I ate something I shouldn't have...can Steven Drakker...

[TruHart1]

Hepped up.

 

http://static2.fjcdn.com/comments/I+say+thank+ye+son+thank+ye+kindly+_5e7b2248731e3b890c8f04359a3d87f0.jpg

 

https://en.m.wiktionary.org/wiki/hepped_up

Plus Heptup really does sound quite Egyptian in a Hatshepsut sort of way as well!

(Hatshepsut! Fascinating female pharaoh!!!)

What they said! Just don't get all Heptup about the little stuff, Gman! LOL! :Do_O:D Now please continue with the M. Proust character discussion...

 

TruHart1

[+ Gar1eth]

(Hatshepsut! Fascinating female pharaoh!!!)

What they said! Just don't get all Heptup about the little stuff, Gman! LOL! :Do_O:D Now please continue with the M. Proust character discussion...

 

TruHart1

 

 

It's so sad Charlus isn't involved in the Forum anymore. He would love this discussion.

 

Gman

[gallahadesquire]

I am reading Norman Mailer's World War Two Pacific war novel, "The Naked and the Dead" again. Mailer was only 24 when he wrote the book. In the 50th anniversary edition, Mailer wrote that he often started the day reading passages from "Anna Karenina," learning writing and life skills, especially compassion, from Tolstoy.

 

For me, I also learn from Thomas Mann's "The Magic Mountain" again and again.

 

I've never read Anna Karenina, War and Peace, nor there Ilk. But am I correct in assuming you need a place-holder Card to tell you what names any of them are using at any given time?

[gallahadesquire]

Well there is some overlap!

 

http://www.operanews.com/uploadedImages/Opera_News_Magazine/2011/6(3)/Departments/BooksOperaNovel1211.jpg

 

Balzac, Tolstoy, Flaubert, Dumas dealt mainly with Italian composers. Proust made references to Wagner's Tristan und Isolde if I recall correctly.

 

PS: For non opera aficionados that's a quite different Tristan by the way!

 

Though it does fit nicely into this thread!

 

I don't think TB sings ... but T&I would LOOK a lot more interesting if he did.

 

I saw it once, in '69 or '70. Birgit Nilsson as Isolde ... the rest of my life has been one big anti-climax.

[+ WilliamM]

I've never read Anna Karenina, War and Peace, nor there Ilk. But am I correct in assuming you need a place-holder Card to tell you what names any of them are using at any given time

 

Almost all recent translations of Anna Karenina and War and Peace have excellent family trees in the front of the book so you can keep track of each character. The four or five major families are especially important in War and Peace, the more you know in the first fifty-seventy-five pages, the more the story and philosophy becomes meaningful.

 

Neither novel is as difficult as legend has it.

[+ Funguy]

Wow has this thread migrated! From original topic to bathroom sanitation devices to showers in school to Proust, TB's screw top champagne, Egyptians, books/opera and still going forward!

[whipped guy]

(Hatshepsut! Fascinating female pharaoh!!!)

What they said! Just don't get all Heptup about the little stuff, Gman! LOL! :Do_O:D Now please continue with the M. Proust character discussion...

 

TruHart1

Yes! Achetecture is a passion of mine as well and Hatshepsut was responsible for some of the more interesting Egyptian architectural structures.

 

 

http://www.spiritweb.us/egypt/hathor-hatshepsut-temple.jpg

 

Anyone ready for a production of Aida?!

[TruHart1]

Yes! Architecture is a passion of mine as well and Hatshepsut was responsible for some of the more interesting Egyptian architectural structures.

[image of Hatshepsut's temple and her carved face!]

Anyone ready for a production of Aida?!

 

I'd love to see a production of Aida with a particular hunky tenor singing Rhadames (you know who, WG!)...he might look a little liked Heptup! It may happen in a year or two, too! :)

 

TruHart1

[whipped guy]

I'd love to see a production of Aida with a particular hunky tenor singing Rhadames (you know who, WG!)...he might look a little liked Heptup! It may happen in a year or two, too! :)

 

TruHart1

 

Might you mean this guy?

 

Believe me I did search for a naked pic, but I don't have access to his "private gallery"! Well would that he had one!

 

At any rate, these are the most "suggestive" shots that I could locate!

