Oberon's Grove

NAPOLEON

From Netflix we've had the six-hour mini-series NAPOLEON directed by Yves Simoneau. The value of watching these history-based dramatized documentaries can't be over-estimated in my view. In an age when many people don't really care much about history and probably wouldn't take the time to read a biography of Napoleon there's a lot to be learned in this visually-sumptuous context not only about the historical incidents but also about the personalities of the powerful figures from the past who shaped the world.

This particular series seems factually accurate and although it doesn't judge Napoleon in the end, it presents both sides of his character: his sort of bluntly self-assured charm and deep love of France are counter-weighted by his casual view of the horrors of war and of the death and destruction his campaigns caused. In a way, and on a much smaller scale, Napoleon was as crazy as Hitler.

Much as Bruno Ganz is Hitler in the overwhelming powerful DOWNFALL, so Christian Clavier (photo) makes Napoleon come alive for us. He is so confident and so dismissive of those who might question or disobey him. He's quite endearing in his single-mindedness so that he becomes almost likable in spite of the awful things he's doing to humanity.

Brilliant casting of Isabella Rossellini as Josephine. The maturely sexy actress plays the Empress as a somewhat frumpy, casually seductive and ultimately sympathetic creature. Napoleon both adores and mistreats her; his need for an heir causes him to set her aside.

Above: Clavier and Rossellini in one of their many personal scenes which offer contrast to the epic flow of their public story.

John Malkovich heads the tremendous supporting cast with one of his usual unsettling and precisely detailed portrayals: as Talleyrand. Malkovich's power is to make you think this is what Talleyrand was really like. Who knows if it's accurate? At any rate it is vastly entertaining. The great diplomat managed to serve both Bonaparte and the on-again-off-again Louis XVIII and outlive them both.

The incomparable Anouk Aimee (above) plays Napoleon's mother.

One of our favorite actors, Sebastian Koch (photo) is among the excellent ensemble which further includes Gerard Depardieu, Ludivine Sagnier and Julian Sands.

They've either filmed on St. Helena or built a perfect reproduction of the house (above) where Napoleon died.

Following the Emperor's death in 1821 he was buried on St. Helena. In 1840 his body was exhumed and brought to Paris where it now rests in a splendid tomb at Les Invalides (above).

Napoleon is considered one of the great military geniuses of all time. He is credited with making warfare more destructive and 'definitive'. It's interesting to see in the film how battles were fought in the early 19th century: platoons of opposing soldiers marched in formation towards each other firing until the other side was decimated or turned in retreat. Napoleon helped transform that scenario and set us on the course to today's brand of making war with its widespread, annihilating effects.

This quote from Talleyrand seems keenly applicable today, although the opening 'we have learned' is not accurate: basically, we haven't learned.

"We have learned, a little late no doubt, that for states as for individuals real wealth consists not in acquiring or invading the domains of others, but in developing one's own. We have learned that all extensions of territory, all usurpations, by force or by fraud, which have long been connected by prejudice with the idea of 'rank,' of 'hegemony,' of 'political stability,' of 'superiority' in the order of the Powers, are only the cruel jests of political lunacy, false estimates of power, and that their real effect is to increase the difficulty of administration and to diminish the happiness and security of the governed for the passing interest or for the vanity of those who govern..."

Alive at the Open (Updated)

UPDATE: Kei Nishikori just beat the 4th seed, David Ferrer in a five-set match at Louis Armstrong. I wish I could have been there. The Japanese contingent must have been going nuts.

UPDATE #2: Gilles advanced also, defeating Nicolas Almagro.

Gilles Muller (photo) and Kei Nishikori are still 'alive' at the 2008 US Open, though Kei faces a tough match today against David Ferrer. Muller beat Tommy Haas in the second round.

Steve Darcis after his first-round night match vs. Denis Gremelmayr. Steve was treated for a back ailment during this match and he was forced to withdraw from his second-round match vs. James Blake after winning the first set. Too bad: he's such a good player.

A few more photos I took:

Stanislas Wawrinka

Stanislas Wawrinka

Flavio Cipolla with a fan. Flavio entered the main draw on a 'lucky loser' status and plays Wawrinka in the third round.

Kei Nishikori after beating Juan Monaco.

Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi

Aisam greeting his fans.

