rigoletto

12
Mar
2021

Fry-Day?

Good Grief! How do I get in on this????

Something by ‘Beeple’

Christie’s says it has auctioned off a digital collage by an artist named Beeple for nearly $70m, in an unprecedented sale of a digital artwork that fetched more money than physical works by many better known artists. The piece, titled Everydays: The First 5,000 Days, sold for $69.4m in an online auction, “positioning him among the top three most valuable living artists”, Christie’s said via Twitter on Thursday. Christie’s said it also marks the first time a major auction house has offered a digital-only artwork with a non-fungible token as a guarantee of its authenticity, as well as the first time cryptocurrency has been used to pay for an artwork at auction.

A man went to a psychiatrist and said he was worried that he was a dog.

“It’s terrible,” said the man. “I walk around on all fours, I bark all the time, I howl at the moon, I want to chase every cat I see, and I can’t go past a fire hydrant any more.”

“I think I can help you,” said the psychiatrist. “Lie down on the couch.”

The man replied, “I’m not allowed on the couch.”

Yesterday was the anniversary of the premier performance of Rigoletto which features, of course, this popular canzone by the Duke of Mantua, here played by Luciano Pavarotti. It’s a great performance!!!!

Posted by Tom in Humor, Music, opera
10
Oct
2020

Verdi!

Today is the birthday of Giuseppe Verdi (October 10, 1813), one of the most wonderful of opera composers. Even if you’re not a fan of opera, you will recognize some of his music and, by the time you finish this post, may even like it! Verdi was a strong supporter of the ‘Risorgimento’ – the Italian unification movement. Much of his music was in the spirit of the movement and Verdi himself was considered a representative of the ideals.

There are certain of his pieces that I like a lot. His third opera, Nabucco, is the story of the conquest of Israel by Nebuchadnezzar and their exile and enslavement. The chorus, Va pensiero, known sometimes as ‘The Chorus of the Hebrew Slaves’ has, in my mind, a beautiful, haunting quality as they dream of their homeland. If you want to sing along, the text can be found HERE.

In 1851, Verdi composed ‘Rigoletto’, a tragic story revolving around the Duke of Mantua, his court jester, Rigoletto and Rigolleto’s daughter Gilda. One of the most famous aria in the opera is ‘La donna è mobile’ (woman is fickle) sung by the duke. I’m sure you’ve heard the melody:

Another of my favorites is from La Traviata which was first presented in 1853. It’s the story of a famous courtesan and a young man who falls in love with her even though she already has a wealthy lover. There is, of course, a duel and later, Violetta, the courtesan, falls ill and dies in the young mans’ arms. My favorite piece from this is, of course, the drinking song.

I don’t want to make this too long so I’ll close with ‘Aida’. The Khedive of Egypt commissioned Verdi to write an opera to celebrate the opening of the Suez canal. The result was ‘Aida’ and this triumphal march.

Happy birthday, Giuseppe!

Posted by Tom in opera