vilaine fille

Pensée du lundi 31 octobre

Happy birthday to moi !

vilaine fille set up shop a year ago today. Alas, not everything has worked out as she had hoped—no eight years of hot man-love in the White House. Sigh.

My thanks to all who visit vilaine fille's daft little corner of the ouëb. Extra-special thanks to Lisa and Will, who (I believe) were the first to link to vilaine fille; to Alex, who has been so generous with shout-outs; and to all the vilaines filles and mauvais garçons whose links appear to the right.

And my apologies for the recent dip in activity. My 2005 "vacation" consisted of a handful of train rides during which I allowed myself to do non-work-related reading. The little time I spent out of town had to do with writing assignments. In other words, I'm very burned out and run down. Add to that not-so-good news about the health of the feline of whom I am blessed to be the biped, a spike in misery at the day job (barista at Starbuck's? not inconceivable…), computer hassles, and the fact that 31 October is a painful anniversary for me, and you'll understand why things have been quiet of late.

That said, I'm planning to post this week on my recent trip to Chicago, where I saw Rossini's La Cenerentola in the Ponnelle production (staged by one of the late director's former assistants), starring a certain peerless Peruvian. Here's a one-word preview: Bliss.

More bliss: Steve Smith, my friend and TONY editor and a supremely mauvais garçon, has launched his own blog, Night after night. Tell your friends!

And now if you will excuse vilaine fille, she plans to soothe her woes with her favorite new potion and a nibble of excellent chocolate from the land of her ancestors (hence the Talmone image).

Back to you soon! *smooch*

Mozart and Pärt with St. Luke's

From Newsday, my review of Thursday's concert (Pärt's "Fratres," Mozart's "Ave verum corpus" and Requiem) by the Orchestra of St. Luke's under Donald Runnicles.

The image shows the painting by Rosso Fiorentino known as the "Dead Christ." On display at Boston's MFA, it is one of the finest mannerist paintings to be seen in North America. At least one scholar has argued, persuasively in my view, that we should see the image not as a dead Christ but as a *resurrecting* Christ, given the tension in his body (note especially the right arm, seemingly poised to rise), the looks of eager anticipation on the angels' faces, and the painting's original function as an altarpiece, in which capacity it would have been associated with the vivifying sacrament of the Eucharist.

Joshua Bell

I first interviewed Joshua Bell about a year ago, for a Newsday Fast Chat that I consider one of my best articles. He was a terrific sport, especially given that I teased him mercilessly about his ardent young female fans.

Mr. Bell is punctual (G-d bless!), extraordinarily polite, unaffected, and a total sweetheart. (And, yes, though not really my type, he is *mighty* handsome.) So I jumped at the chance to work with him again and am pleased to share with you "Raising Bell's Curve," my Panache profile of Joshua Bell.

Do visit Mr. Bell's official website to hear highlights from his beautiful new Tchaikovsky disc, learn about his upcoming appearance at the Lincoln Center Barnes & Noble, and view his schedule. In coming months, he plays Beethoven with the Orchestra of St. Luke's, Corigliano with the New York Philharmonic at Lincoln Center and in Purchase, and chamber music at NJPAC and Carnegie Hall.

By the way, do you know about his hyperviolin project with MIT's Todd Machover?

Convivencia

From Newsday, my preview (with a cut that makes me rather unhappy) of Sunday's concert by the King's Singers and Sarband. The current issue of Time Out New York features a fine advance on the same concert by Brian Wise (as well as a review by yours truly of the latest CD by Fabio Biondi and Europa Galante and a review by Steve Smith of "Ayre.")

For information on the Y's Music of the Mystics series, go here. For more on "Ayre," go here.

I'm out of here! *smooch*

Cecilia triumphans

Ma sovr'ogni augellin vago e gentile
che più spieghi leggiadro il canto e il volo
verso il suo spirto tremulo e sottile
la sirena de' boschi, il rossignuolo;
e tempra in guisa il peregrino stile
che par maestro dell'alato stuolo.
In mille gogge il suo cantar distingue
e trasforma una lingua in mille lingue.

Udir musico mostro, oh meraviglia…
—Giambattista Marino, L'Adone

[The nightingale, siren of the woods, surpasses with its sweet and tremulous melody every fair and delicate bird that unfolds with grace its flight and song; and it so modulates its singular song that it seems to be master of all birds. Its song takes on a thousand gradations and transforms one note into a thousand tones. To hear this musical prodigy, oh wonder…]

For the record, the diva wore emerald green. One dress. (Mes enfants, it's the diva who makes the clothes, not the other way around. Ladies of Decca and Deutsche Grammophon, take note.)

vilaine fille is back… but about to leave again. Please visit Operacast.com for information on upcoming opera webcasts. WHRB, the best radio station in the universe, has posted its October program listings.

