#Anne-Marie piazza

[kkecreads]

She Started It by Sian Gilbert (Audiobook)

HarperCollins Publishers Audible Release: June 13, 2023 Listening Length: 11 hours 13 minutes Narrators: Sarah Ovens, Anne-Marie Piazza, Ione Butler, Billie Fulford-Brown, Sarah Cullum, Ella Lynch Genre: Domestic Thriller KKECReads Overall Rating: 5/5 KKECReads Rating for Performance: 5/5 KKECReads Rating for Story: 5/5 I purchased this audiobook on Amazon, and I leave my review…

[broadwaydivastournament]

BROADWAY DIVAS SUPERLATIVES: Bosom Buddies - Icons Only

Yes, yes, there are so many iconic friendships on and around Broadway (Bernadette and Mary Tyler Moore, especially), but this time there's no "other" option.

Video Clips & Stories Beneath the Cut: More Polls

Angela Lansbury & Beatrice "Bea" Arthur: Angela and Bea first met in 1965 during rehearsals for the production of Mame, in which Angela played the titular Mame, and Bea her "bosom buddy" Vera. Both women would earn Tony Awards for their iconic, never-to-be-bested portrayals. They remained lifelong friends for the next five decades until Bea's death in 2009, where Angela hosted her memorial service at the Majestic Theatre. As the story goes, Angela's legendary Jessica B. Fletcher is named "B" for Bea.

"She was a class act and a real joy to work with. When I first met her I thought I was meeting this patrician, classically trained actor, but she has a mouth like a longshoreman. No kidding. She loved telling dirty limericks." - Bea Arthur on Angela Lansbury, 2003.

Ann Reinking and Bebe Neuwirth: Forever linked by dance and the great Bob Fosse, Ann and Bebe met in passing during the special 3,389th performance of A Chorus Line, but would not come to know each other closer until Sweet Charity, where Annie took over Charity for Debbie Allen during the run, and Bebe played Nickie (Tony Award). They remained dear friends until Annie's death in 2020, working together in Fosse, and of course, the 1995 revival of Chicago that persists to this day.

“I fell in love with her, I continued to fall in love with her. I am in love with her forever. There was a trust between us, there was a connection between us that was beyond anything that had any logical explanation. I felt sometimes--this may sound strange, but it’s the truth--I felt sometimes I looked in her eyes and I time travelled.” - Bebe Neuwirth on Ann Reinking, 2021

Carol Burnett & Julie Andrews: Though they may have never starred in an official Broadway show together, Carol and Julie are too iconic to pass up here. They met in 1961 and are both still alive, kicking, and enduring friends. They did a series of television and stage specials together, including Julie and Carol at Carnegie Hall (1963, Emmy Award), Julie and Carol at Lincoln Center (1971) and Julie & Carol: Together Again (1989). They also both starred in Putting it Together as the part, one after the other. And as a story goes, Carol and Julie were "caught" kissing as a prank on their friend Mike Nichols, but were instead discovered by Lady Bird Johnson.

"As we sat in the darkened hotel hallway on the sofa in front of a bank of three elevators waiting for him, we started to feel rather foolish, and we thought 'Let’s do something to make him laugh.' We decided to pretend we were making out," she said at the time. "He’d called our room and said he was coming right down, so we thought, well, the first person off the elevator would be Mike. But it wasn’t." - Julie Andrews recounts the story to Oprah magazine.

Chita Rivera & Gwen Verdon: Before there was Annie and Bebe, there was Chita and Gwen. The original Velma and Roxie duo in the 1975 Chicago, Chita and Gwen remained friends until Gwen's death in 2000. As Chita recounts, Gwen Verdon was the first person to tell her she had her own talent and didn't need to be her understudy. Years later, they were starring together in Chicago. Chita and Gwen shared the role of Charity (alongside many others) in the benefit concert production of Sweet Charity in 1998. It would be Gwen's final stage appearance. Though Fosse brought his own drama, Chita and Gwen never fell out.

"Our relationship was what it was from the day I stood beside her in “Chicago.” She was a strong woman. She was private. She used to, which is really kind of cute because I would call her on it, sometimes dramatize a story and would say, “Isn’t that right, Chita? Don’t you remember that?” And I wasn’t even there. I would find myself saying, “Yeah, absolutely.” She was so terribly funny, really, really funny." - Chita Rivera on Gwen Verdon, 2019

Donna Murphy & Marin Mazzie: Donna and Marin met while doing the Passion workshop in 1993, and their friendship endures to this day, despite Marin's death in 2018. After all, "and should you die tomorrow, another thing I see: your love will live in me." Marin sang at Donna's daughter's christening. Donna sang at Marin's remembrance concert. She still writes her memorial posts to Marin each year on the anniversary of her passing. Donna played Mother in the earliest workshop of Ragtime, before Marin took over and made that role what it will always be.

"She would always be the first person to say "how are you doing?" That kind of kindness and selflessness in a way--it's not that I didn't appreciate it then--I really did. So I don't need to smack myself in the head and say "why didn't you realize how rare and beautiful it was?" I did. What I couldn't calculate was how much I miss it." - Donna Murphy on Marin Mazzie, 2018.

Kelli O'Hara & Victoria Clark: Our first and only mother-daughter duo, though who is mother and who is daughter is up for debate. Kelli and Vicki met playing mother and daughter in the 2005 The Light in the Piazza as Clara and Margaret Johnson. They remain dear friends to this day and the only pair alive, well, and not dangerously close to death... Kelli and Vicki, trained opera singers, also reunited for Dido and Aeneas in 2016. Their friendship has survived a few awkward situations, such as being up against each other (alongside fellow Piazza star Celia Keenan-Bolger, and that's a story in and of itself) for the role of Nellie Forbush in South Pacific.

"I just started calling her Mother, because I felt like I could be who I was without covering up. Why she called me Mother back is pretty obvious, but she was, for me, always the rock. I felt like, Okay, she loves me, warts and all. Hopefully." - Victoria Clark on Kelli O'Hara, 2016.

[bestmusicalworldcup]

The Best Snubbed Musical World Cup

The Best Snubbed Musical World Cup is a tournament to determine the best musical excluding those that won the Tony Award for Best Musical. Submissions are now closed! The final list of musicals in the Best Snubbed Musical World Cup is below.

& Juliet 1789: Les Amants de la Bastille 21 Chump Street 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee 35MM: A Musical Exhibition A New Brain Ablaze The Act Adamandi Aida Alice By Heart Allegiance An American in Paris American Idiot American Psycho Amélie Anastasia Anne & Gilbert Annie Get Your Gun Anything Goes Anyone Can Whistle The Art Of Pleasing Princes Assassins Back to the Future the Musical Bandstand Bare: A Pop Opera Be More Chill Beauty and the Beast Beetlejuice The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas Big Fish Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson Bonnie and Clyde Bran Nue Dae Bright Star Calvin Berger Carousel Carrie Chess Chicago Chitty Chitty Bang Bang Cinderella (Rodgers & Hammerstein) Clown Bible The Color Purple Come from Away The Count of Monte Cristo Death Note: The Musical Dogfight The Dolls of New Albion Dracula Dreamgirls The Drowsy Chaperone Elisabeth Émilie Jolie Evil Dead: The Musical Falsettos The Fantasticks Finding Neverland Firebringer Fly by Night Frankenstein The Frogs Funny Girl Ghost Quartet Godspell Grease Groundhog Day The Guy Who Didn't Like Musicals Gypsy Hair Hans Christian Andersen Heathers Hedwig and the Angry Inch Holy Musical B@man! Hoy no me puedo levantar The Hunchback of Notre Dame In Transit Into the Woods Jagged Little Pill Jane Eyre Jekyll & Hyde Jesus Christ Superstar Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat La Légende du roi Arthur The Last Five Years Le Roi Soleil Legally Blonde The Light in the Piazza The Lightning Thief Little Shop of Horrors Lizzie The Lord of the Rings Love in Hate Nation Love Never Dies The Mad Ones Made in Dagenham The Magic Show Magic Tree House: The Musical Mary Poppins Matilda Mean Girls Mentiras el musical Merrily We Roll Along Miss Saigon Mozart! Mozart, l'opéra rock Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812 Newsies Next to Normal Notre-Dame de Paris Octet Oklahoma Oliver On the Town On Your Feet! The Story of Emilio & Gloria Estefan Once on this Island Once Upon A Mattress Ordinary Days Parade Phantom (Yeston & Kopit) Pippin The Pirate Queen Preludes Pretty Woman The Prince of Egypt Priscilla, Queen of the Desert The Prom Ragtime Rebecca Ride the Cyclone The Rocky Horror Show Roméo et Juliette: de la Haine à l'Amour Sarafina! The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (1964) The Secret Garden The Scarlet Pimpernel Seussical Seven Brides for Seven Brothers She Loves Me Show Boat Shrek the Musical Sidd Singin' In the Rain Six Soldaat van Oranje Something Rotten Spies are Forever The Spitfire Grill SpongeBob SquarePants: The Broadway Musical Starry Starship Sunday in the Park With George Tanz der Vampire / Dance of the Vampires Tarrytown The Threepenny Opera / Die Dreigroschenoper Tick Tick Boom Timéo The Trail to Oregon! Tuck Everlasting Twisted Urinetown Waitress West Side Story Wicked Wiedzmin The Wild Party (Lippa) The Wizard of Oz (1987) The Woman in White Wonderland You're a Good Man Charlie Brown

[differenzeartistiche]

Gavin Creel is 47 today!

