Don Pasquale

Yesterday I attended the MET in HD performance of Don Pasquale.

I really enjoyed this Opera Buffa classic.

I agree entirely with Paul Pelkonen when he writes:

The Metropolitan Opera's revival of Don Pasquale featured the spitfire soprano of Anna Netrebko. While the Russian beauty is the main reason to catch one of these performances, she is a key component of a fine comic ensemble that delivers the opera buffa goods.

You can see what Pelkonen means from the video below:



To quote Pelkinen again:

In the title role, John del Carlo gave a performance that blended physical comedy and vocal athleticism. His slow, gouty gait and moans of woe elicted sympathy for the poor old Don ...



He was ably partnered with Mariusz Kwiecien, an athletic baritone as the conniving Dr. Malatesta. His comic fencing with Ms. Netrebko established their relationship quickly in the eyes of the audience.

The photo shows Dr Malatesta (Kwiecien) and Don Pasqual (del Carlo):



Tenor Matthew Polenzanai may not have the name recognition of some of the other fine bel canto singers working today. But he is a fine, comic actor with a pleasing lyric tenor voice. He sang the long vocal lines of Ernesto's two big arias with impressive control.

The photo below shows Norina (Netrebko) and Ernesto (Polenzanai) during the Love Duet from the final scene in the opera.



And here they sing it:



And here is the finale of the opera:



For more reviews see: here, here and here.

Thisis a summary of the plot as described at this site (follow the link to find photographs of the opera accompanying the plot description):

Act I : A room in Don Pasquale’s villa in Rome, mid eighteenth century. Pompous old Don Pasquale is furious at his nephew and heir Ernesto. Don Pasquale found Ernesto a wealthy bride, but Ernesto is in love with beautiful Norina, and won’t look at another woman. Don Pasquale thinks Norina isn’t rich enough for Ernesto. He’s ordered his nephew to leave her—or lose his inheritance forever.

As the opera begins, Don Pasquale announces that he’s tired of his nephew’s disobedience. He’s going to get married and father some brand-new heirs. That will show Ernesto! As luck would have it, family friend Doctor Malatesta knows the perfect bride: his own sister Sofronia. She’s beautiful, young, and modest—in fact, she’s hardly ever ventured outside of her convent school. Pasquale feels younger already; he can barely wait to start his new family.

Ernesto shows up, and Don Pasquale offers him one last chance to give up Norina and keep his inheritance. Ernesto, of course, refuses. “Well then, start looking for somewhere else to live!” cackles Don Pasquale. He announces that he’s kicking Ernesto out of the house, and getting married himself.

Astounded Ernesto thinks the old man is joking; he suggests that Don Pasquale ask Doctor Malatesta for advice. Pasquale smugly informs him that he’s marrying Malatesta’s sister. Ernesto is crushed.

Scene ii : Later that day, at Norina’s house. Alone in her room, Norina reads a book about chivalrous love. She laughs to herself; she too knows how to use a fleeting smile and a deceitful tear to capture a man’s heart. She receives a letter from Ernesto, informing her that Don Pasquale is getting married. The now-destitute Ernesto has no choice but to seek his fortune overseas. He will leave Rome that very day.

Norina is intensely worried—until Doctor Malatesta shows up with a plan that’s sure to bring Don Pasquale back to his senses. Norina, who’s never met the old man, will pretend to be Malatesta’s demure sister Sofronia. She’ll “marry” Don Pasquale in a fake ceremony. Once they’re “married,” “Sofronia” will drive the old man to the brink of insanity; he’ll be forced to give her whatever she wants just to get rid of her.

Doctor Malatesta’s next task is to teach Norina to act like a “sweet simple young thing,” but Norina proves that she should be the one giving lessons. Malatesta applauds her skill; he knows it won’t be long until the fireworks go off!

