text:
Tuesday, December 31, 2013
Happy New Year.
This seems about right. I like everything he does, but his operetta singing is the best.
Posted by Dr.B at 11:46 AM 1 comment:
Labels: +100, Lehar, YouTube Singers
Sunday, December 29, 2013
Stream La Forza del Destino from Munich
Papa, Don Carlo, Leonora, Curra, priest, servant
Conductor Asher Fisch
Production Martin Kušej
Il Marchese di Calatrava / Padre Guardiano: Vitalij Kowaljow
Donna Leonora: Anja Harteros
Don Carlo di Vargas: Ludovic Tézier
Don Alvaro: Jonas Kaufmann
Preziosilla: Nadia Krasteva
Fra Melitone: Renato Girolami
Curra: Heike Grötzinger
Un alcade: Christian Rieger
Mastro Trabuco: Francesco Petrozzi
Un chirurgo: Rafał Pawnuk
I'm having trouble deciding how to approach this writing. I have some very specific memories of this opera that I would like to share. This was Leontyne Price's second opera--Aida and then Forza--so I saw it live with her at the San Francisco Opera and on tv from the Met as part of her farewell from staged opera performances.
Then I remember being a flunky in it in Germany, kneeling on the floor in excruciating pain. We performed it in German. We performed everything in German.
Or should I talk about the table shown above? This table shows up in almost every scene with different numbers of chairs surrounding it. Each person is assigned a place even when they are not in their assigned chair. We presume that the chair with its back to us is for Don Alvaro who shows up late. The accidental shooting was well staged. This is usually confusing for the audience. In each scene there are different numbers of chairs around the table and different singers. Papa and the Padre are the same singer.
In the next scene years later we see Don Carlo in his green sweater and glasses at first, and then he changes into military clothing. This is so we can follow who this is in the rest of the opera.
The music is wonderful, but the opera is too long. You lose interest, or at least I do, when the soprano is missing for scene after scene.
Pride of place in the bows and most enthusiasm in the applause went to Anja Harteros. Is it possible to explain her? Her voice is not beautiful, but it's beautiful enough. In most Verdi you are not really looking for beauty. Maria Callas' voice was also not beautiful. Nor is Sondra Radvanovsky's, Anja's only real rival today. I prefer Anja. For me she has more emotional range, draws me in to the scene more.
Kaufmann and Tézier are well matched. I can't help it, I want the duets to be with the soprano. She dies at the end with a pathetic lack of excitement. I used to blame the lack of popularity of this opera on the opening scene, but now I think it's the whole thing. It just doesn't work.
I was viewing from a Mac in Ohio, and the stream was very jerky. I haven't had that problem at home.
P.S. I didn't mind the production.
Favorites by Year 2013
Outstanding Verdi year
This year was 200 years of both Giuseppe Verdi and Richard Wagner. The only Wagner of interest was the Met Parsifal. In sharp contrast I experienced quite a lot of great Verdi. Kaufmann and Harteros together brought me Il Trovatore, Don Carlo and La Forza del Destino. The Met brought me Rigoletto and a magnificent Falstaff. Kaufmann released Wagner albums and a Verdi album, Netrebko released a Verdi album. This was a truly great year for some other things, too. Jamie Barton won Cardiff Singer of the World. I also traveled to Salzburg for Norma. I reviewed 45 performances, including 2 DVDs, 10 HDs, 22 live, 1 movie, and 10 streams at home.
For another perspective on 2013 see KK Awards.
This was such a fabulous year I have nothing to disparage and cannot reduce the list to 10. Since then I have felt an emotional let down. I want endless thrills. With the addition of streaming my new operas list grows longer:
##20 top 20 all time
This year was 200 years of both Giuseppe Verdi and Richard Wagner. The only Wagner of interest was the Met Parsifal. In sharp contrast I experienced quite a lot of great Verdi. Kaufmann and Harteros together brought me Il Trovatore, Don Carlo and La Forza del Destino. The Met brought me Rigoletto and a magnificent Falstaff. Kaufmann released Wagner albums and a Verdi album, Netrebko released a Verdi album. This was a truly great year for some other things, too. Jamie Barton won Cardiff Singer of the World. I also traveled to Salzburg for Norma. I reviewed 45 performances, including 2 DVDs, 10 HDs, 22 live, 1 movie, and 10 streams at home.
