You know, if our ancestors had thrown out their furniture every decade, as we do, where would we go for antiques? Let us give some thought to the well-being and enjoyment of our descendants, patch up our lares and penates, and hang on to them, so that the future will inherit at least some relics of our heedless and wasteful age. Working over something, and repairing it,—whether we re-finish furniture, fix over an old house, or put new cuffs on a sweater—not only gives things new life and makes them look cared-for, but embeds them still deeper in our affections.
—Elizabeth Zimmermann, Knitter’s Almanac
WHEN I heard the learn’d astronomer;
When the proofs, the figures, were ranged in columns before me;
When I was shown the charts and the diagrams, to add, divide, and measure them;
When I, sitting, heard the astronomer, where he lectured with much applause in the lecture-room,
How soon, unaccountable, I became tired and sick;
Till rising and gliding out, I wander’d off by myself,
In the mystical moist night-air, and from time to time,
Look’d up in perfect silence at the stars.
—Walt Whitman
vilaine fille wishes everyone blessings and miracles at Pesach!
Miss you, sweetie. Love you.
I have learnt how to live… How to be in the world and of the world, and not just to stand aside and watch. And I will never, never again run away from life. Or from love, either…Merci !
—Billy Wilder, Sabrina
D’una città non godi le sette o le settantasette meraviglie, ma la risposta che dà a una tua domanda.
—Italo Calvino
I look forward to an America which commands respect throughout the world, not only for its strength, but for its civilization as well. And I look forward to a world which will be safe not only for democracy and diversity, but also for personal distinction.
—John F. Kennedy
To all who keep the holiday, vilaine fille sends best wishes for a happy and blessèd Easter!
vilaine fille sends greetings to her sisters all over the globe for International Women’s Day, La Festa della Donna.
In particular, she salutes those lucky enough to live in civilized countries, who enjoy abortion rights; state-funded healthcare, child care, and maternity leave; and explicit guarantees of equality under the law. (G-d willing, she’s gonna be joining you real soon.)
Read Mary Wollstonecraft’s A Vindication of the Rights of Women.
…e poi viene un giorno
che a guardarlo passare
sembra il giorno di un altro
e di un altro le cose da fare
e di un altro la voce
e anche l’ombra sui muri
e di un altro anche i fiori
che ho preso per te
e sono fiori d’inverno
ma per un’altra stagione
oppure un altro ricordo
che adesso non so
nient’altro che fiori
cosa vorranno mai dire
a guardarli di nuovo
non dicono più
perché viene un giorno…
—Gianmaria Testa, “Nient’altro che fiori”
And then there comes a day that, to watch it pass, seems the day of someone else, of someone else the things to do, of someone else the voice, even the shadows on the walls, and even these winter flowers that I gathered for you. And they’re winter flowers, but for some other season, or for some other memory, of what now I don’t know—nothing but flowers, whatever might they mean? As I look at them again, they say no more. Because there comes a day…
Great news, New Yorkers: Gianmaria Testa will make one of his rare visits to the United States on 25 May, playing Joe’s Pub with flugelhorn virtuoso Paolo Fresu.
Gianmaria’s 1999 CD Lampo, a masterpiece bathed in moonlight and haunted by time’s dizzying rush, has been reissued (including English-language texts this time around).
“Nient’altro che fiori,” from Altre latitudini, features, among others, the great trumpeter Enrico Rava, one of the sexiest men on the planet, who plays Birdland 20–23 February along with pianist Stefano Bollani and other crack musicians. Rava and Bollani have a new ECM CD, The Third Man.
One of this opera season’s most eagerly anticipated events is just around the corner: the March return to the Met of tenor Giuseppe Filianoti as Edgardo in Lucia di Lammermoor, the role of his sensational 2005 company début.
Filianoti, who opened yesterday as Tom Rakewell in Palermo (his role début), has been to hell and back since his last local appearance, in OONY’s L’Arlesiana in February 2007—and I’m not referring only to the diabolical operas in which he has sung. On the heels of an acclaimed Rome run of Werther, Filianoti fell gravely ill with peritonitis following an appendectomy and was forced to withdraw from some six months of engagements.
His first performances after his illness—as Hoffmann in Hamburg and in Verdi’s Messa da Requiem in Torino—were popular and critical successes, though Il Corriere della Grisi’s Adolphe Nourrit expressed reservations about the Hoffmann. Opera Today’s critic, instead, praised Filianoti’s “balls-to-the-wall phrases,” of which vilaine fille says: Wow, that must hurt.
Last month’s Mefistofele in Palermo reportedly found the tenor in fine fettle. (Yes, that’s Mefistofele in the photo and not That ‘70s Show). And, as all the world knows, Filianoti will open the 2008-09 La Scala season in the title role of Verdi’s Don Carlo (Italian-language, four-act version) under Daniele Gatti. (vilaine fille’s birthday is the day after Sant’Ambrogio; she is SO there.)
Werther, Hoffmann, Faust, Don Carlo… That’s mighty heavy rep for a young singer. (Soon after his Met début, Filianoti opined that it was “too soon” for him to undertake Don Carlo.) And Edgardo’s tessitura is killing…
En tout cas, we wish Don Peppino a hearty in bocca al lupo and bentornato a New York! Alas, what with the silly set in the new Lucia, he probably will not be able to make his entrance running, with his cape swirling behind him—one of vilaine fille’s most cherished memories from thirty years of opera going. Filianoti also portrays Edgardo in San Francisco later this year. His upcoming performances include, as well, Werther in Genova, La clemenza di Tito in Torino, and Nicias in Thaïs (venue TBA).