Act II : Back at Don Pasquale’s house, Ernesto is feeling very sorry for himself. He’s been disowned, his friend Malatesta proved to be an enemy in disguise—and it looks like he might lose Norina forever. He exits in despair.

Enter Don Pasquale, dressed in splendid wedding clothes. Doctor Malatesta leads in “Sofronia.” Already in character, Norina plays the part of a bashful convent maiden to perfection. Pasquale is delighted with the demure and submissive young girl; he’s as nervous as a schoolboy around her. He agrees to give her half his property, and to obey her every word.

During the mock marriage ceremony (conducted by Malatesta’s cousin, disguised as a notary), Ernesto bursts in to bid his uncle farewell. He stops in his tracks when he sees Norina. Malatesta hastily pulls Ernesto aside and persuades him not to make a scene: he should just enjoy the comedy he’s about to witness.

The instant the phony marriage contract is signed, “Sofronia” drops her naïve sweetness. She refuses to embrace Pasquale, and even threatens to slap him if he doesn’t behave. Ernesto begins to laugh. Furious, Pasquale orders him to leave at once. “Sofronia” icily overrules the old man, and commands Ernesto to stay. Pasquale yells to Malatesta that she has changed, but Malatesta pretends to be completely dumbfounded.

“Sofronia” doubles the servants’ wages. She orders a complete redecoration of the house, plus a new wardrobe for herself and a whole stable full of new horses. Ernesto finally understands that it was love alone that prompted Norina to play this part. The nagging “Sofronia” and the stubborn Pasquale fight tooth and nail until the doctor urges the furious old groom to go to bed.

Act III : Don Pasquale’s house has been transformed. Expensive hats, gowns, and furs are scattered everywhere. Scores of servants rush back and forth as Don Pasquale sorts through a mountain of bills. “Sofronia” flounces past on her way to the theater. When Pasquale forbids her to leave the house, she simply boxes his ears and saunters past him. Humiliated, the old man warns her that he’ll seek a divorce, but his words fall on deaf ears.

On her way out, she “accidentally” drops a letter, and Pasquale, of course, reads it. It’s a love note, inviting “Sofronia” to meet an anonymous lover that night in the garden. Eager to catch his wife red-handed, Don Pasquale sends for Doctor Malatesta.

Later that night. Don Pasquale staggers in, a shadow of his former self. His marriage is wreaking havoc on his nerves; now he wishes that he had just let Ernesto marry Norina in the first place. He shows Doctor Malatesta “Sofronia’s” letter. The Doctor suggests that they surprise “Sofronia” with her lover and force her to agree to a divorce.

Scene ii : That evening, Ernesto serenades Norina outside the little gate to Don Pasquale’s garden. Norina creeps down to meet him, and they sing a beautiful love duet.

Hearing footsteps, Ernesto disappears into the shadows. Don Pasquale and Doctor Malatesta pop out of the bushes and shine lanterns on “Sofronia,” but can’t seem to find her lover.

Don Pasquale sternly orders “Sofronia” to leave his house, but she refuses. After all, the house is hers too! Pasquale is beginning to think he’ll never get rid of her. Then Doctor Malatesta tells “Sofronia” that another woman may soon marry into her household – Ernesto’s Norina. “Never!” says “Sofronia”; she would rather move out than share her house with trashy Norina. Pasquale is delighted—finally, a way to free himself from the monster wife!


Photo Copyright © Beth Bergman 2006
Doctor Malatesta calls Ernesto out into the open and tells him that his uncle will allow him to marry Norina after all. Don Pasquale begs Ernesto to find Norina as soon as possible—he can’t stand “Sofronia” another second.

Malatesta finally reveals that “Sofronia” was Norina all along; the Don’s marriage was a sham. The real Sofronia never left her convent school. The Doctor gently explains that tricking Don Pasquale was the only way to keep him from actually marrying someone else. Don Pasquale considers humiliation a small price to pay for getting rid of the horrid “Sofronia.” He gives the lovers his blessing, and as the curtain falls all join together to sing the moral of the story: old bachelors should always act their age.