It’s my yearly tradition to bring back this old post of ranked performances to celebrate the birthday of this wonderful performer, so here we go! Updated this year with Into the Woods!

Gavin Creel, 16 performances, ranked!

16. Nick Piazza in Fame

This show has some merits, although it’s definitely not one of my favorites. It’s Gavin’s professional debut, and I can forgive him some naïveté in an otherwise competent, beautifully sung performance. His rendition of “I wanna make magic” is lovely.

15. Charles Darnay in A Tale of Two Cities

Ok, so this was a concert performance, so it’s not really fair to compare it to the others, but I’ll just throw it in here. Mainly because it’s such an unusual show for Gavin. It’s something that tries very hard to be on the level of Les Miserables, without much success, and Gavin is not a huge fan of that kind of show. That said, it’s a nicely sung performance of a classic romantic hero role. Nice, nothing more.

14. Jean-Michel in La Cage Aux Folles

Great show, poor but still competent production. The role is easily the most boring in the whole play, but he gets to sing the cute “With Anne on my arm” and he nails it.

13. Troy in American Horror Stories

Oh this was a fun one, Gavin playing outside his comfort zone, far removed from his preferred genre and into an over-the-top, sexy role that is rather unique in his career. I wish the material he had to work with was better, but his scenes with Aaron Tveit were superb.

12. Hollis Bessemer in Bounce

Sadly a lesser show by Sondheim, I still love some aspects of it, and Gavin’s wide-eyed artistically-inclined dreamer is one of them. His big solo “Talent” is the best song of the show and touches me on a very personal level.

11. Matthews in Rapunzel’s Tangled Adventure

Gavin voicing a Disney villain! A Disney villain with a secret! A Disney villain with a French accent! Talk about playing against type. There’s something of Kodaly here, and of Lumiere and of Pepé Le Pew. You can tell he had a blast recording this role, and the design is exquisite.

10. Cinderella’s Prince / The Wolf in Into the Woods

This is Gavin at his hammiest, and I’m here fot it. He obviously has loads of fun with the Wolf, oozing sleaziness from every pore, and as the Prince he’s perfectly balanced between superficial, phony and clueless, you can really believe that this candy-colors clothed fool was “raised to be charming, not sincere.”

9. Bill in Eloise at the Plaza / Eloise at Christmastime

Effortlessly hilarious on screen as he is on stage, he goes full-on old-time Hollywood star in the Christmas-themed sequel and I love it. A mix of Dick Powell and Fred Astaire.

8. Dr. Pomatter in Waitress

Sara Bareilles’ little gem of a musical often finds its strength in the absolute realness of its characters, flawed human beings looking for a little sparkle of happiness. Drew Gehling’s Dr. Pomatter was awkward and fun and sad-eyed, but I think Gavin wins infusing the character with tenderness and truly lived-in melancholy. A few weeks in a well-worn musical could be seen as a footnote in a great career, but it’s such a lovely performance, enhanced by the incredible chemistry he has with Bareilles.

7. Bert in Mary Poppins

My introduction to Gavin and since then I’ve come to appreciate him as heir to impossibly gangly male leads like Dick Van Dyke, so this feels like such a natural fit. I find the show a little bloated, but watch him defying gravity in that “walking on air” scene: it’s irresistible.

6. Ugly in Honk!

Having him play the ugly duckling ALSO feels like a natural fit. Gavin’s at his best when he plays lost and confused dreamers, and the fairy tale touch with the surreal setting makes for a wonderful variation on that theme.

5. Steven Kodaly in She Loves Me

Easily the odd man out of the list. The evil, scheming, suave and self-centered Kodaly is a delightful departure from all the romantic leads and clueless buffoons of Gavin’s career. The showstopper “Ilona” brings out all the manipulative nature of the character, a snake that always finds a way out and always gets what he wants. A remarkable performance that makes me want to see him branch out into even more strange territories.

4. Jimmy Smith in Thoroughly Modern Millie

Again with the old-time charm and humor. Millie is a show dominated by women, and Gavin’s male romantic lead manages not to be swallowed whole by them by being so wonderfully easy-going, hilariously aloof and occasionally sassy. It does also help that in “What do I need with love” he has one of the catchiest numbers of the show.

3. Cornelius Hackl in Hello, Dolly!

PUDDING. That alone deserved the Tony. It’s an overwhelmingly funny turn that makes the best of the original, almost vaudevillian nature of the show. So full of tricks and ticks and winks to the audience, deliciously aware of its own absurdity, it’s the kind of scene-stealing performance that not every actor can pull off. And oh my god, has anyone ever sung Jerry Herman’s beautiful tunes so gorgeously? You almost wish he could have sung “Put on your Sunday clothes” in its entirety.

2. Elder Price in The Book of Mormon

Somewhere between the rubber-faced humor of Jim Carrey, the earnest straight man hilarity of Jack Lemmon and the physicality of Dick Van Dyke. A perfect combination that captures the sarcastic, yet disarmingly sweet nature of the show, with its hints of meanness and self-devouring doubt.

1. Claude Hooper Bukowski in Hair

Unquestionably the masterpiece of Gavin’s career. A towering performance that starts with the iconicity of the role and the visuals associated with it and finds the core of Claude’s humanity: a scared, earnest, sometimes self-centered, mostly clueless young man that has to face something so much bigger than himself, something that is so far from the made-up world of fake accents and films in space that he has created for himself and that will eventually consume him. Moments like “Where do I go” and “The Flesh Failures” are moving and brutally honest.

[vianngoestoeurope]

Assignment #9 Rome Exploration Projects Appendix E

Any five of the 13 Obelisks

Describe their setting and provide information of where each one came from, who brought it here, and when it was placed where it is now. Take a photo for your blog. Draw a map (just a rough hand drawing) orienting them to each other and a few landmarks (monuments, hotel, bars, etc.). Use this map to mark your exploration around the city.

 Piazza della Rotonda: Origin: Egypt @1400BC Found in 1575, this is from the Temple of Isis

 St. Peter’s Square: Origin: Egypt, 100BC Raised in the 1500s. 

 Piazza di Monte Citorio: Origin: Egypt, 700BC This obelisk also functions as a sundial. Brought to Rome by Emperor Augustus.

 Piazza della Minerva: Origin: Egypt, @500BC The elephant is sculpted by Bernini. It is from the Temple of Isis. 

Piazza del Popolo: Origin: Egypt, 1400BC Brought by Emperor Augustus and put in the Piazza in the 16th century. 

Santa Maria Sopra Minerva

It was named after the Greco Roman Goddess Minerva. Sopra meaning “above” because it’s built on top of a ruined temple of Minerva. Michelangelo's Cristo della Minerva.

Pantheon

How many ‘steps’ tall is the oculus of the dome?

71.14 meters tall

Trajan’s Column

How many times does the frieze circle the column? 25 times.

Caravaggio

Find and photograph any ten Caravaggio paintings in Rome:

Briefly describe the content of each paintings. Also, what is the most brightly painted object in each of the paintings? Use one (or more) of the Caravaggio paintings that you discovered in Rome to respond to Michael Fried’s account of absorption (in the Soundcloud lecture). Set out Fried’s account and then how the painting does or does not fit his account. Write 500 words. 

Madonna Dei Palafrenieri

There are three people pictured, two women and a child. The two women have halos and the child is naked and focusing his attention onto a snake. It is the Virgin Mary, baby Jesus, and St Anne. The brightest thing appears to be the Virgin Mary and Jesus as St Anne appears to have darker hues as if she’s in the shadows a little bit. The nudity of baby Christ stands out because his pale skin is pictured against a dark background. 

David with the Head of Goliath

David stands holding the severed head of Goliath. David is younger and more youthful in appearance, but is not as young as other depictions of him. He is looking almost, distastefully at the head of Goliath. The brightest thing would be either David himself or the sword he is holding. 

Young Sick Bacchus

This is a self portrait as Bacchus holding grapes and you can see in the painting that he appears to be ill of some sort. He is wearing a wreath on his head and there is fruit on the table. Most of the colors used here are muted. The brightest thing is either him, or the peaches pictured but the peaches only appear to be brighter as they as set next to dark grapes. 