Aisam photo op.

Domingo's Reprise

When I stopped by the Met today to pick up some more tickets for the coming season, I was surprised to read an announcement that Placido Domingo will be returning this season to the role of his Met house debut, Maurizio in ADRIANA LECOUVREUR.

Marcelo Alvarez had been scheduled to sing Maurizio in this revival but he switched to TROVATORE  when Salvatore Licitra withdrew from that opera. Domingo was to have conducted ADRIANA but will instead be onstage and Marco Armiliato will wield the baton.

Domingo was a popular young star at New York City Opera and scheduled for a Met debut when, on the night of September 28,1968 he stepped in literally at the last moment to replace Franco Corelli in the Cilea opera. I'll never forget that night: a large contingent of fans had waited at the stage door to watch Tebaldi and Corelli arrive. Franco seemed preoccupied but then...he usually was.

Knowing that they were both in the House we could only imagine that there was some technical glitch delaying the rise of the curtain. But then came the announcement: Corelli was indisposed and Domingo would be making his Met house debut. What a wave of excitement swept thru the already keyed-up standing room area! One of the most memorable moments of the evening came during the first act love duet when Tebaldi graciously turned her back to the audience so Domingo could sing over her shoulder and watch Maestro Cleva. During the applause, Renata was continually mouthing "Bravo, bravo!" to Placi. The atmosphere in the House was simply electric.

The mob at the stage door after the show was phenomenal. Above is my program page which they both signed as well as my spontaneous handwritten note about the cast change. Below is the famous Louis Melancon photo taken after the Act II curtain calls.

My First (and Only) Public Performance

When I was twenty-five I fell in love with a 17-year-old kid who spent his summers working for a small ballet company, Dance Theatre of Cape Cod. He invited me to spend a summer with him there; we would live in a room in a big house in Harwichport across the street from the studio.

Within a week after we got there, he was totally immersed in the ballet. They were mounting COPPELIA at the end of the summer; he was dancing Franz and also was the business manager for the school. He and Helen, the woman who ran the program, were very close. I could see that I was going to be playing second fiddle to COPPELIA all summer.

At this point in my life, I had never seen a ballet performance; just tidbits on TV. I was a big opera fan, but whenever there was a ballet in an opera performance I was bored to death.

The studio was located behind (and connected to) the Harwichport Town Library.

Anyway, the music of COPPELIA wafted over from the studio and that drew me there. When I first walked into the studio I was much intrigued by the musty smell of old costumes that were hung out to air, and the girls (ages 8-16) were dazzled to have a man watching them. They became giggly and adorable.

The teacher eyed me with the sort of interest that small-time ballet mistresses have eyed young men for decades: could she transform me into a "dancer"?  She had TJ to play Franz, she had a local actor to play Doctor Coppelius, and the boyfriend of one of the girls to play the Mayor. She wanted very much to have another male in her production, especially to pique the jealousy of the rival ballet school a few miles away.

"I'm planning to stage a little folk dance in the third act," she said to me. "Would you think about it? I'll make it easy for you..." TJ was poking me in the ribs, "Say yes!" She played the piece for me: it would be myself and one of the girls; the music
(which Balanchine uses for the Jesterettes) was bouncy and the piece was short.  Realizing that if I didn't join in I would be seeing very little of TJ all summer, I said OK.

Then came the clincher: I had to take class. This gave me pause, but only for a minute. I was slender then, and in reasonably good shape. We drove to a small dance supply shop in Hyannis where TJ helped me get a dance belt, tights and slippers.

My first class was a riot. The beginners class, 8- and 9-year-olds, were thrilled to have a man in their class. They all wanted to stand next to me at the barre. When we began tendus, the teacher waltzed up to me and said: " Point your foot!" to which I replied "Point my foot...at what?"

The studio had a ghost, Ada, who we contacted nightly using a Ouija board. She was a nurse who told us she had cared for soldiers returning home after World War I. How she ended up in a dance studio was never revealed. (I have since found out that the building did indeed house recuperating soldiers upon their return from Europe!)

I found that I had a natural affinity for ballet, not that I would have guessed. I began rehearsing my dance; my partner was a beautiful black-haired 14-year-old named Elaine. We got on perfectly. We played a betrothed couple who danced at Swanhilda's
wedding fete. Elaine was light and springy so the lifts were easy.In the dance, she did most of the work. Lots of stomping and romping. The piece ended with me on one knee; I reeled her in from some turns she was doing, she sat on my other knee and we smooched.