 

http://www.limelightmagazine.com.au/sites/www.limelightmagazine.com.au/files/Jonas%20Kaufmann.jpg

 

 

http://www.musicalcriticism.com/interviews/kaufmann-3.jpg

http://intermezzo.typepad.com/.a/6a00d834ff890853ef0134889a321a970c-pi

 

PS: for the curious that's tenor Jonas Kaufmann. We made have created some new opera fans with this post.

[+ Gar1eth]

I'd love to see a production of Aida with a particular hunky tenor singing Rhadames (you know who, WG!)...he might look a little liked Heptup! It may happen in a year or two, too! :)

 

TruHart1

 

Might you mean this guy?

 

Believe me I did search for a naked pic, but I don't have access to his "private gallery"! Well would that he had one!

 

At any rate, these are the most "suggestive" shots that I could locate!

 

http://www.limelightmagazine.com.au/sites/www.limelightmagazine.com.au/files/Jonas%20Kaufmann.jpg

 

 

http://www.musicalcriticism.com/interviews/kaufmann-3.jpg

http://intermezzo.typepad.com/.a/6a00d834ff890853ef0134889a321a970c-pi

 

PS: for the curious that's tenor Jonas Kaufmann. We made have created some new opera fans with this post.

 

Am I wrong in thinking Tru was possibly referring to a tenor who has been known to post here in the Forum?

 

Gman

[gallahadesquire]

As a momentary aside:

 

Regarding Proust:

 

There is a very popular Polish science fiction author named Stanislaw Lem, who wrote Memoirs Found in a Bathtub, the reference being obvious.

[+ Gar1eth]

As a momentary aside:

 

Regarding Proust:

 

There is a very popular Polish science fiction author named Stanislaw Lem, who wrote Memoirs Found in a Bathtub, the reference being obvious.

 

Not having read anything by Misters Lem or Proust is it possible the reference is to Paul Marat?

 

Gman

[whipped guy]

Not having read anything by Misters Lem or Proust is it possible the reference is to Paul Marat?

 

Gman

Well we have discussed toilets in this thread. Why not bathtubs. Will shower stalls be next?

 

http://springfield-bathtub-repair.com/ESW/Images/bathtub1.jpg

 

ps: I thought the David Death of Marat pic a bit too graphic to post!

[bigvalboy]

ps: I though the David Death of Marat pic a bit too graphic to post!

 

Well I have a large print of the Death of Lescuat hanging in my bedroom..... Why?....good question. I get that a lot, but all I can say is that I love the image.

 

[whipped guy]

Well I have a large print of the Death of Lescuat hanging in my bedroom..... Why?....good question. I get that a lot, but all I can say is that I love the image.

 

So you're into Prévost if not Proust, but I like your style BVB. PICTURES as opposed to reading!! After all, a picture is indeed worth a thousand words. Saves time as well!

[bigvalboy]

So you're into Prévost if not Proust, but I like your style BVB. PICTURES as opposed to reading!! After all, a picture is indeed worth a thousand words. Saves time as well!

 

I actually have a series of prints all framed that I rotate throughout the casa, and yes, I haven't a clue as to what I'm looking at, but they are just stunning, and they were lovingly packed and made the cross-country trek via Allied.

 

This is my favorite....

 

BOARDING A TALL SHIP,Carrack,French Art Masterpiece,1883 Antique Gravure

 

Historical Collectible Art Print

 

http://www.artisans-lane.com/Masterpieces/FrenchArt/031541k6-EmbarkationofManonLescaut.jpg

 

Greetings and farewells. How largely these enter into our unstable lives; but how infinitely they vary in their degrees of joy or of sorrow! This picture presents a critical incident in the Abbé Prévost's tragic romance of Manon Lescaut. Manon's idolatrous passion for her lover impels her to every sacrifice, even that of honor. Her devotion is ardently reciprocated. The parents of the young man, who is of excellent family, at length procure an order for Manon's transportation, with a view to the effectual separation of the lovers. But the Chevalier follows Manon from Paris to Havre, where he rejoins her at the moment of embarkation, and resolves to abandon every other tie and link his destiny to hers. In his well-studied and masterly picture, M. Delort portrays the scene in which the lovers look for the last time on their native land, which they are now to exchange for the unknown trials of the penal colony. Our attention is first arrested by the Transport-ship, a splendid specimen of the naval architecture of the last century. We next revert naturally to the passengers mounting the ship's side, and to those in the boats below, whose movements and exchange of greetings and adieus are so faithfully portrayed that the scene is made real to us. But soon our sympathetic regards are riveted upon the nearest boat, which is itself a picture of rare excellence and pathos. Here are the hapless lovers who, perhaps with all their present pain and anxious forebodings, little think how soon Death will remorselessly tear them asunder. The picture has deep, general interest, independent of its special motive. It won a medal in the Salon of 1875. The artist studied under Gleyre and Gerome.