The Entombment of Christ

There are six people pictured in the Entombment of Christ. The focus on the painting is on a deceased Christ. The colors he uses draws your eyes to Christ’s body as he is pale and in white against a dark background. 

The Martyrdom of St Matthew

There are several figures in the Martyrdom of St Matthew. It’s got a hectic feel with people all over the place in different positions. The eyes draw to the center as well as the two figures in the middle because there is more light shining on them and the rest of the figures are in the shadows.  

The Calling of St Matthew

This painting depicts the conversion and awakening of Saint Matthew by Jesus Christ himself. Jesus and Saint Peter are pointing to him as if to call for him at this table of men. The light seems to be coming from the direction that Jesus and Saint Peter came from and it is illuminating the faces of the men at the table. 

Inspiration of St Matthew

There are two figures in the image, Saint Matthew and an Angel. The angel came to him as he was working. The more illuminated figure would be Saint Matthew as the angel is partially in the shadows, but not by much to be mentioned. 

John the Baptist

There are two figures in this painting and it is John the Baptist and a ram. John is in his youth in nudity and has one of his arms around the ram. The light shines on both the figures, but they are not fully illuminated. 

  Penitent Magdalene

There is only one figure in this painting of a young woman. This color palette stands out to be as being brighter than most of his paintings that I have observed so far. Her gaze is downwards into her lap and she is crying. She is the brightest thing in this photo. 

Rest on the Flight into Egypt

There are two people, a baby, and an angel pictured in this painting. Joseph and Mary are caring for an infant Jesus as the angel plays music for them. Joseph is almost in the shadows and the light appears to be mostly on the Angel, Mary, and Jesus. 

I think that Michael Fried’s account of absorption does fit Caravaggio’s paintings. Especially in “The Martyrdom of Saint Matthew.” According to Fried, absorption describes how the figures in his paintings are absorbed within themselves. They are full of introspection and present reality. It gives a sense of presentness. The background and composition of his paintings convey absorption well. 

In “The Martyrdom of Saint Matthew” the figures portray absorption. They do this by reacting within the moment of time that they are in. It is shown in this composition because everyone is staring at the same thing, the figures in the middle. It is not only the direction of their heads, but also their facial reactions that portray absorption. His expressions make it unmistakable to understand what is happening in the moment. There are levels of shock, and horror upon their faces to examine. The painting depicts the martyrdom of Saint Matthew. He has fallen by the hand of his executioner who has stabbed him with a rapier and just above him is an angel reaching down. The angel reaches down, but only Matthew can see him. Matthew’s arm is trying to reach the angel. Nobody else is focused on the area the angel is located. This is a spiritual connection that is happening exclusively for Matthew as he is being martyred. 

 Caravaggio also adds onto the absorption through his work of light and where it falls and who it illuminates. Fried also mentions that Caravaggio’s use of doubling/mirrors adds onto the idea of absorption. It is the doubling of figures and mirrored images that further the concept of introspection. The use of mirrored images comes into play with David and Goliath and Sick Bacchus as those are self portraits of Caravaggio’s. He uses his own face to be able to convey a sense of inwardness and depth of feeling he may not be able to get with a model. The sense of inwardness and depth add onto the immersion of the subjects of the paintings. 

The absorption in David and Goliath is quite clear. There are only two faces to analyze and one of them is deceased. David’s face, and in the literal sense, Caravaggio’s face the one and the same, conveys a sense of pensiveness and sadness. The background is dark so there is nothing to focus on, except David with the head of Goliath. The use of light shows that in this moment he is preoccupied with Goliath’s head and the reality of what it means to have beheaded him in battle. By using a dark background Caravaggio was able to portray absorption through their faces and the light. The picture is after victory and the moment portrayed is the thought after action. 

Michelangelo’s Moses: briefly compare Freud’s account of the Acropolis to his account of Michelangelo’s Moses. Pictures of both. 

They both grip him very powerfully in ways he cannot fully fathom and describe. The Acropolis was a surreal experience for him and as for Moses he thinks it is inscrutable. 

Borghese

Find statue of a woman in peplos.

When was it made ?

Arte Romana 3rd Century AD

Caravaggio and Bernini. Both made David’s; how do they compare?

Bernini depicts David the moment before killing Goliath whereas Caravaggio depicts him in the moments after Goliath’s beheading. Bernini’s David appears older, the reason for this I’m unsure, but the age of Caravaggio’s David is because it is a self portrait of him holding an older version of himself’s head. It’s difficult to compare sculpture to painting, but I would say Caravaggio’s is more gory. 

Bernini Aeneas, Anchises and Ascanius -- what does Aeneas carry?

He carries his father. 

Roman Hermaphrodite. How does it compare to the Canova in DC? 

They used different supportive positions. Canova’s is “less modest” in a way in relation to its nudity.

[sarah-maclean-completist]

AudioGals August 2023 Picks: Sarah MacLean/Mary Jane Wells Lucy Parker/Anne-Marie Piazza Ann Patchett/Meryl Streep Allie Therin/Joel Leslie

[ourxcountryadventure]

Roman Holiday

July 28, 2023

“Rome. I will cherish my visit here in memory as long as I live.”

AUDREY HEPBURN - Princess Ann

Our plan on the first full day in Rome was to see as much of the city as possible. In order to achieve this goal and accommodate our various mobility differences and the soaring heat, we hired a private driver from Mary Roma. We had created a list of the top things that we wanted to see and sent it ahead to the company along with our start time and the driver was able to make am itinerary that made sense in the 6 hours we had scheduled.

Our driver, Fabrizio, picked us up promptly at 8:00 am and we started our tour at the Trevi Fountain. The fountain was being cleaned and the coins collected and so the fountain was not on. On the positive side of things, the crowd was not large at 8:00 am and so we were able to get up close and personal to the famous landmark to see the sculptures and take pictures. We stopped at a stand to buy a hat for Annie and a magnet for Julie and were lured into a patisserie for cornettos and maritozzo which Dad declared delicious. Julie opted for a plain cornetto and offered a bite to mom who grabbed a decidedly large percentage of the pastry and guzzled it down.

We loaded back into the van and enjoyed Fabrizio’s skill at manoeuvring through the narrow streets of the ancient city. We were often close enough to doors that we could have grabbed the door handle and the intricate dance between pedestrian, scooter and van was remarkable and horrifying all at once.

Next up, the Spanish Steps from the top. Beautiful! We saw the spot where Tom Cruise hopped in the yellow car and drove down the steps in the latest Mission impossible, Syl, Julie and Amelia walked down to the bottom of the steps and back up - finding out afterwards that our next stop was the bottom but making memories nonetheless. Poppa accepted a rose by a street peddler and had to be rescued by Jane and Fabrizio to get the man away from him. Julien was upset that I was not being nice and I was reprimanded soundly for my stern behaviour with the stranger.

The church was not open and so we were not able to visit.

Down the hill to the lower end of the Spanish Steps and Piazza di Spagna. It is a lovely vista and we were able to enjoy it in relative calm with no crowd in the morning. We took a stroll down Via Condotti - the “it” street for designer stores in Rome (think Jimmy Choo, Louis Vuitton). The stores did not open until 10:30 or so and so it was window shopping only for us!

We left there and headed to our next stop but we were hijacked by Mom and Julie who were sitting with Fabrizio in the front seat and who had spied a Pandora store. So inside we went for a little retail therapy that took a bit longer than allowed for our itinerary which meant that the Borghese Villa became the Borghese Gardens which became just a drive by and not a stop. On the upside, we got some wonderful souvenirs and Syl discovered a beautiful church, Chiesa di Gesù e Maria, just down Via del Corso.

The funeral of Andrea Purgatori (thanks Google!) in Piazza del Popolo was making some excitement with heavy police presence and television crews filming the ceremony. We drove by the beautiful Piazza several times but didn’t stop. Hoping we can get back there tomorrow before we leave.

Our next out-of-the-car stop was at Altar of the Fatherland which was my favourite stop for the sheer beauty that surrounded us. We had a snack here at a tiny takeaway sandwich shop - to die for!

We saw the Coliseum and stopped for approx 45 minutes here to gasp at its beauty. There were thousands of others also there which made it very hectic. Annie and Syl walked around the entire structure which is massive and imposing and an incredible architectural masterpiece. Julien and I stayed with Amma and Poppa at a terrific spot to people watch and enjoy the views. Annie said this was her favourite site of the day.

Next up was a stop at the Pantheon and finally Piazza Navona where Fabrizio left us and where we found a great restaurant for a light lunch. This was on Mom’s bucket list - lunch in the Piazza and so we made it happen.

After lunch, Mom, Dad and Julien caught a taxi back to our vacation house and the rest of us meandered around Piazza Navona and then headed back on foot. The distance was set to be 3 km but a slight detour at Castel St. Angelo added another km or so as did Syl’s initial navigating where he only semi-partnered with Google maps. Along the way we walked around Castel St Angelo, saw the Canadian Embassy, crossed the Tiber River and viewed some beautiful streets and buildings. It was a long and hot walk and we were glad to get home for a siesta before dinner.

