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