Christopher Hitchens inteviewed by Tony Jones

Trick Shots

The Ingenious Ways We Avoid Believing in Climate Change

The campaign against climate science has been remarkably successful. George Marshall, founder of the Climate Outreach and Information Network (COIN) discusses the many reasons for the lack of effective action on anthropogenic climate change.

(Don't confuse George Marshall with the George C Marshall institute discussed by Naomi Oreskes in the last video in this post.)

Summary of Part One
1. Risk - why many people do not feel immediately threatened by Climate Change
2. Belief - it is not enough just to present the evidence for Climate Change because belief is a socially constructed
3. Attention - groups of people may decide that difficult issues like Climate Change are not to be discussed




Summary of Part Two
4. Stories - the way the issue is framed is crucial; for example, seeing it as a resource issue rather than an environmental issue changes perspectives of people; because environmentalists were the first group to accept the science, climate change was discussed from an environmental perspecitve.




Summary of Part Three
5. Distancing – the strategies we adopt to keep the information at arm’s length
6. Compartmentalising – how we can accept climate change and continue polluting behaviour
7. Positive Framing – how we seek to turn climate change into a personal advantage
8. Ethical Offsets – how we adopt the easiest behaviours as proof of our virtue
9. Cynicism - the commercial appropriation of climate change images
What happens next? - surprisingly - what happens next
10. Denial - there is an active political campaign to deny the reality of climate change, which is feeding through to general attitudes
11. What happens next? - as more evidence for the damage that we are causing accumulates more people will become convinced, otherw will contine to oppose change and if it becomes obvious that we are beyond tipping points some quite aberrant behaviour.



This talk covers a wide range of issues. When I started to watch it, I expected that outright denial would be the major theme - instead it was the tenth issue. Clearly there has been a very active campaign to deny the reality of climate change as Naomi Oreskes documents in her book Merchants of Doubt.

Oreskes discussed her book and the evidence of the systematic campaign against the facts about global warming in the video below.



Here is a link to a longer talk on the issue.

Oreskes makes the point that most climate scientists support the view that human activities are causing damaging changes to our climate. For evidence that this is the case see this post.

To support their case and cause confusion amongst the general populace climate deniers have mounted a wide range of spurious arguments discussion of which can be found at this link

The Ultimate Rollercoaster

Fossil fuels have powered human growth and ingenuity for centuries. Now that we're reaching the end of cheap and abundant oil and coal supplies, we're in for an exciting ride. While there's a real risk that we'll fall off a cliff, there's still time to control our transition to a post-carbon future. (source: post carbon institute)



The video gives a brief and entertaining introduction to the history of our fossil fuel adiction.

Here are links to more detail on some of the issues:

Our over use of resources

Passing planetary tipping points

The end of growth

Prosperity without growth

Erosion of ecosystem services and biodiversity loss

Anthropogenic global warming (AGW)

Evidence that human activities are causing global warming

Evidence that the great majority of those qualified to make a decision support the claims of AGW

Evidence that over Earth's history carbon dioxide has been the major determinant of climate

Peak oil

Who is Ryuichi Sakamoto?

The world of Ryuichi Sakamoto is characterised by stark contrasts and by contradictions -- both apparent and real. He has an obsession with synthesizers and the latest music technology, and as a member of the Yellow Magic Orchestra he was one of the inventors of techno-pop. Yet some of his greatest and most well-known work has used the vehicle of that centuries-old mainstay of Western classical music, the orchestra. (Source of quote).

In the video below Sakamoto discusses his approach to music, and confirms its eclectic nature.



Follow this link for his some of his classical western music.

Follow this link for some of his music in more popular genres.

Here is an interview that he gave to Fader Magazine.

Ryuichi Sakamoto - pop mode

For an introduction to Sakamoto follow this link.