Above: only known photo of me wearing tights...with my partner Elaine Aronson, a talented 14-year old.

Costumes...I wore a blue satin vest, white tights and shirt, and blue suede boots. Elaine wore a white "peasant" dress with red character shoes and flowers in her hair. One of the mothers did my makeup. We had 3 performances, and our dance was a hit. One night one of Elaine's friends tossed her a bouquet when we were bowing. Little kids asked us for our autographs.

After that summer TJ and I moved to Hartford; eventually we split up. I continued taking class for about 3 years. Whenever I hear the music of COPPELIA I'm transported back to that sweltering studio and that care-free time.

Beth Taylor danced Swanhilda in our performances; the following winter she danced the Sugar Plum Fairy in another company's NUTCRACKER. TJ and I drove down to the Cape in wintry weather to see her; aside from Beth several of the kids who had been in COPPELIA were dancing in the NUTCRACKER. TJ took this picture of me & Beth after the show; it was the last time I ever saw her or any of the other people I'd spent my memorable summer with. 

Favorite CDs: Ecstatic Wagner

Today when I got back from my hike I had a rare opportunity to sit down and actually listen to some music. As a rule I don't believe in just having music on while I'm reading or writing (or ironing!); I feel that if I can't really devote my attention to the music I'd just as soon have things quiet. It's funny, but during the years when I worked at Tower I hardly ever listened to CDs at home. After being force-fed music all day - often music that I didn't particularly care for and invariably played too loud - all I wanted at home was peace and quiet.

You'd probably be surprised to hear that I don't have a lot of CDs. I have friends who have thousands (I think Alan once told me he has 4,000; my friend Tony in Connecticut has an entire room - really! - full of LPs and CDs). I used to be a huge CD shopper when I lived in Connecticut; on my trips to New York I'd spend hours at both Towers and tote home huge shopping bags of stuff. I thought nothing of spending $400-$500 on CDs on a weekend in NYC. But I began selling them off before I moved here, and have sold many more since. Now I only keep CDs I'm sure I'll actually listen to.

Anyway, today I just reached at random for a disc and came up with one of my all-time favorites: a 1996 EMI recording of Wagner scenes with Julia Varady and Peter Seiffert, conducted by (Varady's husband) Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau. I remember buying this and being bowled over when I first played it. I had initially heard Varady on some house tapes from her early days at Munich - a TROVATORE in particular made a wonderful impression - and regretted that both times I had tickets to see her in NYC (Met HOLLANDER and NY Philharmonic for the Strauss Four Last Songs) she canceled!

Fischer-Dieskau (at least on this CD) is for me an impressive Wagner conductor in that he favors clarity of orchestral texture and fast but not relentless tempi. As a singer, he has a keen sense of giving the voices space to phrase but he never dawdles or gets weighted down.

The voices of Varady and Seiffert are more lyrical and pliant than we often hear in this music. Varady's combined sense of urgency and vulnerability makes her opening "Dich teure halle" from TANNHAUSER  really outstanding; the voice has a sheen on it that sets her apart from many other interpreters of this music. She lets her top notes bloom but never stints in the lower register where she has an unusual  darkish colour which gives her vocalism a sensual quality. What Varady has is 'the rapture': that feeling of carrying us out of the ordinary and into a higher realm of aural significance. She makes the music matter, and draws the listener into the dramatic situation.

Peter Seiffert's instrument is mellower and falls more appealingly on the ear than that of most heldentenors. He never barks or shouts but just pours out a steady stream of tone with Italianate warmth and a keen sense of expression. He and Varady sound wonderfully appealing together, building the ecstatic excitement of the end of the TANNHAUSER duet (uncut here) with their scrupulous musicality just barely keeping their passions from brimming over. Fischer-Dieskau sings Wolfram's brief lines.

My only complaint about the LOHENGRIN Bridal Chamber duet is that it doesn't go all the way to the climax of the scene: how I would love to hear Varady going off the deep end as Elsa gets increasingly desperate! But they sing it superbly, with some lovely piano phrasing and a sense of tender intimacy. Dieskau's orchestra subtly hints at the impending disaster.

