Pavarotti's Fabulous POP CD

--- A Community Educational Outreach Initiative ---

----------------------------

"In life, democracy.
In art, aristocracy."

--- Arturo Toscanini

----------------------------

"¿Cómo se siente? ¿Cómo se siente ver que el horror estalla en tu 
patio y no en el living del vecino? ¿Cómo se siente el miedo 
apretando tu pecho, el pánico que provocan el ruido ensordecedor, las 
llamas sin control, los edificios que se derrumban, ese terrible olor 
que se mete hasta el fondo en los pulmones, los ojos de los inocentes 
que caminan cubiertos de sangre y polvo?

¿Cómo se vive por un día en tu propia casa la incertidumbre de lo que 
va a pasar? ¿Cómo se sale del estado de shock? En estado de shock 
caminaban el 6 de agosto de 1945 los sobrevivientes de Hiroshima. 
Nada quedaba en pie en la ciudad luego que el artillero 
norteamericano del Enola Gay dejara caer la bomba. En pocos segundos 
habían muerto 80.000 hombres, mujeres y niños. Otros 250.000 morirían 
en los años siguientes a causa de las radiaciones. Pero ésa era una 
guerra lejana y ni siquiera existía la televisión.

¿Cómo se siente hoy el horror cuando las terribles imágenes de la 
televisión te dicen que lo ocurrido el fatídico 11 de septiembre no 
pasó en una tierra lejana sino en tu propia patria? Otro 11 de 
septiembre, pero de 28 años atrás, había muerto un presidente de 
nombre Salvador Allende resistiendo un golpe de Estado que tus 
gobernantes habían planeado. También fueron tiempos de horror, pero 
eso pasaba muy lejos de tu frontera, en una ignota republiqueta 
sudamericana. Las republiquetas estaban en tu patio trasero y nunca 
te preocupaste mucho cuando tus marines salían a sangre y fuego a 
imponer sus puntos de vista.

¿Sabías que entre 1824 y 1994 tu país llevó a cabo 73 invasiones a 
países de América Latina? Las víctimas fueron Puerto Rico, México, 
Nicaragua, Panamá, Haití, Colombia, Cuba, Honduras, República 
Dominicana, Islas Vírgenes, El Salvador, Guatemala y Granada.

Hace casi un siglo que tus gobernantes están en guerra. Desde el 
comienzo del siglo XX, casi no hubo una guerra en el mundo en que la 
gente de tu Pentágono no hubiera participado. Claro, las bombas 
siempre explotaron fuera de tu territorio, con excepción de Pearl 
Harbor cuando la aviación japonesa bombardeó la Séptima Flota en 
1941. Pero siempre el horror estuvo lejos.

Cuando las Torres Gemelas se vinieron abajo en medio del polvo, 
cuando viste las imágenes por televisión o escuchaste los gritos 
porque estabas esa mañana en Manhattan, ¿pensaste por un Segundo en 
lo que sintieron los campesinos de Vietnam durante muchos años? En 
Manhattan, la gente caía desde las alturas de los rascacielos como 
trágicas marionetas. En Vietnam, la gente daba alaridos porque el 
napalm seguía quemando la carne por mucho tiempo y la muerte era 
espantosa, tanto como las de quienes caían en un salto desesperado al 
vacío. Tu aviación no dejó una fábrica en pie ni un puente sin 
destruir en Yugoslavia. En Irak fueron 500.000 los muertos. Medio 
millón de almas se llevó la Operación Tormenta del Desierto...¿Cuánta 
gente desangrada en lugares tan exóticos y lejanos como Vietnam, 
Irak, Irán, Afganistán, Libia, Angola, Somalia, Congo, Nicaragua, 
Dominicana, Camboya, Yugoslavia, Sudán, y una lista interminable? En 
todos esos lugares los proyectiles habían sido fabricados en 
factorías de tu país, y eran apuntados por tus muchachos, por gente 
pagada por tu Departamento de Estado, y sólo para que tu pudieras 
seguir gozando de la forma de vida americana.

Hace casi un siglo que tu país está en guerra con todo el mundo. 
Curiosamente, tus gobernantes lanzan los jinetes del Apocalipsis en 
nombre de la libertad y de la democracia. Pero debes saber que para 
muchos pueblos del mundo (en este planeta donde cada día mueren 
24.000 pobladores por hambre o enfermedades curables), Estados Unidos 
no representa la libertad, sino un enemigo lejano y Terrible que sólo 
siembra guerra, hambre, miedo y destrucción. Siempre han sido 
conflictos bélicos lejanos para ti, pero para quienes viven allá es 
una dolorosa realidad cercana, una guerra donde los edificios se 
desploman bajo las bombas y donde esa gente encuentra una muerte 
horrible. Y las víctimas han sido, en el 90 por ciento, civiles, 
mujeres, ancianos, niños efectos colaterales.

¿Qué se siente cuando el horror golpea a tu puerta aunque sea por un 
sólo día? ¿Qué se piensa cuando las víctimas en Nueva York son 
secretarias, operadores de bolsa o empleados de limpieza que pagaban 
puntualmente sus impuestos y nunca mataron una mosca?

¿Cómo se siente el miedo? ¿Cómo se siente, yanqui, saber que la larga 
guerra finalmente el 11 de septiembre llegó a tu casa?" 

--- Gabriel García Márquez to Puppet Bush, Jr.

----------------------------

On 26 September 2000, the so-called great Mickey (Mouse)
"I-have-not-attended-a-performance-in-fifteen-years"
http://listserv.cuny.edu/Scripts/wa.exe?A2=ind0309B&L=opera-l&P=R13279&D=0&H=0&I=-3&O=T&T=1
Richter performed a 'plug in', heroically, on behalf of Klaus Heiman
[sic], the so-called authority behind ---naXos---:

{{ Date: Tue, 26 Sep 2000 21:40:41 -0700
Reply-To: Mike Richter <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Sender: Discussion of opera and related issues <OPERA-
[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
From: Mike Richter <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: Authoritative word on Naxos' methods
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"; format=flowed

The following comments are from Klaus Heymann, the force behind Naxos 
and other labels, to our posts on their approach to recording opera.

> Mike Richter wrote in response to Bob Kosovsky's [Homosexual, Jew, 
Liberal, Librarian, and -would you believe it?- Censor] post

>>Since the Naxos label is being lauded by some as forecasting a 
future path of opera, I have a question. I know several people who 
have participated in Naxos recordings of chamber music. All of them 
have been paid a one-time-only fee, and have ceded the right to 
royalties. Does this kind of contract also apply to Naxos's 
recordings of vocalists in operas or recitals? (I hate to think that 
Ewa Podles doesn't get anything more than her initial fee for that 
Rossini recital of hers, Naxos 8.553543.)

### Yes, singers are also paid a flat fee. Ewa Podles is very happy 
with her Rossini ... she would like to do more recitals but the cost 
of recording her with orchestra and chorus is prohibitive ... we 
still haven't recouped our investment in this recording. ###

>>It sounds a bit exploitative to me, IMO. On the other hand, my not-
yet-famous acquaintances jump at the chance to record for them. (They 
are allowed only two or three takes, with no chance of fancy editing 
to correct mistakes.)

### Most singers understand that recording opera is extremely 
expensive, especially under our perfect studio (not live) conditions 
and are happy with our modest flat fees. Look at our Fidelio cast! 
The bit about being allowed only two or three takes and no chance of 
fancy editing is nonsense ... artists are allow as many takes as 
necessary to get the music right. However, having said that, we 
expect our artists to be well prepared unlike many big-name artists 
who rely on the producer and editor to produce a good performance. ###

>>So I'm curious to hear whether vocalists are also bound to such 
contracts. I believe you have it right. My understanding is that 
Klaus and his people search the globe for artists and groups who 
merit the exposure and are doing (or are able to do) the works he 
wants to include in his catalogue. By providing one-time fees - often 
of critical importance to such artists - and exposure, Naxos both 
benefits the artists and produces high-quality, inexpensive 
programming. There may be exceptions in which royalties are offered, 
but that does not appear to be the rule. Of course, limiting studio 
time also contains costs.

### We do not limit studio costs but our producer have the authority 
to send poorly prepared artists home. ###

>>The other major factor in Naxos and its related labels keeping 
prices down is that they give up much of the promotion the more 
famous marks employ. Since the recordings are focussed on the music 
and there are seldom acknowledged "stars", stellar advertising and 
displays are unnecessary. It is a different approach to marketing and 
seems so far to have been a most successful one.

Mike

Best regards,

Klaus

*********************
(My apologies for the confusion in indenting of Bob's original post, 
my reply and Klaus's.)

Mike

[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Opera: http://mrichter.simplenet.com/
CD-R: http://resource.simplenet.com/ }}

----------------------------

Thus spoke the authority. We re-quote:

"Most singers understand that recording opera is extremely expensive, 
especially under our perfect studio (not live) conditions and are 
happy with our modest flat fees. Look at our Fidelio cast! The bit 
about being allowed only two or three takes and no chance of fancy 
editing is nonsense ... artists are allowed as many takes as 
necessary to get the music right. However, having said that, we 
expect our artists to be well prepared unlike many big-name artists 
who rely on the producer and editor to produce a good performance."

We ask: 

1. Mr. Heiman seems to have contradicted himself by simultaneously 
affirming that his artists are indeed allowed "fancy editing...to get 
the music right" and ranting against the "many big-name artists who 
rely on the producer and editor to produce a good performance." What 
exactly is the difference? Isn't fancy editing what earns producers 
and editors their bacon, be it at naXos or Lucifer Classics? Or is 
Mr. Heiman whining and bickering because Lucifer's console is bigger 
than his?

2. Mr. Heiman seems to have fallen prey to the epidemic virus of 
unfounded critical prejudice and the politics of defamation and 
character-assassination (the rate of infection appears to be 
abnormally high within the familial fraternity of 
American/Anglosaxon/Anglophile critical bedfellows). His words can be 
easily formulized: "Big Name + Big Label = Little Music (or 
Falsity)". No need to state the converse but we'll do it 
anyway: "Little/No Name + Little Label = Big Music (or Truth)". Who 
exactly are these many unprepared big names? And how, where, and when?

3. A few years back, the authority was also quoted in "The Boston 
Globe" - this other 'plug in' courtesy of CareerHomo-turned-critic-
turned-promoter Richard "local church mice are world-class people 
too" Dyer. Lately, Dyer has been heard advocating for the equal part 
Charity/Chimpanzee Acts that are The Three Mo' Tenors, Andrea 
Bocelli, Charlotte Church, and "popera boy" Josh Groban.

[What is going on?]

["Maestros of the Pen: A History of Classical Music Criticism in 
America", by Mark N. Grant, Northeastern University Press, 1998, ISBN 
1-55553-363-9: n-o-t o-n-e f-o-o-t-n-o-t-e *not one* on Dyer --- 
and this after a 25+year career behind him dedicated to latter-day 
Anglo+Judeo+Homo-centric bitchery, dishonesty, and hypocrisy. And 
just as long dedicated to sobbing after the footnote (but no 
reference), indeed, that was Lucine Amara.]