Back in a few! *smooch*

Sequentia

No time for a proper (or even an improper) post: Here is my Newsday article previewing Sequentia's New York concerts. They perform in the superb Music Before 1800 series on Sunday 16 October and at the Metropolitan Museum of Art on 6 November. Go.

Gianmaria Testa in the USA

While vilaine fille is away, kindly make plans to see and hear Gianmaria Testa. As many of you know, Testa is vilaine fille's most favoritest singer-songwriter—more beloved by her than Rufola, Il maestro, or Mark Mulcahy, geniuses all.

Please revisit this post to hear Testa's stunning work (there are links to sound clips way down at the bottom). You can pre-order your copy of "Extra-muros" (my favorite among his albums—once all but impossible to find in the States), and book your tickets for one of these shows:

1 November at Joe's Pub (New York City)

3 November at the Chicago Cultural Center (free)

4 November at the Cleveland Museum of Art

6 November at the Skirball Center (Los Angeles)

See you at Joe's Pub! *bacioni*

Weekend opera webcasts

Please visit Operacast.com for additional offerings and full webcast details. Here are a few tidbits that whet vilaine fille's appetite:

Repeats of Wagner's Tristan conducted by Salonen and of Puccini's La fanciulla del West (which is, in fact, the anti-Tristan—though I can't explain why until I ditch the day job) conducted by Pappano. I've heard both and *highly* recommend them.

Schubert's Alfonso und Estrella with a beautiful cast (Röschmann, Streit, Goerne) led by vilaine fille coqueluche (vfc) Nikolaus Harnoncourt.

Tasty Rossini: John Eliot Gardiner's recording of Le Comte Ory; and Guillaume Tell led by vfc Bertrand de Billy, with Thomas Hampson and Marcello Giordani.

Lieder recitals by Christa Ludwig and Matthias Goerne.

From Madrid, Don Giovanni starring the muy caliente Carlos Álvarez. (Question: If a really potent performance of Don Giovanni took place in Sevilla, would the universe implode?)

Tchaikovsky's Orleanskaya Deva with the great Mirella Freni in the title role. I travelled to Washington to see this (noir-ish Chinatown bus and all), and boy-oh-boy was it worth it. (By the way, my TONY feature and sidebar on Freni are now on line.)

Donizetti's Il duca d'Alba "revised and orchestrated" (and conducted) by Thomas Schippers; Bizet's Carmen with an industrial-strength cast (Verrett, Te Kanawa, Domingo, van Dam) under Sir Georg Solti.

Happy listening! Back in a few. *smooch*

G'mar Chatimah Tovah !

Postings are likely to be thin for the next couple of weeks, and you'll need to scroll down to check for new additions. In the meantime:

through Rosh Hashanah: May you be inscribed and sealed for a good year!

after Rosh Hashanah: May a good sealing complete your good inscription!

The wonderful Blu Greenberg explains:

In that little switch lies a subtle nuance of traditional Judaism: according to rabbinic tradition, there are three steps to gettting into the Book of Life—inscribing, sealing, and final irrevocable sealing. Sealing takes place on Yom Kippur and final sealing comes ten days later on Hoshana Rabbah (the sixth day of the Sukkot cycle). Also according to tradition, righteous people are inscribed for a good year on Rosh Hashanah day. Only borderline people are left hanging until Yom Kippur. So we treat each person as if he/she were righteous. Therefore, after Rosh Hashanah, we no longer say, "May you be inscribed…" Instead we say, "G'mar Chatimah Tovah," or a shorter version, "G'mar Tov," "May a good sealing complete (your good inscription)." This greeting is used up until Hoshanah Rabbah, when the heavenly court closes session.

For more information:

Jewish Heritage Online Magazine, one of the most beautiful sites on the Web, has wonderful sections on Tishrei and the High Holy Days, though the site has been down for several days. Do keep trying to connect.

Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, and Sukkot from MyJewishLearning.com.

Rosh Hashanah resources from Chabad.org.

Rosh Hashanah resources from OU.org.

High Holidays and Tashlich from Aish.com.

USCJ's holidays home page.

An important holiday message from JTSA.

Slavery in New York

vilaine fille is just ending an involuntary fast (stomach bug), getting ready for a voluntary one (Yom Kippur), and heading out of town after that. So entries will be short, sweet, and spare for the immediate future.

"Slavery in New York" is the new exhibit at the New-York Historical Society. It is riveting and shattering. Please read my Newsday review and, if you're in or near the city, go see the show.

The daguerreotype from the exhibit shows a gentleman by the name of Caesar, reportedly 114 years old at the time of his sitting. Born an enslaved person, Caesar outlived three of his former "owners."