Karl Ufert's Blog

January 2015 New York Blizzard - Stop Kvetching

2015-01-27T10:12:00.000-08:00

Photo: Theodore Parisienne for The New York Daily News.
Copyright © 2015 Theodore Parisienne & The New York Daily News. All Rights Reserved.

I don't know why I'm weighing in on this, but... So many people are "kvetching" about the apparent, so far, under-prediction of snow/the effects of what, yesterday and today (January 26/27, 2015), could have been an historic blizzard, specifically on New York City (all boroughs). We are not taking into account the fact that our fellow New Yorkers on Long Island got hit pretty terribly by the storm, and that the storm started "moving" last night -- all of the forecasters were talking about it -- and it dumped a lot more snow, and created severe wind conditions in other parts of the Northeast US. (E.g. Boston was slammed, with very high snow accumulations.)

We're also not taking into account that New York, New Jersey and Connecticut state and local agencies addressed the forecast with a decisive, smooth, well-communicated plan for keeping the people, the residences, the vehicles, the businesses and other institutions, etc., safe in and around our/those locations. Was it an "overreaction?" Were "politics" involved? Did forecasters even, possibly, "spin" -- no pun intended -- the weather as is the current lot of "news-vo-tainment?" Probably, to a degree. Are our big, New York (especially) egos "hurt" (boo $%^&!#$ hoo!) that "they" -- whomever "they" are -- supposedly "lied" to us about the weather and curtailed our personal and professional activities and plans? Yes.

I've lived in New York City (Manhattan), in the same neighborhood, on the same block, for five decades. "Tough New Yorkers" (and New Jersey and Connecticut -ers) always have/will always be right to both very much trust and very much distrust all of the forces involved in predicting, and responding to, potentially severe weather conditions. But, I confess, the smart-@$$ed comments, even from thoughtful people, about preparedness for situations like this, often infuriate me. For elderly and infirmed people -- some of whom DO NOT have "help" from more able people to address their living needs -- snowfall and accumulations, and wind and cold, of the current, less-than-expected proportions are already dangerous. For young children heading to school -- not everyone (families--parents/guardians, children) in the boroughs or surrounding areas have/has easy access to transportation, and, again, just the lower-predicted snow/other related weather conditions can be/are challenging for them. ("Oh, any kid can get on a bus, a subway, a school bus, or their families can escort, or drive, them to school or other needed programs." NO, not true. It sounds like what Bloomberg said during the NY blackout -- "oh, they can ride bicycles." Well, before Citi Bike, were you going to BUY THEM a bicycle, Mr. evil $%^& former (super-billionaire) Mayor, were YOU going to supply them to all adults and children? Were YOU going to ensure training for everyone on riding a bicycle in time for them to safely -- in the $%^&!@# dark! -- travel the streets of New York, or in the other Boroughs? Were YOU going to get disabled, or otherwise infirmed, parents/guardians and children safely to school, to the doctor's/nurse's office, to other appointments, on their bicycles?????? PLEASE!)

I remember a friend having posted on Facebook that he was "sitting on his fire escape" just before Hurricane Sandy hit the area, "waiting for this fake-@$$ storm to start. It better start, or $%^& you to these weather people and officials!" Then, the storm came, and he got what he wished for--the entire lower Manhattan power grid down for several days, and catastrophic destruction to the area of historic proportions.

Someone on FB wrote yesterday something to the effect of (I'm paraphrasing) "I was here for the Blizzard of 2010, this is nothing." Followed by another, typical rant about the ineffectiveness of the reporting/forecasting/administration's (probable over-) planning. Well, not to sound personally egotistical, but just providing historic perspective, I was here, in Manhattan, for the 2010 Blizzard, the 2006 Blizzard, the big 2003 Storm, the 1996 Blizzard, the 1993 "Storm of the Century," the 1978 Blizzard, other devastating weather conditions, Hurricane Sandy, etc., etc. I've witnessed over and under-reporting, over and under-preparedness, and the effects to human beings, to homes, to businesses, and to everything else in the area, of all of the above.

Frankly, I don't care if these people over-predict and over report. Yes, I also know the devastating effects of doing these things--e.g. families/guardians of children having to lose work days (some of them critical/essential on every level, from providing essential services to other human beings, infrastructure, etc., to lost income for those truly struggling to make ends meet), people being forced, even when near/actual "martial law" is declared, to find a way to get outside and to specific destinations with reduced access to resources (transportation, power, safety, etc.). BUT, being more prepared and attentive is, in my (genuinely) humble opinion more important than fearing the reaction of many who "disapprove" of those choices.

The 50 Coldest Cities in America - From The Huffington Post

2015-01-06T15:27:00.000-08:00

The Huffington Post published an article today listing "The 50 Coldest Cities in America," with this based upon, according to the article, "the 30-year average monthly low temperatures for December through March, as reported by NOAA." Remind me never to visit any of these cities during those months...

Read the Article Here (it contains a slideshow)

From 22 Words - Photos of New York City Storefronts Taken 10 Years Apart

2015-01-05T16:21:00.000-08:00

The wonderful Blog, 22 Words, posted great New York City photos last April (2014), taken 10 years apart in the exact same spots. This view is very touching. An example is the NW corner of Bleecker St. and Carmine St., just before 6th Avenue in the image above.

See the full post and the rest of the images by clicking here.

Foxcatcher Review

2015-01-04T16:13:00.000-08:00

I was alone for most of the winter holiday period -- with one, significant, and wonderful, exception at Christmas, wherein I even ended up being photographed by The New York Times -- and it gave me a chance to see several of the "Oscar race" films in theaters. Most recently, on Friday (1/2), I finally saw director Bennett Miller's (of Capote fame's) brilliant 2014 film, Foxcatcher--the film was released in Nov. 2014, but I saw it 2 months after it came out.

The film is an account of the tragic, true story of Dr. John Eleuthère du Pont, of the old-money, Delaware, du Pont family (of French and Huguenot descent) -- founders of the Dupont Corporation -- and his creation of a wrestling facility at his family's Foxcatcher Farm; founded, principally, in support in the 1980s of training of the Olympic wrestler, Mark Schultz, and then, as sponsor, of USA Wrestling, with training "led" by Mark Schultz' brother, Dave Schultz. I put the word "led" in quotes because, as is part of a very public story, du Pont was a tragic figure, who believed that he -- with no real professional training in wrestling -- was really the coach and leader of the USA Olympics team for Seoul Summer 1988. Du Pont even, as a result of his need to more intimately connect to/master wrestling, underwent training in the sport and ended up, in his 50s, competing locally in his age category.