But back to the authority:

"The market is shifting away from name artists, and the average music 
lover is confused by bins crowded by recordings. What is the 
difference between Riccardo Muti, Claudio Abbado and Riccardo Chailly 
in a given piece? Whatever the difference is, it doesn't mean 
anything to the average music lover who gives up and chooses our 
recording because it is more reasonably priced, and the performance 
is just as good. It is an absurdity for Plácido Domingo to sing 'The 
Barber of Seville'; our recording is a better performance of the 
opera. If Cheryl Studer were to come to me and ask to sing some of 
the operas she has recorded, I wouldn't let her." {Author: Richard 
Dyer / Date: 19.01.1994 / Page: 61 / Section: Living Arts}

We comment and ask: 

3A. Funny but we bet that the suits at Lucifer Classics swear t-h-e-
i-r barber gives a better haircut. Not that some of us (not nearly 
enough) give a one-night-stand about Sir Domingo, at least not since
his early 90s (and thereafter) publicity and musical circus
prostitutions.

3B. Let us cut to the chase: we propose that one encompassing reason 
for the present-day crisis is that the ever-so-important anecdotal 
and testimonial lore and the ensuing language/narrative about the 
live stage experiences a-n-d about the documented legacies of 
certain important big-names (those immediately preceding the 
generation of today's Ass-ociated Press "A List") literally fell 
through a g-e-n-e-r-a-t-i-o-n-a-l and c-u-l-t-u-r-a-l c-r-a-c-k -
an abyss, really. Little or nothing was said. In retrospect, a 
lot of people in this abortion-gone-bad of a business (a system that
knows the price of everything and the value of nothing) have a lot of
answering to do. Observe in comparison, if you will, how today's 
general(ized) press and the chintzy, natty queens (old and new, male
and female) write about an integer to the far left of zero (if that)
such as one Ruth Ann Swenson or, for example, Tibor Rudas' Third(rate,
if that) Soprano and division by zero (if that), one other Kallen
Esperian. Simply impossible to believe … but sadly true. And this is
the flip side of the same coin --- and a penny it is --- that places
the 
70+-year-old-Renata-Scotto-who-made-her-debut-in-1952-or-three-years-before-Cheryl-was-conceived-and-who-is-still-in-her-prime-and-getting-better-and-who-should-have-many-of-us-wondering-what-has-she-done-in-20-years
on the cover of "Opernglas," March 2003. Or the other
septuagenarian Montserrat Caballé, a has-been-but-getting-better-and-
still-interesting-yes?, on the cover of "Opernwelt," April 2003. And 
a penny it is. And a penny it will be. Anyway, in the realm of 
opera, this previous generation came "too soon" after the Marias and 
the Renatas and the Joans and the Montserrats and the Vickys and the 
Mirellas and the Regines and the whoevers....and "too late" for 
today's democratic free-für-Alles (think of the deregulation of the 
airline industry in the U.S.A. - surely it is cheaper to fly and with 
more options but the experience is ghastly – and look now, they is 
droppin' like flies!) in deadly mix with the quick fixes and 
seductions of HyperPublicRelations and HyperText. Few artists can 
survive without some form or other of critical and popular 
encouragement. It became fashionable sport (nah, Mob Rule - nah, 
Olympics --- but becuz this singular marathon has been run by peepole-
oh-so-bright, we will coin it The Special Olympics) for too 
influential but equally ignorant, tin-eared and incredibly, 
corrosively partial critics (and their bedroom partners) to dismiss 
these artists' work faster than they could say Compact Disc (and 
worse: to fully ignore too – consider the phenomenon that is the 
Remarkable Eclipsing and Banishment by the press (we know of no 
greater form of disrespect) of a certain v-e-t-e-r-a-n and c-o-n-t-
e-m-p-o-r-a-n-e-o-u-s soprano whose stage appearances are pre-judged 
to be just that: Appearances: Phantom Ships In The Night, when 
noticed ---- or to fully d-e-n-y the usual "critical anal(ysis)" - 
is that what it is? - accorded dimmer lights ("Monsieur Giordani 
could not sustain pitch b-u-t the Sicilian understanding" [by 
coincidence, the same understanding which, according to the experts, 
eludes fellow Southerner Riccardo Muti] - "Madame Phlegming [no other 
soprano before or during Renée is known to have "taken chances"] 
shrieked unnaturally, gurgling and flatting two high A naturals and 
her overall intonation was insecure too b-u-t all that (jazzy) 
rhythmic integrity!" (see "Tommasini, Anthony" --- and yet, you will 
look in vain for his promotional write-up on that Verdi "Blanche 
Dubois" from Houston - *after* the event, that is) – "Hausfrau Void 
was in customary shrill and squally voice again last night and her 
top sounded tired, though no fault of her own, b-u-t her sofa scene 
was comfortably moving --- that Svelte Lil' Debbie didn't make that 
final F-sharp is none of your business." - "Irish-American AFL-CIO 
Heroine Flanigan [who, by the by, tries (and is carded) to "sing 
everything"] [no other soprano before or during Lauren is known to 
have "taken chances"] could not sing Reiza's music [she replaced 
DeVoid, who had also cancelled all engagements in Vienna, and for the 
2nd season in a row - not a bad thing when you try to remember – and 
try you must - those Scheiße AIDAs at the MET where Crayola connected 
them dots and none of the music - not to mention the brutal stupor 
that were Luciano "snotty handkerchief" Pavarotti and the ever-
accomodating, yes? James "sweaty towel" Levine] b-u-t the visceral 
ennui of it all") - "Madame Shout squalled an Elektra consistently 
below pitch (that's about 75% of your evening) b-u-t it seems that 
the excitement of some level or other of on-pitch faithfulness to and 
by die Juden and a few silent-movie camp gestures secured her an 
unqualified triumph...and an onstage kiss too from Jimmy Boy (or 
rather, Jimmy the boy-paedophile - ladies and gentlemen, you too can 
have it all: from orchestras in Munich, Boston, and naturally New 
York to standing Os to gushing press coverage to paid Christian 
holidays to state-sanctioned murder to state-sanctioned looting to 
Presidential Pardons (see "Rich, Jonathan" - see "The Hassidic4 
[that's right, not one not two not three]" - see "Hillary 'some of my 
relatives are Jews' Clinton" and the race for the NY State 
Senate....provided you are "one of us" or "with us") --- but for how 
much longer? ....well, all that plus Gaby is getting better and 
better and better, yes?" - "Madame Attila spreads her top like butter 
on warm bread b-u-t her cool, Nordic, blonde looks carried the 
night [our bladders burst open when trying to reconcile the paradox 
that is the pre(and post)occupation with Aryan archetypes by these 
duplicitous pseudo-minorities in the industry (you know who and what 
you are), habitually the first to cry wolf at the whiff of perceived 
or real prejudice] --- and more importantly, she took off her shoes! 
(but what we'd really like to know is: what language was *that*, 
Querida?)" – "Debbie 'Crayola Opera Program' Void's French (not 
unlike the strangely clapped Yawn Upshaw's) and any language other 
than the Dixie Chicks is for and about pigeons --- merde --- 
[Crayola's sour and rusty tonal quality, let alone her musical 
probity, are more reminiscent of the gold you see in soiled underwear 
than of the Golden Age, by far...and worse: as stupid as the laundry 
water you soak and scrub it in] b-u-t her 'major' contributions to 
Culture are 'consistent.' --- or is it the other way 'round? --- B-u-
t why give a hoot about such things, what with all that `Juno-
esque' `rhythmic integrity'! (see "Tommasini, Anthony" – yes, he 
used it again to promote his Debbie)" - "The consensus that Madame 
Shorties could not really sing Konstanze is questionable and, in the 
end, unfair for she is a gifted, six-foot taller......b-u-t more 
importantly, her name is not Cheryl Studer." - "Monsieur Hiccup 
proved once more that you can crack loud and wide before a Manhattan 
audience of tourists as long as your name is not Cheryl Studer; b-u-
t even better than that, the loss of 95-plus pounds, in cocktail 
with a widely broadcast Sob Story, are sufficient to satisfy the most 
discriminating thirst of the-below-IQ-of-47.5(that's-50%-of-something-
or-other-to-you)-and-minus-set and anyday's coverage of the Arts in 
the Jew York Times" - "Maestrisssssimo of Legend, Gilbert "Lego 
Blocks" Kaplan, swears he can conduct but one piece of music and one 
piece of music alone b-u-t, as one of "our chauvinistic own", full 
coverage by the Jew York Times is fully warranted - all that plus a 
recording medal from the syphilitic Deutsche Grammophon" – "LetItRain 
sounded great b-u-t I blame the amplification for some harshness up 
top" --- "Suzie B. Anthony's soft-grained portrayals are just that, 
soft. B-u-t her problematic top notes, at this early stage in her 
career already, should be of no concern to a superb evening." - "Young
Sondra mimed, for she couldn't sing, while (the) Old Nelly sang, for
she couldn't act – this one constituted a triple triumph – two for the
price of one Cheryl Studer – you do the math." - "Schäfer is certainly
no one's idea of coloratura b-u-t her hip-hop Violetta in Berlin,
under the multidimensional/psychodepth baton of Barenboim, must be
remembered as an important achievement – please don't ask why." ---
"Make no mistake, Christine is no one's idea of coloratura. B-u-t her
gang-rape Gilda in London (conducted by Sir Edward Downes of 1994
fame) caused Mickey (Mouse) Richter to significantly wet his panties
in print somewhere – at least we want to believe we read the praise
(but we can't)."

You know the skit. 