We decided that steak was our wish for dinner, and a quick search on Trip Advisor led us to Il Belli al Trionfale a short two blocks from our apartment. DELICIOUS! We feasted on deep fried meatballs and smoked carpaccio for appetizers and strip loins served with three salts and some with truffle fondue. They were served on a hot stone which allowed us to cook them to perfection.

Over dinner we discussed our thoughts of the day and determined that Rome has a ratio of Church to Gelatto Store to Piazza to Stolen Obelisk of 10:10:3:1.

A quick walk back and some time on the roof-top terrasse before bed.

List of Our Sites Experienced

Spanish Steps ☑️ 🚶‍♀️📷

Colosseum ☑️ 🚶‍♀️📷

Trevi Fountain ☑️ 🚶‍♀️📷

Pantheon ☑️ 🚶‍♀️📷

Piazza Navona ☑️ 🚶‍♀️📷

Roman Forum ☑️ 🚶‍♀️📷

Altar of the Fatherland ☑️ 🚶‍♀️📷

Castel Sant’Angelo ☑️ 🚶‍♀️🚶‍♀️🚶‍♀️

Basilica Papale di Santa

Maria Maggiore ☑️ 🚗

Villa Borghese ❌

Borghese Gardens ☑️🚗

➕Circus Maximus 🚗

➕ site of Julius Caesar’s Assassination 🚗

➕Home of Italian President, Sergio Mattarella, Villa Rosebery🚗

➕Piazza del Popolo 🚗

🚗 drive-by

📷🚶‍♀️pics and exploring

[kley-blog]

Well, nothing like channeling Christmas a little early . . .

Gets it all over and done with . . .

A frightfully post-post modern Christmas it is too . . .

So many twists and references . . .

I suppose I would have to watch it frequently for several decades and really do my homework to catch them all . . .

But . . .

That’s Hollywood . . .

Particularly during Christmas madness . . .

Enjoy . . .

[archduchessofnowhere]

The Winterhalter That Wasn't: The Real Authorship of a Portrait of Queen Marie Sophie of the Two Sicilies

Oh, Franz Xaver Winterhalter: THE painter of royals. Born in 1805, the German painter made a career by painting detailed, gorgeous, romantic and flattering-yet-still-accurate portraits through out the courts of Europe. Amongst his royal sitters were Queen Victoria, Empress Eugénie of the French, Empress Maria Alexandrovna of Russia, Queen Isabel II of Spain, Empress Elisabeth of Austria, and many more. Everybody wanted to be painted by Winterhalter, and the painter was in high demand until the end of his life in 1873.

Winterhalter is my favorite portraitist. The sheer amount of detail that he put into the fabrics of the dresses is impressive, as it is the way he enhanced his female sitters and romanticized them while still making them recognizible (non of his male portraits are that impressive, sorry guys).

Queen Marie Henriette of the Belgians (1865) // Princess Elizaveta Esperovna Troubetzkaya (1859) // Empress Eugénie surrended by her ladies in waiting (1855). All by Franz Xaver Winterhalter.

So remember how Winterhalter painted Empress Elisabeth of Austria? Well, he also painted her younger sister Marie, the last Queen of the Two Sicilies. Possibly. Maybe. Allegedly. I actually haven't found any evidence of this, but I did read people talking about it on royal discussion forums, and the people there absolutely knows what they are talking about. So it is possible.

Now enters the portrait that compels this post: the alleged portrait of the Queen of the Two Sicilies by Franz Xaver Winterhalter.

Queen Maria Sophia of Naples, attributed to Franz Xaver Winterhalter

So what do we know of this portrait? Not much that I could find. It is listed in Wikimedia Commons as belonging to the Minneapolis Institute of Art, and that it was a "Bequest of the Estate of Miss Marguerite Davis", whom apparently was like a super rich lady from the mid 1900. And as I said before, it has been attributed to Winterhalter.

If you google it you will find it as such in plenty websites and social media posts. But not gonna lie, I always thought that this identification was fishy. Look at the portraits I shared above and then look at this portrait. Does it really look like it was painted by the same guy? The guy known for his detailed idealized portraits? Like were are the textures of the fabrics? The more I looked at the portrait the less it looked like a Winterhalter.

Yesterday I was looking for information for a new post about Marie that I'm writing (also relating an artist) when I came across an article by Anne Brewster called "American Artists in Rome", published in the February 1869 edition of Lippincott's Magazine of Literature, Science and Education. The article, written from Piazza di Spagna in December 1868, had a mention of Marie so of course I had to read it. In it Brewster paints a picture of Rome and its residents from the United States. It was the beginning of the season and artists were filling up the studios; she visited two of them, an sculptor's and a painter's. First the studio of Mr. Mozier, in which she found many of his works such as "Undine" and "Lady of Avenel". Then she moves onto Mr. Buchanan Reid's studio, "at present one of the most attractive in Rome." The main attraction of it, Brewster tells us, is his new portrait of the ex-queen.

You cannot imagine the way my heartbeat raised as she described the portrait and I realized that I freaking knew what she was talking about:

But the principal object of interest just now at Mr. Read’s studio is his unfinished portrait of Maria Sofia, ex-Queen of Naples. Mr. Read has been closely engaged for two weeks at the Farnese Palace, where this beautiful young throneless queen has been sitting to our famous poet-painter, and his subject has inspired him to create a lyric in his picture.

Enough of the portrait is finished to enable us to read the poetic thought. In the background is Vesuvius and a sunset. The sky is beginning to be dotted with stars. The head of the Bavarian Bourbon queen wears no diadem but her own superb hair, which lies in a high mass of ruddy chestnut hue, and in the sky just above this true regal crown of beautiful womanhood is the evening Star.

The ex-queen’s face has tragic points in it, and in some photographs she looks as if she might be a bandit’s wife as well as a Bourbon princess; but Mr. Read has caught these striking features and rather fierce expressions, and with the transmuting power of a poet and artist blended them into deep feeling and thrilling emotion. Her hand is playing with the pearl necklace that encircles her throat, while from the fingers the pendant cross has slipped and rests against the light, filmy drapery of the breast.

The fire in the flashing eyes of the queen is softened down almost into tenderness, and there beams from them a look of something like faith and trust in the future—a watching for the rising of the morning planet.

While looking at the picture we feel so impressed by its expectant expression that we cannot help recalling how many marvelous changes crowned heads have had in our memory, and imagination willingly restores this young Bavarian girl to the throne that slipped away from her just as she stepped upon it as a bride.

I actually yelled "I KNEW IT" when I read this. Here I had my confirmation: that portrait was NOT a Winterhalter. Since the portrait as we know it today looks exactly as it is described by Brewster it seems that Mr. Read never finished it. But who was Mr. Read?

Thomas Buchanan Read was a poet and painter born in Chester, a county of Pennsylvania in 1822. When he was 10 years old he was apprenticed to a tailor, but he ran away to Philadelphia and got a job as a clerck on a grocery store, rolling cigars and painting business signs. After a bunch of comings and goings in which he discovered his abbility for art, at age 18 he met the wealthy Nicholas Longworth, who opened a studio for him. Thus began his career as a painter, which gained him praise. His career as a poet seems to have been much more prolific and praised, with several publications that span for over twenty years. He went to Europe for the first time in 1850, and then again in 1853 until 1858, where he dedicated to the study of art in Florence and Rome. During the American Civil War Read he was a major in the Union Army, but because his weak physical prevented him from joining the battle he put all his strenght in lifting up the morale and recruiting soldiers by giving public readings and reciting his war poems in the camps of the army. He spent his time between Philadelphia and Cincinnati, but during the final years of his life he lived mainly in Rome. In 1872, when he was sailing back to the United States with his family, he caught pneumonia, and by the time they reached New York City he was too weak to continue traveling. He died a week later on May 11 1872 aged 50 years old.

Here are some paintings by Buchanan Read:

The Harp of Erin (1867) // Jepthah's Daughter (1858) // The Angel Appearing before the Shepherds (1870)

Look at the textures! Look at the colors! Comparing these portraits to Marie's I can say "yeah this was painted by the same guy". Also his thing absolutely was "lady in a translucid white dress", so maybe the portrait is just meant to look Like That.

Last night I was excited about my discovery, but now I'm a bit sad. Read's portrait of Marie is beautiful and memorable, and yet it has been misslabeled as a Winterhalter for years. He deserves the proper credit for his work. I will try to write to the Minneapolis Institute or Art later to see if they a) still have this portrait in their collection and b) if they will correct its authorship. If you see this portrait going around as a Winterhalter, try to correct it. It's time to give this painting back to his author.