But du Pont was known to be a troubled person, who was once sued by his wife of only a few months in her divorce filing for allegedly pointing a loaded gun at her. Miller's deft Foxcatcher tells of du Pont's relationship with the two Olympic wrestlers and the training team that he assembled at the Foxcatcher facility, and with his mother. According to the film, all of these relationships were, or eventually became, uncomfortable, with du Pont having a superiority complex -- based, as told in the film, on feelings of inferiority in his relationship with his family, especially with his haughty, seemingly unfeeling mother (played brilliantly in "Foxcatcher," in a very brief turn, by the great Vanessa Redgrave) -- which he could bolster with his vast wealth, and which he wielded over the athletes. In the end (spoiler alert for those who do not know the public story at all), du Pont shoots and kills Dave Schultz, and, in real life, he ended up in prison and remained incarcerated until his death in 2010. The reasons why this happens have to be experienced in the film itself.

The film moves as slowly, and is as cold, as the du Pont character is portrayed. There is never a moment of respite or true warmth throughout, and Greig Fraser's cinematography -- I've admired him since Zero Dark Thirty, and later learned that he also filmed Snow White and The Huntsman, both of which were highly atmospheric -- reflects this perfectly. Composer Rob Simon's deliberate, "sinister" musical score also, without ever being obvious, makes you fear at all times that du Pont will suddenly come unhinged.

The performances are remarkable. There is much talk about Steve Carrell's uncharacteristic undertaking -- Carrell is best known, to-date, as a comedic actor -- of the role of John du Pont, already lauded by critics and nominated for Golden Globe and Screen Actor's Guild Best Actor awards, with a near-guaranteed nomination for a Best Actor Academy Award. Until I saw Foxcatcher, I believed that Benedict Cumberbatch, for his brilliant turn as Dr. Allan Turing in Morten Tyldum's The Imitation Game, was the likely frontrunner for the Best Actor Oscar -- he too is nominated for all of the other major awards -- but, in my humble opinion (and that of many), Carrell even eclipses Cumberbatch, with his magnificent, tightly-controlled (in terms of his character and his acting), eerie performance.

There is also buzz about deserved nominations for the wonderful Mark Ruffalo as Dave Schultz, who, in addition to his strong acting turn, also had to undergo extensive physical training and transformation to play an Olympic-class wrestler. He brings the only real moments of tenderness to Foxcatcher, but, as real as they "feel," these elements of the plot are, fundamentally, devices.

I'm not sure why there is not more to-do about Channing Tatum's performance as Mark Schultz. Perhaps it is because his performance has enough screen time to make him a co-Best Actor nominee with Carrell, and, with so many strong Best Actor turns this year, he's being "shut out" for awards by his co-star. Tatum is nothing short of astonishing in his part, also, despite his usual athleticism, requiring a specific physical "transformation" for him physically, and, in terms of acting, the best that I've ever seen him do. The depth of his feelings overall, and for his brother, and, ultimately -- both positively and negatively -- for du Pont, and his life transformation in the story, are astonishing. Truly powerful work, which I hope leads to "richer" roles for him. (I assume that he will be given more substantive roles -- if he continues along the hard-working path on which he has been treading for quite a while -- when he is a bit older, and past, or somewhat past, his recent/current "sex symbol" phase.)

Foxcatcher is not perfect. I found the pacing occasionally "flat" where it was supposed to be slow and brooding, yet filled with a little bit more "energy"; but, overall, with leading performances of such stellar quality, this film is -- once again, imho -- not to be missed.

Don't "Hate On" Fitness Resolutioners

2015-01-02T11:39:00.003-08:00

From the age of approximately 12 years old, through my late 20s, I went from being a "skinny kid" to morbidly obese, with my weight topping out at, undoubtedly, around 300lbs. (I never weighed myself at the time, but I was 275 when I finally checked my weight after having gone down 3 pant sizes, so 300lbs. is my estimate.) I was around my highest weight on the right in the photo above.

READ: "5 Reasons to Stop Complaining About the New Year's Resolutioners at Your Gym | Rate Your Burn Article"

I began to lose weight in the late 1980s, having come to a point, as a young adult, that I was not having a fulfilling life, principally -- as is the motivation of most younger people -- in my romantic and sexual life. I "slogged" through weight loss, taking over a year to lose what I assume was approximately 35-40lbs., not long after the pant size change, and weigh-in, noted in the previous paragraph of this Blog entry. That demonstrable physical change inspired me to become much more serious about my weight loss.

I went through all of the typical "processes" for losing weight that most do when not undertaking the challenges under medical supervision, or through the surgeries that were available at the time, or, especially, today's weight-loss surgeries and techniques. I "starved" myself on occasion, finally went to a gym at certain points -- too embarrassed previously ever to set foot in a gym -- but, moreover, finally got myself to stop eating as much as I did before, and exercising regularly; principally, getting on the stationary bicycle in my parents/my apartment and pedaling for an hour every day, or every other day. With changed habits regarding eating, and with the constant pedaling and minor gym-going, I dropped around 95-100lbs. by the following year. When I stopped being vigilant about this process after losing so much weight, the weight continued to come off because of my metabolism. At my lowest, I was a strangely misshapen, 142lbs., with skin that snapped back faster than for most because of my then-young age and habits, but not entirely, and with unusually large thighs for someone as thin as I was because, as a small-framed person who formerly carried a lot of weight, I was "pear shaped" -- on my physical structure, the weight had nowhere else to go but the lower portion of my body as my chest, and upper stomach areas couldn't hold it -- and the shape remained after my weight loss, but at a completely different (far smaller) size category. (These latter factors remain the bane of my existence--that I would still have to work exponentially harder on my body to significantly change these two factors, and a bit of surgery would still be required, despite my skin recovery, to near-rid myself of evidence of the now long-ago damage that I did to myself.)

People were stunned by my physical changes and applauded them. Then, I experienced a multi-decade struggle with keeping the weight off, going up and down in my weight, but never, fortunately, exceeding the "180s" in the pounds range. However, for me, a still small person of only around 5'8", weight over the 150s is still very noticeable, and unacceptable in the "social context" in which I live. (I won't elaborate further on this on this Blog.)

However, I did it. I mostly maintained the weight loss for around 25 years. I never went back in the direction of uncontrollable eating, and no physical activity whatsoever, that formerly resulted in my life-altering morbid obesity. Through much, and continued, discrimination in my own social settings -- wherein I may have "given up" long ago because, while the weight loss yielded many, many positive results in my life, including in some of the areas to which I am referring regarding my social existence -- I still struggle to do things to remain, at the very least, not obese (or significantly obese).

Discrimination

READ: "5 Reasons to Stop Complaining About the New Year's Resolutioners at Your Gym | Rate Your Burn Article"

I've referred above to discrimination and social pressure. One of the things that I often see from many of my fit friends/acquaintances/social media connections is disgust and disdain when people make New Year's Resolutions to exercise, and to join a gym, but, often, get to the gym and find the same lack of motivation and fear that they experienced before doing this and then "jump ship" a month or two later. This "crowds" the gym, with people that "take too much time" to do whatever they are doing -- use machines, use weights, use facilities -- and are often sloppy, and, moreover, "inconvenient" to "regular," fit, year-round gym-goers.