Why yes, ladies and gents, even these public acts of levitation are 
denied Midland, Michigan's Prodigal Daughter --- But then, taking 
into account the desperate [in vain] efforts toward reconstruction 
and regeneration, toward opening new markets (undue over-exposure in 
Arts Journalism and in Arts Ad(as in advertising)ministration - over 
who counts - over what counts – and when and where --- and why and 
how and how much --- and for how long --- all this being the final 
vestige of their former Imperial selves), what is the increasingly 
brilliant, independent-minded, informed, impartial, cultured, mature, 
eloquent, and sympathetic Anglo/Judeo/Homo-centric Promotional 
Universe to do with a creature refusing easy categorization? - of 
what value or use is the lady? - of what value or use is the artist? -
who is neither aesthetic suppository (credit where credit is due to 
Mr. James Jorden of Parterre Box Productions, Ltd.) nor psychobabble 
nor English (nor pretender) n-o-r r-e-s-i-d-e-n-t n-o-r c-i-t-i-z-
e-n n-o-r D-a-m-e nor Faerie Queene nor Greek (nor pretender) nor 
black-and-blue (nor pretender) nor Slav (how could she pretend?) nor 
German (nor pretender) nor Austrian (nor pretender) nor squally 
Kammersängerin nor French (nor pretender) nor Cinema Paradiso Italian 
(nor pretender) nor Eastern European (nor pretender) nor 
Spaniard/Latin American bombshell (they are the flavor of the moment 
and how could she pretend?) nor Brasilian Bossanova nor Argentinian
Tango nor Appalachian Spring nor Yiddishbbuk nor Anonymous4 (that's
right, not one not two not three) nor Asian (how could she pretend?)
nor Aussie nor Canadian --- nor deemed sufficiently A-m-e-r-i-c-a-n
--- n-o-r r-e-s-i-d-e-n-t nor MET-centric nor
Manhattan/Queens/Brooklyn-ette nor Broadway belcher nor Saint
Francis-can nor Angelena nor Chicagoan nor Texan nor New Mexican nor
Washingtonian nor Saint Louis Gal nor panderer nor tall nor thin nor
heroine-overdose chic nor deaf nor dumb nor blind nor blonde nor
Blonde Ambition nor Barbie Doll nor grotesque nor grotesquely zaftig
nor power hungry nor agenda driven
nor faghag nor lesbian nor hairy chested nor cherub nor fashion rag 
nor glamour puss nor arriviste nor aspirant nor aspirate nor 
potential nor promise (what you hear is what you get, dear) nor 
apology nor antiquity nor preserved museum mummy nor soccer mom nor 
sucker nor trend nor hip nor H.I.P. nor hip-hop nor joined at the hip 
nor hippie nor barefoot at Carnegie Hall nor folkie nor cantor nor 
castrata nor contralto nor countertenor nor counterculture nor 
anarchist nor antichrist nor lyric mezzo nor soprano on the verge of 
a mezzo breakdown nor vice versa nor chanteuse nor soubrette nor 
starlet nor coquette nor canary nor woodbird nor nightingale nor 
cuckoo clock nor tic toc tic toc tic toc nor geriatric nor vanity 
record label owner nor downwardtransposer-Hochfinancier-conductor-
doubleintendant-baritenor-voicecompetitor-crossoverpimp-moviemogul-
realestatemagnate-restaurateur-sexsymbol-playboy-jetsetter (all in 
one and one for all and all in a night) nor married to one nor lazy 
nor lovely nor beloved nor shrinking violet nor daddy's lil' lass nor 
mystic nor myth nor minimalist nor hyperbole nor Überfeminist nor 
Konzept nor symbolism nor ying nor yang nor Dreams and Fables nor 
metaphysics nor philosopher ("Philosophier' Er nicht, Herr 
Schatz...") nor scholar (nor pretender) nor didact nor pedant nor 
peasant nor lecturer nor soapbox preacher nor symposium nor 
musicologist nor composer (you know, like Callas who wrote all them 
masterpieces now falsely ascribed to one Bellini, one Donizetti, and 
one other Verdi) nor paladin of the glorious avant-garde nor ostinato 
nor experiment nor rarity rat nor rat tat tat nor archaeologist nor 
room temperature nor Sponsored By Talbots nor Anglican Service nor 
Vivaldi postcard nor Handel MBA [opera's answer to the 80s business 
phenomenon --- everyone has one --- but look, ma, they is droppin' 
like flies!] nor Britten Ph.D. nor Janácek Nobel Prize nor stunt nor 
parody nor caricature nor Hallmark Card nor Disney nor Ozzie & 
Harriett nor Will & Grace nor smiley face nor horseface nor humor 
monger (in any event, not the shtick you grew up with) nor camp nor 
marketing-promo tramp nor cliché nor slogan nor acronym nor t®ademark 
nor image-chaser nor sensation-seeker nor Eurogarbage nor ez-
listenin' nor pleasure ride nor automatic cruise control nor 
sentiment-al nor cripple nor married to one nor victim nor tearjerker 
nor nostalgia trip nor tourist trap nor good-cause nor fund-raiser 
(so to speak) nor social worker nor United Way nor Red Cross nor 
Katie Couric nor Walk For A Cure nor We Are The World nor Sound Of 
Music nor Under the Stars nor Over The Rainbow nor Rainbow Coalition 
nor Summertime nor Supper Time (nice tunes if you can) nor fruit 
salad nor cotton candy nor melba toast nor peaches in double cream 
nor café au lait nor cinnamon roll nor dark chocolate nor civil/human 
rights centerfold nor gulag survivor nor married to one nor refugee 
nor married to one nor UN Ambassador nor married to one nor member of 
any one precious special interest group (you know who and what you 
are) n-o-r m-a-r-r-i-e-d t-o o-n-e n-o-r s-t-r-a-t-e-g-i-c-a-l-l-
y w-e-d-d-e-d (you know who and what you are) nor politician nor 
married to one nor inter-national political crisis parasite nor ad-
minister of propaganda nor grassroots peace activist (you do know, 
don't you, that them ancient favourite warhorses of yours composed by 
Bach and Beethoven and Brahms and Schubert and Schumann and Wagner 
and Liszt were explicitly AND implicitly inspired by the Israeli-
Palestinian conflict --- or even better, by the epicentric causes of 
Israel, Zionism, and of Universal Jewry --- everything, and we mean 
everything, seems to revolve around this Axis, no? --- ask Mehta and 
Señor Honorario und Tolerant Barenboim --- by the by, in a recent 
Chicago program of Hugo Wolf's Lieder, the "Great Jewish Musician" 
[and we thought it un-Klezmer to allude to the man's other career] in 
harmony with his German/Christian sub-ordinates - a "physically 
handicapped baritone" and an "underpitch soprano" (see "Kubiak, 
David") (the soprano is one Angela Denoke, whose disastrous Fidelio 
Leonore at the Salzburg Easter Festival of 2003 under Sir Simon will 
surely have to be patched by the studio wizards before the "Please-
Save-EMI" hype campaign unfolds) - were heard "r-e-c-l-a-i-m-i-n-g 
the true meaning of the 'heilge Deutsches Kunst'" --- again, 
see "Kubiak, David" --- kindly note, please, that no one else 
before `GJM & Co. GmbH' had accomplished nearly as much, and in a 
mere evening --- but we live n' learn --- now we know that Herr Wolf 
wrote his songs inspired by populations everywhere holding hands - to 
promote future handholding. But Wolf was more than that – he was 
gracious and generous, which stands as a synonym for: in addition to 
reaffirming the existence [and illegal expansion] of Israel, he also 
sought to reaffirm the existence of a specific sexual-orientation 
population --- and all this, ladies and gentlemen, for a song) --- 
where were we?, ah yes --- nor married to one nor Adler Fella nor 
Crayola Opera Program alumna nor Karajan-Harnoncourt-Cardiff-
VeraRosza-Schwarzkopf-Auger-GeorgeLondon-RichieTucker-BelleSilverman-
Albanese-Horne-Scotto-vonStade-Heggie groupie nor traveler along the 
Anglo Silk Road --- the LandOfOz-BerlinStaatsoperUDL-LaMonnaie-ENO-
Glyndebourne-NYCO-Glimmerglass-StLouis-SantaFe-SanDiego-DallasO-
HoustonGO-FloridaGO-WashingtonO-n-such workshop ghettoes.


[Imagine, if you dare.]


E-N-V-Y = D-E-S-T-R-U-C-T-I-O-N
but
S-I-L-E-N-C-E = D-E-A-T-H


Enter into the equation the contemptibly stupid (discerning, 
discerning) audiences who (wanted to and still do) believe everything 
they read...and voilà, the science gives the (false) i-m-p-r-e-s-s-i-
o-n of yielding the expected (forced) hubris. Then add the ones who 
stayed away from attending these artists' performances because they 
were simply told to do so (in so many words). Never mind the c-o-w-a-
r-d-s who n-e-v-e-r attended, self-admittedly, but who later saw 
fit to publish obituaries passing for legitimate eyewitness report 
(again, check out "Maestros of the Pen: A History of Classical Music 
Criticism in America", 1998, by Mark N. Grant, and see if you can 
spot "Dyer, Richard"). Never mind the h-y-p-o-c-r-i-t-e-s who, in 
addition to prematurely and irresponsibly issuing death certificates 
(see "Davis, Peter G."), years later were caught with their pants 
down performing auto-erotica to the tune of "Returns Triumphantly!" 
(see "Davis, Peter G."). Little wonder many ceased listening --- and 
begin listening with others' ears and without their own little heads 
and hearts they did. But leave it to the bloodless (and if you don't 
have blood you don't need a heart and if you don't have blood you 
will find yourself thirsty, very thirsty, guaranteed) - it is in fact 
their exclusive province - to accomplish such feats. No, they 
were/are neither Maria nor Renata nor Renata nor Joan nor Leonie nor 
Gwyneth nor Anja --- impeccable vocalists that they were --- and why 
should they be? --- Take the particularly complex case of a 
fascinatingly complex yet elemental yet thoroughly modern, and yet 
not, artist...Cheryl Studer --- was/is the backlash really for l-a-c-
k o-f q-u-a-l-i-t-y, for l-a-c-k o-f a-r-t-i-s-t-i-c w-o-r-t-h, for
l-a-c-k o-f t-e-m-p-e-r-a-m-e-n-t, for l-a-c-k o-f
p-e-r-s-o-n-a-l-i-t-y?

A decade or so later there is a pregnant, pulsating and penetrating
sense of panic and fatigue among critics, industry folk, and fanatics
(naughty word but only and only when linked with you-know-who) alike,
most shockingly noticeable within the gated communities of the old and
the jaded, who can be heard loudly cheerleading anyone (and we mean
anything)....


[....as long as their names are n-o-t Cheryl Studer.]


[God Willing.]


[And yet more Enchantment/Jubilation courtesy of the 
Panacea/Schadenfreude of Cheryl Studer-Free Zones/Ground Zeroes.]


[Sternstunde.]


[God Willing.]


[Young Ones - Do not be duped by the hollow enthusiasms of the age ---
ever seen a sad clown playing happy?]


