new feature – Webcast Calendar

Posted on July 31, 2005 by sogalitno

See "Calendar of Webcasts" in the "RIngs and Things" group .  Here I am putting a highly individual selection of webcasts – not all of which are going to be Opera-related.  I wanted a way to see all my favorite shows in one place and discovered this website.  Its pretty cool I think. 

I’ve entered the programs I am most interested in catching each week – most of the entries link directly to the program’s website usually to the schedule page if there is one.

I’ve color coded the entries

  • Red for opera
  • Purple for mixed music programs
  • green for talk shows about music and the arts
  • Pink for programs mainly about the solo voice or singing (non-opera)

I may add other webcast programs – i am a HUGE fan of BBC7.  i love radio dramas – and the Beeb does them the best.

enjoy!

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plus ca change

Posted on July 30, 2005 by sogalitno

…plus c’est la meme chose.

Sogal has spent many hours (whew!) revamping and tweaking this blog…with inspiration from the blogs of vilaine fille and alex ross.  (merci beaucoup, mes comrades!)

Some new features:

  • ALL links are now grouped under their own pages (see under RINGS AND THINGS)
  • new link to "Interesting Webcasts"  (just what it says – today and future listings)
  • Sogalitno’s Podcasts (inspired by La Cieca, sogal dips her toe tentatively into the podcast world and finds it exhilirating if frustrating at first.  much thanks to La Cieca for advice!)
  • tweaking of design elements, fonts and other miscellaneous items

basta!  enough web design work! 

And now to clear the palette of all that Wagner this week, a little nonsense television.  STOP reading now if you are not into Lifetime films and murder mysteries. Today, Lifetime is showing all of the TV adaptations of the Gail Bowen Joanne Kilbourn novels.

Ok, its not as bad as it sounds, some very good actors appear in the films (Claire Bloom, Simon Callow, Victor Garber, Sally Kellerman and the expressive Wendy Crewson as our indomitable heroine).  Set in Canada, they feature local actors as well as those great clean Canadian cities (no pretending its NYC!)

SG quotes from the author’s website: "But it is the added elements of the books with which her readers empathize:  complex family interactions alongside every-day domestic details, prairie urban life and work, the ever-present prairie weather, and the realistic and dimensional portrayal of contemporary Indigenous peoples."

and maybe SG needs to live vicariously for a day …

ps  lest you think SG a total slug, watching such tv is perfect for vacuuming, sorting thru mail, rearranging cds and dvds and entering into new items into SG’s database, playing with the kitties and for total relaxation – knitting.  and after all the work and long hours of the last month, SG deserves it.

 

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VOX: Sun-Tues

Posted on July 30, 2005 by sogalitno

From Robert Aubry Davis, Program Director, VOX

Remember Renee Fleming, Part 4 repeats Tuesday Aug. 2 at 6 pm.eastern, as well as Wednesday at noon.

Sunday A.M. (begins 6 am Sunday July 31st)– Among other choral pieces, between 6:45 am and 8:30, as well at during the 11 am hour, we’ll hear compositions by and converse with composer Daniel Gawthrop.

Sunday Baroque (begins noon eastern): A reprise of the WFMT/European Broadcasting union live performance of Handel’s Saul, plus the excellent William Christie/Les Arts Florissants Serse.

20th Century Monday: (begins noon eastern): Our interview with composer Stephen Paulus and a unique chance to hear two of his works, The Three Hermits and Heloise and Abelard. And, for the operetta bunch, the Ohio Light Opera production of Oscar Straus’ The Chocolate Soldier.

Tuesday Big Ticket (noon eastern, repeat Friday at 6 pm)–We have had a full none months since we’ve heard two early Verdi operas, so we’ll a Swiss production of the rearely-heard Jerusalem,and Ramon Vargas in Alzira.

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The Ring on KING-FM (August)

Posted on July 30, 2005 by sogalitno

KING FM
Listen for works by Richard Wagner played each day during the month of August.

Evening Ring Previews
August 1-5 at 7:30pm

Tune in for five days of information and insight into Wagner’s Ring with Seattle Opera’s General Director Speight Jenkins.

Special Preview of the Ring

August 6 from 7pm to 10pm

KING FM will devote three hours for an in-depth exploration of each opera in Wagner’s Ring cycle with Seattle Opera’s General Director Speight Jenkins.

Das Rheingold  August 13 at 7pm

Die Walküre
August 20 at7pm

Siegfried
August 27 at7pm

Götterdämmerung
September 3 at 6pm

Evening Interviews

Various evenings in August

KING FM’s evening host Gigi Yellen will talk with the performers and artists associated with Seattle Opera’s production of the Ring.

Historic Recordings
Various evenings in August

On the weekly evening Historic Recordings feature with Dan
Petersen, KING FM will broadcast rare and notable recordings of
orchestral music from the Ring.

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What’s on VOX Saturday

Posted on July 29, 2005 by sogalitno

XM Satellite Radio – VOX

Big Ticket Friday
(noon eastern, repeats Saturday at 6 pm)
Medieval Hungary and the attempt to ward off German oppression (and one of the earliest request ever on VOX!), Ferenc Erkel’s Bank Ban; plus   Emil von Reznicek’s take on the Bluebeard story, Ritter Blaubart;  and more of those grand old Decca operetta boxes from the 1940s remastered recently on CD–the Romberg/Hammerstein collaborations The Desert Song & The New Moon.

Saturday Special
(noon Saturday and Wednesday, 6 pm eastern Tuesday):
Renee Fleming, Part 4
We have spent some hours with this lovely lady over the last months, and will celebrate her artistry and hear her own observations on her craft for the weeks to come.  Handel’s Alcina, her remarkable recording of Handel arias, and her great album Bel Canto.

