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November 20, 2021:

THE BOHEMEIEST BOHEME

Bruce Kimmel Photograph bk's notes

Well, dear readers, I am sitting here like so much fish, listening to the most marvelously marvelous performance of Giacomo Puccini’s opera entitled La Boheme (The Boheme). I, of course, have a great stereophonic recording on SACD of Erich Leinsdorf’s version for RCA with Anna Moffo and I like that one very much. This one, from 1956 is in monophonic sound, but excellent monophonic sound. It’s conducted by Sir Thomas Beecham and stars Victoria de los Angeles and Jussi Borling and as if that wasn’t enough, we also get Robert Merrill, John Reardon, and Giorgio Tozzi. That’s a pretty starry cast, if you ask me, which you didn’t, but I told you anyway. This is a much-lauded recording and beloved by many and now it is beloved by the likes of me. It is a thing of great beauty, great singing, great conducting, and a great band. Of course, Puccini can’t be beat for a tune and orchestration and setting a libretto to gorgeous music. Prior to that, I watched the first twenty minutes of a Miyazaki film called My Neighbor Totoro, which I know I liked when I first watched it and I’m enjoying it all over again. And I also managed to listen to Alex North’s score for The Agony and the Ecstasy, which, for me, was more agony than ecstasy. In fact, the best thing on this soundtrack CD from Varese Sarabande, is the first track, which isn’t by Alex North but by Jerry Goldsmith, for the twelve-minute prelude/documentary thing that opened the film when in roadshow. The North score is too much what you’d have to call source music and not enough dramatic scoring, plus it’s simply not in the league of Spartacus or Cleopatra – his epic scores for those two films are masterpieces of film music. The fact is, I have never liked the score to The Agony and the Ecstasy and believe me I’ve tried. I don’t like the movie much either, if you must know, and you must. But there are certain film music fans that just LOVE anything that has Alex North’s name on it – I’ve never been that kind of fan. I don’t like every single thing Bernard Herrmann wrote, for example – in fact, I just listened to The Kentuckian the other day and really didn’t care for it at all. I certainly don’t like everything Mr. Goldsmith wrote – in fact, I don’t know that I can think of a single film composer whose every musical utterance I’ve loved and a lot of that starts with the films themselves, because that’s what they’re scoring. I also listened to Joe Hisaishi’s score for Ponyo twice, so beautiful was it. But now we’re awash in Puccini and that’s a good bath to be in.

Yesterday was some sort of day, but I can’t really remember it much. I did get eight-and-a-half hours of sleep, I did answer e-mails, I did no real work because it was a ME day, I did get singers some music, I did finish choosing the songs, I did go to Art’s Deli for another turkey sandwich and a few fries, and I did not pick up any packages because they didn’t arrive until seven o’clock and it was lucky someone was still in the mail place to get them. Otherwise, it was a pretty lazy day. I did have a nice telephonic call from Muse Margaret, who I miss terribly. She said she’s learning about the computer so that she’ll be able to read whatever new book I decided to write on January 1, so that’s good. I’ve been rolling around some ideas and something is lurking in the back of my head and I’m trying to move it to the front and give it some clarity. It may end up being like last year – I didn’t decide on Some Days Are Murder until the third week of December. So, we shall see what we shall see. I only ate half the sandwich whilst at Art’s, so I brought it home and ate it after a while. I had to scan several pieces of sheet music, too. I’m not sure what else happened, but at some point, I watched the beginning of My Neighbor Totoro and then began listening to stuff. And here we are.

Today, I’ll be up when I’m up, and then the plan was to go see the youth theater production of Fiddler on the Roof – however, the youth who we were going to see texted her mom last night to say the show just hadn’t come together and was a mess and thought we shouldn’t come and be subjected to it. Robert and I agreed that us being there would probably give her even less comfort, so that’s not happening. I’ll hopefully pick up some packages, and then Robert and I will go have a fun meal somewhere. And then I’ll watch, listen, and relax.

Tomorrow will also be a ME day, although I will try to do some writing on the project with David Wechter. I tend to write very quickly for this because we have extensive notes for each scene, so that might be a fun little diversion. I also got a link to watch a bunch of Warner Bros. Academy Awards consideration movies, including Cry Macho, In the Heights, Dune, and others. I have to figure out if there’s some way to get that link on the Firestick as I’d rather watch on the TV than the computer. Then this week will be setting rehearsals for the Kritzerland holiday show and figuring out what needs to get done before the end of the year, including one last batch of CD releases for 2021.

Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, be up when I’m up, not see a youth theater production of Fiddler on the Roof, hopefully pick up packages, have a fun meal somewhere, and then watch, listen, and relax. Today’s topic of discussion: What movies have you seen this year that you’ve liked and which have you not liked? Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst I hit the road to dreamland, happy to be luxuriating in the Bohemeiest Boheme.

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