[But now, oh today....Music and Art....or rather, what passes for 
it....and every new product or stage appearance tossed our way by the 
Star System we hate to love (certainly a system long preceding but 
fatally ran to the ground by the quasi-empty rhetoric and prissiness 
of political correctness run amok and afoul, and the Gestapo-like 
censorship tactics of the instinct/thought-control police, in concert 
with the 'World Music Congress' - the Rudases, the Breslins, the Sire 
Jonases, the Mehtas, the Holenders (whose nose is long and arrogant 
enough to sniff all the way to the Volksoper and as far as Berlin), 
the Levines, the Maazels, the Heimans [sic], the Previns, the self-
professed rap-music fans of the world (see "von Dohnányi, Christoph" -
-- uncle must be spinning in his ashes --- ladies and gentlemen, more 
often than we are led to believe, death CAN be in vain), The Due(tto) 
or Three or Four or Five or Six or Seven Whores - we are losing 
count -, Best Friends & Co. Inc. Ltd. S.A. GmbH – the Ozawas and the 
Gergievs too (both would rather accommodate [and have] the Blind n' 
Pop(ular) Lounge Singer than the likes of Gorchakova --- 
yes, to this level we have sunk) are prime shareholders (and puppets) 
in this jUdErEi – (that's right) - i.e., by the Star System 
of Bocelli, of course, or Hampson (now pretty much an undisputed by-
the-book Straussian, Wagnerian a-n-d ...hear hear...Verdian...of 
Stature, don't you know) or the Alagnas (f-a-k-e recordings of 
Verdi's -Trovatore- for Sire Tony/EMI and Bizet's -Carmen-, also for 
Sire-to-be Whoever/EMI --- Grecian Approximation No. XXVI - we have 
lost count - has not sung Leonora or Carmen where it counts) or the 
other Bocelli and Michael Bolton comrade, Fleming....well, all of it
h-a-s sudden Meaning and Necessity, so the public relationists tell
us....the Magic courtesy, n-e-i-t-h-e-r because of especially great
voices nor exceptional interpretive wills or personalities n-o-r
because of remotely acceptable n-e-w music, but because:

NUMBER 1: their names are n-o-t Cheryl Studer

and

NUMBER 2: ...*in good portion and out of proportion* due to the 
PromoOp-Catchpenny that has become 9.11 and its aftermath --- a 
monstrous crime monstrously debased by the Infernal Spinning Wheel of 
opportunism and commerce and avarice and mayhem and revenge and 
murder (widely disguised as justice) --- a tragedy now symbiotically 
hijacked to peddle everything from Arms Races to Far Right-ism 
(see "Sharon, Ariel" --- how come we don't hear strings of 
consistently shrill High Cs crying for h-i-s removal and disposal 
of h-i-s (that is, ours) Weapons Of Mass Destruction --- the latest 
government double-standard/media buzzword and insult to our dignity 
and intelligence --- this time, however, we applaud Barenboim for 
being practically the only one playing fiddle on the roof --- the 
root, the root --- of the problem) to Nationalism to Patriotism to 
Requiems to Anglo-Zionist Terrorism --- the latter conducted both 
musically and extra-curricularly, most prominently with (critical 
mass-destruction) Heavy-Metal made in the squeaky clean U.S. of A. 
and paid for with y-o-u-r humble American tax dollar (as if you had 
a choice) and the blood of y-o-u-r sons and daughters. --- So why 
won't Israel and its Business/Washington lobbyists fight their next 
door neighbors, which include Iraq and now Syria and Iran, all by 
themselves and with t-h-e-i-r o-w-n currency and leave us all a-l-
o-n-e a-n-d i-n p-e-a-c-e?]

[Consequently, would that t-h-e o-t-h-e-r terrorists (for there 
are two sets) went home too.]

[Did we fail to add that the terrorists need the U.S. as much as the 
U.S. needs them?]

[As it turns out, no other country --- no other --- is as arrogant, 
as infantile, as selfish, as bellicose, as disrespectful, as 
insulting, as pervasively poisonous, as dubious, as abusive, as 
destructive, and as DANGEROUS as the USA (in "universal" coalition 
with its satellites: its former occupier the UK and the UK-occupied 
Palestine, Israel). And we mean militarily, economically, 
politically, diplomatically, spiritually, culturally, and 
philosophically – about the latter five, it is the stuff of 
bankruptcy courts and all are on equal footing. Sviatoslav Richter 
knew (better yet, f-e-l-t) this and never came back. So did Brigitte 
Fassbaender. Tragic.]


[In other words, and in some order or other of appearance...


NO MORE BLOOD FOR THE NEW AMERICAN CENTURY
NO MORE BLOOD FOR THE WILLIAM KRISTOLS
NO MORE BLOOD FOR THE PAUL WOLFOWITZES
NO MORE BLOOD FOR THE ARI FLEISCHERS
NO MORE BLOOD FOR THE ALAN GREENSPANS
NO MORE BLOOD FOR THE JOE LIEBERMANS
NO MORE BLOOD FOR THE LEFT-WING JEWISH LOBBY
NO MORE BLOOD FOR THE LEFT-OF-CENTER JEWISH LOBBY
NO MORE BLOOD FOR THE CENTERED JEWISH LOBBY
NO MORE BLOOD FOR THE RIGHT-OF-CENTER JEWISH LOBBY
NO MORE BLOOD FOR THE RIGHT-WING JEWISH LOBBY
NO MORE BLOOD FOR SHARON'S SANDBOX
NO MORE BLOOD FOR THE DICK CHENEYS
NO MORE BLOOD FOR THE DONALD RUMSFELDS
NO MORE BLOOD FOR THE JOHN ASHCROFTS
NO MORE BLOOD FOR OIL
NO MORE BLOOD FOR VENGEANCE
NO MORE BLOOD FOR THE TONY BLAIRS
NO MORE BLOOD FOR THE MARIONETTE/MINSTREL ACTS OF
SIR COLIN POWELL AND DAME CONDOLEEZA RICE]


[Discuss, if you dare.]


[About the new studio-product ('tis is what we call them fakery, no?) 
from EMI ---IDOMENEO---, we have read puff like "a recording that n-
e-e-d-e-d to be made." --- after all, it contains the antipodean 
missionary of all things English, Sire Charles; British Will o' Wisp 
Bostridge; Bocelli collaborator Frittoli; and, to top it all, the New 
(Age) Callas – the organically-grown, FDA approved, anodyne, pastel, 
drab as damp cardboard, and dull as fishwater, LetItRain Hunt(hyphen –
I married a techie with composer pretensions + I too have a little 
Sob Story in circulation - what is yours?) Lieberson. But do not for 
a second believe the ad-men....for this product is yet more of the ho-
hum variety.]

[And don't forget that LetItRain is an "a-r-t-i-s-t", sensitive and 
musical - albeit a part-time one - but please understand that very 
few others are as musical, let alone sensitive and artistic].

[About the new DECCA ---COCKSUCKER BLUES---, we have read fluff 
like "A New F-i-r-s-t L-a-d-y of Bel Canto - Renée Fleming very 
nearly manages to shake the insistent ghost of Maria Callas." 
(see "www.andante.com") --- But we are neither deaf nor naïve nor 
stupid. You see, n-e-v-e-r e-v-e-r f-o-r-g-e-t, we insist, that 
sopranos of the caliber of Cheryl and Maria, frayed of voice and 
heart or not, n-e-v-e-r e-v-e-r s-t-o-o-p-e-d this low (below the 
navel) in the style department. But after all, the new product 
(foreplayed in a studio about 4 years ago but not ejaculated for 
another 2 or 3) is being cart-wheeled under a neon sign that reads
"bel
canto" (yes, in lowercase and with the 'b' dangling), complete with a 
$2 rebate incentive b-e-l-o-w its already reduced repo artistic 
value - ya know, in the manner of the stereo-typical toupéed and 
polyester-clad used-car salesman – cajoling, cheap, cheesy, 
insincere, sleazy, slimy, slippery, sticky -- in that order -- and 
that's the singing -- a raw deal -- a lemon.]


IF YO NO KEEP `EM ENTERTAIN' N' DISTRACTED N' IGNORANT, WHO GONNA
FIGH' YO WARS?


Blue-Collar/Working-Class Cheap Labor (and the aesthetics, or lack 
of, of --- but why stop there? --- how about the absolute absence of 
artistic acumen? --- see "Flanigan, Lauren" - see "Radvanovsky, 
Sondra" - see "Goerke, Christine" – see "Makarina, Olga"- see "Queler,
Eve" - see "Eastern Europeans" – see "the little touring companies
that could") and Blitzkrieg-style Public Relations and Marketing have
been summoned to the cause of salvaging something or other from the
debris of these self-appointed arbiters/stewards of taste [tastes
ranging from (Z)ubin to Purcell to Kirkby to (A)nalSex – the rawer the
longer the harder the faster the better] and self-avowed "opera/music
lovers'" own making. And thus have the armies of businessmen landed,
triumphantly, with portfolios chock-full with the losers, the useless,
the amateurs, the pedigree-less, the unaccomplished, the homo-geneous,
the vocally
faceless, the emaciated, the pretty, the photogenic, the grotesque 
too, the church rodents, the H.I.P.-voiced, the H.I.P.-mannered, the 
pedigree-less, the correct, the obedient, the mega-amplified, the 
firefighters, the policemen, the construction workers, the factory 
slaves, the custodians, the industrial quality, the white trash, the 
divas next door; the divas next door with the cute children as 
gimmicks; the divas next door who are so nice and behave so well and 
who must reassure us about it; the divas next door who seek 
psychotherapy and then have the distaste to announce it; the vedettes 
next door who love all that jazz and then scat and squat through e-v-
e-r-y-t-h-i-n-g that is European a-n-d Classical and not --- but 
then, in music that requires precisely that, the phlegm gets in the 
way of that thang called swing; the divas next door who thrive on 
wrestling, meatloaf, and fish n' chips --- and look and sound it; the 
garish mansions next door who marry well, transgenderly; the divas 
next door who, although already in their 40s and beyond, must appease 
us by "taking baby steps to protect their voices" and who swear that 
that's why they will still be in their prime in extreme old age; the 
divas next door who swear we will want to hear them then; the 
optically challenged, the physically handicapped, the sob stories, 
more sob stories, the victims, the politics of victimhood, the 
politics of sexual orientation, the politics of identity, the 
politics of race, the politics of reverse racism, the politics of we-
are-holier-than-thou, the politics of lifestyle, the politics of 
triviality, the politics of image, the politics of artifice, the 
politics of banality, the politics of favoritism, the politics of 
partisanship, the politics of corruption, the politics of indecency, 
the politics of Puritanism, the politics of fleecing, the politics of 
the willing, the politics of coalition (the U.N. need not apply), the 
politics of crass deception, the politics of the willful, the 
politics of oppression disguised as liberation, the politics of 
extracurricular social agendas, the politics of inadequacy, the 
politics of "The American Peepole," the politics of dumbing-down, the 
politics of the lowest possible common denominator, the pedigree-
less, the pedigree-less, the pedigree-less, and yet more of that. And 
some more sob stories. And not to be missed: the Teddy Bears (think 
of – well not really, since you can't – the cancellations, the vocal 
troubles, the gross embarrassments of stunt-ed live programs - 
everything from Beg Your Indulgences to Public Regrets to Tosti to 
Walkouts - from, for instance, Juan Dieguito Flórez, the Brightman,
Bocelli, Church, and Sissel comrade Domingo, the other Sissel and
Bocelli comrade-in-arms Terfel, and Heppner – no matter - the insulted
audiences correspond to their cheating with tears and Standing Os ---
but no surprise here, for it is nothing but another perversion of our
desensitized, demoralized, diseased, frivolous, diluted, and vulgar
days.)


FUCK ME

Even Joseito "Leukemia Sob Story" Carreras became the object of one of
these demonstrations - and this in the enlightened and
improved and newly innocent and important again (or so it goes) 
Salzburg of the summer of two-thousand-and-two-after-Christ --- to 
you that's 20+ years since the Spaniard lost IT).


FUCK ME HARDER

On the opposite receiving end we read the quasi-ecstatic notices on
behalf of Merola-ite but no one's conception, until now
(mysteriously), of sound vocalism, Luana DeVol.