For another perspective on 2013 see KK Awards.
- (JK) Parsifal in HD ** I stayed all the way to the end, which is odd for an opera I've always hated. Everything worked together to create a performance which even I loved. Met HD
- Verdi-Neon Rigoletto in HD ** I adored the flashing neon in the last act that accompanied the storm music, but Gilda in a car trunk? Maybe not. It does make it more plausible that Rigoletto mistakes her for the duke. Met HD
- Ainadamar in San Francisco ** Opera Parallèle brought excitement and joy and a completely coherent production for this complex opera. Do this opera in your town. You will love it. Local
- American Bach Soloists in Davis ** I discovered this group this year, and they play very close to home over in Davis. The consistent high quality of their work is encouraging, They aren't just named after Bach, they also play a lot of Bach. Occasionally they perform a bit of opera in concert format. Local
- (JK) (AH) Verdi-Il Trovatore from Munich with Harteros and Kaufmann ** This was heavily censored for the live stream so we missed the naked old woman who represented Azucena's mother. I still don't know why Leonora was blind. Live Stream.
- (CB) Cecilia Bartoli's Norma CD I was irresistibly drawn to this recording and played it over and over. I could not be more amazed. Cecilia recorded the new critical edition, of course, instead of the traditional late romantic orchestration. CD
- (CB) Norma in Salzburg ** In fact I was so amazed I traveled to Salzburg to see it for myself. This modern regie production was very effective and completely right for herself. It was a revolutionary transformation of a staid favorite, turning straw figures into passionate human beings.. Travel ##20
- (JK) (AH) Verdi-Don Carlo streamed from Salzburg with Harteros and Kaufmann ** I could have gone to this while I was in Salzburg and don't know why I didn't. I have since also bought the DVD. It is also one of the great things. Live Stream. ##20
- (JK) La Fanciulla del West from Vienna with Stemme and Kaufmann I watched this on YouTube and love it madly. Nina Stemme doesn't really look like the Minnie in your mind, but her acting wins you over. YT
- Verdi-Falstaff in HD with Ambrogio Maestri ** I liked very much the historical British tilt of this production and the magnificent Italian man who portrayed Falstaff. Met HD
- The Nose in HD by Shostakovich ** The opera was dominated by the production, but Paulo Szot brought a needed human dimension. Met HD
- (JK)(AH) Verdi-La Forza del Destino from Munich with Harteros and Kaufmann ** The year ended with the last of the Kaufmann/Harteros trilogy in an opera I am tremendously fond of. Could we have more, please? Watching it again after all these years, I become convinced that the right production could save this opera. Live Stream.
This was such a fabulous year I have nothing to disparage and cannot reduce the list to 10. Since then I have felt an emotional let down. I want endless thrills. With the addition of streaming my new operas list grows longer:
- Adamo's The Gospel of Mary Magdalene was live at SFO. **
- Barab's A Game of Chance was live in Sacramento. **
- Barber's Antony and Cleopatra was seen on YouTube.
- Barber's A Hand of Bridge was live in Sacramento. **
- Bucci's Sweet Betsy From Pike was live in Sacramento. **
- Donizetti's Maria Stuarda was HD from the Met. **
- Gasser's The Secret Garden was live in Berkeley. **
- Glass' The Perfect American was a stream.
- Golijov's Ainadamar was live in San Francisco. KK new to me award. **
- Humperdinck's Königskinder was a DVD with Jonas Kaufmann.
- Picker's Dolores Claiborne was a live world premier from SFO **
- Rameau's Hippolyte et Aricie was streamed from Glyndebourne. Regie **
- Rossini's La Donna del Lago was on YouTube from the ROH.
- Shostakovich's The Nose, HD from the Met. **
- Sondheim's Into the Woods was live in Sacramento. **
- Spontini's La Vestale was on YouTube.
