Friday Links
September 1, 2023
Karen Ullo on Andrea Bocelli’s musical pilgrimage
Cornelia Powers on the The Pleasure and Communion of Austen’s Country Dance
Solo Opera presents The Three Feathers by Dana Gioia and Lori Laitman
Michael Collins reviews Ernest Hilbert’s Storm Swimmer
From the Archives: “Praying the Rosary on the A Train” by Matthew Kirby
Karen Ullo on Andrea Bocelli’s musical pilgrimage
It is a beautiful film that relies heavily upon gorgeous scenery and gorgeous music. It is less a story than a concert set on many stages. The conversations between Bocelli and the guest artists feel strained at times, a little too rehearsed, though I do not doubt the sincerity of the artists’ faith. But the cast speaks eloquently through the music, which never disappoints. The music delivers on every note.
Cornelia Powers on the The Pleasure and Communion of Austen’s Country Dance
Do you think Powers is on to something when she writes?:
For viewers of modern-day adaptations of Austen’s novels and other period pieces like Bridgerton, the sight of the country dance can incite a mix of awe and envy. Each step, twirl, and do-si-do reflects a collective social feat—too vast to be comprehended—while each tantalizing touch serves as a reminder of what we have lost. It has been suggested that contemporary interest in Jane Austen has been spurred—at least in part—by an over-exposure to the body and a renewed appreciation for the “slow burn.” It is as though by living vicariously through Austen’s characters that we are able to reinhabit a long-lost world where patterns of social intercourse were more formal and delayed—yes—but also more joyful.
Valerie Stivers: A Master Novelist Visits Hell
Most of this essay is behind a paywall, unfortunately, but I wanted to highlight it because Stivers writes on Mary Gaitskill, and how “the method of her genius has always been radical truth-telling.”
Solo Opera presents The Three Feathers by Dana Gioia and Lori Laitman
“Based on a fairy tale by the Brothers Grimm, the opera follows Princess Dora, not as a damsel in distress, but as a heroine. A magic feather leads the shy, self-doubting princess to an enchanted Underworld ruled by a giant Frog King. Here, she summons her courage and compassion to face a series of mysterious and comic adventures that change her life. Completing her quest, she saves her father’s kingdom from the plots of her selfish sisters and earns her right to the crown.” If you’re around Walnut Creek California next weekend, you’ll want to take your family to see this delightful performance.
Here’s a nice article on the opera in the San Francisco Classical Voice.
Michael Collins reviews Ernest Hilbert’s Storm Swimmer
Michael Collins reviews Ernest Hilbert’s latest collection of poems, Storm Swimmer, for North of Oxford:
Both in title and subject matter of the many of the poems, Ernest Hilbert’s Storm Swimmer, winner of the 2022 Vassar Miller Prize in Poetry, engages with natural forces in a way relatively unique in the modern world, one in which he is truly encompassed by them. Poems like “Storm Swimmer” come alive in moments of true immersion in waters alive in seldom perceived ways. . .
If you haven’t read Hilbert’s work, you should because he’s an excellent poet.
