a southern gal in the north

By ANTHONY TOMMASINI
Published: September 14, 2006

TORONTO, Sept. 13 — When the conductor Richard Bradshaw, who has been general director of the Canadian Opera Company since 1998, appeared in the pit here at the company’s impressive new home on Tuesday night to conduct the premiere of a new production of Wagner’s “Rheingold,” the audience gave him a prolonged standing ovation before he conducted a note.

Laura Whalen, left, Allyson McHardy and Krisztina Szabo stand over a sleeping Wotan in the Canadian Opera Company’s “Rheingold.”
Donald Weber for The New York Times

The opening-night audience at the Four Seasons Center for the Performing Arts in Toronto, new home of the Canadian Opera Company.

It was the British-born Mr. Bradshaw’s vision and tenacity during nearly 20 years with the company that turned the fantasy of a new house into the $150 million reality occupying an entire block of downtown Toronto, the Four Seasons Center for the Performing Arts. Toronto opera lovers are clearly excited by the center, which opened in June with a series of special concerts and public events. Tuesday night’s “Rheingold” — the first evening in the Canadian Opera Company’s first complete presentation of Wagner’s “Ring,” which concludes on Sunday — commenced this adventurous company’s inaugural season in its new home. This is actually the first complete “Ring” production in Canadian history

Das Rheingold – Canadian Opera Company – Critic’s Notebook – New York Times.

a hard day for any of us New Yorkers.  we all have  dearly lost family/friends and our stories – five years later they still resonate. the photo above invokes streaming tears.

a cool very fall like day today in the Hudson Valley.  up at dawn.  55 degrees (yes).  cloudless skies.  a day filled with domesticity – baking bread, cleaning, chores, errands, cooking good food.  watching the bereft spouse and partners bravely proclaiming life swiftly relentlessly surging onwards.

celebrating life with a 2 year old – in sunlight streaming under blue skies, running in a field, exclaiming a fast hopping rabbit, a scurrying groundhog, playing “marching band” – life thru the years of a child restores equilibrium.

May God give our leaders the WISDOM and COURAGE to guide our country and lead the world towards the democratic vision for which our forefathers fought with their lives.

Addendum:

9/11/06 NYT editorial – read it. 

a hard day for any of us New Yorkers.  we all have dearly lost family/friends and our stories – five years later they still resonate. the photo above invokes streaming tears.

a cool very fall like day today in the Hudson Valley.  up at dawn.  55 degrees (yes).  cloudless skies.  a day filled with domesticity – baking bread, cleaning, chores, errands, cooking good food.  watching the bereft spouse and partners bravely proclaiming life swiftly relentlessly surging onwards.

celebrating life with a 2 year old – in sunlight streaming under blue skies, running in a field, exclaiming a fast hopping rabbit, a scurrying groundhog, playing “marching band” – life thru the years of a child restores equilibrium.

May God give our leaders the WISDOM and COURAGE to guide our country and lead the world towards the democratic vision for which our forefathers fought with their lives.

a hard day for any of us New Yorkers.  we all have  dearly lost family/friends and our stories – five years later they still resonate. the photo above invokes streaming tears.

a cool very fall like day today in the Hudson Valley.  up at dawn.  55 degrees (yes).  cloudless skies.  a day filled with domesticity – baking bread, cleaning, chores, errands, cooking good food.  watching the bereft spouse and partners bravely proclaiming life swiftly relentlessly surging onwards.

celebrating life with a 2 year old – in sunlight streaming under blue skies, running in a field, exclaiming a fast hopping rabbit, a scurrying groundhog, playing “marching band” – life thru the years of a child restores equilibrium.

May God give our leaders the WISDOM and COURAGE to guide our country and lead the world towards the democratic vision for which our forefathers fought with their lives.

Addendum:

9/11/06 NYT editorial – read it. 

update on the MISSION ORGANIZATION Project

So far this week, three garbage bags of old papers, articles, “whoknowswhyikeptthis” stuff thrown out so far.  Just two more file drawers to do in my study and then to reorganise and sort thru magazines (gardening and knitting and opera mags). Then its on to  the bedroom.  Already reorganized furniture, etc now just have to sort thru clothes and throw out, etc.  (this is the hardest which is why its last). 

Then, now that its cooler, will have the basement to do – 8 file drawers to sort thru – and then yarn to inventory (actually hope to put the yarn in the soon to be empty file drawers ) and then boxes and boxes of paperbacks and old vhs tapes (yes, will probably throw most of them away) but the books, probably not. (i love books and some of these are outofprint british mysteries collected thru the years). 

And then i should be truly organized and settled in – after a year i guess its not too bad. 

(of course, then I want to catalog my scores, cds, dvds, cassettes of met operas, books, magazines… but those are ongoing projects).

Thank goodness for the US Open this past week and last weekend – it has helped with the tedium of sorting etc helping keep my right brain occupied so i dont question every piece of paper and let my left brain throw out much more than i would have without the distraction, uhm, focus.  (For the record, LOVED Agassi’s matches including his last comments.  My pick for tonight (playing now) is Henin-Hardenne (really admire her) and Roddick tomorrow (although its going to be a VERY CLOSE match).

ok. off to finish those two file drawers.

oh, progress on the Wing of the Moth shawl?  a bit….