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BBC – Proms – Berlioz R&J on Sunday

Posted on July 28, 2005 by sogalitno

BBC – Proms – Prom Events by Day

Prom 23
18.30 – 20.15 (no interval)
ROYAL ALBERT HALL

Broadcasts
Live on BBC Radio3; repeated on 8 August at 2pm
Broadcast on BBC FOUR at 7.30pm
Available as audio on demand for the following week
LISTEN ONLINE

Berlioz Romeo et Juliette
(95 mins)

Katarina Karneus (mezzo-soprano)
Jean-Paul Fouchécourt (tenor)
John Relyea (bass)

London Symphony Chorus
BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra
Ilan Volkov conductor

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Neglected Proms – notes on Alsop

Posted on July 28, 2005 by sogalitno

With the opening performances from Bayreuth this week, my attention has been diverted – tomorrow is the last Live Opening Night of this season – PARSIFAL (that controversial production from last year).  So after Friday I will be able to come back to the PROMS. 

Just now tuning into the last part of today’s Proms 18 – Prokofiev’s ROMEO AND JULIET by the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra with Joshua Bell and led by the most-talked-about conductor this week = Marin Alsop.  I will be glad to listen again.   

Read this tribute to Marin and adviso to the BSO from the Santa Cruz Sentinel’s columnist Wallace Baine. 

All I can say is what has been said by many – its HIGH TIME that Marin received the post and face it, any woman who received a major orchestral post would be treated to the media spotlight.

BUT it’s time to MOVE ON… back to making music, boys! 

I am so weary of the resentful and destructive attitude of men towards a woman in a position of any kind of responsibility and authority and respect.  Believe me, its not just in the music world!  argh!

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Stephen Gould, heldentenor

Posted on July 28, 2005 by sogalitno

Gouldstephen_allgemeinWow…I am relistening to Act iii from today’s Live webcast from Bayreuth – and reading about him on his website.  Now here is the grand chorus finale … getting goose bumps just over the web – can only imagine how it is in that house.   Quite an emotional performance – and from the audience’s roar at his curtain call they approved as well.   

Hmm, I see that he was Tannhauser last year.  I will have to go and relisten  – I guess I didnt notice (but actually dont think i have listened to those recordings recently) today he was definitely on fire – quite a passionate performance and ringing tones throughout.   Note that he is scheduled for Siegfried in next years RING at Bayreuth!

so what was someone saying about a dearth of heldentenors?

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William Powell fans

Posted on July 28, 2005 by sogalitno

ok.  i’m a huge "old" movies fan. you know, the ones in the 30-40’s "the Golden Age" of movies.  So it follows that i am a faithful follower of the TCM channel – where someone has a very good sense of programming – today its all about Joe E. Brown – a studio actor he had a loooong career with man ups and downs.  You will remember him as the millionaire in SOME LIKE IT HOT who marries Jack Lemmon and as the father in SHOWBOAT (the 1951 one).  anyway. his films are being shown today – one of his greatest and popular  – ALIBI IKE is on now (Olivia De Havilland among other stars)   

Wprtrait3and tomorrow – its William Powell’s birthday and so there is a TCM tribute of his films between 6 am and 8 pm.  None of the THIN MAN movies (interestingly enough they were shown Tuesday night in REVERSE order – which i found wierd but whatever) – these are mostly non THIN MAN and none of the big hits – like LIBELED LADY (with Tracey, Harlow, Loy) or MY MAN GODFREY (with second wife Lombard) or MANHATTAN MELODRAMA (with Gable, Loy and the first pairing with Loy). 

Friday’s choices seem to be mainly films made with leading ladies (Harlow, Russell, Francis, Rogers, Arthur etc) other than Loy (14 films in 14 years). There is the wonderful RECKLESS with a baby Jean Harlow (the love of his life – he was reluctant to marry her as his third wife and then her death sent him into a very deep depression). 

if you like Powell – catch these… some of these are rarely shown even on TCM.  A fan’s website

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musings

Posted on July 28, 2005 by sogalitno

Th3_w05_grossim off work today – well, im not in the office – someone scheduled a 10 am meeting that i had to dial into.  and then there were emails about stuff … and soon it was 12. 

however, at least i had TANNHAUSER in the background – and it was interesting hearing the" office speak" and the dynamics over a phone while at home listening with one ear to Wagner – puts some things in a new light.  however the bottm line is that i am desperately miserable in my current situation – can’t say much more due to the public nature of a blog.

anyway the first "real" days off i have had since – December really – i had an really bad reaction and abcess with a root canal procedure which meant a week off in may – but that was not free time – full of pain and sleep.  i had a scheduled week off in april but was called in to work it due to scheduling issues.

over these four days i have a TON of things i need/want to do – for one thing all of my IDS are expiring.  stupidly i let my driver’s license expire and now my passport (which I got ten years ago to go and sing in Spoleto – ah where are those days!) is expiring this month – yikes!  and i cant find my social security card… sigh – what a mess.  so i have to go and get the SScard replacement while i have some valid form of id (the passport) and then i can renew the passport and then start the DL process .  Unfortunately I have to start from scratch – yes, the test and the class and the driving test .  Living in NYC it hadnt been on the top of my list.  But now with 9/11 security failout…

of course i may just get a plain ID card and not a driver’s license for now and then deal with the Drivers License later.  that may be the easiest thing.  i will have to do the driving test outside nyc anywaywith my sister’s car as i dont make enough to afford the luxury of a car in NYC.

ah. me. im going to drown my miseries in act iii of TANNHAUSER.
e

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