Let me say that, had I not taken a first step in my wellness in the late 1980s, it is very likely that I would be a very unhealthy person if I were still alive today either completely in, or in some variation of, my prior physical condition. The referenced article from "Rate Your Burn" provides very nice thoughts about this phenomenon. It says to the "members of the club" -- a.k.a. those who have already long been highly motivated to do, or have overcome their prior fears of, physical exercise -- who so often discriminate against those who are attempting, even if ultimately unsuccessfully, to change their health and physical appearance: Please, try to turn your feelings around, and give love and patience to your fellow human being. For a few moments, in your mind, forget the inconvenience to your efficiencies when at the gym, and show some kindness, for we are all fragile and what you have now could, at any moment, be taken away from you.

“Life has meaning only in the struggle. Triumph or defeat is in the hands of the Gods. So let us celebrate the struggle!” ~ Swami Sivananda

December 2014 Movie Reviews - Recap

2015-01-02T09:50:00.000-08:00

A lot of friends asked for reviews of the films, new for 2014, that I saw in theaters in December. I posted these reviews on Facebook, but I'm going to begin now, in 2015 -- as part of my overall set of life changes this year -- to convert to providing content that I write that is more substantive to my blog instead of directly to Social Media channels.

The Theory of Everything: Director James Marsh, Academy Award-winner for the astonishing Man on Wire, shaped a film that is extraordinary in its simplicity. First, it tells the truth about Stephen Hawking's life in a way that most biopics fear to tread. I'm unaware if small details are fictionalized, but, having read extensively about Dr. Hawking -- and having heard and seen many interviews with him -- I know his incredible story quite well, and the film stays true to it. What I especially appreciate about Eddie Redmayne's performance as Hawking is that you feel his goofiness and child-like quality throughout his life, while also his genius and his overpowering struggle... and his overpowering beyond-tenacity and hopefulness. Felicity Jones is brilliant as Dr. Stephen Hawking's former wife (and still close friend), Dr. Jane Wilde Hawking--her strength of mind and character in her youth, growing to greater strength, paired with human frailty, are perfectly etched. The rest of the cast is so strong that you feel that they're really the characters, not actors. I particularly liked the wonderful David Thewlis as the pioneering Cosmologist, Dr. Dennis William Sciama--whom, btw, Professor Hawking was actually disappointed to have as the instructor guiding his dissertation (he wanted to study with the Astronomer, Dr. Sir Fred Hoyle instead). Also of note: A fine score by Jóhann Jóhannsson
The Imitation Game: Ah, if only this great film told the whole truth, or at least the whole truth of the parts of the story that are dramatized in it on screen. As a piece of cinema, it is -- despite a bit of sentimentality -- very pleasing, with finely-paced, subtle direction by Morten Tyldum, an equally engaging score by "the hardest working man in show business (today)," composer Alexandre Desplat, and rich, multi-textured cinematography by Óscar Faura. Benedict Cumberbatch is magnificent. So far, my choice for the Best Actor Academy Award--even over Redmayne, and Alejandro González Iñárritu's Birdman's Michael Keaton--the latter, a remarkable performance; one that should have won in any other year, but Keaton is up against stiff competition, including this monumental performance by Cumberbatch. Keira Knightley is also pitch-perfect, albeit that the real Joan Clarke didn't have the glamor, or many aspects of the relationship with Alan Turing, written for the brilliantly-talented and beautiful Knightley. On whether or not the film "glosses over" Turing's sexuality: With the simple, slice-of-life method of inclusion of this part of his life story in the screenplay, rather than a "deeper dive," it does obscure by omission. However, the way it is played in the film is right for the film as a piece of cinema.
Unbroken: (Honorary) Dame Angelina Jolie, DCMG's, second directorial outing is nothing short of brilliant from the perspective of her specific effort. The film is stunning to look at -- recreating the seemingly impossible to render -- and the directorial pacing is strong. Her work with all of the film's actors is very fine, probably stretching their talents to get really effective performances. Alexandre Desplat is here (again) with a fine score--HEY, where were you with these really brilliant themes for Godzilla 2014??? (With only one really glaring exception, involving sharks and a cue that was, imho, very, very distracting--most people won't get it, or even care. I just notice these things.) As for the script... well, if the majority 110-or-so minutes of the script by the "dream team" of The Coen Brothers, Richard LaGravenese, and William Nicholson (!!!) were of the same quality as the first 25 minutes, I confess, despite the fact that the visuals in the first part of the film are so compelling, the acting very good, and the pacing spot-on, I would have walked out of the theater. I felt like I was watching the most beautifully scored, photographed and acted version of the absolutely worst, most amateurish off-off-off-off-off-off-off-Broadway theater you can imagine. But, as soon as the first of the extraordinary events that shaped the life and legacy of late U.S. Olympian and WWII veteran and POW, Louis Zamperini, happens, and then the majority of the story begins, and the script, and the film overall, turns riveting, with only a few minor weaknesses throughout (still unforgivable considering the pedigree of the writers, but nothing that would make me want to get up and leave). As events unfold in the film, I was so drawn in to the story, the acting, the genius cinematography of the now-legendary Roger Deakins, Desplat's score, that I never once thought about its almost 2 1/2 hr. length. English actor, Jack O'Connell, playing the American of Italian parentage Zamperini, is absolutely wonderful, and there are many other strong performances, particularly, Japanese pop star, MIYAVI 石原貴雅 (or "雅"), playing prison camp leader, and post-WWII-classified top war criminal, Mutsuhiro "The Bird" Watanabe 渡邊睦裕, who has been talked about for -- despite not being nominated for a Golden Globe -- a Best Supporting Actor Academy Award nomination, which he, imho, strongly deserves. One thing about which the story of Unbroken reminds us is that we truly must respect our veterans. Despite political differences surrounding war, and even participation in war, it is essential to realize their sacrifices, and that what they've lived through, no matter their circumstances.

2015 - A Year of Renewal

2015-01-02T09:37:00.000-08:00

I look forward to a 2015 of significant change--for me, personally, to reboot many important components of my own life.

This includes my overall physical and emotional health; my relationships with family, friends, acquaintances, business associates, social media connections and more; my creativity; my business/work and my potential for increased long-term financial security; and, in relation to all of the above, to my overall use of time.

Luise Rainer - Happy Advance 102nd Birthday

2012-01-11T05:35:00.000-08:00

Luise Rainer, the German-born, Hollywood legend who was the first to win two Academy Awards(r) for Best Actress, and to win them consecutively (1936 and 1937), will turn 102 tomorrow--she was born in Dusseldorf, Germany on January 12, 1910.

