The Show Must Go On.....Maybe Not?

So I thought I'd share this story from the June 15 edition of the The Independent detailing a London performance of "The Pearl Fishers'" which should perhaps have given up and gone home.

Time to drop the curtain? Not quite, McMurray had another trick up his sleeve – not the official understudy's understudy, sadly, but a member of the chorus, David Newman. He'd sung the role before, we were told vaguely, not in English translation but, you know, he'd have a go. He proceeded to sing from a book at the side of the stage while Steele mimed, thrusting poor Alattar into a whole new romantic threesome. Scenes of high passion took on a bizarre ventriloquist quality as Nadir embraced Leila while apparently throwing his voice from somewhere over by the ice-cream seller. In the stalls, Nadir began to take on a whole new meaning.

The whole thing is hilarious and reads like a Monty Python skit rather than an actual performance that some paid for.

Also in the news today: Aretha Franklin and Condoleeza Rice will share the stage at the Mann Center for the Performing Arts in Philadelphia on July 27th.

So I have to applaud the fact that these two women are using their musical talents to raise money for the charities of their choice. I have been told my views toward Rice are a bit too narrow, as in she makes me seethe, particularly by one ensemble director who was proud that such a high ranking official would also be a classically trained musician. My kinship for other musicians reaches pretty far, but I'm appalled by her policy choices, even as far back as her days at Stanford where her first major initiative was to get rid of services for students of color. It's around 35 minutes in:

Powered By: VideoBuzz

Anyway, here's wishing them success in their fundraising efforts....but please stay AWAY from policy in the future.