The WALKURE scene, starting from the Sword monolog, is lyrically thrilling and again that compelling sense of urgency from Varady underscores the sexual tension between the Walsungs which will eventually sweep them to their doom. Seiffert's warmth and use of portamento sometimes makes me feel he's wandered north from the Italian peninsula. He and Varady make the music sound fresh and so utterly vibrant.

The Wagner CD has lately been re-released at a budget price. Varady has since retired but Peter Seiffert is due at the Met this season to sing Tristan.

US Open 2008 - Opening Day

Monday August 25, 2008 - I can only afford to go to the US Open once this year so I picked the opening day; I wanted to get my ticket in advance to avoid the long lines on the actual day and so I had no way of knowing who would be playing today. But I was sure that there would be matches I'd want to see. I was also sure it would be unpleasantly crowded and that a great number of people would come to the Open who really couldn't care less about tennis but have come for the "event".

Turned out to be one of my best days at the Open in recent years. The players I wanted to win mostly won. And even though I didn't really expect Bjorn Phau (above/Getty image) to beat Rafael Nadal, Bjorn acquitted himself nobly by taking the world's number one player to two tie-breakers. After the match, Bjorn was quoted: "I learned that I could play with the No. 1 in the world," the 28-year-old qualifier said. "I had my chances but I missed too much. It was really fun to play in front of a big crowd." The cost of a ticket to Arthur Ashe was prohibitive for me so I didn't see Bjorn vs. Rafa (and the greedy Open wouldn't even show it on the big screens in the Plaza) but I've been admiring Bjorn's style for the past few years and I'm glad he got to play on a larger stage today and that now more people will know who he is.  

My winners today were:

Kei Nishikori's match against the Argentine Juan Monaco reaffirmed all the reasons to continue to go to the Open.  This was  an 11:00 AM match and even though I got there before 10:30 the court was well-filled with spectators and eventually it was packed. It seemed half the Japanese population of NYC had turned out. It was a mostly attentive and enthusiastic crowd. Juan Monaco (#29 seed at the Open) is a very fine player but he will probably have nightmares about the first two sets of this match because everything was going badly for him. Most notably he kept sending his shots long. Kei played steadily but he really didn't need to do more than that because Juan was beating himself up. Finally in the third set, Juan began to show off his powers. This caused Kei to ramp up his level. The Japanese fought back from a 3-0 deficit; the set went to a tie-break which Juan won. In the fourth set, Kei was cruising to victory when he suddenly was paralyzed by a muscle cramp. The crowd tensed sensing that Kei might have to retire while being so close to a win. After receiving treatment, Kei came back, obviously still in pain, and managed to finish off the set in impressive style. Since last year, Kei's strength and fluidity of motion  have been greatly enhanced and so has his self-confidence. He is one of those players I truly enjoy watching and I hope he continues on a successful path. He was engulfed by the ecstatic Japanese fans at the end of the match and I was happy to join in the celebration.  A post-match interview with Kei here.  

Stanislas Wawrinka, the other Swiss player, was about halfway thru his match with the good-looking Italian Simone Bolelli when I got to his court. Stan has improved exponentially since I first saw him at the Open a few summers ago. His power and accuracy paid off; Bolelli made some great shots but Stan never wavered and moved on to Round 2 with a straight-set win.

Now I had a long wait until my chosen night match, Steve Darcis vs. Denis Gremelmeyer. I checked out Shuai Zhang battling Svetlana Kuznetsova (above) at Armstrong.  Zhang had a loyal contingent of fans supporting her but Kuznetsova was pretty overwhelming. I hadn't realized that Svetlana had such a fan-base of her own in NYC. It was a good win for the erratic Russian.

It was impossible to get near David Nalbandian's match. I watched the very tall John Isner getting hammered by Andreas Beck; and the energetic Virginia Ruano Pascual (above) worked her way back to a win over  the tall and impressive Petra Kvitova. Chinese fans will be glad to know that Na Li and Jie Zheng both advanced.

I ran over to Court 8 to watch the Belgian player who so impressed Wei and I last year.

