All Wagner all the time!

For those of you that just cannot get enough Wagner here is the site for you. Live performances of opening night performance broadcasts from the Bayreuth Festspielhaus. Something I found interesting as I scanned the cast lists, was that I didn't recognise the name of one single singer. They have to be among the best opera singers in the world, right, but as I am so unfamiliar with this particular part of the operatic repertoire their talents have been hidden from me. I am planning to listen to a performance or two. It really is time Wagner and I became, at the very least, somewhat acquainted.

Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters

Every now and again I have the urge to beg our wonderful production stage manager, Jennifer Hammontree, to let me be a supernumerary in one of our productions. The feeling tends to wear off fairly quickly but a few months later it's back again. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the term 'supernumerary' - usually known just as 'supers', these are the non-singing members of the cast, who in a movie wold be termed extras. They fill out the stage as crowd members, market stall-holders, soldiers - well, you get the point I am sure. It is rare that supers would rate a mention on a television show but just this last week it happened. Sunday saw the first episode in the latest season of the AMC smash-hit series Mad Men, the show that reveals what a warm and cosy place the advertising agencies were in New York City in the 50's and 60's - not! In that opening episode, the worlds of advertising make-believe and musical make-believe intersected. And was duly noted in this The New York Times article.

Do bears....?

I am a big fan of the staff of San Diego Opera, particularly those concerned with education, marketing, PR and social media. So I follow the company's official blog web-site, Aria Serious? And I was tickled to death to read the latest entry. I have just returned from a weekend camping in the Mount Hood National Forest and before departing made sure I was able to produce a really scary account of Nessun Dorma. It was disappointingly easy for me.

America's Finest News Source

I admit it, I am addicted to the coarse, crass, often vulgar and unapologetically juvenile humour of The Onion. When on the front page I saw the teaser headline 'Struggling High School Cuts Football' I knew that all was not going to be quite as it seemed. I read it, and laughed. I just wish that my laughter hadn't been tinged with wry cynicism. I mean, things really are this bad with arts in schools, aren't they? Unerringly kick a ball between some uprights and you are a hero, play a Scarlatti piano sonata with nary a wrong note and you are a nerd, relegated to the outermost social fringes.

Happy Birthday Ms Graham!

Susan Graham (shown above) was 50 last week. Can you believe it? There are many reasons to love and admire this mezzo-soprano. Her voice, is quite simply ravishing. Her versatility - singing roles from operas that span hundreds of years - legendary. She is brave, too, being unafraid to take on roles in contemporary operas that may or may not find critical or audience acclaim. But there is one attribute that has nothing to do with any of these that makes me such a solid fan of the lady: while pursuing artistic perfection as assiduously as could be, she refuses to take herself seriously. And what she proves over and over is that, well, she can be sexy, too. As she sings in this clip.

A force of nature, who walks around giving opera a very good name. Thank you, ma'am.

Back on the treadmill, Bob!

A few months ago, my friend Bob Kingston decided to take a break from producing his informative and fun blog Dramma Per Musica. I was among many who missed his writing for us and I am happy to report that he has decided he is ready for more and has started blogging again. Go see what he has to say; I guarantee you, it is always worthwhile. Welcome back, Bob.

Robert Ainsley

A heads-up for those of you that enjoyed the first installment of my interview with Maestro Robert Ainsley a few weeks ago. He and I are to meet again later this week and discuss his years at Cambridge University. I hope to have the interview up here next Monday. I can't wait to hear the stories he has to tell me.

Have a happy and productive week!