studer.]
[....as long as their names are  n-o-t  Cheryl Studer.]
[....as long as their names are  n-o-t  Cheryl Studer.]
[....as long as their names are  n-o-t  Cheryl Studer.]
[....as long as their names are  n-o-t  Cheryl Studer.]
[....as long as their names are  n-o-t  Cheryl Studer.]
[....as long as their names are  n-o-t  Cheryl Studer.]
[....as long as their names are  n-o-t  Cheryl Studer.]
[God Willing.]
[And yet more Enchantment courtesy of the Panacea/Schadenfreude of
Cheryl Studer-free zones/ground zeroes.]
[And yet more Enchantment courtesy of the Panacea/Schadenfreude of
Cheryl Studer-free zones/ground zeroes.]
[And yet more Enchantment courtesy of the Panacea/Schadenfreude of
Cheryl Studer-free zones/ground zeroes.]
[And yet more Enchantment courtesy of the Panacea/Schadenfreude of
Cheryl Studer-free zones/ground zeroes.]
[And yet more Enchantment courtesy of the Panacea/Schadenfreude of
Cheryl Studer-free zones/ground zeroes.]
[And yet more Enchantment courtesy of the Panacea/Schadenfreude of
Cheryl Studer-free zones/ground zeroes.]
[And yet more Enchantment courtesy of the Panacea/Schadenfreude of
Cheryl Studer-free zones/ground zeroes.]
[And yet more Enchantment courtesy of the Panacea/Schadenfreude of
Cheryl Studer-free zones/ground zeroes.]
[And yet more Enchantment courtesy of the Panacea/Schadenfreude of
Cheryl Studer-free zones/ground zeroes.]
[And yet more Enchantment courtesy of the Panacea/Schadenfreude of
Cheryl Studer-free zones/ground zeroes.]
[And yet more Enchantment courtesy of the Panacea/Schadenfreude of
Cheryl Studer-free zones/ground zeroes.]
[And yet more Enchantment courtesy of the Panacea/Schadenfreude of
Cheryl Studer-free zones/ground zeroes.]
[And yet more Enchantment courtesy of the Panacea/Schadenfreude of
Cheryl Studer-free zones/ground zeroes.]
[And yet more Enchantment courtesy of the Panacea/Schadenfreude of
Cheryl Studer-free zones/ground zeroes.]
[And yet more Enchantment courtesy of the Panacea/Schadenfreude of
Cheryl Studer-free zones/ground zeroes.]
[And yet more Enchantment courtesy of the Panacea/Schadenfreude of
Cheryl Studer-free zones/ground zeroes.]
[And yet more Enchantment courtesy of the Panacea/Schadenfreude of
Cheryl Studer-free zones/ground zeroes.]
[And yet more Enchantment courtesy of the Panacea/Schadenfreude of
Cheryl Studer-free zones/ground zeroes.]
[And yet more Enchantment courtesy of the Panacea/Schadenfreude of
Cheryl Studer-free zones/ground zeroes.]
[And yet more Enchantment courtesy of the Panacea/Schadenfreude of
Cheryl Studer-free zones/ground zeroes.]
[And yet more Enchantment courtesy of the Panacea/Schadenfreude of
Cheryl Studer-free zones/ground zeroes.]
[And yet more Enchantment courtesy of the Panacea/Schadenfreude of
Cheryl Studer-free zones/ground zeroes.]
[And yet more Enchantment courtesy of the Panacea/Schadenfreude of
Cheryl Studer-free zones/ground zeroes.]
[And yet more Enchantment courtesy of the Panacea/Schadenfreude of
Cheryl Studer-free zones/ground zeroes.]
[And yet more Enchantment courtesy of the Panacea/Schadenfreude of
Cheryl Studer-free zones/ground zeroes.]
[And yet more Enchantment courtesy of the Panacea/Schadenfreude of
Cheryl Studer-free zones/ground zeroes.]
[And yet more Enchantment courtesy of the Panacea/Schadenfreude of
Cheryl Studer-free zones/ground zeroes.]
[And yet more Enchantment courtesy of the Panacea/Schadenfreude of
Cheryl Studer-free zones/ground zeroes.]
[And yet more Enchantment courtesy of the Panacea/Schadenfreude of
Cheryl Studer-free zones/ground zeroes.]