Since Don Peppino is that rare tenor who reads Borges and Sgalambro, we thought it only fair to have him answer a version of the Proust questionnaire. (The Italian-language original will appear in print in coming weeks; if it makes its way to the web, I’ll post the link.)
Buona lettura!
Your most marked characteristic?
Determination.
The quality you most like in a man?
Courage.
The quality you most like in a woman?
Intelligence and intuition.
What do you most value in your friends?
Good faith.
What is your principal defect?
Being an introvert.
What is your favorite occupation?
Reading.
What is your dream of happiness?
Living in total serenity.
What to your mind would be the greatest of misfortunes?
Losing those I love.
What would you like to be?
Alight with wisdom.
In what country would you like to live?
Southern Italy.
What is your favorite color?
Brown.
What is your favorite flower?
All of them.
What is your favorite bird?
The phoenix.
Who are your favorite prose writers?
Too many, I couldn’t decide.
Who are your favorite poets?
Dante, Shakespeare, Leopardi, Montale.
Who is your favorite hero of fiction?
Edgardo, Achilles, Aeneas.
Who are your favorite heroines of fiction?
Desdemona, Anna Karenina, Dido.
Who are your favorite composers?
All those whose music I’ve sung along with Britten, Debussy, and Monteverdi.
Who are your favorite painters?
Mantegna, Leonardo, Raffaello, and Caravaggio.
Who are your heroes in real life?
I have none.
Who are your favorite heroines of history?
Joan of Arc, Mother Teresa of Calcutta.
What are your favorite names?
Arianna, Flavio.
What is it you most dislike?
The abuse of power.
What historical figure do you most despise?
Hitler.
What event in military history do you most admire?
None.
What natural gift would you most like to possess?
The ability to read my own soul.
How would you like to die?
I don’t think about it.
What is your present state of mind?
In progress (answered in English).
To what faults do you feel most indulgent?
Those belonging to the people dear to my heart.
What is your motto?
Don’t borrow trouble.
Update: La sor romana answers the ever-pressing question, How many tenors does it take to screw in a lightbulb?
And until 20 January 2009, we say, with brother Nick: A ognuno puzza questo barbaro dominio (This barbarous regime stinks in all nostrils), De principatibus, XXVI.
A safe and relaxing holiday to my fellow Statunitensi!
And we should consider every day lost on which we have not danced at least once. And we should call every truth false which was not accompanied by at least one laugh.
—My sister Fred
Happy Valentine’s Day!
Whether your love be new or old, sad or glad, fleshly or of the spirit, or perhaps all of the above (why not?), vilaine fille sends you a baker’s dozen of musical roses and wishes you immense tenderness and joy.
L’amour… supporte tout, croit tout, espère tout, endure tout. L’amour ne périt jamais.
Acceptance is often touted as the right move spiritually, and I think that an awful lot of us waste years trying to accept the things we are meant to change…
Accepting the unacceptable creates resentment. Resentment creates rage. Rage turned inward creates depression, and depression is a great excuse for martyrdom…
When we ask for acceptance and don’t get it, it’s not because G-d is hard of hearing. It’s because the answer is no. We are not being told “Try harder.” We are being told “Stop trying.” We are being told “Move on.”
—Julia Cameron, G-d Is No Laughing Matter
The peculiar quiet that blankets the city when even a light dusting of snow hugs the ground. Admiring the milky, billowing darkness from a cozy nook, reading e-mails from beloved friends. Walking up Broadway through a whirl of diamond crystals that kiss and sting my cheeks. Laughing away the evening in warm, sassy company as the sleet lashes the windows. Indulging (guilt-free) in stick-to-the-ribs comfort food. Trudging through slush and turning the corner only to find that my block still lies under a pristine, downy cover of white.
Thank you, G-d. Jai guru deva om.
When will our consciences grow so tender that we will act to prevent human misery rather than avenge it?
—Eleanor Roosevelt
The world, it seems, teems with magni Fabii. In the musical realm, we have Fabio Luisi, Fabio Biondi, and Fabio Bidini.
And in the world of calcio, we have Fabio Cannavaro—who scored in Italy’s 3-1 victory over Portugal in yesterday’s friendly—and two other magni Fabii. We celebrate them now!
Fabio Quagliarella, like Fabio Cannavaro, my nonna, and my beloved sor’s family, hails from Campania. He also scored against Portugal and is a winsome young man with a penchant for spectacular goals. Note that the Azzurri wore their new outfits yesterday.
Fabio Grosso, who tops the man-pile at left, was the hero of the 2006 World Cup. His assist yesterday set up Luca Toni’s goal against Portugal. Alas, Grosso now plays in the Ligue 1, the most sorry group ever of catenacciari (believe me, I am an eyewitness). Torna, Fabietto, torna! Ha ragione la mamma di Giò: So’ c*r*gne pour de vrai!
Rubertì del furmai, ci vediamo a Bergamo. Sarò in compagnia di un bellissimo bimbo appassionato di Magritte ed i suoi genitori. Ci diamo appuntamento al banco nespole? Pota sì!
Kung hei fat choi!
One year of the rat has come to an end chez vilaine fille. She hopes and prays that the new Year of the Rat will be a good one for all.
According to one forecast,
The Rat is the first sign of the Chinese zodiac and signifies new beginnings. This year is thus an appropriate time to start new ventures, especially groundbreakings. This includes new ideas, directions, and ways of doing things. It is a time to experiment and put plans into action, as there will be plenty of opportunities to achieve success.
Get rat facts, rat quotes, and more. Read your horoscope, and don’t forget to wear red, eat sweets and fish, and enjoy the holiday’s many delightful traditions. New Yorkers, this is an excellent time to visit the Museum of Chinese in America.
New Year’s blessings to all!
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