 

How'd I do?

[whipped guy]

I actually have a series of prints all framed that I rotate throughout the casa, and yes, I haven't a clue as to what I'm looking at, but they are just stunning, and they were lovingly packed and made the cross-country trek via Allied.

 

This is my favorite....

 

BOARDING A TALL SHIP,Carrack,French Art Masterpiece,1883 Antique Gravure

 

Historical Collectible Art Print

 

http://www.artisans-lane.com/Masterpieces/FrenchArt/031541k6-EmbarkationofManonLescaut.jpg

 

Greetings and farewells. How largely these enter into our unstable lives; but how infinitely they vary in their degrees of joy or of sorrow! This picture presents a critical incident in the Abbé Prévost's tragic romance of Manon Lescaut. Manon's idolatrous passion for her lover impels her to every sacrifice, even that of honor. Her devotion is ardently reciprocated. The parents of the young man, who is of excellent family, at length procure an order for Manon's transportation, with a view to the effectual separation of the lovers. But the Chevalier follows Manon from Paris to Havre, where he rejoins her at the moment of embarkation, and resolves to abandon every other tie and link his destiny to hers. In his well-studied and masterly picture, M. Delort portrays the scene in which the lovers look for the last time on their native land, which they are now to exchange for the unknown trials of the penal colony. Our attention is first arrested by the Transport-ship, a splendid specimen of the naval architecture of the last century. We next revert naturally to the passengers mounting the ship's side, and to those in the boats below, whose movements and exchange of greetings and adieus are so faithfully portrayed that the scene is made real to us. But soon our sympathetic regards are riveted upon the nearest boat, which is itself a picture of rare excellence and pathos. Here are the hapless lovers who, perhaps with all their present pain and anxious forebodings, little think how soon Death will remorselessly tear them asunder. The picture has deep, general interest, independent of its special motive. It won a medal in the Salon of 1875. The artist studied under Gleyre and Gerome.

 

How'd I do?

BVB! Excellent! I'm impressed with your knowledge and appreciation of fine art!!!

 

This is so interesting. A few weeks ago I exchanged a series of PM's with a fellow poster here regarding the final scene of Puccini's opera Manon Lescaut. The Italian libretto says that it takes place on either a vast plain or desert or swamp outside of New Orleans depending on the translation. Una landa deserta can mean a deserted plain or swamp. However, it can also reference a desert plain. Other libretti reference una landa sterminata, an unending plain. However, since it is supposed to take place to the east of the city, as the lovers were trying to escape to the English colonies, the desert location is highly unlikely.

 

In any event, this fact got me to actually read the original Prévost albeit in English translation. The translation I found says that they would have to "traverse deserts" to reach their destination, but that they ended up on an "extensive plain". So take your pick! I don't know French so I ain't going to the original of the original! I would guess that Prévost was not up on his geography in 1731. Either that or they headed in the wrong direction to reach the English colonies.

Perhaps someone here knows what the original French indicates. Based on BVB's print they are definitely in a deserted area of some sort.

 

Incidentally there is another opera by Massenet based on the same subject, but to a French libretto. The problem is solved there because Manon dies before making it to the ship. BOO HISS about that!

[AdamSmith]

There is a very popular Polish science fiction author named Stanislaw Lem, who wrote Memoirs Found in a Bathtub, the reference being obvious.

 

Yes! That novel is brilliant. And proving all too prescient.

 

All roads lead to Lem, it seems. Just yesterday another thread prompted me to reference his 'GOLEM XIV' in Imaginary Magnitudes: http://m4m-forum.org/threads/why-homosexuality-is-natural-and-important.106706/page-2#post-993916

[TruHart1]

Am I wrong in thinking Tru was possibly referring to a tenor who has been known to post here in the Forum?