Happy Birthday, great lady!

Dear Anthony Amato 1920 - 2011 Rest in Peace

2011-12-13T08:37:00.000-08:00

On a very busy work day, I have to pause for one moment to acknowledge personally devastating news. I just learned of the passing of the one-and-only, Anthony "Tony" Amato, of his now legendary New York opera company, AMATO OPERA. Founded in New York by Tony, and his late, beyond-beloved wife, Sally, Amato in 1948, the "small, but oh, so grand" company -- which was first housed in the basement theater of Our Lady of Pompeii Church on Bleecker Street, followed by other locations, then a long-term home at 159 Bleecker Street, then its longer, final home at 319 Bowery -- gave thousands of performances over nearly 60 years, and an equal amount of aspiring singers (some who ended up at the MET and other great companies) the opportunity to learn operatic roles, stage craft, and the magic that was Tony and Sally.

For me, Tony's passing means much more than what he represents to opera lovers in New York and around the globe. He was a friend. My mother, another Italian-American, born and raised in Greenwich Village, who was baptized, married, and baptized me at Our Lady of Pompeii Church, first saw/heard live opera in the church's theater by way of Tony and Sally's company. My mom aspired to be a pop star and had the talent to do it. She heard/saw the Amato performances of Bizet's Carmen and the "twin bill" of Cavalleria Rusticana and I Pagliacci, and she was permanently mesmerized by a musical and performance medium that, at the time, was, in her mind, formerly "square." She was so hooked that she audaciously auditioned for Tony -- with a lot of informal stage and singing experience, but, at the time, no operatic training -- for the Bleecker Street theater, he accepted her, and she sang in his chorus and danced with the company. It changed my mother's life, and she dedicated nights, weekends, any time she could while she also worked, took voice lessons (classical/opera), and dreamed of becoming an operatic star.

Much ensued in my mother's life over the years that curtailed her aspirations to an operatic career, but, for many years, she stayed with the Amato company, only stopping in the later 1950s when circumstances did not allow her to continue. She remained close with Tony and Sally for years afterward, but then met my father, started a very different life, gave up her singing (she did so a few years before becoming engaged to my dad), and did not, for many complex reasons, attend performances.

In 1979, my mom and I went to hear/see a production of Tosca at Tony and Sally's Bowery theater. Though my mom continued to share holiday greetings throughout the years with Tony, Sally, Sally's late sister, Ann (Frydel--married to former, fellow Amato singer, and, later, MET chorus member, John Frydel), and their family, she had not heard/saw a live performance of an opera for decades. It was when I found a love of opera -- independently of my mom -- in my early teens that I began to reengage my mother in her passion for music. She saw Tony and Sally, and others, at the "new" theater, and it was like all of them were never separated. My mother did not pursue re-joining the Amato chorus; instead, she became a loyal attendee at performances from 1979 through the last season of the company, was part of the Sally Amato Opera Circle, and, in many ways, re-joined the family.

I first heard Jon Fredric West, the great, internationally-renowned tenor, and my, and my mom's, now three-decade friend, at Amato's -- "Down at Amato's" was the colloquial way of addressing the company (because it was "downtown") -- and many heard MET legend, Mignon Dunn, world opera star, Neil Shicoff, and countless other important operatic figures with the company.

I have so much more to say, but, in the interest of time, most importantly, rest-in-peace to Tony, a one-of-a-kind, tireless, passionate, genius, dynamo, and a beautiful human being. He will be missed more than I can express in mere words.

Frank Ufert World Trade Center Survivor

2011-09-10T12:09:00.031-07:00

The photo above depicts the hard hat given to my late father, Frank Ufert, by his final employer, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), of the U.S. Department of Labor, following the 9-11 Tragedy. All of us in the United States and throughout the globe have personal recollections of that world-changing day. However, only a few of us, and by "few," I mean tens of thousands out of billions of humans on Earth, lost someone or were, or knew, a survivor to whom we were related or were and are connected first-hand. My dad was one of those survivors.

On September 11, 2001, my father had worked for OSHA for nearly 10 years; this followed a two-plus-decade career as a professional photographer, and then, after closing his business, returning to his earlier trade as a journeyman carpenter and construction contractor. He was a compliance officer for most of his time at OSHA -- winning awards for his service (my dad is pictured in the center of the photo above) -- and a union shop steward who was later promoted to a safety educator.

As an OSHA compliance officer, my dad -- who worked in 6 World Trade Center, the small building adjacent to (immediately underneath) the North Tower (now the site of One World Trade Center) -- was a first-responder to the February 1993 World Trade Center bombing--wherein, lest we forget, a truck bomb was detonated in the garage below the North Tower. Many who focus on the awful events of 9/11/2001 forget that there was another attempt to destroy the WTC almost a decade prior.

On 9-11-2001, I remember walking to my place of work -- which was only 4 blocks north of my home in the Chelsea section of Manhattan -- early that morning, with the skies bright, blue, and beautiful, and the air warm but crisp—the perfect day. As I strolled north, I saw and heard countless fire engines, ambulances, and other emergency vehicles racing south on 7th Avenue. Being a leather-skinned New Yorker, I didn't even consider looking at where they were going. I ran into a colleague; we headed into the office, sunny and happy, and then we both learned moments later of the events that were unfolding.

As soon as I realized it was occurring, I immediately called my mom, knowing my dad was in the WTC, and without even thinking about the fact that phone lines could be jammed -- she and my father also lived in Chelsea, probably on the same telecommunications trunking line as my office -- I reached her with no trouble. She was home after having taken my dad to work. In 1999, my father suffered a diabetes-related heart attack and had triple-bypass surgery. The following year, he suffered a paralyzing stroke; this, just months after recovering from his heart surgery -- which left him feeling healthier than he had in decades -- and receiving his promotion from OSHA. He used a wheelchair for the rest of his life. (My dad passed away in July 2009.) For a variety of reasons, he returned to work again, even after suffering the stroke—given special dispensation to be the only part-time employee of the Northeast Region for his division of the USDL. He would go to the office very early in the morning to leave earlier in the day. My dad was 67 on 9/11/2001. My tiny mother, who was six years older than him, would heroically wheel my father to his office every day when he reported for work. As always, on that morning, my mom took my dad to 6 World Trade Center at around 5:30 or 6 am. She was considering staying in the WTC area to wait for the Borders Bookstore to open so she could sit down, relax, and have a cup of tea. Why not? It was a beautiful day. However, something compelled her to head back to her apartment instead. And she did, hours before the unthinkable happened.