And thus today's so-called "A-List" (really, nothing but a paid 
announcement transmitted by the "Ass-ociated Press"), the P®ops, the 
Pops, the Popp Clones (she of the intellectual and revisionist and 
hyperkonzeptual and seminal and spectacularly popular programs, right 
Sir Peter?), the Grümmer Clones, the Callas Clones, the Tebaldi 
Clones, the Sutherland Wannabes, the Steber Clones, the Schwarzkopf 
Clones, the Sarah Vaughan Clones, the Price Clones, the Janowitz 
Clones, the Fischer-Dieskau Clones, the Furtwängler Clones, the Cut 
n' Paste Composites --- poor, pitiful facsimiles a-l-l ---, the 
Little Names, the Wannabes, the Crossover Hustlers, the Bubblegum, 
the New Age Mongrels, the Postmoderns, the Postmortems, the 
Multiculturalists, the Community Initiatives, the Soundbites, the 
Marketing Love Couples/Traumpaars (in the tradition of Peter n' Ben, 
Sir Peter n' Saint Lucia, Galina n' Misha, Richard n' Joan, Edita n' 
Friedrich, Dietrich n' Julia, Anja n' Wieland, Christoph n' Anja, 
Christa n' Walter, Walter n' Elisabeth, Maria n' Ari, Plácido n' 
Marta, Nicoletta n' Luciano n' on n' on n' on, we have lost count: now
we also have Arnold n' Maria, Peter n' Petra, Angela n' Roberto, Mia
n' André, André n' Anne-Sophie --- by the widest and longest possible
stretch of the imagination, her greatest career move since Karajan and
since commissioning two or three (m)utterly charmless and obsolete
b-u-t oh-so-rigorous! works for fiddle), the Exquisite, the Divine,
the
Fabulous, the Delicious, the Magnificent, the Paramount, the 
Fantabulous, and the Little Labels That Could all have it relatively 
easy in comparison to that preceding generation. And the critical 
standards --- what standards? - whose? – of what era? --- have 
reformed, or rather, have doubled and tripled and....But injury is 
often prone to insult. Hell, standards have liquified and then 
evaporated vis a vis the new generation. It is no longer Sound Music 
Criticism but Lowest-Common-Denominator Public Relations Spin [and 
much worse: the fixation with that elusive something known as ---
technique--- technique and organization and perfection as ends in 
themselves: music-making as athletic match: missing the forest for 
the trees --- but this is another angle for another day]. So much so 
that it has become strangely and suddenly K-o-s-h-e-r once more 
(Jesus!, how many more times are we going to hear about market over-
saturation?) to make records [and K-o-s-h-e-r again too to be 
an "American Opera Singer"] (Remember when you and I were advised to 
please r-e-j-e-c-t, swiftly AND wholesale, them records [or anything 
containing Cheryl Studer --- or, for that matter, any, and we mean 
any attempt at open discourse on her art? --- Do you remember the 
longstanding efforts amounting to a campaign to discredit the lady 
and her work? --- Must you be made aware of the pall hovering over 
the mere mention of her name? --- You do not need to be told, do 
you?, of the air-tight atmosphere created around the lady's name 
tantamount to Can-Do-No-Right – not then, not now --- Have you 
forgotten the p-r-e-v-e-n-t-i-o-n measures taken by the 
taste/censorship police in these forums in order to curtail all 
possibility of even the minutest measure hinting of favourable 
discourse on her art?] --- oh, you know the litany --- something 
about digital and generalized and faked and frigid and manufactured 
and calibrated and illusory and phony and phoned-in and un-necessary 
and un-fair and in-competent and in-personal and contrived and in-
experienced and un-felt and in-expressive and ex-pensive and un-
popular and over-exposed and un-communicative and dull and null and 
sterile and perfect and flawed and clinical and precise and 
international (curiously, we hardly read such venom spouted at failed-
serialist-turned-serial-partitur-surgeon Pierre Boulez) (and yes, yet 
again our bladders burst open --- consider that these traditionally 
liberal-anythinggoes-wandering-international minorities are the same 
ones seen n' heard wailing like widows over the caskets of 
national/regional styles --- but try telling them *that*) and this 
and that and that and this - beautiful even - artistic even - you 
know, the toxic byproduct of uncontained Kapitalismus - the same 
Kapitalismus that gave us such goodies as Meyerbeer Halévy & Sons, 
penicillin, Bocelli & Sons, cheap sentiments, more penicillin, 
Alan `my-competence-includes-championing-the-OJ-Simpson-cause-and-the-
case-for-torture-but-as-a-Jew' Dershowitz, more penicillin, the 
Holocash, the Armenian, Russian, and Chinese Holocausts no one *and 
we mean no one* made an Industry of, the current Holocaust under our 
noses in Congo no one hears or cares about, Convenience 
Dictatorships, convenience stores, preservatives, PCPs, cigarettes, 
cancer, sunglasses, sunblock, suntanning, more cancer, opera glasses, 
the megaphone, the horn, the microphone, the photograph, the 
("fideistic" and most pleasurable) Mapleson cylinders, maple syrup, 
Marston Records, naXos, the phonograph, the light bulb, gaslight, 
lamps, shades, nostalgia, animated pictures, the telegraph, the 
typewriter, carbon paper, the telephone, the clock, the metronome, 
the pitch fork, the antenna, the satellite dish, the radio, the 
television, bandwidth, TV dinners, the calculator, the metric system, 
calendars, famine, feast, walkie-talkies, headphones, headsets, X-
rays, MRIs, cat-scans, night vision goggles, Google, Yahoo, beepers, 
intercoms, elevators, escalators, bicycles, stationary bicycles, 
stationery, faster trains, the automobile, the jet plane, motorbikes, 
snowmobiles, surfboards, skateboards, rollerblades, ice skates, 
rollercoasters, houses of horror, houses of cards, houses of mirrors, 
Martha Stewart, Wal-Mart, Jerry Springer, NASCAR, The Vagina 
Monologues, Cori Ellison, Anne Midgette, Manuela Hoelterhoff, the 
efforts to erode the composition and sound and culture of the Vienna 
Philharmonic (in the manner of your favourite American Affirmative 
Action country club or of your favourite International-sounding 
ensemble), trailer parks, fast food, junk food, malnutrition, 
gluttony, obesity, anorexia nervosa, nervousness, bulimia, lawn 
mowers, snow blowers, vacuum cleaners, detergents, mops, brooms, dust 
pans, rags, sponges, shags, wigs, afros, mini-skirts, bellbottoms, 
platform shoes, pajamas, lingerie, bikinis, stockings, lava lamps, 
disco, beat poetry, grunge, turbos, sedans, vans, buses, minibuses, 
limousines, tanks, bulldozers, canoes, motor boats, sail boats, 
battleships, submarines, B52s, F16s, space shuttles, robots, rockets, 
missiles, bombs, stealth bombers, torpedoes, landmines, telescopes, 
Star Wars, Nuclear Races, Weapons of Mass Destruction, Agent Orange, 
palm trees, palm pilots, Napalm, Nepal, note pads, Post-Its, 
Hiroshima, Dresden, Vietnam (to name but a few of these insignificant 
mishaps), MOABs (about the testing in mid-March of 2003 of such 
destructive a WMD in Florida, USA --- about the latest sham, that of
Schwarzenegger in California, USA --- that either fiasco failed to
generate as much environmental, moral, philosophical and whatnot
concerns all around as a photo-op, says everything we need to know
about the collective swamp we are), Apaches, Indian Reservations,
indians, cowboys, Kleenex (we often cultivate and later spoon-feed you
the Sob Stories but we also arm you with the tissue to wipe out the
tears --- all on OUR terms), duct tape, gas masks, mascara, cosmetics,
perfumes, Tammy Faye Baker, Mary Kay, Pink Cadillacs, Tupperware,
bingo, lotteries, the welfare system, WICs, Vegas, Niagara Falls,
casinos, Elvis, brilliantine, hairspray, hair dryers, exhaust fumes,
exhaustion, stimulants, sleep deprivation, sedatives, alcoholism,
depression, depleted Ozone layers, synthetic fibers, fiberoptics,
boxing, wrestling, rugby, frying bacon, monaural sound, analog tech,
reel-to-reels, 8-tracks, the cassette, the LP, stereo systems, stereo
sound, surround sound, boom boxes, faxes, paper clips, nail clippers,
paper shredders, photocopiers, laser printers, overnight mail, the
(unfortunate and devastating to the testimonials of a vast majority 
of contemporary artists) digital technology, the PC, laptops, 
lapdogs, alarm clocks, wristwatches, dishwashers, ice boxes, 
refrigerators, toasters, ovens, microwave ovens, food processors, 
blenders, the CD, SACD, the walkman, the minidisc, the famous (pitch 
re-engineered) Richter CD-ROMs, the (disgracefully influential, sound-
engineering-bag-of-tricks-wise) Anglo/Judeo DECCA/Culshaw/Solti Ring, 
MTV, commercial infrastructures, eBay, Spam, frozen French fries, 
burnt-thin-weak American coffee, diners, Java, Starbucks, generators, 
engines, batteries, bartering, butter, department stores, super 
stores, supermarkets, mega stores, shopping malls, strip malls, 
overdevelopment, superstores, parking lots, overspending, high debt, 
low savings, high crime, rampant violence, credit cards, more credit 
cards, Carte Blanche (for some --- you know who and what you are), 
bonus points, more fleecing, more penicillin, toothpaste, toothpicks, 
magazines, annual reports, filing cabinets, paper paper paper 
everywhere, papered halls, confetti, more paper shuffling, 
bureaucracies, red tape, yellow ribbons, deforestation, tourism, eco-
tourism, Chevron/Texaco, Tibet, Mt. Everest, B&Bs, R&B, hotels, 
hostels, motels, park benches, jacuzzis, T-lifts, plastic surgery, 
breast implants, Vail, Viagra, ski resorts, Park Ave., Madison Ave., 
boulevards, summer homes, increasingly short vacations, ice cream, 
cotton candy, cotton balls, Q-tips, ear plugs, The Boston Pops, more 
wallpaper, formica, wood paneling, pop tarts, lollipops, soda pop, 
pop psychology, popcorn, corn flakes, vitamins, herbs, steroids, 
gymnasiums, hoola-hoops, pinballs, Chinese checkers, yo-yos, Yo-Yo 
Ma, Tan Dun, John Williams, Bobby McFerrin, PBS, Yanni, more 
wallpaper, more penicillin please, jams, jelly, jell-o, J-Lo, day-
glo, go-go, psychedelia, fans, air conditioning, wallpaper, Vivaldi, 
The Four Seasons, 600+ variations on a theme, silk flowers, plastic 
flowers, fake spring water, faux marble, faux fur, faux leather, 
animal rights, stuffed animals, andante.com, 12,000 other music 
websites, the pirates, special effects, the VHS, HTML, the WWW, 
Apples, Windows, ATMs, FTD, LSD, FTC, IMF, DNA, UPS, the cell phone, 
the LD, the DVD, MP3s, HMV, Opera In The Original (that's English to 
you, naturally and perennially), survivor shows, SUVs, BMWs, VWs, 
IRAs, 401Ks, BBQs, bb guns, water coolers, televised war crimes, 
video games, Andy Warhol, instant soup, instant gratification, 
Instant Opera, Opera For All (a noble Konzept but it's just that 
the "critical masses" ain't there any longer…nor do they care to be), 
Shock n' Awe, more penicillin, Toys r' Us, CNN operas, soap, soap 
operas, Oprah, Howard Stern, more penicillin, Hollywood blockbusters, 
Hollywood stereotyping (but seldom of "their own" --- you know who 
and what you are), Jewish Racism (an issue of semantics, for we hardly
dare call it what it is), more penicillin, Sellars Konwitschny 
Neuenfels Beito Wilson & Zambello, yet more penicillin, El Niño, 
septic tanks, latrines, toilet stalls, more penicillin, yet more 
Regietheater, yet more penicillin, graffiti, tattoos, wax, S&M, M&Ms, 
teflon, styrofoam, disposable incomes, tax loopholes, tax havens, 
creative accounting, ENRON, insurance scams, for-profit health care, 
nannies, nurseries, nursing homes, retirement communities, inner-city 
squalor, overpriced sneakers, gangs, segregation, not-in-my-backyard 
liberals, country clubs, fraternities, underpaid overseas labor, 
economies of scale, ever widening income gaps, The Gap, GNP, NASA, 
the NASDAQ, the NYSE, all out grossness, waste dumps, twisted metal, 
scrap heaps, junkyards, scaffolds, the ENO, more penicillin, karaoke, 
red light districts, peep shows, more penicillin, laxatives, aspirin, 
contraceptives, antacids, the legal and illegal drug culture, the 
corner drugstore, super drugstores, syringes, methadone, band-aids, 
prophylactics, test tube babies, petri dishes, no culture, bagels, 
pretzels, lox, hummus, Hummers, hybrids, Vilar gardens, Vilar foyers, 
Vilar lobbying, Vilar titles, Vilar entitlements, Vilar foreclosures, 
Vilar defaults, Vilar promises, phallic skyscrapers, corporate-
filtered news and op-eds, supply and no demand, no supply and demand, 
overflow, overlap, overhead, exaggerated price markups, unpaid 
overtime labor, the cheapest labor since slavery and then bread --- 
the Economy of Volunteerism, more fleecing, multitasking, 
micromanaging, compartmentalization, specialization (and yet today we 
celebrate in the best way we can, posthumously, the versatility, 
repertory escapades and consistently diamantine vocalism, yes?, of a 
century+ ago of, say, the immortal [and Jewess] Lilli Lehmann or, for 
that matter, of anyone – provided their last name is not Studer --- 
and for that matter, how many of you experienced either one where it 
counts?), teleconferencing, telemarketing, wireless technology (but 
what are we really communicating?), multimedia, microchips, silicon 
(perhaps all that sand in the Middle East, which includes Israel, 
could be put to good use – BLOOD FOR SAND? --- nah, not worth it), 
underutilized solar energy, superhighways, software, hardware, 
peripherals, acoustically enhanced opera houses and concert halls, 
euphemisms, masked balls, virtual reality, cloning, artificial 
intelligence, Callas martyrs, more penicillin, Caruso, Ponselle, 
Callas, more Callas, more penicillin, Flagstad, Nilsson, more EMI 
Callas re-re-re-re-re-releases, more penicillin, yet more Sony Glenn 
Gould re-re-re-re-re-compilations, yet more penicillin --- and 
of course, the same Kapitalismus that has transmitted the Oh So Long 
Anticipated, Oh So Very Important and, at last!, Oh So Necessary 
EWIGE WELTKULTURERBE belonging to, for example and randomly, 
Pavarotti's new excremental release (the Pop album), Bocelli, Cecilia,
Bryn, Barenboim, Zubin `I owe my career to the Jews' Mehta,
Petra-Maria, E-di-ta! E-di-ta! E-di-ta!, Beverly, Sir Simon, Ozawa,
Renée, Gergiev, Galina, Neil, Aprile [these days reduced - or is it
enhanced? – to croon, pathetically and below the note, opposite Danny
Boy The 9.11 NYPD Singin' Cop], Alessandra, Grace, Shirley, Jessye,
von Otter, Schäfer, "Marilyn Monroe Purr" and "Broadway Casting
Agent's Dream" Debbie (see "Ross, Alex" and "Tommasini, Anthony"
respectively) - (a f-a-k-e recording of R. Strauss' -Friedenstag- for
Sinopoli/DGG --- "...Deborah Voigt's Maria...was in fact dubbed in
after the recording was completed, after the original soprano had
dropped out...." -'Fanfare', Sep/Oct 2002, p. 214), Cathy, Kathy,
Jane, Ruthie Ann!, "Veteran Wagnerian" Karita (see
CareerHomo-turned-critic-turned-promoter "Tommasini, Anthony") - (a
f-a-k-e recording of Schoenberg's -Gurrelieder- for Sire Simon/EMI -
http://andante.com/magazine/article.cfm?id=17979), Violeta (a f-a-k-e
recording of Poncielli's –Gioconda- for Sir-to-be Viotti/EMI – Urmana
has yet to sing Gioconda where it counts (and neither has her Spanish
cohort as Enzo) – but at least she is still in possession of her
renowned italianità and coloratura abilities, yes?, sufficient to
render her a Favorite of critics and maybe, just maybe, to secure some
paltry "Please-Save-EMI" sales), Waltraud - and much much more) -----
for naXos, FARAO, Rare Opera, Mom & Pop, even for Lucifer Classics. No
matter.


