There was a Good News story out of the Metropolitan Opera last night, even if the thought of tenors and sopranos gives you the heeby-jeebs. James Levine, who has been music director and art director and principal conductor at the Met over the course of 40 years, returned to the podium for the first time in two years after illnesses and injuries so debilitating that it was thought he would never conduct again. Or perhaps even walk away. Levine has been hit with a form of Parkinson's Disease, and then a couple years ago fell, injured his vertebrae and lost all feeling in his legs. However, he's been rehabbing and is able to do a small amount of walking, with the hope of a full recovery, at least to walk again. A special wheelchair was designed for him (it can push him into a near-standing position) and a special podium was constructed that can turn 180-degrees and face the audience, which allowed him to make a triumphant return to Carnegie Hall earlier. But it was the Met -- his home for nearly half a century, where he's conducted 2,442 performances (over double the next closest) -- that was most anticipated. He was not only greeted with a 71-second standing ovation (as you'll see above), but the production of Mozart's Cosi Fan Tutte got raves. Here's a passage from the New York Times critic Anthony Tommasini -- If the performance had simply been a solid success, that would have been enough to gratify the opera fans who cherish his work and to reassure his concerned colleagues at the Met. But it was much more. Over many years I have heard Mr. Levine give some remarkable accounts of Mozart operas and I don’t think I have ever heard a more vibrant, masterly and natural performance than this “Così Fan Tutte,” I've written here in the past how I used to work at the Ravinia Music Festival, the summer home of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, when I was a kid. The music director during those years was a young, James Levine. So, I follow such things about him.
I believe that this concert will be broadcast on the Live from the Met radio series, though not until April 26. Their website here will list what stations in your area carry it. In Los Angeles, that's KUSC, 91.5 FM. For those who'd like to read a more detailed write-up on the event, the celebration is nicely described by the Associated Press.
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ESPN premiered a new film on Tuesday, The Book of Manning, a documentary on the Manning football family. It’s quite wonderful – and good as the kids come across (not just the well-known Peyton and Eli, but also their older brother Cooper), the father Archie steals the show. What helps make it so good is that Archie took family video of so much with his kids, not just on the football field -- even as far back as high schoo -- but everywhere, so it's never long stretches of talking heads. And there’s so much film of Archie, as well. (And for anyone who has no clue how great he was, and thinks it's just Peyton and Eli -- both #1 draft picks in the NFL -- it will bowl you over.) But mainly it’s the personalities that come through. And that’s where Archie shines. Boy, does he shine. That's why even people who aren't football fans might reasonably enjoy this, because it's largely about family. To be clear, football dominates, so it's not "for everyone." But there's a great deal to enjoy in in it that's not football The next airing is today (Wednesday) on ESPN 2 at 5 PM (Los Angeles time). It’s then on ESPNU on Thursday at 1 PM, Friday at 3:30 PM and next Monday on ESPN 2 at 4 PM. All times are for the Pacific Coast. Adjust accordingly. It runs 90 minutes. Here's a four-minute excerpt A good deal of attention was given yesterday to Sen. Ted Cruz's (R-TX) fake-filibuster. It wasn't actually a filibuster, of course, just sort of a long, rambling talk, interrupted by random other senators, and lots of sitting down and resting. But why quibble, it was fine performance art that really accomplished nothing, except getting Ted Cruz a lot of TV time, which ultimately was probably the point.