Finished the Fir Cone section and the ‘dividing’ section and one repeat of the Twin Leaf. 

But look here…

UH OH

Now I get to play the “DO I HAVE ENOUGH YARN?” game… and of course Elann has no more of this color. I do have three other colors – Aubergine, Deepesst Black, and Sapphire (the color of this shawl is Cornflower, it is lighter than the photo makes it).

hmm, since the designer had the same problem, I may take a page from her book and do an abbreviated Twin Leaf section and maybe add a color for the edging.

hmm… i had 1090 yards (10 balls at 109 yds each) so i am hoping that i make it without another color.  so check back in a few days and see what happens!   and maybe ill have MO Project photos too!

temporarily for a major MISSION ORGANIZATION project.   [as in reorganizing/sorting/clearingout the study and the bedroom, then after a break the basement]

update on garden:

Labor Day weekend was wet and cool which helped with the beginning of the MO Project.   The rest of this week has been a blur of going thru files and papers and sorting out and throwing out (three garbage bags so far) and reorganizing the study.

Some miscellaneous garden observations:

• Tobacco plants are HUGE and threatening to take over the foxgloves.
• Echinacea and achillea are coming back and sporting lots of nice leaves, no buds yet.
• Joe Pye Weed is still stunted due to the “raccoon attacks”
• Lovage and Angelica also in shock still and not growing much – i guess i will see these next year.
• One hollyhock is close to five feet and has some buds – fingers crossed.
• The other hollyhocks seem to be hanging on – not much growth and probably too late now.
• Rudbeckias are blooming like mad (thank goodness!)
• Rose bed is a mess and needs to hoed and remulched sometime soon. (its right next to the bird feeder and so the birds and squirrels walk all over the bed and mush down the mulch)
• There is some strange thing coming thru the back stone wall that i think is bamboo (photo later)
• Autumn Clematis is getting ready to bloom – looooooots of buds (photo later)

ok, back to the last two file drawers in the study (and then i have 8 to do in the basement – sigh, but thats another day).

This week (starting Tuesday) CBC is webcasting LIVE performances of Canada’s first RING cycle presented by the Canadian Opera Company in their first season at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts.  CBC Radio celebrates the occasion from Canada’s first opera house – live – with all four operas as well as features and contests on Wagner and the Ring cycle.

The CBC website is here.  Click on the RING to go to the COC’s Website.  

The webcast opera schedule is below but there are many other programs scheduled during the week about Wagner and the operas. 

• Tuesday, September 12  -630 pm EDT   Das Rheingold
• Wednesday, September 13 – 630 pm EDT  Die Walkuere
• Friday, September 15 – 1 pm EDT  Siegfried
• Sunday, September 17 – 1 pm EDT  Gotterdammerung

Each link contains the opera’s cast, a synopsis and a link to a libretto.  One program of special note:

Thursday  In Performance  8:00 p.m.  
A Valhalla Summit with three great Canadian Heldentenors: Paul Frey, Ben Heppner and Alan Woodrow

Currently doing a Major MISSION ORGANIZATION style Project on my study and bedroom (in that order).  Started right before Labor Day weekend.  Three garbage bags of old papers, articles, “whoknowswhyikeptthis” stuff thrown out so far.  Just two more file drawers to do in my study and then to reorganise and sort thru magazines (gardening and knitting and opera mags). Then its on to  the bedroom.  Already reorganized furniture, etc now just have to sort thru clothes and throw out, etc.  (this is the hardest which is why its last). 

Then, now that its cooler, will have the basement to do – 8 file drawers to sort thru – and then yarn to inventory (actually hope to put the yarn in the soon to be empty file drawers ) and then boxes and boxes of paperbacks and old vhs tapes (yes, will probably throw most of them away) but the books, probably not. (i love books and some of these are outofprint british mysteries collected thru the years). 

and then i should be truly organized and settled in – after a year i guess its not too bad. 

(of course, then I want to catalog my scores, cds, dvds, cassettes of met operas, books, magazines… but those are ongoing projects).

Thank goodness for the US Open this past week and last weekend – it has helped with the tedium of sorting etc helping keep my right brain occupied so i dont question every piece of paper and let my left brain throw out much more than i would have without the distraction, uhm, focus.

For the record, LOVED Agassi’s matches including his last comments.  Watched most of the quarter finals and all of the semi finals – first time seeing most of these players as haven’t followed US Open much in the past years.  Enjoyed all of the games – including the Federer/Blake match (WHAT a fight Blake put up) and the Roddick matches.   As for the women, first time I have seen Sharapova play – boy, I would be annoyed with all that grunting and shouting on every point – and so many of the women looked really good – Jankovic and Golovin for one.  Was sorry for Mauresmo.

My pick for tonight (playing now) is Henin-Hardenne (really admire her and think she is the better player) and Roddick tomorrow (although its going to be a VERY CLOSE match). 

ok. off to finish those two file drawers.

for a MAJOR Mission Organization project.

Posts to resume in a few days.

To tide you over, the progress of Wing of the Moth Shawl.

Main section finished,  ready to start the Twin Leaf section.

ok back to sorting and throwing and sorting and throwing (where DID all this PAPER come from!)