MANAGING OPERA CHAOS PART 2
“OPERA,” SIR PETER USTINOV said, “rides the razor edge of absurdity.” And, as discussed yesterday in Part 1, it’s only through adroit control by stage managers that chaos is avoided. … Continue reading
MANAGING OPERA CHAOS PART 1
THE PRODUCTION OF opera is a split-second business. As part of a recent streaming of the Metropolitan Opera’s Turandot performed January 30, 2016, host Renée Fleming interviews two of the … Continue reading
ON THE PERSISTENCE OF MEMORY
A RED SKELTON comedy show from 1950 was recently on “Radio Classics,” the old time radio channel of SiriusXM. A couple of things on it led to today’s tidbits about … Continue reading
WHO DOTH DUNIT PART 2
YESTERDAY’S WHO DOTH DUNITS had Shakespeare’s Italian crime families and cross-dressing lawyers. Today, there’s a rich British guy and his trio of daughters, two bad, one not; and a whole … Continue reading
LAISSEZ LES BONS PLATS ROULER!
MAQUE CHOUX is French, literally “fake cabbage,” but in Cajun it describes a variation on succotash: a chunky corn stew with onions, bell peppers, hot peppers, garlic, and maybe tomatoes, … Continue reading
DECO FLICKS PART 2
YESTERDAY IN PART 1, we enjoyed the Art Deco settings of a 1924 French sci-fi flick and a 1929 celebration of Broadway. Today in Part 2, there’s an hotel saga, … Continue reading
DECO FLICKS PART 1
THE TERM “ART FILM” means different things to different people, but what I have in mind here is Art Deco in movies of the 1920s and 1930s. My primary source … Continue reading
TOFU SHRIMP VEGGIES IN GINGER SAUCE
WHAT TO MAKE for dinner? The fridge has the usual staples: tofu, bok choy, soy sauce, rice wine, minced ginger, minced garlic. Well, at least, often in our fridge (along … Continue reading
WITHIN THE QUOTA—A 1923 BALLET FOR OUR TIMES PART 2
YESTERDAY HERE IN Part 1, we talked about Cole Porter’s ballet Within the Quota, its 1923 Paris debut, 1924 U.S. tour, and then prompt disappearance. Today in Part 2, the … Continue reading
WITHIN THE QUOTA—A 1923 BALLET FOR OUR TIMES PART 1
COLE PORTER IS best known for his contributions to the Great American Songbook. Among them: “Let’s Do It, Let’s Fall in Love;” “Just One of Those Things;” “You’re the Top;” … Continue reading
