Opera Chic

"Tiger's Milk, For the Soul": Lenny's Radical Chic in Original Form

OC's dog-eared copy of "New York Stories: Landmark Writing from Four Decades of New York Magazine" has Tom Wolfe's famous, fearless essay on Lenny's notorious tangle with the Black Panthers ("Radical Chic: That Party at Lenny's"), but now the piece is online in its original glossy glory (here)! Photo above from the story, but there are lots more at the source.

 

Foxy (Pause) Ceci

Diamonds (and Maria Malibran) are a girl's best friend. Rolex Brand Ambassador Cecilia Bartoli's latest ad for Rolex caught us as we were browsing our magazines for recycle day.

Savage Garden: David Alden Will F@çk Your Giardiniera Up

Below, images from the dress rehearsal of Mozart's "La finta giardiniera" in Vienna -- the opera, conducted by Rene Jacobs and directed by David Alden (sets by Paul Steinberg)  will open at Theater an der Wien on November 12  

(ph. Reuters/Prammer)

Alex Ross Goes To Harvard

Alex Ross will make Harvard Listen to This, tonight -- Harvard Bookstore, 7PM, b there or b²

Michael Pitt, Probably Not an Opera Fan

The director said I was one of the last bohemian actors. I asked what bohemian meant, because I didn’t know if that was a compliment or not.

-- Michael Pitt

W. Eugene Smith, "Conductor Leaning Toward Violin Section, Baton Gesture", from the "Pittsburgh series", 1955–56

William Steinberg photographed by W. Eugene Smith.

(via the insanely wonderful -- and slightly NSFW, if you scroll down the front page -- "Fans In A Flashbulb")

See also:

Bernstein by Weegee

 

New Music: Hans Werner Henze's "GISELA!"

The greatest living composer (and one of the youngest), a famous dog lover, likes cats, too. And likes young musicians: Hans Werner Henze wrote his latest opera for them, after all.

Asked by Deutsche Welle why his work with young people was so important to him, Henze answered rather enigmatically: ”People are like cats. When a cat has a litter, all of the kittens are different. Each one has a different design, although they come from the same father and mother. The same goes for [young] musicians….” He sees himself not as a teacher, but as an”ally,” Henze added.

Three's Company: Matheuz-Gergiev Double Bill @ Scala While Dudamel is in the Audience

Earlier today in Milan, at 10:15AM, Diego Matheuz held his first open rehearsal at Scala replacing Valery Gergiev who had apparently canceled  (but later showed up in the audience, straight from the airport -- private flight because that's how star conductors roll, bY0tches! -- to support the young Venezuelan conductor and to conduct personally the second half of the rehearsal around 11:30AM).

Also present in the audience, Gustavo Dudamel, who's in town to conduct "Carmen" at Scala.

Matheuz is in town to rehearse the November 11 concert with Filarmonica at Konzerthaus in Berlin, his proper debut with the Scala symphony orchestra.

In an interview with Repubblica newspaper, Matheuz -- another product of El Sistema -- said something pretty funny: as a kid (he's 26 now) he used to be a cellist but the instrument was too bulky to fit in his dad's car: a baton is way more portable.

Ciao Jill

Sometimes you watch an actor and you think, how does she pull it off, how can she be so devastating even though she works with such economy? Jill Clayburgh, who just passed away at the age of 66, was such an actress. She breaks your heart every time you watch her in action -- in "An Unmarried Woman", "Starting Over", and "La Luna" directed by Bernardo Bertolucci where she plays an opera singer (her grandmother was a soprano) a film that's so wonderful all the American obits overlook it, and she could be delightful even as Ally McBeal's mom.

One is not surprised to learn that she kept her illness a secret for 21 years -- working, being an icon, and being generally awesome. One is not surprised because she had that kind of bravery as an actress, too.

Shirley Verrett, 1931-2010

Update:

It's official. Associated Press.

***

Anthony Tommasini will report soon in nytimes.com -- and then in tomorrow's Times -- that Shirley Verrett, the veteran opera singer "who overcame racial prejudice to bring fearless power, scrupulous musicianship and keen dramatic instincts to opera stages throughout the world, has died" at the age of 79.

Frank Sinatra Eats a Hot Dog

Style icon via Tom Sutpen

Franco Zeffirelli Needs A Hug

Franco Zeffirelli spoke to The Australian last week and we're only too happy to meta ourselves with an Ameer Life's A Pitch reciprocol (Youtube below) which basically sums up the article and Frengo's non sequitur wordplay. Frengo, described as resembling, "the predatory old fruit Uncle Monty from Withnail and I", goes onto share his little life lessons:

On the pope: "He's not exactly the image of a pope for me. He looks very much like an old lady."

On last year's L'Aquila earthquake? "I don't give a damn," he snaps. "It's a city I don't like."

On his work: "It is the only thing I have," he says. "I don't have love."

Frengo, don't be silly...WE <3 U!

Morricone's Memories

Mondadori's just published Ennio Morricone's autobiography, ''Lontano dai sogni, conversazioni con Antonio Monda'' (in Italian-language only!) Italian writer Antonio Monda helped bring out all of composer Morricone's career highlights, including his famous collaborations with past greats Leone, Pasolini, Bertolucci, and his more recent work with Tornatore, Polanski, and Almodovar. The Oscar-winning composer is currently living it up on book tour.

Here's the Maestro's showing-off his mean ping-pong skills!

Listen to This, Purry & Furry Friends!

Alex Ross, with the help of his furrypants friend, show-off the UK edition of his latest awesomosity, Listen to This (or as we call it, "Yo! Check this Shizz Out!")

We got our red-blooded, all-beef American edition a while ago and read it in one sitting (ok, a few -- although we love The People's Court reruns, we're not Rainman). Ross' remastered and remixed essays from his dozen years at The New Yorker are engaging and energetic, which makes for a nice break between our November reading rush. We've written about Ross' cats before and now we kind of hope that his next book is on his whiskered friends because they're sooo googly!

William Eggleston Plays the Piano

The world's greatest photographer and Opera Chic Style Icon is also a pianist: