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| On Thursday June 12, 2003, at 3 p.m. at the Old South Meeting House on Washington Street in Boston, I attended a delightful recital entitled “The Mask of Comedy, The Mask of Tragedy.” The performers were “Duo Seraphim”: Melissa Fogarty, soprano and baroque guitar, and Jennifer Griesbach, harpsichord. The recital was a “concurrent event” with the Boston Early Music Festival. At the beginning of the program, Ms. Griesbach sat at the harpsichord and Ms. Fogarty ran down the aisle toward the harspichord and sang “Aspettate! Addesso canto,” “Wait! Now I am singing,” the first words of a scene (I’m not sure what else to call it) set to music by Antonio Cesti (1623-1669) about the mania for singing among the public of his time. It was very humorous and sung with great panache by Ms. Fogarty. There followed a series of songs (some of which may be considered arie antiche for all I know) by Italian composers of the seventeenth century, as well as two instrumental pieces for harpsichord. Ms. Fogarty accompanied herself on the baroque guitar for some of the songs. The intent of the program was to demonstrate vocal and dramatic extremes. Ms. Fogarty successfully conveyed the great joy that she takes in singing. Her voice was pleasant and she ably communicated a variety of emotions. The audience thoroughly enjoyed the performance, and I would look forward to an opportunity to see Ms. Fogarty in an opera. |
| On Friday June 13, 2003, at 1:30 p.m. I attended a performance by La Favoritte at the French Library of Boston. La Favoritte consists of Lise Maisonneuve, soprano, Madeleine Owen, theorbo & romantic guitar, and Barbara Zuchowicz, pardessus de viole & baroque ‘cello. They performed: 5 motets from the Ursuline Archives and Hôtel-Dieu at Québec (1639-c. 1760) 3 works by Elizabeth-Claude Jacquet de la Guerre (1666/67-1729): Cantate tirer [sic] de l’écriture: Le Temple Rebasti [sic] Sonate II pour pardessus de viole avec basse continue Autre cantate tirer [sic] de l’écriture: Joseph and 4 folk songs from New France. The five motets were settings of brief Latin texts that I believe would have been sung by a nun during mass at the Ursuline convent in Quebec City. Ms. Maisonneuve sang them quite movingly, and I would have liked to hear even more. Elizabeth-Claude Jacquet de la Guerre was a French composer who was well known in her time and whose work was appreciated by Louis XIV. Her compositions were not unknown in New France. Of the two cantatas that La Favoritte performed, I found the one about Joseph of greater musical and dramatic interest. It is based on the Old Testament story of Joseph who was sold into slavery by his brothers, came to be respected in Egypt, and was tempted by his master’s wife. Ms. Maisonneuve sang it with great expessivity. I especially enjoyed the final aria “Lorsque le piège est agréable." All three performers were excellent musicians. According to the program notes, the ensemble are recording two cantatas of Elizabeth-Claude Jacquet de la Guerre and eight motets from the Ursulines of 17th and 18th century Quebec with Kevin James, baroque violin. I would look forward to the recording, since this music is definitely worth repeated listening. The program concluded with four folk songs from New France. |
| Elaine Pagels' book Beyond Belief: The Secret Gospel of Thomas "is a study of one of the Gnostic gospels, early Christian texts written around the time of the New Testament and regarded as heretical. Ms. Pagels's book, clearly written, lyrical but deeply scholarly, is a surprise hit. Out just a month, it is moving up the best-seller list, and Random House has had to reprint it three times, with 108,000 copies now in print."--from an article by Dinitia Smith in the New York Times of June 14, 2003. |
| Water from the Deeside spring near Balmoral Castle in Scotland may reduce the pain of rheumatoid arthritis, reports an article at telegraph.co.uk. |
| June 15, 2003 A new sitcom with Nathan Lane ("another Nathan Lane fiasco" according to the Alameda Times-Star) debuts in the United States at 8:30 p.m. |
| "Heavy metal band Metallica have topped the US charts with their latest album St Anger, selling nearly half a million copies in its first week of release," reports BBC News. |
| "Handsome heart throb is an opera phenom" says the headline of an article by Dan Rowe in the Vancouver Sun about tenor Juan Diego Flórez. |
| Pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet says, in an article at advocate.com, that he loves opera madly. |
| The reviews were mixed for Peter Sellars' production of Idomeneo at Glyndebourne. Article at guardian.co.uk. |
| "Lincoln Center said Tuesday it intends to make sure that the New York Philharmonic fulfills its commitment to the center before it officially moves to Carnegie Hall. * * * "The . . . orchestra has a contract with Lincoln Center until 2011." --from an Associated Press article at yahoo.com. |
| The opening performance of Il Trovatore at the San Francisco Opera was "lackluster," said Joshua Kosman in a review in the San Francisco Chronicle. |
| The Handel and Haydn Society and Arabesque Recordings have announced the release of a recording of Alexander's Feast and the Ode for Saint Cecilia's Day, by Handel arranged by Mozart, conducted by Christopher Hogwood with the Handel and Haydn Society Chorus and Orchestra. Soloists on the recording are Lynne Dawson, John Mark Ainsley, Alastair Miles, and William Sharp. The recording will be available at amazon.com as of July 1, 2003. |
| "After more than 140 shows, Cher's Living Proof Farewell Tour has grossed $130 million and enters its second summer as one of the season's strongest draws," says a Reuters article at yahoo.com. The compact disc The Very Best of Cher has hit one million in sales. |
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