[And yet more Enchantment courtesy of the Panacea/Schadenfreude of
Cheryl Studer-free zones/ground zeroes.]
[And yet more Enchantment courtesy of the Panacea/Schadenfreude of
Cheryl Studer-free zones/ground zeroes.]
[And yet more Enchantment courtesy of the Panacea/Schadenfreude of
Cheryl Studer-free zones/ground zeroes.]
[And yet more Enchantment courtesy of the Panacea/Schadenfreude of
Cheryl Studer-free zones/ground zeroes.]
[And yet more Enchantment courtesy of the Panacea/Schadenfreude of
Cheryl Studer-free zones/ground zeroes.]
[And yet more Enchantment 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 prissiness of political correctness
and the Gestapo tactics of the instinct/thought-control police, in
concert with the 'World Music Congress' - the Rudases, the Sire
Jonases,
the Mehtas, the Holenders (whose nose is
long and arrogant enough to sniff all the way to Berlin), the Levines,
the Maazels, the Heymanns, 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 are prime shareholders (and puppets) in
this "Juderei" - that's right, jUdErEi - we repeat: all this JuDeReI)
- i.e., by
the Star System of Bocelli, of course, or Hampson (now a pretty much
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-o-t  because
of
especially great voices or exceptional interpretive forces or
personalities or even 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* the promo op-catchpenny that has become 9.11 --- a
monstrous crime monstrously debased by the Infernal Spinning Wheel of
commerce and avarice 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 (and ours) Weapons Of Mass Destruction
--- the latest government/media euphemism --- or is destruction Kosher
provided you are a Jew? --- this time, however, we applaud Barenboim
for being
practically the only one publicly playing fiddle
on the roof --- the root, the root --- of the problem) to Nationalism
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
includes Iraq, 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.]
[In other words, and in order of appearance...
NO BLOOD FOR THE JOE LIEBERMANS
NO BLOOD FOR THE PAUL WOLFOWITZES
NO BLOOD FOR THE ARI FLEISCHERS
NO BLOOD FOR A MERE SANDBOX
NO BLOOD FOR ISRAEL
NO BLOOD FOR OIL
NO BLOOD FOR VENGEANCE
NO BLOOD FOR THE JOE LIEBERMANS
NO BLOOD FOR THE PAUL WOLFOWITZES
NO BLOOD FOR THE ARI FLEISCHERS
NO BLOOD FOR A MERE SANDBOX
NO BLOOD FOR ISRAEL
NO BLOOD FOR OIL
NO BLOOD FOR VENGEANCE
NO BLOOD FOR THE JOE LIEBERMANS
NO BLOOD FOR THE PAUL WOLFOWITZES
NO BLOOD FOR THE ARI FLEISCHERS
NO BLOOD FOR A MERE SANDBOX
NO BLOOD FOR ISRAEL
NO BLOOD FOR OIL
NO BLOOD FOR VENGEANCE
NO BLOOD FOR THE JOE LIEBERMANS
NO BLOOD FOR THE PAUL WOLFOWITZES
NO BLOOD FOR THE ARI FLEISCHERS
NO BLOOD FOR A MERE SANDBOX
NO BLOOD FOR ISRAEL
NO BLOOD FOR OIL
NO BLOOD FOR VENGEANCE
NO BLOOD FOR THE JOE LIEBERMANS
NO BLOOD FOR THE PAUL WOLFOWITZES
NO BLOOD FOR THE ARI FLEISCHERS
NO BLOOD FOR A MERE SANDBOX
NO BLOOD FOR ISRAEL
NO BLOOD FOR OIL
NO BLOOD FOR VENGEANCE
NO BLOOD FOR THE JOE LIEBERMANS
NO BLOOD FOR THE PAUL WOLFOWITZES
NO BLOOD FOR THE ARI FLEISCHERS
NO BLOOD FOR A MERE SANDBOX
NO BLOOD FOR ISRAEL
NO BLOOD FOR OIL
NO BLOOD FOR VENGEANCE
NO BLOOD FOR THE JOE LIEBERMANS
NO BLOOD FOR THE PAUL WOLFOWITZES
NO BLOOD FOR THE ARI FLEISCHERS
NO BLOOD FOR A MERE SANDBOX
NO BLOOD FOR ISRAEL
NO BLOOD FOR OIL
NO BLOOD FOR VENGEANCE
NO BLOOD FOR THE JOE LIEBERMANS
NO BLOOD FOR THE PAUL WOLFOWITZES
NO BLOOD FOR THE ARI FLEISCHERS
NO BLOOD FOR A MERE SANDBOX
NO BLOOD FOR ISRAEL
NO BLOOD FOR OIL
NO BLOOD FOR VENGEANCE
NO BLOOD FOR THE JOE LIEBERMANS
NO BLOOD FOR THE PAUL WOLFOWITZES
NO BLOOD FOR THE ARI FLEISCHERS
NO BLOOD FOR A MERE SANDBOX
NO BLOOD FOR ISRAEL
NO BLOOD FOR OIL
NO BLOOD FOR VENGEANCE
NO BLOOD FOR THE JOE LIEBERMANS
NO BLOOD FOR THE PAUL WOLFOWITZES
NO BLOOD FOR THE ARI FLEISCHERS
NO BLOOD FOR A MERE SANDBOX
NO BLOOD FOR ISRAEL
NO BLOOD FOR OIL
NO BLOOD FOR VENGEANCE
NO BLOOD FOR THE JOE LIEBERMANS
NO BLOOD FOR THE PAUL WOLFOWITZES
NO BLOOD FOR THE ARI FLEISCHERS
NO BLOOD FOR A MERE SANDBOX
NO BLOOD FOR ISRAEL
NO BLOOD FOR OIL
NO BLOOD FOR VENGEANCE
NO BLOOD FOR THE JOE LIEBERMANS
NO BLOOD FOR THE PAUL WOLFOWITZES
NO BLOOD FOR THE ARI FLEISCHERS
NO BLOOD FOR A MERE SANDBOX
NO BLOOD FOR ISRAEL
NO BLOOD FOR OIL
NO BLOOD FOR VENGEANCE
NO BLOOD FOR THE JOE LIEBERMANS
NO BLOOD FOR THE PAUL WOLFOWITZES
NO BLOOD FOR THE ARI FLEISCHERS
NO BLOOD FOR A MERE SANDBOX
NO BLOOD FOR ISRAEL
NO BLOOD FOR OIL
NO BLOOD FOR VENGEANCE
NO BLOOD FOR THE JOE LIEBERMANS
NO BLOOD FOR THE PAUL WOLFOWITZES
NO BLOOD FOR THE ARI FLEISCHERS
NO BLOOD FOR A MERE SANDBOX
NO BLOOD FOR ISRAEL
NO BLOOD FOR OIL
NO BLOOD FOR VENGEANCE
NO BLOOD FOR THE JOE LIEBERMANS
NO BLOOD FOR THE PAUL WOLFOWITZES
NO BLOOD FOR THE ARI FLEISCHERS
NO BLOOD FOR A MERE SANDBOX
NO BLOOD FOR ISRAEL
NO BLOOD FOR OIL
NO BLOOD FOR VENGEANCE
NO BLOOD FOR THE JOE LIEBERMANS
NO BLOOD FOR THE PAUL WOLFOWITZES
NO BLOOD FOR THE ARI FLEISCHERS
NO BLOOD FOR A MERE SANDBOX
NO BLOOD FOR ISRAEL
NO BLOOD FOR OIL
NO BLOOD FOR VENGEANCE
NO BLOOD FOR THE JOE LIEBERMANS
NO BLOOD FOR THE PAUL WOLFOWITZES
NO BLOOD FOR THE ARI FLEISCHERS
NO BLOOD FOR A MERE SANDBOX
NO BLOOD FOR ISRAEL
NO BLOOD FOR OIL
NO BLOOD FOR VENGEANCE
NO BLOOD FOR THE JOE LIEBERMANS
NO BLOOD FOR THE PAUL WOLFOWITZES
NO BLOOD FOR THE ARI FLEISCHERS
NO BLOOD FOR A MERE SANDBOX
NO BLOOD FOR ISRAEL
NO BLOOD FOR OIL