He also writes and performs in a western classical mode, examples of which can be found at this post.

From his Beauty album:





With Yellow Magic Orchestra:





Neo Geo

Ryuichi Sakamoto - classical mode

For an introduction to Sakamoto follow this link.

This post features some of Sakamoto's music making in western classical mode, including some of the music that he wrote for film.

He also makes pop music which can be found at this post.

Consuming the Planet

The video below is a new documentary compiled from lectures by William Rees, who is the co-creator of the Eco-Footprint concept. He is a Professor in the School of Community and Regional Planning at the University of British Columbia.

Dr. Rees has measured humanity’s use of the planet’s resources, and has concluded - not surprisingly - that humans are using more resources of the Pale Blue Dot than the planet can supply us with sustainably.

Warning To the People of Earth from Bruce Mohun on Vimeo.

For more discussion by Dr. Rees of the issue of Ecological Footprints and their implications for the world follow this link

Here are some quotes from the link above:

Humankind now seems to be the victim of a global "catch-22" of its own making. More material growth, at least in the poor countries, seems essential for socioeconomic sustainability, yet any global increase in material throughput is ecologically unsustainable.

If just the present world population of 5.8 billion people were to live at current North American ecological standards (say 4.5 ha/person), a reasonable first approximation of the total productive land requirement would be 26 billion ha (assuming present technology). However, there are only just over 13 billion ha of land on Earth, of which only 8.8 billion are ecologically productive cropland, pasture, or forest (1.5 ha/person). In short, we would need an additional two planet Earths to accommodate the increased ecological load of people alive today. (Note the quotation above was written in 1994, the current world population is close to 7 billion people.)

Links

Follow this link for a Wikipedia article on Ecological Footprings

For another take on the issue of planetary boundaries see this post on the work of the Stockholme Resilience Center.

Professor Tim Jackson discusses the econimic and social implications of growth in a finite planet at this post.

Ecosystem services and biodiversity loss are issues related to the theme of this post - see this post for details.

Here is a link to an article from the Post Carbon Institute about the End Of Growth.

Illusions

It was only after I published this post that I realised that the font that blogger uses, makes the title of this post illusory, or atleast ambiguous - iiiusory or lllusory?










Which way does she dance, and can you make her go the other way?



Impossible Motion



Ten illusions in 2 minutes:



This final set aren't actually illusions, instead they are clever ideas from graphic artists:

Boris Godunov

Yesterday at the Sun Theatre, I attended the Metropolitan Opera performance of Mussorgsky's Boris Godunov. The opera is based on the play by Pushkin.

The opera is an epic, 4 hours 15 minutes long, but I found it very enjoyable. With the MET in HD format which includes interviews with the performers and views of back stage, it was even longer and more enjoyable.

It is often said that there are two main characters to this opera, Boris and the Russian people - in this instance German bass René Pape (who plays Boris) and the Met chorus. Pape gives us a great performance, as the New York Times reviewer wrote:

	With his towering physique and unforced charisma, Mr. Pape looks regal and imposing.
	Yet with his vacant stare, the haggard intensity in his face, his stringy long hair and his hulking gait, he is already bent over with guilt and doubt. Mr. Pape has vocal charisma as well, and his dark, penetrating voice is ideal for the role.

The opera is set in difficult times for Russia. The legitimacy of the Tsar's reign is undermined by rumours that he had the 7 year old heir to the throne killed. This is probably true as Boris has a breakdown where he thinks that he sees the ghost of the child. The Russian people are suffering badly through a series of failed harvests, and many are starving to death. This leads to scenes of mob violence and retribution ...



... and to false claims to the throne by a pretender ...



One of the most interesting characters is the Holy Fool ...



... who see the world more clearly than anyone else.

I enjoy stories where some issues are left unresolved, and in this regard Boris Godunov does not disappoint. As the opera finishes we know that the Tsar is dead, but we don't know who succeedes him and of the fate of the pretender.