Steve Darcis was midway thru his first set against Denis Gremelmayr when I got there. Although the two men are not well-known names there was a good crowd since it was one of the last matches of the day. Steve (above) was playing just as beautifully as I remembered from last year, and Denis was not pleased. It seemed to me that the German was expending way too much energy protesting line calls and the match had a tense, negative atmosphere. The chair umpire strove to maintain a sense of sportsmanship but eventually the unpleasantness began to affect Steve who seemed less affable than normal. Things improved slightly when Denis won the second set in a tie-break but as Steve steadied on to win the next two sets and the match there was a gloomy feeling surrounding the court. On the outer courts, there's no electronic line-monitoring so the chair umpire has the last word. Denis in my view would have done well to let things pass: although his frustration was understandable, everyone gets bad calls. He played so much better when he stopped fretting, as when he reeled off a bunch of consecutive aces. It was good seeing Bjorn Phau in the stands supporting his compatriot.  

And my 'discovery' today was Ekaterina Makarova. I'd never seen her before. She was playing Anna Chakvetadze who dominated in the first set. But then Ekaterina started showing her mettle; tall and willowy, she began moving more easily around the court and pasting the lines with her accurate shots. Buoyed by a small group of vocal fans, she seized on the shift in momentum as Chakvetadze began to falter. The crowd, taking their cue from her admirers, started picking up on Ekaterina's energy and as she finished off her success to the audience's delight.

The overcast sky and threat of rain (which in the end was only a few sprinkles) may have kept crowd levels down a bit. It didn't seem quite as jammed as last year. Cellphones and baby strollers continue to annoy but overall this was one of the more pleasant days I have spent watching tennis. It cooled off nicely as evening fell; I only wish that my night match had been a little less rancorous.

Above and below: I'm in these photos from Kei Nishikori's match. Third row, extreme left in my black cap & NYCB t-shirt.

Final Gold

Kenya's Samuel Kamau Wansiru celebrates his winning of the men's marathon at the final medal ceremony of the Beijing 2008 Olympics. Hearing the national anthem of Kenya was a treat.

The closing ceremony was an impressive finale to the Games with spectacular colours, fireworks and pageantry. The iconic buildings - the Bird's Nest and the Water Cube - looked splendid all lit up.

What I kept thinking throughout the Games was: how beautiful the Chinese people are. That's why I married one. One World, One Dream. What a concept! If only we could make it work.

The Only One

Of all the athletes competing at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, Matthew Mitcham of Australia is apparently the only openly gay man. Mitcham won the men's 10m platform diving gold medal with a stupendous final dive.

Another Reason to Love Usain Bolt

He's fast. He's fun. And he has a big heart: he is donating $50,000 to aid children whose lives were  drastically altered by the recent earthquake in Sichuan province.

US Open 2008: Final Day of the Qualifiers

UPDATE: The latest news is that Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi has entered the main draw as a "lucky loser" replacing Stefan Koubek who has withdrawn. Aisam's first match will be against Carlos Moya. If it's on Monday, I'll be there. Go Aisam!

Friday August 22, 2008 - Today we found out who qualified for a berth in the US Open 2008 main draw. The four-day qualifying tournament sifts thru a field of hopefuls to fill the remaining open spots for Monday's start.

Bjorn Phau vs. the Lithuanian Ricardas Berankis was my opening match today. Bjorn (above) seemed a little fuzzy in the first set and he had his serve broken but then he clamped down and showed off the steady power of his style, taking the second and third sets and securing a place in the main draw.

UPDATE: Bjorn's first opponent in the main draw will be Rafael Nadal.

Gilles Muller also had to get thru three sets to qualify.

The rest of my 'picks' did not fare so well: Kevin Kim, Flavio Cipolla and Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi all went down to defeat. This turned the day into something of a bummer for me, especially when added to the general "anything-but-the-tennis" atmosphere which seems to be prevailing at the Open these days. People chat blithely thru the matches; while Aisam was trying to fend off a set point in his match the two men next to me were engaged in a very animated discussion of some financial transaction one of them was involved in.

Cell-phones have become the bane of my trips to the US Open - I am so sick of hearing people blabber endlessly in public about the inanities of their frivolous lives.

Today at the Open they were trying out their annoying sound system which for the past few summers has been blasting pop music throughout the venue. Yet another distraction.

I'm planning on attending Monday and while I'm looking forward to the tennis I am dreading the "US Open Experience".