[But......we are afraid it's t-o-o l-a-t-e --- because the 
registers, they ain't ringin' (and all too often and in contradiction 
to what we are led to believe, not just the cash ones). Regrets.]


3C. How exactly is naXos alleviating the crisis of overcrowding and 
confusion among consumers? In opera titles alone, they have recorded 
yet a-n-e-w: Boheme, Fidelio, Butterfly, Tosca, Flying Dutchman, 
Barber of Seville, Aida, Rigoletto, Magic Flute, and on and on and 
on. Correct us if we are wrong, but these bread and butter works were 
not lacking in existing documentation, whether historical or not, 
hysterical or not, distinguished or not, low end or not. And the 
combined sad efforts from naXos simply do not measure up. Why pay 
less, then, when you can get better and more for twice the price?

3D. "Oh but it does mean something, it does", we say. So the "average 
music lover" has become the barometer of quality and relevance? 
Indeed they don't deserve Muti, Abbado, or Chailly (however much they 
deserve the three-minute-aria-cum-top-ten-hit and however little they 
give a dime or deserve whatever happens before and after the 
goddamn Big Tune). And is the Hulun Hu Tympany Orchestra really 
better than Amsterdam, Dresden, Berlin or Vienna? (although, truth be 
told, too many of us have heard the Vienna, for one, play and sound 
like a school of simians under the stick shift of a colonized and 
assimilated but loyal to Queen Mum, and thus celebrated, Indian 
cabbie).

3E. And Cheryl Studer, she's not one of the unwashed, is she? Were 
they her contemporaries, would Mr. Heiman have singled out Callas, 
Tebaldi, Sutherland, or Caballé, to name but a few, in his lowly,
opportunistic manner? After all, they were/are *Daughters Of Lucifer*,
to our benefit. Presumably naXos treats its "illustrious" roster with
more dignity, respect, and vocal support. Speaking of vocal support,
perhaps the crafty and clever Mr. Heiman is unaware that *his own*
Floria Tosca (Madame Nelly Miri-a-e-i-o-u --- "más sabe el burro que
tú") has reportedly bombed in this and other roles numerous times in
numerous places. However, these catastrophes have failed to make a
dent in the armory of the "cognoscenti" and their media spokespeople,
strangely. For those not "in the know", Madame M is rumoured to be the
Bastard Child of the Incestuous Union of the Twins Callas and Heiman,
now all grown and matured into a very 'Rare Opera' singer complete
with numerous fancifully edited recordings to her name. No matter.

4. Many of us have heard naXos' Caruso edition (and not just naXos') 
(mind you, not that the long-deceased tenor is remotely a Heiman 
discovery/original --- and neither are --- not one --- any of the 
others --- not one --- that Sir Heiman & Co. keep dumping as 
remasterings upon this reverential but funereal shopping cart). We 
have to wonder what Mr. Heiman's authoritative producers and editors 
(and his Public Relationists) would have made of the great man today 
for violating at least a couple of standards of sound conduct such as 
throat-clearing smack in the middle of a take and a glaring false 
entry at the beginning of another? And what of the poor pianist? 
Good God.

----------------------------

Considering the Grand Meltdown (not lacking the "Grand Manner" you 
prefer) of new opera recordings (on Compact Disc alone?) from the 
Universal Classics family of labels (DGG, DECCA, Philips)....and now 
apparently from EMI Classics too....let us take a Long and Hard (as 
you like it) look at the following repertorium ---

* Title role in Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor, rec 8/90, London SO, 
Marin, Lucifer Classics

* Hanna Glawari in Lehar's Lustige Witwe, rec 1/94, Vienna PO, 
Gardiner, Lucifer Classics

* Countess in Mozart's Nozze di Figaro, rec 1-2/94, Vienna PO, 
Abbado, Lucifer Classics

* Countess in Mozart's Nozze di Figaro, rec 5/91, Vienna PO, Abbado, 
Lucifer Classics VHS

* Title role in Rossini's Semiramide, rec 7/92, London SO, Marin, 
Lucifer Classics

* Florinda in Schubert's Fierrabras, rec 5/88, Chamber Orch of 
Europe, Abbado, Lucifer Classics

* Title role in R. Strauss' Salome, rec 12/90, Deutsche Oper Berlin, 
Sinopoli, Lucifer Classics

* Gilda in Verdi's Rigoletto, rec 6/93, Metropolitan Opera, Levine, 
Lucifer Classics

* Gilda in Verdi's Rigoletto Act III, rec 9/91, Metropolitan Opera, 
Levine, Lucifer Classics

* Desdemona in Verdi's Otello, rec 5/93, Opéra Bastille, Chung, 
Lucifer Classics

* Violetta in Verdi's Traviata, rec 1/91, Metropolitan Opera, Levine, 
Lucifer Classics

* Elisabeth in Wagner's Tannhäuser, rec '88, Philharmonia, Sinopoli, 
Lucifer Classics

* Elisabeth in Wagner's Tannhäuser, rec '89, Bayreuth, Sinopoli, 
Lucifer Classics

* Senta in Wagner's fliegende Holländer, rec 1/91, Deutsche Oper 
Berlin, Sinopoli, Lucifer Classics

* Gutrune in Wagner's Götterdämmerung, rec 5/89, Metropolitan Opera, 
Levine, Lucifer Classics

* Title role in Floyd's Susannah, rec 3/94, Opéra de Lyon, Nagano, 
Lucifer Classics

* Marguerite in Gounod's Faust, rec 2/91, Toulouse, Plasson, Lucifer 
Classics

* Salomé in Massenet's Hérodiade, rec 11-12/94, Toulouse, Plasson, 
Lucifer Classics

* Donna Anna in Mozart's Don Giovanni, rec 9/90, Vienna PO, Muti, 
Lucifer Classics

* Konstanze in Mozart's Entführung aus dem Serail, rec 4/91, Vienna 
Symphony, Weil, Lucifer Classics

* Queen of the Night in Mozart's Zauberflöte, rec 7/89, ASMF, 
Marriner, Lucifer Classics

* Giulietta in Offenbach's Contes d'Hoffmann, rec 87/88/89, Dresden 
Staatskapelle, Tate, Lucifer Classics