NO BLOOD FOR VENGEANCE
NO BLOOD FOR THE JOE LIEBERMANS
NO BLOOD FOR THE PAUL WOLFOWITZES
NO BLOOD FOR THE ARI FLEISCHERS
NO BLOOD FOR A MERE SANDBOX
NO BLOOD FOR ISRAEL
NO BLOOD FOR OIL
NO BLOOD FOR VENGEANCE
NO BLOOD FOR THE JOE LIEBERMANS
NO BLOOD FOR THE PAUL WOLFOWITZES
NO BLOOD FOR THE ARI FLEISCHERS
NO BLOOD FOR A MERE SANDBOX
NO BLOOD FOR ISRAEL
NO BLOOD FOR OIL
NO BLOOD FOR VENGEANCE
NO BLOOD FOR THE JOE LIEBERMANS
NO BLOOD FOR THE PAUL WOLFOWITZES
NO BLOOD FOR THE ARI FLEISCHERS
NO BLOOD FOR A MERE SANDBOX
NO BLOOD FOR ISRAEL
NO BLOOD FOR OIL
NO BLOOD FOR VENGEANCE
NO BLOOD FOR THE JOE LIEBERMANS
NO BLOOD FOR THE PAUL WOLFOWITZES
NO BLOOD FOR THE ARI FLEISCHERS
NO BLOOD FOR A MERE SANDBOX
NO BLOOD FOR ISRAEL
NO BLOOD FOR OIL
NO BLOOD FOR VENGEANCE
NO BLOOD FOR THE JOE LIEBERMANS
NO BLOOD FOR THE PAUL WOLFOWITZES
NO BLOOD FOR THE ARI FLEISCHERS
NO BLOOD FOR A MERE SANDBOX
NO BLOOD FOR ISRAEL
NO BLOOD FOR OIL
NO BLOOD FOR VENGEANCE
NO BLOOD FOR THE JOE LIEBERMANS
NO BLOOD FOR THE PAUL WOLFOWITZES
NO BLOOD FOR THE ARI FLEISCHERS
NO BLOOD FOR A MERE SANDBOX
NO BLOOD FOR ISRAEL
NO BLOOD FOR OIL
NO BLOOD FOR VENGEANCE
NO BLOOD FOR THE JOE LIEBERMANS
NO BLOOD FOR THE PAUL WOLFOWITZES
NO BLOOD FOR THE ARI FLEISCHERS
NO BLOOD FOR A MERE SANDBOX
NO BLOOD FOR ISRAEL
NO BLOOD FOR OIL
NO BLOOD FOR VENGEANCE
NO BLOOD FOR THE JOE LIEBERMANS
NO BLOOD FOR THE PAUL WOLFOWITZES
NO BLOOD FOR THE ARI FLEISCHERS
NO BLOOD FOR A MERE SANDBOX
NO BLOOD FOR ISRAEL
NO BLOOD FOR OIL
NO BLOOD FOR VENGEANCE
NO BLOOD FOR THE JOE LIEBERMANS
NO BLOOD FOR THE PAUL WOLFOWITZES
NO BLOOD FOR THE ARI FLEISCHERS
NO BLOOD FOR A MERE SANDBOX
NO BLOOD FOR ISRAEL
NO BLOOD FOR OIL
NO BLOOD FOR VENGEANCE
NO BLOOD FOR THE JOE LIEBERMANS
NO BLOOD FOR THE PAUL WOLFOWITZES
NO BLOOD FOR THE ARI FLEISCHERS
NO BLOOD FOR A MERE SANDBOX
NO BLOOD FOR ISRAEL
NO BLOOD FOR OIL
NO BLOOD FOR VENGEANCE
NO BLOOD FOR THE JOE LIEBERMANS
NO BLOOD FOR THE PAUL WOLFOWITZES
NO BLOOD FOR THE ARI FLEISCHERS
NO BLOOD FOR A MERE SANDBOX
NO BLOOD FOR ISRAEL
NO BLOOD FOR OIL
NO BLOOD FOR VENGEANCE
NO BLOOD FOR THE JOE LIEBERMANS
NO BLOOD FOR THE PAUL WOLFOWITZES
NO BLOOD FOR THE ARI FLEISCHERS
NO BLOOD FOR A MERE SANDBOX
NO BLOOD FOR ISRAEL
NO BLOOD FOR OIL
NO BLOOD FOR VENGEANCE
NO BLOOD FOR THE JOE LIEBERMANS
NO BLOOD FOR THE PAUL WOLFOWITZES
NO BLOOD FOR THE ARI FLEISCHERS
NO BLOOD FOR A MERE SANDBOX
NO BLOOD FOR ISRAEL
NO BLOOD FOR OIL
NO BLOOD FOR VENGEANCE
NO BLOOD FOR THE JOE LIEBERMANS
NO BLOOD FOR THE PAUL WOLFOWITZES
NO BLOOD FOR THE ARI FLEISCHERS
NO BLOOD FOR A MERE SANDBOX
NO BLOOD FOR ISRAEL
NO BLOOD FOR OIL
NO BLOOD FOR VENGEANCE
NO BLOOD FOR THE JOE LIEBERMANS
NO BLOOD FOR THE PAUL WOLFOWITZES