When I called my mom at home, she hadn't even seen the television coverage. I said, "Turn it on now." She sat, stunned -- like all of us -- at what she was watching. Again, I said to her on the phone, not thinking about the implications of inaccessible phone lines, "Let me call Dad and see if he's still in his office." I hung up, called my father, and, again, miraculously, I reached his voicemail. I ran out of my office and downstairs with some of my colleagues to 6th Avenue (called the "Avenue of the Americas"), where, on 27th Street and 6th, because of the angle of the city, we could see those giant Twin Towers as though they were directly in the middle of the Street--albeit that they were approximately 2 miles away. It was then that we saw the actual devastation first-hand. It was surreal as if we were watching a movie, yet real at the same time. When I was on the Street, only the North Tower was hit--remember that Tower One was burning for almost 20 minutes before the second plane hit the South Tower. We stood, stared, gasped, then turned behind us to see the largest building in the vicinity, the iconic Empire State Building, which was less than 10 blocks away (less than 1/2 mile) from us, and we were nearly paralyzed with fear as to what may have happened if "this was more than just an accident"... we knew it was not an accident.

I ran back and told my bosses that I had to be with my mother because my dad was at the WTC and we had not yet heard from him. I called my mom, astonishingly reached her again, and told her I was running to her/their apartment. When I arrived, she told me — having continued watching TV news — that a second plane hit the South Tower. Just before this, I was trying, in the heat of the moment, to put together a plan with one of my bosses to contact two of our company's employees (system engineers) who were heading to the Trade Center for technology training. Fortunately, as I was racing out of the office to be with my mom, we heard that both engineers were okay. One of them couldn't get downtown because of the situation with the subways; the other -- a moment of levity here -- didn't make it on time because he was chronically late for just about everything, and he was, as expected, late to the training session (thank G-d!).

When I arrived at my mother and father's apartment, I found my mom dazed but not in a panic. Why? While I was en route, my mother received a phone call from the wife of one of my dad's colleagues telling her that my father was out of the building -- the photo above shows the destruction on 9 11 to the office building where my dad worked, 6 World Trade Center -- and safe. Wait... she received a PHONE CALL? Yes. Remarkably. My mom heard from the wife of this colleague via a cell phone call -- almost all mobile phone lines were jammed entirely -- from New Jersey after she (my father's colleague's wife) heard from her husband via another cell phone from the city, that my dad and some of his colleagues were alright. It turned out that they were pushing my dad's wheelchair up West Street out of the dust, smoke, rubble, and sheer devastation.

The story of my father's rescue is astonishing and chronicled in several articles. See:

All we knew was that several hours later -- after they stopped to eat something! (my father was diabetic and needed food, or he would have gone into diabetic shock) -- my mother and I heard the door unlock, and there before us were my dad and his colleagues. They pushed my father healthily into our door in his wheelchair, and we were eternally grateful. The resolve and bravery of my dad's colleagues on that day can never be repaid.

My father worked for the Federal Government in his later life but never lost his zeal for his left-wing politics. On 9/11/2011, ten years after the tragedy, I know that my dad would honor the memory of those who were lost and their families, of the heroism of his own colleagues in the Feds, of the police and firefighters that responded and continued to respond, and were also lost then (or later) as a result, to the union members who were affected, and all of humanity who suffered and continue to suffer. But he, a survivor, saw people above him jumping from the top floors of the building when they knew that their only choice was to do so or burn to death, which gave him memories from first-hand, right-there experiences that haunted him and gave him nightmares for the rest of his life, would also not condone the "jingoism" that has served as "patriotism" when reflecting. In my survivor father's honor -- who was also a U.S. Army veteran (Korean War) -- and in his memory since his fortunately not directly 9-11-related, but still untimely, passing, I want us to reflect on loss, overall, for everyone involved, directly or indirectly. Reflect on injustice, but not the "obvious" injustice. The loss occurred in more ways than can be calculated.

Happy 50th Birthday President Barack Obama

2011-08-04T09:17:00.000-07:00

I want to wish a very Happy 50th Birthday to our great President, Barack Obama.

I continue to deeply admire this strong leader, who methodically, quietly, and brilliantly, handles each of the challenging situations that he faces as an American President. Additionally, he continues to be forced to contend with the most conspicuous greed ever in history from the party/"parties" of his opposition -- and even blatant bigotry from those who would typically support him politically -- and does this with the greatest of dignity.

We are also fellow August Leos--both born in the 1960s. Rrroarrrrrr, President Obama!

Please celebrate with our President by continuing to support him and his work with citizen pressure to the U.S. Congress to be more responsible, and less avaricious, than they've been in recent months/weeks, with your votes, and with your donations to President Obama's 2012 Presidential Campaign.

Bernard Herrmann Postscript

2011-06-28T20:20:00.000-07:00

I just learned that the great composer, Bernard Herrmann, was born 100 years ago in Lying-In Hospital in Gramercy Park, Manhattan. Lo and behold, 53 years later, I was born in the SAME HOSPITAL (then called Manhattan General Hospital).

My connections to this towering figure are many. Fascinating...

Bernard Herrmann Centennial

2011-06-28T18:38:00.000-07:00

On June 29, we celebrate the Centennial of the birth of the late Bernard Herrmann, (arguably) my all-time favorite cinematic composer. Herrmann was the composer of reference of my entire youth, and the reason that I fell in love with classical music, opera and learned to have equal passion for, and better understand, the work of other cinematic music composers. While other great film composers are Herrmann's equals in my mind, by an inch I most personally relate to my love for Herrmann's scores.

I won't go through a laundry list here of Herrmann's life history and works, or even my intense passion for them. See the Official Website (published by his estate), the Wikipedia entry, and the Bernard Herrmann Society site for this information. All I'll say is that if you have never heard his music, your soul owes itself to hear some of the all-time greatest scores to some of the greatest films ever made.

Instead, I'll tell a personal story about Herrmann (yes, even though he passed away too soon -- 12 years after I was born -- I have one to tell): Bernard Herrmann was not only a native New Yorker, but, like me, a native Manhattan-ite from East 18th Street. I am particularly proud of this because, like this cinematic legend, "little old me" also hails from Manhattan--born a few blocks away from where he grew up, and lived (from day two of my life) one neighborhood away in Chelsea.

Many years after having fallen in love with Herrmann's music, I read his bio and learned that his father was an Optomitrist. My late father began to have issues with his vision in the mid-1980s and went to an Optomitrist in Chelsea to get a prescription for glasses. At one moment -- before there were cell phones -- my dad asked the Optomitrist's office staff if he could use the telephone. He called me at home and enthusiastically said, "Get down here to my Optomitrist's office." I didn't know why -- I was about 20 at the time and still in my undergraduate college years -- but ran downstairs to meet my dad on 8th Avenue from the apartment in Chelsea that I grew up in. I saw the sign on the door for the doctor's name. My dad introduced me to the doctor and I looked up on the walls of his office and saw one thing prominently displayed: a record album. The album? An opera recording for an opera called, "Wuthering Heights." The composer? Bernard Herrmann. I didn't make a connection other than to ask the doctor: "Are you a Bernard Herrmann fan? I've loved his music since I was a kid." My father laughed. The doctor had a very proud look on his face. The doctor's name? Louis Herrmann. Dr. Herrmann followed in his father's footsteps--becoming an Optomitrist. This, right in my own neighborhood, without my having known it for years, was the then-already-late Bernard Herrmann's brother! I was in shock. Dr. Herrmann said that he'd love to meet again and talk with me about his brother. He was going on vacation -- he used to take leave for an extended period in, I believe, summer -- but that we could get together after he got back. Unfortunately, my dad tried to make another appointment with Dr. Herrmann, but the doctor was ill and someone else was filling in for him. Not long afterward, he passed away, also far too young. Still, I was so happy to have made even a brief, once-removed connection to, perhaps, the composer that, in retrospect, most impacted my life. (I don't think I've ever privately or publicly mentioned this before.)

Happy 100th, dear "Bennie" Herrmann.

The Death of Osama Bin-Laden: Reflections from a Great Writer and from Me

2011-05-02T10:46:00.000-07:00

A brilliantly-written article by Chris Hedges, who was, "nearly two decades a foreign correspondent for 'The New York Times'," on CommonDreams.org (Hedges, "made these remarks about Osama bin Laden’s death at a Truthdig fundraising event in Los Angeles on Sunday evening"):

On Osama Bin Laden’s Death | Common Dreams

My own (Karl Ufert's) thoughts about the announcement of the death of Osama Bin-Laden--I posted an abridged version of the following to Facebook last night, after the President spoke:

"My late father, Frank Ufert, survived 9-11--worked for OSHA in 6 World Trade Center, returned to his job after his heart surgery and paralyzing stroke, and was in his office (in his wheelchair) on that fateful day. Thousands were lost, but my dad was saved from being murdered. (Therefore, I have more personal reasons than some to connect to the 9-11 tragedy--though I don't even begin to believe I have emotional equity with the families, other loved ones, friends, colleagues, etc. of those who were killed or are still living with direct, devastating health effects from, the disaster.) Still, Bin Laden's death, and this issue overall, is very complex and requires our careful reflection. Let's not turn "patriotism" into "jingoism."

Connect For Real

2010-12-31T16:27:00.000-08:00

“When we get too caught up in the busyness of the world, we lose connection with one another - and ourselves." ~ Jack Kornfield, Ph.D. (Theravada Buddhist scholar and teacher)

I own a small business focused on digital communications. I love this space. I love its nearly miraculous ability to connect and reconnect. The great minds of W3C bring the promise of a future (and even current) amalgamation of digital content shared over the Internet to solve problems--with "1s" and "0s" as part of the make up of some of the problems and their solutions. This, the extensibility of the "channel" that is now called "social media," and much more, has connected us in ways previously unimaginable. This is remarkable... and beautiful.

Yet, from a personal perspective, I feel in some ways, while more connected in "volume" by digital communications, social media, and the like, less truly connected. This is not news to most. Formal and everyday sociological discourse abounds with many a dissertation, personal tale, media exposition, etc., demonizing (or fearing?) interactive communication for its detachment.

While numerous forms of digital talk can be a powerful "fastner" and "social lubricant," it is still not, and never will be, a substitute for actually speaking to a person or seeing them face-to-face. Many will postulate, "How can I give face time to everyone I know on a social media platform?" I am not even close to all-knowing on this subject (or any other for that matter), but I will boldly, while equally humbly, state that, from my own experience... you can't. Still, if you were to take just an hour out of the seven hours a month, on average, that most Internet-connected people spend on Facebook (from statistics of a year ago--I'm sure this has increased since) and used it to connect with some of the people you care about through a phone call -- digital communication, yes, but at least voice-to-voice -- or seeing them in person, I'm confident that your TRUE connection to human beings would increase. I find that most Facebook time -- or Twitter, etc., time -- is spent "spewing," not sharing. Imagine, out of the blue, actually calling one of those connections and laughing with them, or sharing a story voice to voice instead of through safe, opaque boundaries... what a revelation that could be. You may even get to know that you want to know that person, or those people, better, or even not at all (sometimes disconnecting is equally valuable to connecting).

My personal relationship goal for 2011 -- among several goals for the new year -- is to concentrate on the quality of connection. I will, in no way, abandon my "spew" -- aren't I doing it right now with this blog post? -- or the emissions of others as, in part, I enjoy it. However, I hope to give more time to having experiences instead of just writing about them, and sharing them real-time with real people through real warm human contact.

I wish everyone the blessings of love, friendship and the best possible health in 2011.

In Memorium: Bruce Lee the Greatest on the 70th Anniversary of His Birth

2010-11-24T14:43:00.000-08:00

There were and are great martial artists. There were and are great action stars of world cinema. Then, there was the one and only, Bruce Lee (李小龍). Unmatched.

He was born in San Francisco, California, 70 years ago (on November 27, 1940) as Lee Jun-fan/Li Zhen-fan (李振藩), to parents of Chinese and Chinese/German heritage. I won't provide a bio or filmography in this post--there are more than enough out there written by experts and commentators with far more experience and insight than me. The temporal world lost him on July 20, 1973, when I was soon to turn 9 years old. Too soon. (A gross understatement.) Despite his only 32 years in this life, we lost him after his nearly life-long career on screen--though he only made seven major films, he was in countless films in cameo parts since he was a child, and appeared in numerous television programs.

Bruce Lee was "The S@#^" when I was a kid. The baddest-a$$ed character on screen, and the one almost all macho American boys looked up to. It happened very quickly. I remember vividly, even at that young age, that he became super-famous so fast, and then, like lightening, he was gone. Hollywood -- and, unbeknownst at the time to "provincial" American kids (even in a city like New York where I was born, raised, and where I still live), also the Hong Kong flim industry -- were scrambling to find a replacement for the "image" that was Bruce Lee. "Bruce Le," "Bruce Li," the variations on the name went on incessantly throughout the '70s. Martial arts films were shown in New York in a variety of venues, but as a child, I remember them being shown in the rundown cinemas on 42nd Street in Times Square--Kung fu/Karate, Blacksploitation films, and porn. My father would take me to the theaters to see a double feature of a martial arts film. I was 10, 12, etc., but I always knew the difference between the "real deal" -- a.k.a. Bruce Lee -- and the imitators, but I didn't really understand why. Later, in my late teens and 20s, when my parents and I used to go downtown from our New York Chelsea neighborhood home to Chinatown to see martial arts films in their original "Chinese" (still provincial, we had no idea whether it was Mandarin or Cantonese) with usually hilariously-translated subtitles at the old Shaw Brothers cinema, The Music Palace Theater, and at the Pagoda Theater at the foot East Broadway. (Neither still exist.) I was transported by the martial arts films that I saw, whether serious or silly, but marvelous as they were to me, still not Bruce Lee films.