* Matilde in Rossini's Guglielmo Tell, rec 12/88, La Scala, Muti, 
Lucifer Classics (also on VHS & DVD)

* Madama Cortese in Rossini's Viaggio a Reims, rec 10/92, Berlin PO, 
Abbado, Lucifer Classics

* Title role in Spohr's Jessonda, rec '84, ORF Orchestra, Albrecht, 
Lucifer Classics

* Chrysothemis in R. Strauss' Elektra, rec 1/90, Bavarian RSO, 
Sawallisch, Lucifer Classics

* Chrysothemis in R. Strauss' Elektra, rec 6/89, Vienna PO, Abbado, 
Lucifer Classics

* Empress in R. Strauss' Frau ohne Schatten, rec 2-12/87, Bavarian 
RSO, Sawallisch, Lucifer Classics

* Empress in R. Strauss' Frau ohne Schatten, rec '92, Vienna PO, 
Solti, Lucifer Classics

* Title role in Verdi's Aida, rec 6/94, Covent Garden, Downes, 
Lucifer Classics

* Odabella in Verdi's Attila, rec 6-7/89, La Scala, Muti, Lucifer 
Classics

* Odabella in Verdi's Attila, rec 6/90, La Scala, Muti, Lucifer 
Classics Video

* Elena in Verdi's Vespri Siciliani, rec 12/89-1/90, La Scala, Muti, 
Lucifer Classics (also on VHS & DVD)

* Drolla in Wagner's Die Feen, rec 7/83, Bavarian RSO, Sawallisch, 
Lucifer Classics

* Elsa in Wagner's Lohengrin (from Bayreuth), rec 6/90, Bayreuth, 
Schneider, Lucifer Classics (also on VHS)

* Elsa in Wagner's Lohengrin (from Vienna), rec '90, Vienna PO, 
Abbado, Lucifer Classics VHS & DVD 

* Eva in Wagner's Meistersinger, rec 4/93, Bavarian State Opera, 
Sawallisch, Lucifer Classics

* Irene in Wagner's Rienzi, rec 7/83, Bavarian State Opera, 
Sawallisch, Lucifer Classics

* Ortlinde in Wagner's Walküre, rec 8/81, Dresden Staatskapelle, 
Janowski, Lucifer Classics

* Sieglinde in Wagner's Walküre, rec 2-3/88, Bavarian RSO, Haitink, 
Lucifer Classics

* Zemlinsky's Der Geburtstagder Infantin, rec 83, Berlin RSO, 
Albrecht, Lucifer Classics

* Coloratura Arias by Bellini (Sonnambula/Norma), Verdi 
(Traviata/Trovatore), Donizetti (Lucia/Lucrezia Borgia), Rossini 
(Barbiere/Semiramide), rec 4/89, Munich RSO, Ferro, Lucifer Classics

* Mozart Arias 
(Entführung/Zauberflöte/Idomeneo/Nozze/Giovanni/Clemenza/Cosi), rec 
9/89, ASMF, Marriner, Lucifer Classics

* R. Strauss' Vier Letzte Lieder/Wagner's Wesendonck-Lieder/Isolde's 
Liebestod, rec 1/93, Dresden Staatskapelle, Sinopoli, Lucifer Classics

* Isolde's Liebestod, rec 1/88, Bavarian RSO, Tate, Lucifer Classics

* Wagner Gala (Tannhäuser/Lohengrin/Meistersinger/Walküre), rec 
12/93, Berlin PO, Abbado, Lucifer Classics (also on VHS)

* First Europakonzert - in Prague (Mozart: "Non mi dir"/"Ch'io mi 
scordi di te-Non temer amato bene"), rec 5/91, Berlin PO, Abbado, 
Lucifer Classics VHS & DVD

* Covent Garden Gala (Otello/Traviata/Fledermaus), rec 7/88, Covent 
Garden, Barker, Lucifer Classics

* Sacred Works 
(Bach/Schubert/Mendelssohn/Handel/Mozart/Gounod/Faure/Poulenc/Bernstei
n/Bruch), rec 3/91, London SO, Marin, Lucifer Classics

* Samuel Barber Songs, rec 9/92, Browning (R.I.P.), Emerson String 
Quartet, Lucifer Classics

* Beethoven's Missa Solemnis, rec 8/91, Vienna PO, Levine, Lucifer 
Classics

* Beethoven in Berlin (Ah! Perfido/Choral Fantasy/Egmont), rec 12/91, 
Berlin PO, Abbado, Lucifer Classics (also on VHS)

* Brahms' German Requiem, rec 10/92, Berlin PO, Abbado, Lucifer 
Classics

* Schubert Lieder, rec 1/90, Gage, Lucifer Classics

* Salzburg Recital (R. Strauss/Schubert/Debussy), rec 8/92, Gage, 
Lucifer Classics

* Mahler's Klagende Lied, rec 11/90, Philharmonia, Sinopoli, Lucifer 
Classics

* Mahler's Symphony No. 2, rec 11/92, Vienna PO, Abbado, Lucifer 
Classics

* Mahler's Symphony No. 8, rec 11-12/90, Philharmonia, Sinopoli, 
Lucifer Classics

* Mahler's Symphony No. 8, rec 1/94, Berlin PO, Abbado, Lucifer 
Classics

* Verdi's Requiem, rec 6/87, La Scala, Muti, Lucifer Classics

* Verdi's Requiem, rec 11/91, Vienna PO, Abbado, Lucifer Classics

* Beethoven's Symphony No. 9, rec 4/89, Philadelphia Orchestra, Muti, 
Lucifer Classics

* Bruckner's Mass in F Min/Mozart's Vespers, rec 3/77, MIT Choral 
Society, Oliver, Lucifer Classics

* Donizetti's Requiem, rec 1/84, Bamberg SO, Gómez-Martínez, Lucifer 
Classics

* von Schweinitz's Messe Op. 21, rec 7/84, RSO Berlin, Albrecht, 
Lucifer Classics

* R. Strauss Choral Works, rec 9/84, RIAS Kammerchor, Gronostay, 
Creed, Lucifer Classics


"L-A  Ú-L-T-I-M-A..........que ríe, ríe mejor."

Bravissima Cheryl Studer, verlorene Tochter. Very beautifully and 
exquisitely done. A most wonderful, exemplary, and unforgettable 
legacy, a legacy of e-x-c-e-p-t-i-o-n-a-l q-u-a-l-i-t-y a-n-d d-i-
s-t-i-n-c-t-i-o-n. Thank you for Artistry of u-n-c-o-m-m-o-n i-n-t-
e-l-l-i-g-e-n-c-e and i-n-s-t-i-n-c-t --- the work of a consummate 
being. Thank you. Thank you for Dedication, Seriousness, and 
Integrity. Thank you for remaining True to your self, to the 
artform (on life-support as it is), and to m-u-s-i-c. Good Music.
Thank you for a Universe of Sound and Texture and Expression and
Communication a-l-l o-f y-o-u-r o-w-n. Thank you for
g-e-n-e-r-o-s-i-t-y. Thank you for H-i-g-h I-n-d-i-v-i-d-u-a-l-i-t-y.
And (to boot) individuality within the bondage of and respect for the
Tradition.

Thank You.

And thank you too, Universal, EMI and Sony, for having had the 
foreskin to recognize and capture genius in our midst (now that these 
dinosaurs' [delusional] populist causes, causes palatable to the 
Anglocentric and their Axes-[oh irony!]-Of-Love, have caused them to 
trim....ouch....their future....for that squeaky clean look and 
sound....and potent[ial] self-extinction).

----------------------------

And now, a little something to ponder about ---

"Things got pretty rough at the last Philharmonic concert. A bitter 
battle broke out over Liszt's 'Mephisto Waltz.' It was the standees 
and a part of the gallery, resolved to give their all, against the 
parterre, the mountain against the marsh. On the one side we had 
youth, intelligence, idealism, good judgement, enthusiasm and 
conviction; on the other dullness, frivolity, debility, ignorance, 
arrogance, materialism. Such were the contending forces.

There was a lot of applause, but a lot of hissing, too. Since, as we 
all know, these Semitic hissing sounds traditionally served 
the 'chosen people' as shibboleth in combat with their neighbors, it 
was not hard to determine who it was that so emphatically proclaimed 
both their dissent and their identity. Indeed, these 'chosen people' 
habitually make a great show of their exquisite taste. They are 
always ready to recognize in Beethoven a good composer. And yet there 
are those who see nothing heroic in the courage of such convictions. 
What, then, can we call courageous? Let it pass. These excellent and 
generous souls will surely enrich the National Guard with a doughty 
legion of tailors, and thus be of service to the state. You can take 
an oath on that.

To take seriously the ludicrous behavior of these worthy parterre 
subscribers toward the works of a genius such as Liszt would be like 
punishing children's bad manners with the rack. We are not so cruel. 
But it is well to look for what it is that causes the public to 
behave like an ill-mannered child and to think like a well-groomed 
cad. How is it, we ask, that Liszt's compositions are rejected by the 
majority of our degenerate public? The answer is made uncommonly easy 
for me, since it is contained in the question. But then why, someone 
could object, do Beethoven, Mozart, Haydn, etc., appeal to this same 
degenerate public? The objection is so banal, the answer so obvious, 
that any blockhead could handle it easily. But should someone choose 
to ask me what I mean by degenerate public, I accept the challenge 
gladly, and am ready with the answer: a degenerate public is one that 
is content to be the ward of a degenerate press.

It is a public of newspaper readers. That is the source of all other 
evils. That is the source of the thoughtlessness, frivolity, 
dependence, distraction, insensibility and, above all, the bias 
against those works condemned to death by the press. If this were an 
ingenuous public, it would not tolerate for another day the shameful 
chains it now fastens to itself voluntarily. But the habit of cud-
chewing has already become too delightful to permit the slightest 
effort to use one's own teeth. Thus, this public receives its 
impression of a work of art not directly, but from the review in the 
newspaper, to be had in concrete form for a patent. Go then to the 
apothecary, and buy yourselves some nux vomica or some other 
purgative if you want to have an impression. The effect remains 
essentially the same, and you spare yourselves the price of the 
ticket. And so a public, the despicable tool of a despicable press, 
will pass judgement on the works of a genius! A sluggardly mob that 
enters the concert hall as if it were a toy store, reduces the 
noblest possessions of mankind to idle diversions, and then, if that 
is not satisfactory, arrogantly turns its back on the work of art and 
ceremoniously hisses...fie, fie, and once again fie!!!

Given such circumstances, it is hardly surprising that Liszt's 
original compositions have excited a lively 'for' and 'against' 
whenever they have been played in Vienna. This time the applause from 
the standees was still far from constituting a demonstration when a 
few hot headed Philistines signalled, stupidly enough, the 
shibboleth. That was pouring oil on fire. The applause grew louder, 
and rightly so, since it was directed no less at the splendid 
accomplishment of the orchestra and its conductor, Hans Richter, than 
at the work itself. And did not the wonderful performance of this 
Lisztian composition merit the most extravagant praise? What did 
Liszt's admirers do to excite the drowsy parterre to a counter-
demonstration? They were simply giving due honor to service 
rendered."