Sources for Read's biography: [x] [x]

[tuscanwalker]

September 1, 2021 - Jack and Jill Wouldn’t Climb This Hill

Up early to say goodbye to Nuremberg. Got to Wurzburg about 10, checked into my old, slightly shabby (but very clean) hotel on the Barbarossa Platz and went out sightseeing. This is a smaller city (125k) with an easily walkable old town centre. As I only have the remainder of today, I narrowed my sightseeing to three places.

The first place I visited was Marienberg Castle on the hill overlooking the town. Rick Steves said it was a “heart stopping” climb to the castle and recommended that you should ride up and only walk down. Being stubborn and on my way to a 6 day hike I decide to hoof it both ways. Well, Rick is wrong, my heart is still ticking but tough enough (roughly Walterdale Hill X 3)

The castle was home to the Prince Bishops of Wurzburg from the 13th to 18th centuries when they moved into a slightly more comfortable place in the city (the Residence). Prince Bishops were rulers with both ecclesiastical and secular authority. Those arose because Frederick Barbarossa (Holy Roman Emperor) went divorce shopping and the Bishop of Wurzburg gave him a get out of marriage free card. He immediately made the Bishop into the Prince of Franconia with the right to levy taxes and raise armies, while being accountable only to the Emperor. This was similar to the Prince Bishop of Durham from my blog on walking Hadrian’s Wall.

While I was able to walk the grounds of the castle, interior tours were cancelled by Covid. This has been a theme at a number of venues, but here we were not even allowed in the building. Nonetheless, it was an impressive fortress. To get there, I had to first walk through a small gate in the lower wall with two sets of heavy doors and a portcullis (wall/door that slides down in stone slots on either side of the gate). In between these doors was a murder hole through which defenders poured all kind of nastiness, like hot oil which they then lit on fire. After the first gate I climbed 100 ft to a second wall and gate. These were similar in design to the first, except larger and with a curved tunnel inside to prevent a direct assault. Next was a heavily fortified gate into the outer courtyard of the castle, followed by an even more heavily fortified gate to the inner courtyard. If attackers got through all that, then there was the tower keep. For a holy man, he seemed to worry a lot about his enemies.

Just beside the fortress was the Bishop’s peacetime home which was not terribly interesting. However, It did house some lovely art, including a huge collection of stone sculpture and wood carvings by the Renaissance artist Tilman Riemenschneider.

I walked back down the hill and across the Main (Mein) Bridge over the River of the same name. It has statues of Saints down both sides and is somewhat reminiscent of the Charles Bridge in Prague or Pont Sant Angelo in Rome (they both lead to castles as well). Charmingly, wine is served at little standup tables placed strategically along the bridge, but it was a bit too early, even for me.

My second stop was the Prince Bishop’s city house. It seems disingenuous to call a 400+ room palace (think Versailles or the Schonbrunn in Vienna) a “Residence”. Either these men of the cloth never took a vow of poverty or they found a very creative work around (all for the greater glory of God perhaps?). Photos are not allowed and I am frankly at a loss for words to describe the opulence. Picture the world’s largest fresco (by Tiepalo) over the main staircase. Then visualize rooms lined with Flemish tapestries or great art and others completely walled in lacquer covered silver or back painted mirrors. In many of the rooms, gold leaf covered between 20% and 50% of the walls. The most amazing thing is that most of this (like the fortress and local cathedral) is a reconstruction. On just one night in 1945, “Bomber” Harris’ Lancasters dropped 400 tons of high explosives and 300,000 incendiaries on the town. While almost everyone was in a shelter, over 5,000 died that night, mostly from asphyxiation as the firestorm sucked up the oxygen. The town was levelled and most of the major restorations were only completed in the 1990s. I noticed the every “old” church or other building in the town has what looked like brand new stonework with no wear, no pitting and perfectly crisp edges.

My final stop was the cathedral, another reconstruction of a building that was a conglomeration of different styles put together over the centuries. I passed on the attached museum/gallery whose theme was the juxtaposition of modern and ancient church art. I have seen this done in the past, but I much prefer when it is done within the church itself like the stained glass in the Almudena Cathedral in Madrid or the sculptures in Saint Mary of the Angels and Martyrs in Rome.

Off to dinner at a great beer garden next to a piazza for some great food and people watching. As my new friends from Frankfurt told me, I can confirm that while schnitzel is veal in Austria, it is pork in Germany. After dinner I wandered down to the bridge for that wine I denied myself earlier. Only wish Lu-Anne was here as she would love this.

Tomorrow Bingen! ( assuming the trains get me there)

[asfaltics]

and swerving legend

  must now; For now he shall be       1 of a contrary Opinion to what I was just now, for now I am so far from       2 any thing should be said of it. For now For now very are so far from [   ] more [   ] For its mighty rivers, so Rivers       3   it must needs follow that there be more now : for now is the defection and swerving       4 legend, or its song. All silent now, for now       5 parted now for now       6   as we have, now for now it is about half-a-foot deep, and still goes on increasing       7 by shedding his own come now, for       8 now; for now and then by exhausted energies, the waking the future       9   whose name I now for : now [   ] the get — a major somebody ?       10 to come now, for now       11 No better time then now, for now th’art in good clothes       12   Now — For now NOT NOW Now — For now against himself / Now — For now I see       13 your appearance just now, for “Now that I have seen you I shall leave at once”       14 a lease as we are sure of now, for now It was I we are sure of a seven years       15   hours now. For now we are separated, not by is coming, and now       16 dismist : “now” for “Now”       17 now for now i. (There are) now 6 bordars. It is 1000. (There are) 12 acres of meadow, [   ] then and afterwards      18   that laugh now! for now! for       19 I feel very well just now ( “for now” and “I feel” came next, but are crossed out)       20 one feels that it is now; for now as       21  

sources

1 ex “The Bloody Brother, or, Rollo. A Tragedy” Act 3, Scene 2, in The Works of Francis Beaumont and John Fletcher vol 3 (London, 1711) : 1599 2 ex Arabian Nights Entertainments ... Translated Into French ... by M. Galland ... and Now Done Into English. The Fourth Edition, Volume 6. (W. Taylor, 1724) : 30 3 ex OCR cross-column misread (and inscrutable doubling of “for now”) at A Collection of Voyages and Travels, Some now first printed from Original Manuscripts, others Now first published in English. In six volumes. To which is prefixed An introductory discourse (supposed to be written by the celebrated Mr. Locke) intitled, the whole History of Navigation from its Original to this time. Third edition, vol. 1 (London, 1744) : xxxiv BL copy, recent scan (March 11, 2020) 4 ex Sermon on the Epistle for the twenty-third Sunday after Trinity, in The Sermons of the Right Reverend Father in God, and Constant Martyr of Jesus Christ, Hugh Latimer... to which is prefixed A Memoir of the Bishop; by John Watkins. Vol 2 (of 2; London, 1824) : 183 5 ex Introduction to Canto Second, of “Marmion,” in The Works of Walter Scott, Esq., vol. 84 (Pocket Library of English Classics, No. 118; Zwickau, 1825) : 48 6 OCR cross-column misread, at E(dward). Bulwer Lytton, Night and Morning : A Novel (bound with Zanoni; Lucretia, or, The Children of Night; and Godolphin; New York, 1850) : 40 7 OCR cross-column misread involving “Surgery of the War” and “The War,” from our special correspondent, Heights above Sebatopol, January 4th, 1855; preview only at The Lancet (Saturday, January 27, 1855) : 111 in full at hathitrust 8 snippet view only (OCR cross-column misread) at Sharpe’s London Magazine of Entertainment and Instruction, vol 27 (1865) : 284 9 OCR cross-column misread, involving scenes 3 (The Piazza of Covent-Garden) and 4 (Horner’s Lodging. A table, banquet, and bottles.) of Wycherly, “The Country Wife, A comedy” (1675), in The Dramatic Works of Wycherley, Congreve, Vanbrugh, and Farquhar. With biographical and critical notices. By Leigh Hunt. A new edition. (London, 1866) : 97 10 OCR cross-column misread, as Messrs Kerr and Broomhall joust on the cost of stationery purchased by the Clerk of the House, in The Congressional Globe : The Debates and Proceedings of the Second Session Fourtieth Congress... and a supplement, embracing the proceedings in the trial of Andrew Johnson. Part 5 (Washington; July 24, 1868) : 4427 11 ex For the Young. Letters from Children. “Copies of children’s letters to the chaplain” (C. L. D. School), in The Christian vol 3 (London; October 31, 1872) : 574 12 ex “May-Day” (Act I), in George Chapman (1559-1634 *), Comedies and Tragedies, Now First Collected with illustrative notes and a memoir of the author in three volumes. vol 2 (of 3; London, 1873) : 334 13 ex preview snippet, to Mrs Horace Howard Furness, A Concordance to Shakespeare’s Poems : An Index to Every Word therein contained. (Second edition, 1874) here combining that snippet, with its referred-to passage at page 207 there was Horace Howard Furness (1833-1912 *), collector and scholar of Shakespeare, compiler of the “New” or “Furness” Variorum editions of Shakespeare; and there was Helen Kate (Rogers) Furness (1837-1883), whose inherited fortune made that collection (and much else) possible, see James M. Gibson, “Horace Howard Furness: Book Collector and Library Builder” at this UPenn Library page. Mrs Furness died of what was diagnosed as “acute neuralgia.” Her concordance extended the earlier work of Mary Cowden-Clarke (1809-98 *) her Complete Concordance to Shakspere : Being a Verbal Index to All the Passages in the Dramatic Works of the Poet (London, 1845) 14 at The Leisure Hour : An Illustrated Magazine for Home Reading (September 1, 1877) : snippet view but Chapter 10, “A Doubtful Friend,” of His Only Enemy, by Mrs. Arnold (author of “Better than Gold”) at hathitrust more — Mrs. Arnold was a pseudonym for Sarah Ann Jeffreys (1836-88), whose remarkable story is sketched at the Victorian Research Web (Troy J. Bassett, At the Circulating Library: A Database of Victorian Fiction, 1837-1901. (accessed 16 March 2021) see wikipedia for a description of The Leisure Hour. 15 ex Proceedings of the Common Council, City of Boston (July 1, 1886; Boston, 1887) : 749 16 OCR cross-column misread, and misread “hours” for what is “hour,” ex “The works of St. Augustin” (On the Gospel of St. John, Tractate 18), in Philip Schaff, ed., A Select Library of the Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers of the Christian Church, vol. 7 (1888; New York, 1908) : 130 17 ex OCR cross-column confusion involving “Now let Thy servant die in peace” and “Now, Lord, we part in Thy great [blest] Name” in John Julian, A Dictionary of Hymnology : Setting Forth the Origin and History of Christian Hymns of all ages and nations... together with biographical and critical notices of their authors and translators... (1892) : 818 among the contributors is Susanna (erroneously given as Susannah) Winkworth (1820-1884), English translator (of German theologian Niebuhr and others) and philanthropist, elder sister of translator Catherine Winkworth. see wikipedia 18 snippet preview only, in section “The Holders of Lands,” in The Victoria History of the Counties of England : Essex (1903) : 559 19 ex OCR cross-column misread/jump from The American Standard Bible (left column) to The Authorized Version (right) at “International Bible Lessons, uniform series.” Second Quarter. Lesson V. May 5 Poverty and Riches — Luke 6. 20-26; 16. 19-31, at The Church School Journal and Bible Student’s Magazine 44:5 (Cincinnati, May 1912) : 361 20 ex Hughlings Jackson, “On Affections of Speech from Disease of the Brain.” from Brain (1880), reprinted in “Hughlings Jackson on Aphasia and Kindred Affections of Speech,” in Brain : A Journal of Neurology 38 (July 1915) : 147-174 (166) John Hughlings Jackson (1835-1911) was a renowned specialist in epilepsy (wikipedia) 21 ex snippet view (only, at google) to YMCA, International Committee, For the Millions of Men Now Under Arms Number 5 (1915) : 48 (at archive.org)