- Verdi's Les Vêpres siciliennes was streamed from London. **
##20 top 20 all time
** live, live stream or live in HD
Posted by Dr.B at 4:06 PM No comments:
Thursday, December 19, 2013
NEA Opera Award Defunct
I don't remember hearing about this, but the National Endowment for the Arts opera honors list ceased after the 2011 award. They awarded for only 4 years.
2011 John Conklin
Speight Jenkins
Risë Stevens
Robert Ward
2010 Martina Arroyo
David DiChiera
Philip Glass
Eve Queler
2009 John Adams
Frank Corsaro
Marilyn Horne
Lotfi Mansouri
Julius Rudel
2008 Carlisle Floyd
Richard Gaddes
James Levine
Leontyne Price
2011 John Conklin
Speight Jenkins
Risë Stevens
Robert Ward
2010 Martina Arroyo
David DiChiera
Philip Glass
Eve Queler
2009 John Adams
Frank Corsaro
Marilyn Horne
Lotfi Mansouri
Julius Rudel
2008 Carlisle Floyd
Richard Gaddes
James Levine
Leontyne Price
Wednesday, December 18, 2013
Die Macht des Schicksals
Or Forza as it's usually known--don't forget it streams on Dec 28. This picture makes me smile. I remember once long ago I was in Vienna and the newspaper said they were doing Die Macht des Schicksals. I puzzled over this for a long time. In those days the opera might have been performed in German.
For more pictures see here.
I was sent a link on my phone for this opera from the BSO--a first--which I can't find now in YT. There was a lot of talking in German. The regisseur compared Schicksal to Murphy's Law. You know: if it can go wrong, it will. This is sort of the programmer's motto.
I find that it is Forza that I love.
Sunday, December 15, 2013
Cross-dressing Research
A brief chronological list of male opera roles sung from the beginning by women. The purpose of this seems to be to make the character seem youthful. Since I first posted this, it has acquired a few roles where the character is female but the singer is a man.
The list isn't intended to be complete but instead tries to show how this spans all eras and nationalities of opera. Nicklausse in Conte d'Hoffmann is a special case, since the character represents both Hoffmann's female muse and male friend. There is another list at least this long of roles originally sung by castrati, but the date range is earlier.
|Giulio Cesare
|Les Indes Galantes
|Les Indes Galantes
|La clemenza di Tito
|Orfeo ed Euridice
|Nozze di Figaro
|La clemenza di Tito
|Adelaide di Borgogna
|La Donna del Lago
|Le comte Ory
|William Tell
|I Capuletti e I Montecchi
|Anna Bolena
|Maffio Orsini
|Lucrezia Borgia
|A Life for the Tsar
|Les Huguenots
|Benvenuto Cellini
|Pierroto (?)
|Linda di Chamounix
|Russlan and Ludmilla
|The Shepherd
|Ballo in Maschera
|Romeo and Juliet
|Don Carlo
|Boris Godunov
|Strauss, J
|Tales of Hoffmann
|La Wally
|Hänsel und Gretel
|The Sand-Man
|Hänsel und Gretel
|The Dew-Man
|Hänsel und Gretel
|Cricket on the Hearth
|Le Prince Charmant
|The Kitchen Boy
|Pelleas et Melisande
|The Composer
|Ariadne auf Naxos
|Aljeja, a young Tartar
|From the House of the Dead
|Ghosts of Versailles
|The Tempest
|L'Amour de Loin
|Moby Dick
The list isn't intended to be complete but instead tries to show how this spans all eras and nationalities of opera. Nicklausse in Conte d'Hoffmann is a special case, since the character represents both Hoffmann's female muse and male friend. There is another list at least this long of roles originally sung by castrati, but the date range is earlier.
Posted by Dr.B at 10:05 PM 3 comments:
Labels: +100, Cross-dressing, Lists
Saturday, December 14, 2013
Born to Play Falstaff
Conductor: James Levine
Production: Robert Carsen
Alice: Angela Meade
Mrs. Quickly: Stephanie Blythe
Meg Page: Jennifer Johnson Cano
Fenton: Paolo Fanale
Falstaff: Ambrogio Maestri
Ford: Franco Vassallo
He is a giant man who does not require any padding to fully represent the magnificent Sir John Falstaff. His voice precisely fits the role. He can remain cheerful in the most horrendous of circumstances. He is Italian and has the native Italian's regard for Verdi. Ambrogio Maestri must surely have been born to play Falstaff. It was simply a joy to watch and hear him. He also brought risotto which you can find the recipe for on the Met website.