NO BLOOD FOR THE ARI FLEISCHERS
NO BLOOD FOR A MERE SANDBOX
NO BLOOD FOR ISRAEL
NO BLOOD FOR OIL
NO BLOOD FOR VENGEANCE
NO BLOOD FOR THE JOE LIEBERMANS
NO BLOOD FOR THE PAUL WOLFOWITZES
NO BLOOD FOR THE ARI FLEISCHERS
NO BLOOD FOR A MERE SANDBOX
NO BLOOD FOR ISRAEL
NO BLOOD FOR OIL
NO BLOOD FOR VENGEANCE
NO BLOOD FOR THE JOE LIEBERMANS
NO BLOOD FOR THE PAUL WOLFOWITZES
NO BLOOD FOR THE ARI FLEISCHERS
NO BLOOD FOR A MERE SANDBOX
NO BLOOD FOR ISRAEL
NO BLOOD FOR OIL
NO BLOOD FOR VENGEANCE
NO BLOOD FOR THE JOE LIEBERMANS
NO BLOOD FOR THE PAUL WOLFOWITZES
NO BLOOD FOR THE ARI FLEISCHERS
NO BLOOD FOR A MERE SANDBOX
NO BLOOD FOR ISRAEL
NO BLOOD FOR OIL
NO BLOOD FOR VENGEANCE
]
[Discuss, if you dare.]
[About the new studio-product ('tis is what we call them fakery, no?)
from EMI
---Idomeneo---, we are beginning to 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 Sob Story to
tell - mine is Breast Cancer - 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 oh yes, LetItRain is an  "a-r-t-i-s-t", sensitive and musical -
albeit a very very very part-time one at that - but please please
please notice
that very very very few others are as musical, let alone sensitive and
artistic].
[About the new DECCA ---Cocksucker Blues---, we are already reading
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 (not enough of us) are neither deaf
nor naïve nor stupid. You see, n-e-v-e-r  e-v-e-r  f-o-r-g-e-t  that
sopranos of the calibre 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 3 years ago) is being sold under a neon sign that reads
"Bel Canto", complete with
a $2 rebate incentive  b-e-l-o-w  its reduced repo artistic sale
value. You know, in the manner of the stereo-typical toupéed and
polyester-clad used-car salesman - insincere, cajoling, slimy,
slippery, sleazy, sticky -- and that's the singing -- a raw deal.]
Blitzkrieg-style Public Relations, Marketing, and now
Blue-Collar/Working-Class Cheap Labor (and the aesthetics, or lack of,
of - see "Flanigan, Lauren" - see "Radvanovsky, Sondra" - "see Goerke,
Christine" - see "Slavs" – see "the little touring companies that
could") 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 so the
armies of
businessmen have landed triumphantly with portfolios chock-full with
the truly untriumphant, the amateurs, the pedigree-less, the
unaccomplished, the homogeneous, 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 divas next door who relax to the Dixie Chicks; 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 show it; the
divas 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 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, Domingo, 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).