 

Gman

 

Well, in this case Gman, you ARE wrong, because WG and I have discussed many operatic matters, both having this art as an additional hobby to the one this forum was created for! So WG knows who my absolute favorite tenor is:

 

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_DYlG-suiAMc/TSemJ4NM1nI/AAAAAAAAAYc/EK2vIXGiVLU/s1600/kaufmann.jpg

 

Jonas Kaufmann is indeed the tenor I was referencing and since he has recently recorded a new CD (due out in September or October) of a complete live concert performance of Aida, it is well within the realm of possibility that it may not be too long until he does, indeed, sing the opera onstage!

 

As for the tenor who posts on the forum, from his name here I would conclude that he is a Wagner specialist! However, Rhadames is often sung by bigger voiced, Wagnerian type tenors, so he may also plan to, or have already sung the role.

 

In any case, Kaufmann is my absolute favorite interpreter of operatic tenor literature at this point in time. In addition, because he is very attractive physically (to me!) and is really a great operatic actor on stage, I always find him revelatory when he creates an operatic character, and yes, I admit he can exude sexuality in some of his portrayals! Check out this duet with Kristine Opolais, from Puccini's opera Manon Lescaut in a concert with the Boston Symphony where the chemistry is palpable between them, even though they are not even in costume (AND the conductor, Andris Nelsons, is Opolais' husband!):

http://www.pbs.org/wnet/gperf/boston-symphony-orchestra-andris-nelsons-inaugural-concert-jonas-kaufmann-kristine-opolais-tu-tu-amore/3992

 

TruHart1

[AdamSmith]

bigger voiced, Wagnerian type

 

Is that what they call it.

[+ WilliamM]

Kaufmann and Opolais have been doing full performances of Manon Lescaut in several opera houses. In March 2016, they bring the opera to the Met. Kaufmann did not perform in New York during the 2014-2015 Met season. He missed two performances of Carmen due to illness.

 

Good to have Jonas Kauffmann back.

[TruHart1]

Kaufmann and Opolais have been doing full performances of Manon Lescaut in several opera houses. In March 2016, they bring the opera to the Met. Kaufmann did not perform in New York during the 2014-2015 Met season. He missed two performances of Carmen due to illness.

 

Good to have Jonas Kauffmann back.

Yes. A disappointment since those two Carmens were Kaufmann's only scheduled MET appearances last season. He's been pretty doggone busy this summer though. Besides a major recital concert at La Scala (where he actually messed up an encore of Nessun Dorma and laughed it off naturally, then sang it again correctly, keeping the tough La Scala audience on his side!) in June, he sang a Summer's Eve outdoor concert in Munich at the end of June with Netrebko, Hampson and Abdrazakov, and then did an outdoor fully staged Carmen at the Summer Festival in Orange, France in July, followed by a televised Manon Lescaut (with Opolais again) in Munich at the end of July, followed by a performance of Fidelio at the Salzburg Festival in early August! Watching and listening to these performances, I'd say he seems fully recovered from whatever kept him from those MET performances!

 

TruHart1

[tyro]

Well, in this case Gman, you ARE wrong, because WG and I have discussed many operatic matters, both having this art as an additional hobby to the one this forum was created for! So WG knows who my absolute favorite tenor is:

 

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_DYlG-suiAMc/TSemJ4NM1nI/AAAAAAAAAYc/EK2vIXGiVLU/s1600/kaufmann.jpg

 

 

TruHart1

I still vote for Andreas...but Jonas isn't too shabby!

Now if only Uni liked brown-eyed boys, we'd have had pages-long threads of our gents MONTHS (years?) ago! (Cough, cough. The Queen of Subtleties had a little tickle there.)

T

[TruHart1]

I still vote for Andreas...but Jonas isn't too shabby!

Now if only Uni liked brown-eyed boys, we'd have had pages-long threads of our gents MONTHS (years?) ago! (Cough, cough. The Queen of Subtleties had a little tickle there.)

T

Of course, Andreas is younger than Herr Kaufmann! I guess I go for the more mature men. Right, Raul?!!

 

Love you, beautiful Lady Ty!!!

 

TruHart1

[tyro]

True, true...Andreas is nowhere year 30 yet. Mature is good too, though!

T