—

on (not quite) recollecting a dream  

[differenzeartistiche]

Gavin Creel is 46 today, time to bring back an updated performance ranking!

I’m adding American Horror Stories since I last posted this last year.

Gavin Creel, 15 performances, ranked!

15. Nick Piazza in Fame

This show has some merits, although it’s definitely not one of my favorites. It’s Gavin’s professional debut and I can forgive him some naiveté in an otherwise competent, beautifully sung performance. His rendition of “I wanna make magic” is lovely.

14. Charles Darnay in A Tale of Two Cities

Ok, so this was a concert performance, so it’s not really fair to compare it to the others, but I’ll just throw it in here. Mainly because it’s such an unusual show for Gavin. It’s something that tries very hard to be on the level of Les Miserables, without much success, and Gavin is not a huge fan of that kind of show. That said, it’s a nicely sung performance of a classic romantic hero role. Nice, nothing more.

13. Jean-Michel in La Cage Aux Folles

Great show, poor but still competent production. The role’s literally the most boring in the whole play, but he gets to sing the cute “With Anne on my arm” and he nails it.

12. Troy in American Horror Stories

Oh this was a fun one, Gavin playing outside of his comfort zone, far removed from his preferred genre and into an over-the-top, sexy role that is rather unique in his career. I wish the material he had to work with was better, but his scenes with Aaron Tveit were superfun.

11. Hollis Bessemer in Bounce

Sadly a lesser show by Sondheim, I still love some aspects of it, and Gavin’s wide-eyed artistically-inclined dreamer is one of them. His big solo “Talent” is the best song of the show and touches me on a very personal level.

10. Matthews in Rapunzel’s Tangled Adventure

Gavin voicing a Disney villain! A Disney villain with a secret! A Disney villain with a French accent! Talk about playing against type. There’s something of Kodaly here, and of Lumiere and of Pepé Le Pew. You can tell he had a blast recording this role, and the design is exquisite.

9. Bill in Eloise at the Plaza / Eloise at Christmastime

Effortlessly hilarious on screen as he is on stage, he goes full-on old-time Hollywood star in the Christmas-themed sequel and I love it. A mix of Dick Powell and Fred Astaire.

8. Dr. Pomatter in Waitress

Sara Bareilles’ little gem of a musical often finds its strength in the absolute realness of its characters, flawed human beings looking for a little sparkle of happiness. Drew Gehling’s Dr. Pomatter was awkward and fun and sad-eyed, but I think Gavin wins infusing the character with tenderness and truly lived-in melancholy. A few weeks in a well-worn musical could be seen as a footnote in a great career, but it’s such a lovely performance, enhanced by the incredible chemistry he has with Bareilles.

7. Bert in Mary Poppins

My introduction to Gavin and since then I’ve come to appreciate him as heir to impossibly gangly male leads like Dick Van Dyke, so this feels like such a natural fit. I find the show a little bloated, but watch him defying gravity in that one “walking on air” scene: it’s irresistible.

6. Ugly in Honk!

Having him play the ugly duckling ALSO feels like a natural fit. Gavin’s at his best when he plays lost and confused dreamers, and the fairytale touch with the surreal setting makes for a wonderful variation on that theme.

5. Steven Kodaly in She Loves Me

Easily the odd man out of the list. The evil, scheming, suave and self-centered Kodaly is a delightful departure from all the romantic leads and clueless buffoons of Gavin’s career. The showstopper “Ilona” brings out all the manipulative nature of the character, a snake that always finds a way out and always gets what he wants. A remarkable performance that makes me want to see him branch out into even more strange territories.

4. Jimmy Smith in Thoroughly Modern Millie

Again with the old-time charm and humor. Millie is a show dominated by women, and Gavin’s male romantic lead manages not to be swallowed whole by them by being so wonderfully easy-going, hilariously aloof and occasionally sassy. It does also help that in “What do I need with love” he has one of the catchiest numbers of the show.

3. Cornelius Hackl in Hello, Dolly!

PUDDING. That alone deserved the Tony. It’s an overwhelmingly funny turn that makes the best of the original, almost vaudevillian nature of the show. So full of tricks and ticks and winks to the audience, deliciously aware of its own absurdity, it’s the kind of scene-stealing performance that not every actor can pull off. And oh my god, has anyone ever sung Jerry Herman’s beautiful tunes so gorgeously? You almost wish he could have sung “Put on your Sunday clothes” in its entirety.

2. Elder Price in The Book of Mormon

Somewhere between the rubber-faced humor of Jim Carrey, the earnest straight man hilarity of Jack Lemmon and the physicality of Dick Van Dyke. A perfect combination that captures the sarcastic, yet disarmingly sweet nature of the show, with its hints of meanness and self-devouring doubt.

1. Claude Hooper Bukowski in Hair

Unquestionably the masterpiece of Gavin’s career. A towering performance that starts with the iconicity of the role and the visuals associated with it and finds the core of Claude’s humanity: a scared, earnest, sometimes self-centered, mostly clueless young man that has to face something so much bigger than himself, something that is so far from the made-up world of fake accents and films in space that he has created for himself and that will eventually consume him. Moments like “Where do I go” and “The Flesh Failures” are moving and brutally honest.

[auditionsuggestions]

Audition songs for Women “Of a Certain Age”

This one is specifically for the ladies who are no longer ingenues (or who never really were and are finally growing into their character type...more or less the 40+ crowd)! Not all of these are solos, but I’m fairly certain all can be cut to be a good 16 or 32 bars.