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, the Grümmer Clones, the Callas Clones, the
Tebaldi Clones, the Steber Clones, the Schwarzkopf Clones, the Price
Clones, the Cut n' Paste Composites, the Fischer-Dieskau Clones, the
Furtwängler Clones --- 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
Outreachers, the Soundbites, the Marketing Love Couples/Traumpaars,
the Divine, the Fabulous, the Delicious, 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 or Analysis but Lowest-Common-Denominator Public
Relations Spin [and 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 (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, open discourse on her art? – do you not remember the  
p-r-e-v-e-n-t-i-o-n  measures taken by the taste/censorship police in
these forums year after year after year in order to curtail all
possibility of even the minutest measure hinting of favourable
discourse on her art?] --- oh, you know the story --- something about
digital and illusion and un-necessary and in-competent and
im-personal and contrived and in-experienced and un-felt and
perfect and dull and null 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, penicillin, opera glasses, the megaphone, the horn, the
microphone,
the photograph, the ("fideistic") Mapleson cylinders, the phonograph,
the light bulb, animated pictures, the telegraph, the typewriter,
carbon paper, the telephone, the clock, the metronome, the radio, the
television, faster trains, the automobile, the jet plane, robots,
rockets, missiles, bombs, Star Wars, weapons of mass destruction, 
Agent Orange, Hiroshima, Dresden (to name but a few), frying bacon,
monaural sound, analog tech, reel-to-reels, 8-tracks, the cassette,
the LP, stereo
sound, surround sound, faxes, overnight mail, the (unfortunate and
devastating to the testimonials of a vast majority of contemporary
artists) digital tech, the PC, laptops, lapdogs, the CD, the walkman,
the minidisc, the CD-ROM, the famous (pitch re-engineered) Richter
CD-ROMs, the (disgracefully influential,
sound-engineering-bag-of-tricks-wise) DECCA/Solti Ring, naXos,
andante.com
, 12,000 other music websites, the pirates, special
effects, the VHS, HTML, the WWW, Apples, TV dinners, Windows, the cell
phone, the LD, the DVD, MP3s, Opera In The Original (that's English to
you,
naturally and perennially), CNN operas, Vilar titles, Vilar
entitlements, multitasking, micromanaging, acoustically enhanced opera
houses and concert halls, euphemisms, virtual reality, cloning,
artificial intelligence, Callas martyrs, Caruso, Ponselle, Callas,
more Callas, Flagstad, Nilsson, more EMI Callas
re-re-re-re-re-releases, yet more Sony Glenn Gould
re-re-re-re-re-compilations, etc. - and of course, the same
Kapitalismus that has transmitted the Oh So Long Anticipated, Oh So
Extensive, Oh So Very Important --- and, at last!, Oh So Necessary ---
eternal recorded statements from, for example and randomly, Danny Boy
Barenboim,
Zubin, E-di-ta! E-di-ta! E-di-ta!, Ozawa, Renée, 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, "Marilyn Monroe Purr" Debbie (see "Ross, Alex") - (a 
f-a-k-e  recording of R. Strauss' -Friedenstag- for Sinopoli/DGG ---
"...Deborah Voigt's Maria [which 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 CareerFaggot-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, Waltraud -
and much much more) ----- for naXos, 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, we regret to
announce, not just the cash ones).]
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 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 colony of monkeys under the stick shift of
a colonized but loyal to the crown, 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 reptilian) 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. However, the Tosca
and Norma catastrophes strangely failed to make a dent in the armory
of the "cognoscenti" and their media spokespeople. And it is not so
widely known that Madame M has encountered more stage catastrophes
since then. For those not "in the know", Madame M is said 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 (not that the
long-deceased tenor is remotely a Heiman discovery/original). We
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:
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 like) of new opera recordings on Compact Disc from the
Universal
Classics family of labels (DGG, DECCA, Philips)....and now apparently
EMI Classics too....let us take a long and hard (just as you like it,
in fact) look at the following
inventory ---
* 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 --- the work of a consummate artist.  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
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 thank you too, Universal, EMI and Sony, for having had the
foreskin (er, foresight) 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 the climate 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 analysis from 'the chosen
people' (The Rake's Progress --
http://www.operajaponica.org/reviews/dvd/rake96dvd.htm
) than those
ass-igned a certain veteran soprano. Consider this shibboleth ---
http://www.operajaponica.org/reviews/dvd/aidaroh94dvd.htm
Verdi: AIDA
Reviewed by Michael 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)
Thus spoke our Mickey Mouse hero:
{{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.}}
"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

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