However, we couldn't help reinterpreting the entire story from a much more Italian perspective. We weren't alive in England in Shakespeare's time, but we were more able to imagine the English wanting to take revenge on mere flirting than we were able to imagine Italians from the 1950s wanting it. Isn't this how an Italian man is expected to behave? Would Italian women be surprised or shocked by it? We think "yes" and "no" are the appropriate answers to these questions.
The Robert Carsen production for this Metropolitan Opera live in HD presentation moved the drama to the 1950s, we imagine because he could not resist the 50s clothing and kitchen styles. Falstaff visits Alice in her kitchen to allow for far more than linens to throw around the stage. (I bought this much more than I bought Ochs visiting Faninal in his kitchen here.) Sir John is a gentleman, and it is thought that gentlemen last enjoyed their full privileges while the British Empire was still in tact.
I especially liked the opening scene. Sir John is reading the morning paper while still in bed and still in his night clothes. It is a large, significant bed, and round it are several small tables still covered with debris from last night's drunken party. With this setting we require no help making our way through the dialogue of the opening scene. All is clear as day. They read the list of expenses, and we see immediately that these are for the party.
The only complaint is trivial--there was no oak tree in the final scene.
Stephanie Blythe sang "Reverenza" exactly as Marilyn Horne would have done, and then tells us that her first performance of the opera was as Marilyn Horne's understudy. Era perfetto.
Of my three Falstaffs this year, this was definitely the best. Everyone seemed to be having a wonderful time.
Thursday, December 12, 2013
Les Vêpres Siciliennes
Now that the Met has had such success with simulcasts into theaters, everyone wants to do it. The Tower Theater shows performances from the Royal Opera House in London, so I went down to catch Verdi's Les Vêpres siciliennes.
Conductor: Antonio Pappano
Director: Stefan Herheim
Guy de Montfort, French governor: Michael Volle
Henri, young Sicilian: Bryan Hymel
La Duchesse Hélène: Lianna Haroutounian
Jean Procida, Sicilian doctor: Erwin Schrott
This is a grand opera in French, one of Verdi's earliest ventures into the world of French opera. I kept listening to hear Verdi and really did not. It seems he was very much trying to sound French. There is a coloratura aria called Bolero near the end, the hit tune for this opera, but that was all I could hear of bel canto.
The setting has been moved from the historical event in 1282 to the 1850s period of Verdi's opera. It is common to stage an opera in the style of the date of its premier instead of what it says in the libretto, and I felt it worked fine here. The French and Italians seem to fight in almost every era.
The production seemed to try to crowd as much on to the stage as it could possibly hold. There is the interior of the Paris Opera and the female part of the corps de ballet. There's scenic shots of Sicily. There's a very large chorus and a lot of supers. If you like everything in motion, you would love this. For instance, in the tenor and soprano love duet they constantly circle the chopping block, seeming to avoid instead of embrace each other. The ballet dances the prologue and various other scenes throughout the opera, but the traditional long ballet in act 3 was omitted.
There is politics. France occupies Sicily, and the Sicilians make periodic attempts to throw them out. Procida is the most anti-French, along with Hélène whose brother was killed. She first enters holding her brother's head wrapped in a cloth. The whole production is like that. The governor rapes one of the dancers in the middle of the stage. People are shot. At the masked ball and other times, too, the masks are skulls held like lorgnettes. It is a dense, complicated, dark and violent opera made more so by the production. They spared us an actual massacre at the end.
I went to see Erwin Schrott in a dress. It came near the end. Why he wore a dress in this scene remains a mystery, but he looked great in it. He also sang and acted very well. Next in order of impressive performances came Bryan Hymel. I think I was right about what I said about him here. With a bit of extra polish he could be a very impressive singer.
The sound and picture quality at the Tower Theater in Sacramento were excellent. This is my first time for the French version. I saw the Italian version in San Francisco in 1993 with Carol Vaness and James Morris, and conducted by Charles Mackerras.
