Divamensch

Terry and I saw Madama Butterfly at the Met on Mar 11, 2026. We had both seen this production before - - I saw it about 15 years ago with my husband, his good friend Barbara, and her son William, who was about 13. He had never seen an opera before and was blown away. Butterfly is a perfect first opera, the music is so gorgeous and expressive, the drama is expertly handled, it gives fantastic opportunities to the singers, it has one or two tunes you might recognize, and the

Is Linda Ronstadt the most versatile singer ever? She has convincingly sung rock, pop, country, operetta, American Songbook, and Mexican folk songs. This one of her great early songs: She's got some badass attitude in this song - - never too far from the surface, from what I've seen of her. She's cute but she's nobody's fool. Do not mess with Miss Ronstadt. How about something kinda mellow. I ADORE this song. It's got a big range and she nails it, she knows how to navigate th

Stephanie and I heard the Mahler 2nd symphony at Carnegie Hall on Mar 10, 2026. It was a performance by the Philadelphia Orchestra and chorus conducted by Yannick Nézet-Séguin featuring soprano Ying Fang and mezzo soprano Joyce DiDonato. This was my second time hearing it but since the previous time was over 25 years ago, it felt like a new piece. I was a little alarmed that the opening sounded so much like the opening of *Die Walküre* but he turned the corner pretty quickly,

We have a nice pair for Best Actor in a Play and Best Actress in a Play in 1961: Diva: Zero Mostel in Rhinoceros Mensch: Joan Plowright in A Taste of Honey Here's a photo of Mostel in what appears to be a carefully measured and understated performance: And Plowright chewing the scenery and blowing the roof off the joint:

Jim, Michael, and I saw Data at the Lucille Lortel Theater on Mar 14, 2026. It's a new play by Matthew Libby set at a tech company. It was a well-made, focused play that drove towards its target and hit that target right on the nose. It had only four characters and they each had a specific purpose and didn't stray from that lane. I liked that - - it was like seeing the strings in a puppet show. The play did something I really love: it started and we all thought we knew what

I was born in 1968 and Tapestry came out in 1971 - - my parents didn't have it and it was probably rather old hat by the time my brother Howard got into music. So it was up to me to discover that album in my 20s. My late husband Richard loved that album but then HE was of that generation, he was 15 when the album came out. I'm sure there was no escaping it for him. Here's my favorite song on that album: But my favorite Carole King song is not on Tapestry . Blasphemy! It's "J

Mary Martin won the Tony for Best Actress in a Musical for originating the role of Maria in The Sound of Music. One of the other nominees was Ethel Merman for Gypsy, without a doubt the most challenging role of her career. Maybe some people thought The Merm would win, maybe she did, too. She was asked how she felt about losing the Tony to Mary Martin and she said, "You can't buck a nun!" Diva: Merman's quote Mensch: the nun Here's Martin's speech. So sweet she gives me diab

I read online about the death of Sondra Lee (age 97) who originated important supporting roles in Peter Pan and Hello, Dolly! I was intrigued to see that she worked at the Metropolitan Opera as an acting coach, "including how to perform a convincing death onstage" (thank you, NY Times obits). She appeared as a ballerina in La Dolce Vita. And how ironic because just the week before I had just watched this little film she did for my beloved Film Forum: My brother Howard aler

I went to a Composer Portrait of Lisa Bielawa at the Miller Theatre on Feb 26, 2026. You might know that I used to sing in a chamber chorus called Cerddorion back in the aughts and teens? We commissioned Bielawa for a piece as part of an anniversary season and she wrote this incredibly beautiful and meaningful piece for us (performed by us on this Tzadik recording): I saw that the Miller was doing a concert of her work and bought a ticket. I think the piece I sang was the onl

My brother Howard introduced me to Marianne Faithfull when she had a career resurgence in the 80s. I think he gave me a tape (remember tapes?) of her album Strange Weather. That album opens with "Boulevard of Broken Dreams." Here she is singing it live: A perfect union of the singer and the song - - her voice actually SOUNDS LIKE the boulevard of broken dreams. A battered old concrete road that has seen a lot of traffic over the years yet still gets you where you need to go.