List is under the cut for length

Golden Age:

“The Words” from Anne of Green Gables (1965 Charlottetown Festival)

“June is Bustin’ Out All Over” from Carousel

“You’ll Never Walk Alone” from Carousel

“Do You Love Me” from Fiddler on the Roof

“Sunrise Sunset” from Fiddler on the Roof

“Who Taught Her Everything She Knows” from Funny Girl

“If A Girl Isn’t Pretty” from Funny Girl

“Adelaide’s Lament” form Guys and Dolls (overdone, but not so much so that I’d completely discourage its use)

“Everything’s Coming up Roses” from Gypsy

“Rose’s Turn” from Gypsy

“You Gotta Get a Gimmick” from Gypsy

“Before the Parade Passes By” from Hello Dolly

“World Take Me Back” from Hello Dolly

“I Hate Men” from Kiss Me Kate

“So In Love” from Kiss Me Kate

“Bewitched, Bothered, and Bewildered” from Pal Joey

“Somehow I Never Could Believe” from Street Scene

Late 60s through 1980

“Compliments” from 1776

“Little Girls” from Annie

“So What?” from Cabaret

“What Would You Do?” from Cabaret

“The Ladies Who Lunch” from Company

“Could I Leave You” from Follies

“Losing My Mind” from Follies

“One More Kiss” from Follies (This can also be done by a young soprano as it’s a duet between an older performer and her younger self in the show)

“Say A Little Prayer” from Gigi (the time period’s correct, but is more of a 2015 revival thing than from the original production)

“Thank Heaven for Little Girls” from Gigi (This was a man’s song in the original, but the 2015 revival changed it to being a woman’s)

“Liaisons” from A Little Night Music (for a MUCH older actress)

“Send in the Clowns” from A Little Night Music (a bit overdone from my understanding, so if you’re gonna do it, knock the acting out of the park)

“By the Sea” from Sweeney Todd

“Worst Pies in London“ from Sweeney Todd

1980s through 2000

“Patterns” from Baby

“Tale as Old as Time” from Beauty and the Beast

“I Remember How Those Boys Could Dance” from Carrie the Musical

“When There’s No One” from Carrie the Musical

“Memory” from Cats is NOT going on this list cause it’s wayyyyy too overdone (don’t sing it is what I’m saying)

“Some One Else’s Story” from Chess (Sorry belt-y teens, Svetlana should be older)

“Ain’t it Good” from Children of Eden

“Children Will Listen” from Into the Woods

“The Last Midnight” from Into the Woods

“Stay with Me” from Into the Woods

“Perfectly Nice” from Jane Eyre (yes, it was on Broadway in 2000, but it was written in the 90s)

“A Slip of A Girl” from Jane Eyre

“And the Moon Grows Dimmer” from Kiss of the Spider Woman

“I Do Miracles” from Kiss of the Spider Woman

“Mamma Mia” from Mamma Mia

“Like it Was” from Merrily We Roll Along

“The Garden Path to Hell” from The Mystery of Edwin Drood

“Puffer’s Confession” from The Mystery of Edwin Drood

“My Husband Makes Movies” from Nine

“I Just Wanna Be A Star” from Nunsense

“A Word from Reverend Mother” from Nunsense

“Mama Will Provide” from Once On This Island (While versions of the show exist that don’t focus on race, the show is set in the Caribbean--specifically on Hispaniola)

“Ti Moune” from Once on This Island

“Back to Before” from Ragtime

“The Stuff” from Reefer Madness

“I Hate Musicals” from Ruthless

“Teaching Third Grade” from Ruthless

“Just One Step” from Songs for A New World

“Stars and the Moon” from Songs for A New World

“Children and Art” from Sunday in the Park with George

“As If We Never Said Goodbye” from Sunset Boulevard

2000 through the Present

“5 to 9″ from 9 to 5

“My Favorite Moment of the Bee” from The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee

“Lucky” from A Little Princess

“Just Around the Corner” from The Addams Family

“Close the Door” from Anastasia

“Land of Yesterday” from Anastasia

“Omar Sharif” from The Band’s Visit (This is pushing it a little--Dina is like late 30s-ish iirc)

“Everything Happens” from Bandstand

“Always Better” from Bridges of Madison County

“I Hate the Bus” from Caroline or Change (another one where the character’s race should really be considered before you choose to use this piece)

“I’m Here” from The Color Purple (another great piece for a black actress)

“Me and the Sky” from Come From Away

“As We Stumble Along” from The Drowsy Chaperone

“Days and Days” from Fun Home

“The Cake I Had” from Grey Gardens

“Will You” from Grey Gardens

“I Know Where I’ve Been” from Hairspray (you really shouldn’t use this for an audition if you’re white...or even white-passing--I say this as a white-passing POC)

“Miss Baltimore Crabs” from Hairspray

“Always Starting Over” from If/Then

“Enough” from In the Heights (You guys are smart, don’t make me say the thing about racial sensitivity again)

“Paciencia y Fe” from In the Heights

“Forgiven” from Jagged Little Pill

“Smiling” from Jagged Little Pill

“Uninvited” from Jagged Little Pill

“Ireland” from Legally Blonde

“Ireland (Reprise)” from Legally Blonde

“Beautiful Boy” from Lestat

“The Beauty Is (Reprise)” from Light in the Piazza

“Dividing Day” from Light in the Piazza

“Fable” from Light in the Piazza

“I Want the Good Times Back” from The Little Mermaid

“Poor Unfortunate Souls” from The Little Mermaid (putting this in this section because this is when the stage show was created)

“Poor Unfortunate Souls (Reprise)” from The Little Mermaid

“Days of Plenty” from Little Women

“Here Alone” from Little Women

“Feed the Birds” from Mary Poppins

“Brimstone and Treacle” form Mary Poppins

“What’s Wrong With Me (Reprise)” from Mean Girls

“That’s Rich” from Newsies

“I Miss the Mountains” from Next to Normal

“There is Music in You” R+H’s Cinderella

“Haven’t Got a Prayer” from Sister Act

“My Most Beautiful Day” from Tuck Everlasting

“A Privilege to Pee” from Urinetown

“An Old Fashioned Lesbian Love Story” from The Wild Party (Lippa)

[megameryl]

Never-ending list of musical theatre Patronus’s

Eliza Hamilton (Hamilton)

Jenna Hunterson (Waitress)

Ella (Rodgers + Hammerstein’s Cinderella)

Julie Jordan (Carousel)

Amelie Poulain (Amelie)

Jane Seymour (Six the Musical)

Elsa (Frozen)

Dot (Sunday in the Park with George)

Marian Paroo (The Music Man)

Maria (West Side Story)

Penny Lane (Almost Famous)

Claudia Nardi (Nine)

Emma Nolan (The Prom)

Sally Durant Plummer (Follies)

Estonia Dulworth (Nice Work If You Can Get It)

Tuptim (The King and I)

Carole King (Beautiful)

Magnolia Hawks (Show Boat)

Nancy (Oliver!)

Clara Johnson (The Light in the Piazza)

Anne Egerman (A Little Night Music)

Ado Annie Carnes (Oklahoma!)

Lucy Harris (Jekyll and Hyde)

Olive Ostrovsky (25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee)

Mary Flynn (Merrily We Roll Along)

[farkhoda]