Lost in all the zany hoopla, however, was a point I found utterly remarkable, yet wasn't addressed by any reporters that I heard. Let me explain. At the heart of it all, of course, was Mr. Cruz, who was supported in large part by his BFF, Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT), both men major darlings of the extreme far-right Tea Party (tm) corporations. And both men made outlandish comparisons, each attempting to paint themselves as noble, lone voices speaking majestically against monumental enemies, just like great patriots in the past. In Ted Cruz's case, it was a comparison against Nazism. "Look, we saw in Britain, Neville Chamberlain, who told the British people, 'Accept the Nazis,' " Cruz said on the Senate floor. " 'Yes, they'll dominate the continent of Europe, but that's not our problem. Let's appease them. Why? Because it can't be done. We can't possibly stand against them.' And in America there were voices that listened to that. I expect those same pundits who say it can't be done, had it been in the 1940s, we would have listened to them." As for Mr. Lee, he appeared on Mark Levin's radio show and said -- "I would remind your listeners out there that the Revolutionary War was fought and won with the support from a minority within a minority of Americans. There are lots of fights we have fought as Americans where we were the underdogs, where not everyone was on board. But a select few knew that it was worth fighting. And eventually they persuaded others to go along and eventually they won." Now, to be clear, pundits did point out -- very clearly, and very pronounced -- how both of these gentleman's comparisons made them each look self-righteous, paranoid and ridiculous. But everyone missed a much larger point of ridicule. In both cases, these two "heroes" of the extreme radical right -- in order to make their case of being Lone Voices standing tall in the minority against powerful, harmful philosophies that blocked what was good and best for America and the world (and having their extreme, far right supporters cheering them) -- used as examples of those small-minded, unpatriotic, anti-American forces -- are you ready? -- far right reactionary politics! Consider: In America before World War II, where as Ted Cruz rightly said "there were voices that listened to" those who cried out that going to war against Germany shouldn't be done, who insisted we shouldn't "stand against them," those very "voices" were largely the far right isolationists who wanted to keep the nation out of war. Who even considered Germany our friend. "Those same pundits" -- when it was the 1940s -- demagogues like Father Coughlin, Gerald L.K. Smith, William Dudley Pelley, Gerald Winrod, America Firsters, industrialists like Henry Ford, senators like Gerald Nye and Arthur Vandenberg were largely on the far right. They're the ones "we" (Mr. Cruz and his far right friends) actually did "listen to." As for the Revolutionary War, "where not everyone was on on board," it was the reactionary upper class elite and Southern slave states who were not on board, the loudest, most powerful voices fighting against breaking with England and against declaring independence. The "select few who knew that it was worth fighting" were the radical, liberal leaders of New England and the Northeast. It was the John Adams, Sam Adams, Patrick Henry, Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson who were the "minority within a minority of Americans" who "persuaded others to go along and eventually they won." So, while Ted Cruz and Mike Lee and the far, far right conservative reactionaries cheer the words and actions of those noble, visionary heroes of American history -- a tip of the hat to them for making oh-so clear that through that history of this nation, it has been the voices of liberals standing tall and strong and determined against the reactionary forces of conservatives who have led the nation to where we should have been all along. Thanks, guys. Yesterday, I wrote about one of my favorite, little-known but successful musicals, Take Me Along. The show has wonderful, charming yet well-rounded, evocative score by Bob Merrill, and is based on Eugene O'Neill's comedy, Ah, Wilderness! It's a show I like a lot, so I'm going to post a bunch of songs from it during the week. Today, though we have something a bit different. I mentioned yesterday that the title song of the show is reasonably well-known, in part because there was a big, splashy TV commercial that used it, for United Airlines. Well, would I leave you hanging like that?! No, sir -- here is that commercial. There's one other thing worth noting about it. The commercial was directed by a fellow named Michael Cimino. If his name is familiar to you, that's because he later became a movie director, and made the acclaimed film, The Deer Hunter. And later the infamous, hugely expensive flop, Heaven's Gate. But in 1969, he was directing TV commercials. And one of them was for United Airlines... This isn't getting to be old news yet, but who knows? However, this might well be the earliest that Elisberg Industries has had 1,000 "unique visitors." (3:55 PM, Los Angeles time.) And as I like to point out, you are all unique, indeed. For starters, you can put up with blatherings about German musicals, let alone by someone who doesn't speak a word of German. And that says a great deal about your kindness -- or patience. Or perhaps your enjoyable of a good circus.
So, for all you Whoo-hoo folks out there -- whoo hoo! My Tweet today:
Ted Cruz says he will speak until he cannot stand. And I will speak as long as I cannot stand Ted Cruz. |
AuthorRobert J. Elisberg is a political commentator, screenwriter, novelist, tech writer and also some other things that I just tend to keep forgetting. Feedspot Badge of Honor
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