The winner for Best Actress in a Play for 1959 was Gertrude Berg in A Majority of One. I never heard of her but wow, the other four nominees were major divas, major mensches! Diva: Claudette Colbert, Lynn Fontanne Mensch: Kim Stanley, Maureen Stapleton

My brother Howard alerted me to the death of two people. First, electronic composer Éliane Radigue, who died at the age of 84. As of this writing the internet hasn't learned for her death but Howard heard from a friend of hers. Never heard of her but Howard calls her an "amazing electronic composer." It takes one to know one. I read up a bit on her on (yes, what else) Wikipedia. She started doing electronic music in 1955! My mom was still in high school! Here's an hour-long t

I saw Emily - No Prisoner Be at Carnegie Hall on Feb 19, 2026. My dear friends Martha and Bill had seen it in Madison the week before and raved about it. Martha told me it was playing at Carnegie Hall, I happened to be available, I bought a ticket in the balcony for $40, I was there. It's a new piece by Kevin Puts, settings of Emily Dickinson poems. It being billed as "a theatrical song cycle" - - for me it exists somewhere between a concert and an opera. It's an opera becau

My brother Howard alerted to me to death of Tom Noonan. I asked him to write about him: Tom Noonan died on Valentine's Day. He was 74 years old. Tom played Tilden in the original Off Broadway cast of Sam Shepard's Pulitzer winning play Buried Child . His tall, wiry frame, intense gaze and quiet, menacing style garnered dozens of remarkable roles in the following decades. Heaven's Gate, F/X, Manhunter, Last Action Hero ... he was even in Gloria and Mystery Train . In 1994 he

First of all, let me share my distaste for the use of the apostrophe in their name. It should be The Go-Gos, am I right? But I guess that looks a little funny. I'm pleased that The B-52s bypass the apostrophe but then I guess it's a little easier to visualize going from a number to a an S versus a letter to an S... ANYWAY, who doesn't love The Go-Go's? Here's the official video for "We Got the Beat," their number one single: That BEAT! I know that the lead singer usually gets

I heard the Akropolis Reed Quintet at Music Mondays on Feb 16, 2026. I'd never heard of a reed quintet and thought maybe they had invented it but I found two other ensembles with the same instrumentation so isn't it nice to learn new things. The instruments are clarinet, oboe (doubling English horn), alto saxophone, bassoon, and bass clarinet. It's a tasty combo with a surprisingly broad range of colors. They opened with a piece written for them, a Mass by Harriet Steinke. Ea

The Best Actress in a Musical Tony for 1958 was...a tie! Both women in the same show, New Girl in Town, a musicalization of O'Neill's Anna Christie. Diva: Gwen Verdon Mensch: Thelma Ritter Here's Verdon in the center in a white dress and Ritter on the side in a goofy hat.

I read online that the great civil rights leader Jesse Jackson died at the age of 84. I first became aware of him when he ran for President in the 1984 race. That was my vision of him until I saw footage of him openly weeping in Chicago at the acceptance speech by Barack Obama. Here's a CNN tribute to him:

My brother Howard just alerted me to the death of the great Robert Duvall, age 95. He was one of our strongest actors. He’ll be remembered for the Godfather movies, MASH, Apocalypse Now, The Great Santini, Tender Mercies, so many amazing performances. I encourage you to see The Apostle if you haven’t already. He gives an astonishing performance and he also wrote and directed. Great performances by June Carter Cash, Miranda Richardson, and especially Farrah Fawcett. It wa

"Be My Baby" is clearly one of the great pop songs of all time. I read Ronnie Spector's memoir, Be My Baby: How I Survived Mascara, Miniskirts, and Madness, Or, My Life as a Fabulous Ronette, back in the early 90s. I was saddened to hear how brutal her marriage to Phil Spector was and impressed that she would publish such a frank book while Spector was still alive (and bat sh-t crazy). Ronnie's singing in this song makes it something more than bubble gum pop. Hard to believ