Letter

For @elizadoolittlethings

“My dearest William, my boy, this is my frivolous la plaisanterie facile, do not try to condemn me for it! However, thou can condemn, I will only be happy to pray then my little sin in front of thou. I can imagine how now your pale cheekbones have painted a light blush, like the color of a young Loire wine. Ah, Loire… Do you remember our spring in France, my sweet beautiful boy? How did we get drunk under blooming chestnuts? I gave you pleasure on an elegant forged bench, sang old Gascon romances, we walked around Bastille until dawn. I recited Clément Marot for you in French and you tried to repeat without your sweetest little accent. You were in your white frock coat with pearls sewn on it and I wore my unbroken black leather coat, it was long enough to cover both of us from curious portraits on occasion. Pearls broke away from your froak and you never worked to lift them. “Such a trifle”, you said. Every time you put on your favorite coat, I did the exact opposite - you know how excellent black looks on white. Imagine now your blush, and I want to laugh. Only you make me laugh…Ah, William, how I miss our spring, the fragrant smells of the vineyards of old Auguste, the dark forests of the Ardennes. Rainy London bored me, Anne is mediocre and annoying, and Queen is still the same. Do you remember how we walked barefoot on the beach of Nice under the midday sun? I drank wine from your mouth, and you were angry and screaming, afraid that I would stain your snow-white shirt. Do you remember how it sweat, thrown off and caught on a lilac bush, ruffled the wind, and I kissed a drop of rose wine from your chest?My sweet boy, do not laugh at this whim that you are holding in your hands now, standing at the window of your bedroom in Pembroke Castle. You know my passion for oriental sweets. And you, too, are Eastern sweetness: mysterious and burning, sweet to bitter tears, you do not know which side to approach in order to taste you in full. How I loved to lick vanilla powder off your thin long fingers! You were so cheerful and so devilishly seductive! Your tanned throat in the neckline of a wide-open silk shirt - remember, did you put on my white one? - I still dream and drive crazy. You rode over the rocks like a boy, leaving Elizabeth far behind. She then joined us, damn attractive in her boyish suit. Leaving her Rutland in London.Ah, our summer in Egypt…We ate juicy pulp of pears on the shore of Alexandria… made love under the starry sky in desert, there, in the mountains, we gave ourselves to each other, enjoying the echo of our moans, I laughed at your inept attempts to be gentle with me, and you in retaliation put your brand on me. Do you remember Alamut Castle, my boy? Mountain fortress of our dreams? We smoked real hashish in an unfinished mosque, and you fed me from the hands of dates - how juicy they were! - and the Berber trumpet player was playing for us? There, in the country of dreams. We had a terrible argument then! You decided that I was just playing with you. How you screamed, how you accused me of deception and lightheadedness! My silly boy, our meetings have never been a game for me, on the contrary, it was only in those moments that I really lived - easily, in pleasure, without thinking about the consequences and my own status. And YOU status, first lord of the queen… My life with you in these brief scraps is like the lightest dance of elves, it is inspired by pleasures and vice, it is not made heavy by coarse matter, stubborn London reality. I run from the gravity of being to you - in the Paris spring or in the summer of Marrakesh, in our dreams… it always has been and always will be. I can only afford to be frivolous with you, my dearest William, my elf, don’t judge me for this. You are my genius, my vice, my weakness and strength. Remember how I, on my knees, gave praise to your body. Damn awkward pose for me, you know. I tempted you all day, and you finally gave up. How I exulted in breaking your resistance! Or it was you? You tempted me at the Wilton and your hand tangled in my hair, my boy. My brave beautiful boy. Our autumn in Italy ... My vices and passion have always been in tune with it. Do you remember how you loved me on the wet pavement in one of Verona’s countless back streets? Then there was a masquerade, and you, joking, put on a woman's dress, whispering in my ear that there was nothing under it. I was dressed like a Venetian doge - tall, dark, invariably strict, with my cane. But at first you did not know who was in front of you, only my voice gave me away. Your half mask with a white feather made you mysterious and seductive, and everyone paid their attention to you, which made me extremely angry. How then have your eyes darkened! I hid in a crowd of kings and inquisitors, courtesans, and ancient emperors, but you followed me relentlessly. And caught up on bridge Ponte Pietra, then I revenged you completely for your petite rébellion. But you also did not remain in debt, the next day you flirted with a pretty gondolier all morning, along the Grand Canal to Piazza San Marco. Do you remember how red the leaves were in that Venetian autumn? The bloody leaf fall together with the beginning rain brought sadness, and we decided to take refuge in the San- Salvadore church. Events in that church even now make me smile, and so many years have passed! How you were humble and shy, how you hissed at me, calling for order and prudence, how you tried not to notice my frank views, and then persistent touches. Didn't the God of that church tell us to love others, as if ourselves, my dearest?Autumn Rome, William, did you remember it? This was our second arrival. We walked, walked all night long, I read Cicero to you, and you quoted Petronius in return, we were happy then, on one of the famous Roman hills, under the lingering thunderstorm clouds. You remember well what I taught you. The wind whipped us from all sides, my hair intertwined with yours - after all, black on white looks amazing, - but we did not notice anything. I looked into your eyes, how bright and warm they were at that moment! Then rain poured in, a real autumn rainstorm, and we hurried to take refuge in one of the monasteries. "Autumn of the Middle Ages" - you said, seeing the remains of torture devices there. In response, I composed some kind of pun, and we laughed, but I remembered how your eyes blazed with fire at the sight of leather belts, my passionate knight!Sicilian fields were beautiful! We drank white wine, this blood of the gods, walking through the endless olive groves. You plucked wheat ears and told me where to use them, my naive boy, and I listened without listening to what you say. Your voice, my dearest, once captivated me and since then I am it slave. You probably know about this?My Prince… Half-friend, half-enemy, half-love, half-hatred… Upon learning of your wedding, I was furious! It seemed to me that you betrayed me. I then shouted at you for a long time, blamed thou for every imaginable and unimaginable sins. Unable to stand, you left. It was winter in Switzerland ... The cold winter dotted the "i". It got dark, but you did not return. How I got scared then, my dearest, love of my life, light of my night, I was scared that I wouldn’t see you again, I wouldn’t feel you. So easy and carefree I can only live with you.You came back at night, frozen, angry, so closed and distant. It was quiet outside, in protection of my little cottage, which you gave me. Snow fell quietly, firewood cracked in the fireplace, and the clock monotonously ticking the minutes. We looked at each other, not looking away, and then I decided for myself. To hell! Only you, in this snowy and forgotten by all the gods of Swiss of our winter. You understood, felt my decision and smiled faintly. It was the third hour of the night, I prepared a grog, this stupid British drink, to warm up, you threw the blanket off the billiard table - what a gesture it was! So majestically and imperiously, the kings waved to the executioner with a lace scarf — and we began the party. But it was not destiny to end…Spring is coming, my dearest William, I'll be waiting for you on the Pont Saint-Michel, where you first told me "Je t'aime".

Yours…“

Mary, Countess of Talbot, hastily folded a letter written in a clear and even handwriting that she knew and hid it behind her corsage. Once in her bedroom, where no one had ever gone, except for her maid, she burned the letter, slowly tearing each piece into small pieces, swallowing evil tears. No one ever writes her a letter. Never.

Two weeks later, when she was embroidering in the living room, her husband suddenly turned to her:

-My valet told me that you received some kind of letter for me.

-Your valet was wrong, spouse mine, a letter was sent by my father, earl of Talbot. And there were no more letters. Ask my maid,- calmly said countess of Talbot, but earl no longer listened to her, distracted by his groom, who told him that Ben Jonson left for Paris a few days ago.

Departing from the bridge, where he stood for three hours, Jonson muttered: “Idiot, believed in a fairy tale that invented for myself and invented. How did thou decide that he remembers this nonsense, this stupid bridge? That he will drop everything and come. Who needs thou? Tell me, who needs thou?”

He drank and the Canarian wine didn't make him drunk,only it seemed to him that he was drinking vinegar. Sour and bitter, like tears, like his weakness, which he hated. Alone. Forever and after.

[italianartsociety]

A Celebration of the Liberal Arts in Foligno

In Umbria, not far from Perugia and Assisi, sits the town of Foligno. Just off the main piazza is the Palazzo Trinci, a thirteenth-century palace housing a group of museums. The palazzo, however, is best known for several fresco cycles including the decoration of the chapel by Ottaviano di Martino di Mello (1424) and two areas displaying Uomini Illustri (one in a main room and a second cycle in an above-ground passage to the Duomo). A third cycle, in a second large gathering space, depicts allegorical figures of the seven Liberal Arts, the planetary gods, and the ages of humanity (painted before 1417). Verses in Latin and Italian identify the Planets and the Ages while the enthroned Allegorical figures of the Liberal Arts include recognizable attributes. For example, Music is seated before a small organ with a stick raised above her head to strike bells. A young boy kneels before Grammar and holds a stylus against a book, open towards the viewer, and which displays the letters of the alphabet running along the top of the right-hand page.

Philosophy, sitting between Geometry and Astronomy, dominates the room. Philosophy’s throne faces out to the viewer in a way that reminds of an enthroned Virgin Mary; the importance of Philosophy is evident as the throne is higher on the picture plane and a more elaborate combination of architectural types. Across the room, on the facing wall, the unknown artist depicts Mercury and Jupiter as well as roundels of two ages: “adolescence” and “youth.” Together these rooms and the collections celebrate the erudition of the Trinci family. Anne Dunlop notes that the family (especially during the lifetimes of Ugolino and his sons) were known for their interest in “antique” learning, for collecting antiquities--still housed in the palazzo--as well as for their support of two early humanist poets: Dominican Federico Frezzi (c.1350-1415) and Francesco da Fiano (c.1350-1421).

Palazzo Trinci, Courtyard (photo credit: Jennifer D. Webb)

Palazzo Trinci, Interior view (photo credit: Jennifer D. Webb)

Philosophy, Geometry and Astronomy. Room of the Arts and the Planets, Palazzo Trinci (before 1417). (photo credit: Jennifer D. Webb)

Music, Dialectic, and Grammar. Room of the Arts and the Planets, Palazzo Trinci (before 1417). (photo credit: Jennifer D. Webb)

Mercury, Adolescence, Jupiter and Youth. Room of the Arts and the Planets, Palazzo Trinci (before 1417). (photo credit: Jennifer D. Webb)

Reference: Anne Dunlop. Painted Palaces: The Rise of Secular Art in Early Renaissance Italy. University Park PA: Pennsylvania State University Press, 2009.

Further reading: Paul F. Grendler. Schooling in Renaissance Italy: Literacy and Learning, 1300-1600. Baltimore and London: Johns Hopkins University, 1989; Palazzo Trinci.

Posted by Jennifer D. Webb