No one ever moved like Bruce Lee--he created original styles of movement in his martial arts learning and teaching, and for cinema. He was ferocious--it reminds me of Herbert von Karajan's conducting: there was just no one else, in either of their fields, with that kind of implacable, deeply focused, masculine energy. It was just natural to both of them--they tore into what they did with no fear. Both, for those reasons, became heroes of mine. Other martial artists in film never had Bruce Lee's complete lack of fear.

Bruce Lee was a beacon for all who came after him, and he is profoundly missed on this, in three days, the anniversary of his birth.

Watch Bruce Lee fight the (then... and ONLY then) great Chuck Norris in this clip of their climactic fight from "The Way of the Dragon" (猛龍過江; U.S. name: "Return of the Dragon"). MAGNIFICENT!:

Sir Run Run Shaw Happy 103rd Birthday

2010-11-22T15:17:00.000-08:00

A very happy birthday to living legend, Sir Run Run Shaw (邵逸夫), co-founder (with his brothers) of the Shaw Brothers Studios, and of TVB. The official date of his birthday, November 23 (the auspicious date of the 14th day of the 10th month of the Chinese calendar in 2007) may or may not be exact, but this remarkable man's birth year is confirmed by all sources as having taken place in 1907.

Sir Run Run is 103 years old (104 according to Chinese tradition), still the primary shareholder in TVB entertainment, and still a vital, very active part of the life of Hong Kong, Singapore, China, and other Chinese-speaking countries and communities, with one of the greatest of all entertainment legacies to his name, The Shaw Prize, one of his many philanthropic endeavors, called the "Nobel of Asia," is the most important and prestigious of all science and medicine awards on the Asian continent.

May you have a great day, Sir Run Run--Shengri kuai le 生日快樂!

Dame Gwyneth Jones Happy 74th Birthday

2010-11-07T13:42:00.000-08:00

A very Happy Birthday to Dame Gwyneth Jones (born November 7, 1936), one of the greatest ladies of opera and one of my all-time favorite singers. This beautiful, elegant Welsh soprano had, in the heyday of her career, one of the largest hochdramatisch voices in memory. Out of this slim and lovely woman came sounds so huge that she could capsize the world's largest aircraft carrier! Yet, in roles like the Marschallin in Richard Strauss's Der Rosenkavalier, she could be tender and gentle.

There are many "clear" video samples of Dame Gwyneth in "action," singing her great Wagnerian heroic repertoire, Italian (including her heroic Princess Turandot) and French roles, etc. However, the greatest role I ever heard her sing was the most powerful of all hochdramatisch parts, the title role in Strauss's Elektra. Someone captured the video clips below from a seat in the Metropolitan Opera house during her performances in Elektra in 1994, which were among the two runs of that opera at the MET that were the most remarkable I saw and heard (the others were Birgit Nilsson's legendary 1980 performances, both hers and Dame Gwyneth's co-starring Leonie Rysanek, but in different roles). I never heard singing like this before. Dame Gwyneth was completely rock solid--there had always been discussions about her intonation and what was called a "wobble" in her voice, but here, even if one could quibble with any of her singing over the years, none of those negative qualities were in evidence. She was in her strongest voice ever, and at almost 60 years old!!! She hurled laser-beam high note after high note into the theater and pinned us to our seats. The performances were moving, touching, but mostly overwhelming. I was shaking afterward from the sheer impact. Brava Dame Gwyneth!

The "Allein! Weh, ganz allein." Monologue

The overpowering confrontation scene with Klytemnestra (Leonie Rysanek)

The final scene (with Deborah Voigt--Voigt's large voice sounded TINY next to that of the gargantuan-voiced Dame Gwyneth!!!)

The final minutes of the opera and the screaming ovation for Dame Gwyneth!!!

Don't Forget to Vote November 2

2010-11-01T11:12:00.000-07:00

I want to remind everyone to get out and vote tomorrow, Tuesday, November 4. I often express that, imho, votes don't count; that we are not really part of the political process because everything is theater. However, I will always qualify that by saying that there are some candidates for office who are not just bad for the country, but horrible for specific personal liberties. One of the many of them is running for Governor of New York (my lifelong home state). That person's name will not be used here.

I'm voting tomorrow for Andrew Cuomo for New York Governor because I believe in the candidate -- despite the little that elections, politics, and our government really do for individuals -- and because I MUST vote against the alternative candidate. Again, it is all theater, but certain things that are important to me, even if second-hand, will be completely dismantled, and our state denigrated, if the other candidate gets into office. Cuomo's opponent is reprehensible. I'll be voting for others in the election -- for Senator (both Kirsten Gillibrand and the venerable Chuck Schumer), etc. -- but this Governor's race is most crucial. I've also seen Cuomo in direct action, including around an issue and individuals who, first-hand, once affected my own life (not just second-hand through policy). I admire him.

See you at the polls! (We will be voting in NYC using the new system. I'm excited!)

Cesare Siepi 1923 to 2010 - The KING Is Gone

2010-07-06T20:32:00.000-07:00

I just learned about the passing yesterday, in Atlanta, of the opera singer who many called the greatest of them all in the post-WWII era, Grande Italian Basso Cantante, Cesare Siepi.

I never had the privilege of hearing this legend live. On recordings, I have heard his approximate equal of eras past (and just a small handful of singers of later days), but never anyone to surpass him. The range, the smoothness, the elegance, the gorgeous color, the power, and the idiomatic style of the voice in Verdi, Mozart, Puccini, French Grand Opera and more, was absolute perfection.

My mother studied to be a coloratura soprano. She never "made it" because "life intervened," but one of her aspirations was to sing Zerlina to Siepi's one-and-only Don Giovanni--a role in which he truly was unsurpassed in his era and most others. My grandfather's wife, Lena (originally from Austria, who I call "Grandma Lee"), had memories of Siepi regular playing cards in smoke-filled social clubs in New York, and being a true "Grand Seigneur."

I thought the great Kurt Moll, probably the most perfect opera singer I ever heard live, was, after Gottlob Frick and Ludwig Weber, the DEFINITIVE Gurnemanz in Wagner's Parsifal. Out of the kindness of his heart, a fellow member of the OPERA-L list sent me a copy of an historic 1970 MET Radio Broadcast of Parsifal with Siepi as Gurnemanz--a departure for Siepi. My breath was taken away. Someone not only to equal the refulgent voice of Moll, but almost barely to best him. I had always heard that Siepi brought tears to the eyes of attendees of/listeners to these performances, but with his more commonly "lighter" (a.k.a. higher-ranged, but still enormous and powerful) bass sound, I never expected Siepi to match the darkness and richness of the "blacker" bass voice of Moll or his other famous predecessors. What a shock when I heard that smooth, beautiful Siepi sound wrapped around that luxurious Wagnerian score, and with the added quality of deep darkness--something only someone with his vocal technique could "create" for such a demanding role. I was floored, absolutely floored.