The last scene of the opera features the Holy Fool lamenting the terrible condition of Russia. He forsees the Time of Troubles.

(A bit of quick googling shows that Boris's son reigned briefly followed by the pretender who also reigned for only a short time. The Time of Troubles was brought to an end by the rise of the Romanov Dynasty, which lasted for 300 years, until the events of 1917. Follow this link for more information about the historical Boris.)

Some videos of Boris Godunov

Here is a brief excerpt of Rene Pape in the current MET production:



Here is Pape in a "modern dress" version:



The following videos are not from the MET production, but give a sense of the music.

The Coronation Scene



The Holy Fool Scene

The children take the Fool's Kopek, and he demands that Boris kill the children like he killed the heir to the throne. Boris asks the Fool to pray for him, but the Fool refuses because Boris is a murderer.



The Hallucination Scene

Where Boris thinks that he sees the ghost of the dead child.



Outline of the plot

PROLOGUE 1598. Boris Godunov has retreated to the Novodievichy Monastery near Moscow. The Streltsy police force a crowd to beg Boris to become Tsar of Russia, but he still refuses the throne. A procession of pilgrims prays to god for help. Streltsy warn the crowd to be at the Kremlin the next morning ready to cheer.

The following day the bells of Moscow herald Boris's coronation. The new tsar implores God to look kindly on him.

ACT I 1603. In the Chudov Monastery, the monk Pimen is writing a history of Russia. The novice Grigory questions him about the dead Tsarevich Dimitry, rightful heir to the throne. Pimen recounts the events of Dimitry's murder by Boris and remarks that the tsarevich would have been Grigory's age. Grigory condemns Boris and decides to escape the cloister.

Now on a mission to expose Boris and proclaim himself the Tsarevich Dimitry, Grigory is trying to cross into Lithuania to find support for his cause. At an inn near the border, he is almost arrested but manages to escape, pursued by the Streltsy.

ACT II Boris's daughter moruns the death of her fiance. Boris comforts her and talks with his young son about inheriting the throne, then reflects to himself on the crime that gained him the throne and the fears that torment him. Shuisky, a powerful boyar (noble), brings news of a pretender to the Russian throne, supported by the Polish court and the Pope. When Boris learns that the pretender claims to be Dimitry, he is deeply shaken. Alone, he gives way to his terror, imagining that he sees Dimitry's ghost. Torn by guilt, he prays for forgiveness.

ACT III Grigory, who now openly claims to be Dimitry, has made his way to Sandomir Castle in Poland. He hopes to win the powerful and ambitious Marina Mnishek, but she rejects his protestations of love until she is certain of his determination to become tsar.

ACT IV Outside the Cathedral of St. Basil in Moscow, peasants debate whether Tsarevich Dimitry still lives, as news reaches them that his troops are near. A group of children torment a Holy Fool. When Boris and his court come from the cathedral, the Holy Fool demands that Boris kill the children the way he killed Dimitry. Boris asks his accuser to pray for him, but the Holy Fool refuses to intercede for a murderer and, as the crowd disperses, laments Russia's dark future. The council of boysrs passes a death sentence on the pretender. Shuisky arrives with an account of Boris's hallucinations of the murdered tsarevich. Boris suddenly storms in, disoriented and crying out to Dimitry. When he regains his composure Shuisky brings in Pimen, who tells of a man who was cured of blindness while praying at Dimitry's grave. Boris breaks down. He sends the boyars away calling for his son. Naming him heir to the throne, he bids a loving farewell to the boy and dies.

In a forest clearing near Kromy, an angry mob proclaims its resolve to tead down the old order. The false Dimitry arrives with Marina and his army. He calls for the cheering people to follow him on his march to Moscow. The Holy Fool stays behind, lamenting Russia's bleak, uncertain future.

Ping Pong Penguin

Another fun video from YouTube: