Does every gay English major go through a Byron phase? Surely I’m not the only one. I was crazy for Byron as an undergraduate. My favorite Romantic poet, but something more — an enigmatic gay icon to adorn my coming out. Of course, I probably projected much more gay pride upon Lord Byron than historical reality would bear out. Then, I got burnt on Byron around the same time that I began having Byronic affairs myself. He’s been on the shelf ever since. Perhaps it’s time to re-visit English Lit’s quintessential bad boy though. I’d forgotten how “simpatico” we both are. [more . . . ]
From the category archives:
Famous Opera Fanatics
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Metropolitan Opera House
February 9, 1952
In English
COSÌ FAN TUTTE {18}
Fiordiligi..............Eleanor Steber
Ferrando................Richard Tucker
Dorabella...............Blanche Thebom
Guglielmo...............Frank Guarrera
Despina.................Patrice Munsel
Don Alfonso.............Lorenzo Alvary
Servant.................Alfred Lunt
Conductor...............Alberto Erede
9 February 1952
New York
Dined with Guthrie and went to Cosi Fan Tutte at the Met. Alfred [Lunt]’s production brilliant but I hate Mozart, and I loathed the libretto.
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7 February 1946
London
Went to Peter Grimes. Extremely well done and the music, although over-eager to avoid melody, is somehow exciting. It is certainly a considerable contribution to English opera.
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Excerpts from Esther Williams’ autobiography, “The Million Dollar Mermaid”.
Million Dollar Melchoir
Included in the cast of Thrill of a Romance was singer Lauritz Melchoir. Melchoir was Heldentenor who specialized in Wagnerian opera. I was thrilled because I had been an opera buff for years, starting when I was young enough that my mother wanted to know why I was listening to all those people screaming on the radio every Saturday afternoon.
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Watching the Montserrat Caballe documentary “Caballe: Beyond Music” (Euroarts DVD), the NYC Opera Fanatic almost lost his Ben & Jerrie’s when our own Lois Kirchenbaum shows up to give her thoughts on Caballe’s 1965 Lucrezia Borgia at Carnegie Hall, Caballe’s sensational NYC debut. Lois is lookin swank too, in a Chanel-esque dark red suit with the skyline of Manhattan in the background. U go, girl.
For those of you living in ignorance, Lois Kirchenbaum is one of the few TRUE NYC Opera Fanatics. I’m merely borrowing this name until Lois needs it back. The woman goes to every performance of opera, ballet, theater, u name it. Plus Lois always meets & greets the stars at the backstage door. That’s New York hospitality {smirk}
Besides appearing frequently in Gotham opera lore, Lois is also a walking repository of New York opera history. Lois, u NEED to write your memoirs! You write stuff down and the NYC Opera Fanatic will host it on his blog, OK? We must make this oral history more than just oral. New generations of opera-lovers need to know what opera in Gotham was like before Levine!
Doesn’t our Lois look swank with Manhattan as her backdrop? Very “That Girl”. Or, rather, very “That Golden Girl”!
Bravii to two of my favorite divas! Brava Montsy! Brava Lois!
Lois on Lucrezia, 1965 (excerpted from the DVD)
So the night of the performance, I was in the lobby and there were 10’s of people selling their tickets because Marilyn had canceled. Finally we all get inside and we’re waiting for the performance and the performance begins.
I slumped in my seat (laughs) It was incredible. I had… I never thought I would hear singing quite like that. It was just … you had to be there to believe what you were hearing. … you couldn’t believe your own ears.
Just… it carried u away.. it transported you.. it was a very special sound…. a very special
Obviously Lois Kirchenbaum is one of the “many more” credited on the cover of the DVD. Domingo, Sutherland, Horne… and Kirchenbaum.
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