We will miss the King of them all. Rest-in-peace Cesare.

From YouTube--GET READY to be BLOWN AWAY if you've never heard this man before!

With Mirella Freni (in honor of my mom)--note that this is late-career Siepi:

Grande Maestro Muti Begins With the CSO

2010-07-01T17:55:00.000-07:00

The one-and-only grande Maestro Riccardo Muti begins in the 2010-2011 season as Music Director of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. I wish this titanic, highly-progressive musical talent the very greatest of years with this magnificent orchestra. Bravo Maestro!

See the awesome commercial for Maestro Muti's first season with the CSO! (from YouTube):

Giulietta Simionato the Greatest 1910 - 2010 Rest-In-Peace

2010-05-05T15:22:00.000-07:00

In March, with the 100th birthday of the great Italian soprano, Magda Olivero, knowing that the birthday of another of the greatest of all operatic voices, Giulietta Simionato, the majestic Italian mezzo-soprano, was alive, also born in 1910, with her centennial in May, I had so hoped this year for a celebratory "duet." Not a literal duet between these true operatic LEGENDS -- that term is used for many, but these two women are/were textbook definitions of musical legnds -- but a near-concurrent fete of their long lives.

Alas, the great Simionato, one of only a handful of not my favorite singers, but my operatic idols, did not see her big day (May 12). She left our world today instead. It seems almost impossible--one thought that Simionato was invincible. Go back a little over a decade to when, at age 88, this greatest and most versatile of Italian vocal artists made an appearance in the eccentric documentary, "Opera Fanatic: Stefan and the Divas." The documentary centered around the unique person of Stefan Zucker -- someone hard to pigeonhole into a single category -- and his personal quest to interview the great singers of the past generations of the Italian style. Some of these divas seemed spry, others frail, but none as regal, powerful and youthful for her respective age -- ranging from their late 60s to nearly 100 (i.e. Gina Cigna and Iris Adami Corradetti) at the time that Zucker spoke with them for the documentary -- as La Simionato. When she also illustrated a musical point with her own grand mezzo soprano voice -- which had notes as low and dark as a contralto as well as a ringing, soprano-timbred High-C! -- the freshness and power of the sound, especially for a woman her age, gave viewers a true and unexpected thrill.

I won't get biographical. There is much to be read about this unique artist in print and on the web. (Do take time to do so.) Suffice to say that I first heard her as Azucena on the 1956 Decca recording of Verdi's "Il Trovatore," with co-stars, Renata Tebaldi and Mario del Monaco (conducted by Alberto Erede), and I listened to the entire recording over and over again mouth agape. I was hooked on the first listening and followed this with her Amneris, her Rosina in "Il barbiere di siviglia," her Cenerentola, her Giovanna Seymour, her Carmen, and her unsurpassed Valentine in Meyerbeer's "Les Huguenots" and Princess Eboli in Verdi's "Don Carlo," and her PEERLESS Santuzza, among many others. (How's THAT for range?!?!)

I had seen Simionato in interviews into her late nineties. She looked fit as a fiddle and was still conducting master classes and judging vocal competitions until just a year or so ago. As I said, I thought she would defy the odds and live to be a supercentenarian. It was not to be but we were truly blessed with her 99 years.

Rest-In-Peace truly grand DIVA. I loved and still love you.

Giulietta Simionato sings "O Don Fatale" from Verdi's Don Carlo--from YouTube:

Happy Advance 100th Magda Olivero March 25

2010-03-24T08:09:00.000-07:00

This has been a big week for centennial celebrations of the birth of not just great, but the finest of world artists. Another of the creative personalities who has been among the most influential to me in my appreciation of art is the one-and-only, Magda Olivero. Remarkably, this great Italian soprano -- who defied classification as a lyric, spinto, etc. -- is not being honored in memory, she is still with us at age 100! (Her birthday will take place tomorrow, March 25.)

Her career famously lasted from 1932 until the early 1980s (!). Also famously, she retired in 1941 when she married, but was coaxed out of retirement a decade later by Francesco Cilea to perform the title role in his great opera Adriana Lecouvreur--performances which, if memory serves me, he did not live to see (Cilea died in 1950). Her career on the great Italian and other stages flourished afterward, concluding, at age 71 with performances of Francis Poulenc's bravura one-woman showcase, La voix humaine.

She had an unconventional voice, but it was among the greatest examples of expressive Italian singing, and she was magical in the great Italian verismo roles of Puccini, Mascagni, Giordano, Cilea and Zandonai. Her Minnie in Puccini's La Fanciulla del West and her Tosca were among the greatest I ever heard on recordings. She performed the latter role in her Metropolitan Opera debut at the age of 65 (in 1975) to sold out houses--the late MET General Manager, Schuyler Chapin, was completely awed by her.

What is most remarkable about the woman is her continued vitality. She is ageless, having performed and recorded music in a limited manner in the years subsequent to her retirement, including a recording of full scenes from Adriana in the 1990s. But it did not stop there! She has been heard and seen actively participating in the music world, with lectures, television appearances, and even occasional moments of singing into her late 90s.

Cent'anni Magda. You are the TRUE definition of a "diva" in the very best sense.

Listen to Magda Olivero in a brilliant excerpt from Tosca--the final scene of Act II. (From YouTube):

And some remarkable appearances--Magda at age 99 (!) discussing -- and SINGING MUSIC FROM!!! -- Zandonai's Francesca da Rimini (From YouTube):

Centennial Tribute to My Favorite Director Kurosawa Akira

2010-03-23T14:02:00.000-07:00

I am swamped with work and cannot write a fitting tribute to the master of world cinema, Kurosawa Akira (黒澤明, or 黒沢明), in my opinion the greatest film director of all time, who would have turned 100 today (23 March).

I almost can't describe in words the impact that all of the films in his canon that I've seen have made on me. I'll elaborate further when I have a moment to write again. In the meantime, 生日おめでとうございます Otanjobi omedeto gozaimasu, maestro. I hope you are still making great films in Heaven.

Alessandra Marc Returns to New York - 2/6 Carnegie Hall Weill Recital Hall

2010-01-30T08:28:00.000-08:00

Alessandra Marc, one of the greatest singers of this generation -- and my favorite soprano -- is returning to the New York stage next week--to Carnegie Hall's Weill Recital Hall on Saturday, February 6, 2010, at 8:30pm. If you know about and love this long-underappreciated, grand artist, please don't miss this concert event!

Alessandra Marc in the great aria "Tu che le vanita" from Verdi's DON CARLO. Stunning!