Overdue

Okay, here comes another post that is not about music, dance, or theater.  But since we’re supposed to write about technology, all I can think of is the GPS that my husband recently bought for his car.  He’s a salesman, and he does LOTS of driving, so it makes sense for him to have one.  But he’s also got an amazing sense of direction.  He only has to go somewhere once in his life and he can find it forever.  Me, I get lost going from my living room to my kitchen.  So why can’t I have a GPS, too?  It would be a whole lot neater than the 3×5 cards with directions written on them that are strewn all over my car.

True confessions: although I’m a member of the über-cool UR Tech Team, I’ve never used Flickr before.  This past weekend, I posted my first and only photo:

 http://www.flickr.com/photos/28344210@N08/2636611143/

What I really like is the map feature, in which you can drop your photos on a map of the world to indicate where they were taken.  I got lost on the streets of Turin a couple of times, but finally found the appropriate location to place my mark.

I’m just back from Italy, where the Teatro Regio in Turin is performing the four-act version of Giacomo Puccini’s opera, Edgar.  For the past five years, I’ve been preparing the edition of the score that they used, and finally seeing it performed was a truly exhilarating experience.  Here’s a link to the theater’s website:

 http://www.teatroregio.torino.it/en/seasons/2007-2008/edgar

Above all, I’m thrilled that Puccini’s original vision has been vindicated: the fourth act of the opera, which he cut under pressure, really is dramatically necessary, and it contains some amazing music.  Let’s hope they release the DVD!

While I was there, I made sure to do some fun things, too.  We spent a day in Genoa, which is a wonderful port city with an incredibly rich history.  I could easily spend a month there and not get bored.  We spent the afternoon at the Galata Museo del Mare (Museum of the Sea)

 http://www.galatamuseodelmare.it/jsp/index.jsp

where they have amazing exhibits on shipbuilding, sailing, and even the Italian emigrant experience (if you’ve ever been to Ellis Island, think of this as the other side of the story).  Highly recommended, if you ever find yourself in Genoa.

Anthony Tommasini has written a very interesting article for today’s New York Times that’s inspired by “dueling” productions of Macbeth in New York City: Shakespeare’s at the Brooklyn Academy of Music and Verdi’s at the Metropolitan Opera

 http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/09/arts/music/09macb.html?

Since I’m both a Verdian and a Trekkie (the Shakespeare stars Patrick Stewart, a.k.a. Capt. Jean-Luc Picard), I’m somewhat torn.  But Tommasini gets it right: Verdi’s three Shakespearean operas, Macbeth (1847/65), Otello (1887), and Falstaff (1893) make the most of the naturally “musical” elements in the plays, but they go one step further by providing a depth of characterization that can’t be achieved by mere words, even those of the greatest playwright of the English language.

Welcome to Overdue, my blog about music libraries and the people who love them.  Since I can’t think of anything wondrous and creative to write, I’ll just add a link to my podcasts (but please don’t ask me about the tubas):

http://oncampus.richmond.edu/academics/musiclibrary/Podcasts/Podcasts.html