O dieu! que de bijoux!
And people say that in olden days singers used more chest! Ha, says La Cieca. Ha!
(At the Met 125th Anniversary Gala, Angela Gheorghiu models a “replica” of Christine Nilsson‘s Marguerite costume. Nilsson photo from the Met archives; Gheorghiu photo by Ken Howard.)
59: What *is* your point if it isn’t what you yourself call “racism”?
Write that same message to your “private school,” and I assure you that you will be let go.
I wonder, Alto. It sure as hell is a grey area. But I’m not sure it’s fair to play the race card.
In my area, we have a community of Mennonites. They keep to the themselves largely, and the women are conspicuous particularly by their very demure dress and the distinctive net-piece with which they cover the bun of hair on the backs of their heads.
They all have a reputation for scrupulous honesty and adherence to “Christian principles.” Hence you feel quite comfortable dealing with them.
I have also lived near a community near Yonkers which was largely Hassidic Jews. You pretty much knew that they would not so much as flick a light switch after The Sabbath began. Is it racism to make that judgement about them? I don’t think so. In neither case, is the behavior innate; it is learned from the culture.
But both of those two cases present largely positive attributes, and it’s oretty clear that GiocoPucci presents his example as a negative behavior trait. But he goes out of his way to demonstrate that it is learned behavior because of the environment. To me, that takes it out of the area of racisim, while setting up a good case of Culture Clash. I would think that calling it racism is a way of stifling dialogue at best. The behavior GP describes runs counter to the established principles of most educational institutions — that children are graded fairly and openly. GP is being subjected to pressures from a specific subculture to go against those principles.
After thinking it through, I’m pretty sure I would favor GP’S side.
intermezzo.typepad.com/intermezzo/2009/03/belohlavek-conducts-martinus-julietta.html#comments
Thanks to London blogger Intermezzo a nice pair of “Bristols” and a fashion faux-pas.
“Roumanian” is not a race.
Re New Jersey, it is my impression that she has some friends who live in New Jersey. It seems that she spends some holidays there.
Stranger things have happened than famous people spending time in GASP New Jersey.
@59, I’m not Central European, but I did spend part of my growing up years IN Central Europe, behind said Iron Curtain. If you take AG’s or others’ behavior to be a relic of that time, and I can tell you that in many ways you are right, can you not be slightly more empathic? These countries were oppressed, are currently impoverished and beset (don’t let a veneer of capitalism fool you). One cannot begin to understand what another person has gone through, what circumstances might have been to give rise to another person’s opportunism.
Now, does this mean on the other hand that I think AG is remotely a worthy successor to Cotrubas? Hell, no, no I don’t.
Alto Comment 61#: Giacopucci’s comments at #59 I do not find racist at all. There has to be leeway for people to discuss cultural behavioral traits that are different to other cultures. Otherwise we might as well say every culture is the same, which is a ridiculous proposition. If someone finds some behavioral gestures alienating to their different way of thinking, so be it. He was protesting the use of money by moneyed parents to gain unfair advantage for their children. He was not saying that Romanian people are inferior, which would classify as racist.
Addendum : Unjust comments Alto? What is more unjust is those moneyed parents trying to be prejudicial to the abilities of other children that probably honestly earned their marks by studying; not having them brought by parents. The sin: a simple straight out case of cheating!. And you would want to get on a high moral hobby horse and defend that?
These hole discussion is one big nonsense. Everywhere you can find idiots, no matter where you’ve born or where you live. Moreover, it’s also a stupidity to jump to conclusions that this nation is good/bad because you’ve some experience with few people. So if I meet 10 stupid American, I can say American are idiots? These is the way stereotypes are born. In the USA you talk so much about freedom and tolerance. Is it only for show?
And please stop talk about “Central Europe”. Each country are different there. If you have some experience with Romanian, talk only about Romania. I’m sorry but you’ve no idea about the rest of the countries from these region, unless you’ve been there. These days they are mainly in the UE, so iron curtain days are definitely OVER. Stop talk about the past. It’s a dangerous topic. Something similar like to say that American racism from 20th century are still present in people’s mind. They are afraid to admit it and that is why they hide their real attitude behind beautiful words: “freedom of expression” or “tolerance. You see? You can say something bitchy about every country but what for? I thought these site was mainly about opera.
Mwahahaha. Hole discussions! That reminds me of Penetrating Wagner’s Ring….