Rome (if you want to)
Everybody loves an orgy. But, in the words of Betsy Ann Bobolink (pictured), “a really good orgy takes preparation, and I don’t mean Preparation H.”
Our Betsy continues (discussing, I mean) after the jump.
Betsy continues:
Length is important.
And it should include something no one has ever done before.
Timing is critical.
But at least we have a place.
The La Cieca Chat Room will be open this weekend for virtually non-stop opera listening and verbal mauling coinciding with the Free Trial of the Met Player.
We need to set specific times and specific operas, and I am soliciting input from everyone. Go to the MetPlayer index where you can browse through the list of nearly 300 archive items and let me know what you would like to have on the schedule.
More importantly, suggest a time slot. This event should be convenient for the Antipodes folks and the Europeans as well as the New Yorkers and Left Coasters.
Make your suggestions either as a reply to this post, or to House Of Bobolink. I’ll collate all the responses and work out a schedule.
I’m so excited; I haven’t been to an orgy in years. Let’s see, what should I wear?
Let’s run this up the flagpole and see if anyone salutes. (I haven’t used that phrase in years.)
LABOR DAY WEEKEND ORGY
(Times given are EDT. Adjust accordingly)
SATURDAY
10:00 AM MANON (audio) December 21, 1963 Moffo
1:00 PM IL BARBIERE DI SIVIGLIA (video) March 24, 2007
8:00 PM THE BARTERED BRIDE (video) November 21, 1978
SUNDAY
10:00 AM HANSEL UND GRETEL (video)December 25, 1962
1:00 PM Whatever is superseded by the Domingo RIGOLETTO will go here.
7:00 OTELLO (audio)March 8, 1958
MONDAY
10:00 AM DON GIOVANNI (audio) February 14, 1959
1:00 P.M. DIE WALKURE (audio) February 24, 1968
8:00 PM CAV/PAG (video) April 5, 1978
If you don’t like this arrangement, the best thing to do is bitch about it; God forbid making any constructive suggestions.
“coinciding with the Free Trial of the Met Player”
Is the MET Player playing for free this weekend, or this everyone signing up for a free trial at once? I seem to have missed the word, whichever it is.
I would think the end result in either case would be the same. The McGuffin is that La Cieca is opening the Chat Room for the entire weekend with access to Met Player being the focus.
Oh, OK, it sounded like a MET Player freebie
(In truth, however, I’m not a chatter, because if I like what I’m hearing, I find reading and writing blogs too distracting; and if I don’t like what I’m hearing, I turn it off in annoyance and don’t have anything to talk about…)
Enjoy your weekend!
There is also a rebroadcast of the Abaddo Fidelio from Lucerne. Airs approx 2 pm Eastern Saturday at
http://www.sr-online.de/sr2/1356/inc-2010_09_04.html
If anyone else is particularly keen on Fidelio, the station has a free downloadable software which enables you to record any program you wish for later listening.
P.S. Peculiarly, I didn’t seem able to schedule a recording of Fidelio from SR-2, but was able to do so through WDR 3. The wonderful WDR also enables the RadioRecorder; here is their program website http://www.wdr3.de/programm-heute.html, and here the page for the software download. http://www.wdr.de/radio/home/radiorecorder/start/index.phtml
Just to complicate matters, it appears the “live on location” Rigoletto may be viewable online in the US beginning at 2:15 PM EDT.
It appears to me (using a translated page) that tv programs are available in Italy only.
Italian websites say that this Rigoletto is being transmitted in 130+ different countries, so it should really be on somewhere on a US channel. It could well be that the RAI website is only available in Italy.
I just did a dry-run for myself. I clicked on the link in the body of La Cieca’s intro, and signed up for the “Free Trial.” I was a bit puzzled by the note that if I am already a Met Guild member, I automatically get Met Player, but it asked for my credit card, blood type, and glucose intolerance level anyway.
REMEMBER — If you don’t cancel within seven days, they can legally start to drain your bank account.
The feed comes in beautifully, and you can cascade the chat box alongside it. You can record the audio. I don’t have the technology to record video, so I can’t check that out for you.
We have no officialy information on the Rigoletto feed, but since the Fidelio feed has a certain appeal, I’m asking Louannd’s permission to move the Barber into the Sunday afternoon slot.
I feel like a hard-ass for saying this, but if this chat hoo-hah is going to work successfully, all participants have to begin the broadcast at the same time. Ortherwise, we’re in that “Has he pulled it out yet?” “No, he’s still drinking the mead”- syndrome. I suppose we could jump back and forth from track to track, but that can get complicated.
What if they gave an orgy and nobody came?
There should be no “y” in “official” unless you need one for cosmic balance.
La Boheme live from Wien with Costello (taking Villazon’s place) and Stoyanova will be on Radio Oesterreich Monday afternoon.
BTW, The Rigoletto may or may not be televised on 9-4, but I think it will be broadcast on Radio Tre on 9-11.
Since there are no objections, let’s set the three-day Chat orgy.
Saturday, 10:00 Manon
Saturday, 2:00 Sit around like a wallflower waiting for Placido to call.
Saturday, 8:00 The Bartered Bride.
Sunday, 10:00 Hansel und Gretel
Sunday, 1:00 Il Barbiere di Siviglia
Sunday, 7:00 Otello
Monday, 10:00 Don Giovanni
Monday, 1:00 Die Walkure
Monday, 8:00 Cav/Pag
Details at Post #11, this thread.
Sorry I have been busy. I am happy with the whole thing!
..and now in the correct thread – Domingo in Rigoletto online here :
http://musik.zdf.de/ZDFde/inhalt/19/0,1872,7159283,00.html?dr=1