Hugo Wolf 
Vienna
25 April 1886

----------------------------

A HARPSICHORD GLISTENS AND TRIUMPHS

You and I, we know that something in the air is profoundly d-e-g-e-n-
e-r-a-t-e when a nobody of a harpsichordist and her twinklin' little 
instrument command more respect and accolades and anal(ysis) 
from 'the chosen people' (The Rake's Progress -- 
http://www.operajaponica.org/reviews/dvd/rake96dvd.htm) than those 
ass-igned a certain soprano. 

{{It is a delight to find an ebullient, effective recording on DVD. 
There are some flaws, to be sure, but overall this disc provides an 
exciting and entertaining evening of opera. Credit must be 
distributed liberally among composer, librettist, cast, conductor, 
orchestra, designer and recording crew. 

The central voice in this opera is that of the rake himself and it is 
difficult to picture a more effective one than Jerry Hadley. He seems 
to find the music easy, which is as it should be, and he realizes 
the 'progress' by effective acting with voice and body. Upshaw is 
hardly less attractive as his true love. Her challenges are primarily 
vocal and she conquers them so easily that one does not even hear 
that they were encountered. Pederson is a bit less satisfying, 
presenting a colorless devil accurately; one would hope for 
more 'bite' in the character and in other productions one finds a 
more interesting and less shadowy Nick. This reviewer found the 
casting of Henschel as Baba disturbing since it appears to exploit 
her physique; still, she delivers a fine performance so presumably 
was comfortable with the casting. Those four and all the other 
soloists show exemplary enunciation and accuracy; even the chorus is 
generally understandable. 

The production is remarkable with brilliant sets and costumes 
prompting the viewer to look forward to the insights offered in the 
next scene. While some of the choices need a second viewing to 
decipher, none so dominates the stage that it distracts from the 
performance. Tom's jeans and tee shirt are consistent even as he 
achieves and loses wealth; the implication that he is the same man 
throughout is clear and relevant, while simply adding a hat shows his 
advancement. Makeup is used effectively, with reality reflected in 
the natural appearance of Ann throughout and Tom at the beginning and 
the end, where grotesquerie is used when he is dissolute. Why, then, 
the artifice for Trulove and the near-natural appearance (beard 
aside) of Baba? More viewings will be needed to appreciate those. 

Technically, the disc ranks among the best of its era. The picture is 
crisp throughout. Sound is effective stereo without surround; clarity 
is exemplary and Ann Beckman's harpsichord glistens without blaring - 
just right in performance and in recording. Subtitles are in English 
only and cannot be suppressed; that is unfortunate since their style 
and color (yellow) are sometimes diverting and they are superfluous 
in this performance. 

Overall, the word for this disc is 'delightful'. It rewards repeated 
viewing and serves the work well.}}


Now consider this shibboleth ---

http://www.operajaponica.org/reviews/dvd/aidaroh94dvd.htm

Verdi: AIDA

Reviewed by Mickey (Mouse) Richter
27 May 2002 

Cast: Cheryl Studer (Aida), Luciana d'Intino (Amneris), Dennis 
O'Neill (Radames), Alexandru Agache (Amonasro), Robert Lloyd 
(Ramfis), Mark Beesley (Il Re), John Marsden (Messenger), Yvonne 
Barclay (Sacerdotta), Chorus & Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, 
Covent Garden, Sir Edward Downes (conductor). Elijah Moshinsky 
(director)


{{One can now prove that it is possible to make a performance of Aida 
dull. Singing and conducting are altogether competent, but the only 
elements of this release which enliven the work are those of the 
production - and they are more often confusing or distracting than 
constructive. Lloyd infuses some life into his character, but Beesley 
is both vocally and dramatically subpar. D'Intino has some moments of 
expression but they are not those most needed; the opening scene of 
Act IV, for example, is flaccid. Studer, O'Neill and Agache sing all 
the notes and none of the music. Many points in the score are 
marked 'a piacere', but the pleasure of the artists appears to be to 
do nothing at all. The effect is altogether colorless - a grey and 
pointless recitation of one of the most vibrant scores in opera. 

Color is present on the screen in profusion, thanks to the striking 
sets and costumes. Unfortunately, those bear little relationship to 
action in the work. Where the banks of the Nile seem to be 
represented in Act III by poles topped by cat figures, the same 
symbol is carried into the first scene of Act IV, clearly suggesting 
that the designer had something else in mind. It is difficult to 
believe that the stunning, traditional production of the La Scala 
Aida with Chiara and Pavarotti came from the same director as this 
one. Characters mill about on stage, doing mysterious things and 
thereby diverting attention from what is written and what is being 
sung. For this reviewer, any production requiring explanation is in 
and of itself faulty. 

Technically, this disc is fine with clear sound and picture. Large's 
direction is in line with his preference for extreme closeup. Many 
find that distracting even on tape; on DVD, often seen on a large 
screen, it can be even less attractive, but that is a matter of 
personal taste.}}


And thus spoke our hero. We re-quote:

{{One can now prove that it is possible to make a performance of Aida 
dull. Singing and conducting are altogether competent, but the only 
elements of this release which enliven the work are those of the 
production - and they are more often confusing or distracting than 
constructive. Lloyd infuses some life into his character, but Beesley 
is both vocally and dramatically subpar. D'Intino has some moments of 
_expression but they are not those most needed; the opening scene of 
Act IV, for example, is flaccid. Studer, O'Neill and Agache sing all 
the notes and none of the music. Many points in the score are 
marked 'a piacere', but the pleasure of the artists appears to be to 
do nothing at all. The effect is altogether colorless - a grey and 
pointless recitation of one of the most vibrant scores in opera.}}

Let us ponder some more:

"Things got pretty rough at the last Philharmonic concert. A bitter 
battle broke out over Liszt's 'Mephisto Waltz.' It was the standees 
and a part of the gallery, resolved to give their all, against the 
parterre, the mountain against the marsh. On the one side we had 
youth, intelligence, idealism, good judgement, enthusiasm and 
conviction; on the other dullness, frivolity, debility, ignorance, 
arrogance, materialism. Such were the contending forces.

There was a lot of applause, but a lot of hissing, too. Since, as we 
all know, these Semitic hissing sounds traditionally served 
the 'chosen people' as shibboleth in combat with their neighbors, it 
was not hard to determine who it was that so emphatically proclaimed 
both their dissent and their identity. Indeed, these 'chosen people' 
habitually make a great show of their exquisite taste. They are 
always ready to recognize in Beethoven a good composer. And yet there 
are those who see nothing heroic in the courage of such convictions. 
What, then, can we call courageous? Let it pass. These excellent and 
generous souls will surely enrich the National Guard with a doughty 
legion of tailors, and thus be of service to the state. You can take 
an oath on that.

To take seriously the ludicrous behavior of these worthy parterre 
subscribers toward the works of a genius such as Liszt would be like 
punishing children's bad manners with the rack. We are not so cruel. 
But it is well to look for what it is that causes the public to 
behave like an ill-mannered child and to think like a well-groomed 
cad. How is it, we ask, that Liszt's compositions are rejected by the 
majority of our degenerate public? The answer is made uncommonly easy 
for me, since it is contained in the question. But then why, someone 
could object, do Beethoven, Mozart, Haydn, etc., appeal to this same 
degenerate public? The objection is so banal, the answer so obvious, 
that any blockhead could handle it easily. But should someone choose 
to ask me what I mean by degenerate public, I accept the challenge 
gladly, and am ready with the answer: a degenerate public is one that 
is content to be the ward of a degenerate press.

It is a public of newspaper readers. That is the source of all other 
evils. That is the source of the thoughtlessness, frivolity, 
dependence, distraction, insensibility and, above all, the bias 
against those works condemned to death by the press. If this were an 
ingenuous public, it would not tolerate for another day the shameful 
chains it now fastens to itself voluntarily. But the habit of cud-
chewing has already become too delightful to permit the slightest 
effort to use one's own teeth. Thus, this public receives its 
impression of a work of art not directly, but from the review in the 
newspaper, to be had in concrete form for a patent. Go then to the 
apothecary, and buy yourselves some nux vomica or some other 
purgative if you want to have an impression. The effect remains 
essentially the same, and you spare yourselves the price of the 
ticket. And so a public, the despicable tool of a despicable press, 
will pass judgement on the works of a genius! A sluggardly mob that 
enters the concert hall as if it were a toy store, reduces the 
noblest possessions of mankind to idle diversions, and then, if that 
is not satisfactory, arrogantly turns its back on the work of art and 
ceremoniously hisses...fie, fie, and once again fie!!!

Given such circumstances, it is hardly surprising that Liszt's 
original compositions have excited a lively 'for' and 'against' 
whenever they have been played in Vienna. This time the applause from 
the standees was still far from constituting a demonstration when a 
few hot headed Philistines signalled, stupidly enough, the 
shibboleth. That was pouring oil on fire. The applause grew louder, 
and rightly so, since it was directed no less at the splendid 
accomplishment of the orchestra and its conductor, Hans Richter, than 
at the work itself. And did not the wonderful performance of this 
Lisztian composition merit the most extravagant praise? What did 
Liszt's admirers do to excite the drowsy parterre to a counter-
demonstration? They were simply giving due honor to service 
rendered."

Hugo Wolf 
Vienna 
25 April 1886

----------------------------

M-U-S-I-C OF THE FUTURE

Berg, Alban / Wozzeck / Marie
Tchaïkowsky, Piotr Ilyich / Evgeny Onegin / Tatyana
Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus / Così fan tutte / Fiordiligi
Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus / Don Giovanni / Donna Elvira
Puccini, Giacomo / Manon Lescaut / Manon Lescaut
Puccini, Giacomo / Tosca / Tosca
Strauss, Richard / Capriccio / Gräfin 
Strauss, Richard / Salome / Salome
Verdi, Giuseppe / Un Ballo in Maschera / Amelia
Verdi, Giuseppe / Don Carlo / Elisabetta
Wagner, Richard / Tristan und Isolde / Isolde

MORE M-U-S-I-C....REDIVIVUS 

Beethoven, Ludwig van / Fidelio / Leonore
Lehár, Franz / Die Lustige Witwe / Hanna Glawari
Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus / Idomeneo / Elettra
Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus / Le Nozze di Figaro / Contessa d'Almaviva
Strauss, Richard / Elektra / Chrysothemis
Verdi, Giuseppe / Aida / Aida
Verdi, Giuseppe / Otello / Desdemona
Wagner, Richard / Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg / Eva

AND YET MORE M-U-S-I-C

Strauss, Richard / Arabella / Arabella
Strauss, Richard / Ariadne auf Naxos / Primadonna/Ariadne
Strauss, Richard / Die Frau ohne Schatten / Kaiserin
Strauss, Richard / Der Rosenkavalier / Marschallin
Wagner, Richard / Der fliegende Holländer / Senta
Wagner, Richard / Lohengrin / Elsa von Brabant
Wagner, Richard / Tannhäuser / Elisabeth
Wagner, Richard / Die Walküre / Sieglinde

----------------------------

"The dangers of life
are infinite
And safety is among them."

--- Goethe