Re: And why. . .? (long)

[from Geof. Riggs; not Eliz. H., my better half]

Julie wrote:

> Elizabeth Hubbell <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote in message news:<[EMAIL PROTECTED]>...
>
> > [from Geof. Riggs; not Eliz. H., my better half]
> >
> > And please be frank if you believe that, in the final analysis, I and my 
> > wife's painful experience with an offline group's hazing of a friend who 
> > happened to be a woman should be judged as strictly anecdotal and of 
> > minimal relevance to online discussions of Wagner.
>
>
> I definitely don't think it's exclusively a Wagner-hazard, and that is
> based on
> my own experience and observations in life. When people are drawn
> together by a passion
> for an art form there are bound to be some bad apples in the bunch. On
> the other hand there's no
> doubt that some Wagnerites are fanatics and we know what fanatics are
> capable (and incapable) of.
>
> I will share an experience directly following "Gotterdammerung". We
> were sitting, watching,
> listening, and absorbing the final strains, along with everyone else.
> As soon as the last chord died
> away and the curtains had closed,
> just as the house lights were coming up, a fellow in the row behind us
> gave the loudest, most
> offensive raspberry he could possibly muster. And then he ran out the
> door.
> Regardless of personal opinion as to the merit of the performance, the
> hit & run aspect of the guy's
> "statement", and the premeditation (maybe even hours of practice in
> his lonely room), along
> with being a  captive audience member, almost hijacked the pleasure of
> those final performance moments.
>
> Did someone really sit thru a 5-hour masterpiece getting ready to do
> that? Did someone wait all week
> (or however long was the interval between your group's get-togethers)
> to inflict misery on someone
> with a shared interest? 

Actually, no.......he waited a couple of months!!!!!!

Geoffrey Riggs
www.operacast.com