Monday, December 09, 2013
My Mahler Soul
I follow my musical loves wherever they may lead me, but despite whatever new loves I may acquire along the way, my deepest musical soul belongs only to the songs of Gustav Mahler. This recording of Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen IV by Anne Sofie von Otter is simply unbelievably beautiful. She sings for me.
Sunday, December 08, 2013
Leah Crocetto at Mondavi
"All the things you are" by Jerome Kern
"Rejoice greatly" from Handel's Messiah
Three songs by Samuel Barber
"Sleep now, oh sleep now," "Sure on this shining night," and "Nocturne"
Three songs by Richard Strauss
"Die Nacht," "Morgen" and "Cäcilie." I apologize for having a coughing fit in the middle of this group. I got out as fast as I could. My cough drops didn't work.
Marietta's Lied from Korngold's Die tote Stadt. This piece is becoming common for me.
Eternal Recurrence by Gregory Peebles. This is a piece written for Leah.
Three songs by Fernando Obradors
"Con amores la mi madre," Del cabello mas sutil," and "Ciquitita la novia."
"Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man" by Jerome Kern
"Have yourself a merry little Christmas" from Meet me in St. Louis.
Leah has a voice of operatic proportions, and she chose pieces which suited both her voice and her musical loves. The music included classic American pop songs, including one done expertly in dialect. I'm seeing a lot of Obradors lately.
The new cycle by Gregory Peebles would have been helped by printed text. We couldn't tell when the songs ended. I would describe the style of this group as post modern.
She sang what she loves, and we loved it too.
Posted by Dr.B at 12:45 PM No comments:
Labels: +100, Barber, Handel, Korngold, Leah Crocetto, Next Wave, Northern California, Not Opera, Obradors, Recital, Review Performance, Sacramento, Song, Sopranos, Strauss R, United States
Saturday, December 07, 2013
I went to a party
I went to a party on Thursday, and this recording came up. Jussi is probably the tenor I have listened to most in my life. He finds the emotion in the simplest possible way.
This aria was also mentioned. Does anyone do it this slow?
Glück, das mir verblieb (Marietta's Lied), Marietta's aria from Die Tote Stadt
Glück, das mir verblieb, Joy, that near to me remains,
rück zu mir, mein treues Lieb. Come to me, my true love.
Abend sinkt im Hag Night sinks into the grove
bist mir Licht und Tag. You are my light and day.
Bange pochet Herz an Herz Anxiously beats heart on heart
Hoffnung schwingt sich himmelwärts. Hope itself soars heavenward.
Wie wahr, ein traurig Lied. How true, a sad song.
Das Lied vom treuen Lieb, The song of true love,
das sterben muss. that must die.
Ich kenne das Lied. I know the song.
Ich hört es oft in jungen, I heard it often in younger,
in schöneren Tagen. in better days.
Es hat noch eine Strophe-- It has yet another verse--
weiß ich sie noch? Do I know it still?
Naht auch Sorge trüb, Though sorrow becomes dark,
rück zu mir, mein treues Lieb. Come to me, my true love.
Neig dein blaß Gesicht Lean (to me) your pale face
Sterben trennt uns nicht. Death will not separate us.
Mußt du einmal von mir gehn, If you must leave me one day,
glaub, es gibt ein Auferstehn. Believe, there is an afterlife.
Translation by Lisa Lockhart (firstname.lastname@example.com)
We got into a lot of arguments--I don't hate regie, as you may have noticed, and don't hysterically adore Wagner--but it did make me curious to learn about Birtwistle.
Friday, December 06, 2013
2013 Year in Review and KK Opera Awards
You may feel free to classify Neon Jonas with Eurotrash.
2013 was the year of streaming Jonas Kaufmann. Without leaving my neighborhood I experienced:
- Parsifal in HD from the Met in March, Conductor: Daniele Gatti
- Il Trovatore streamed from Munich with Anja Harteros in July, Conductor: Paolo Carignani
- Don Carlo streamed from Salzburg, also with Anja Harteros in August, Conductor: Antonio Pappano
- La Fanciulla del West from Vienna with Nina Stemme in October, Conductor: Franz Welser-Möst
- La Forza del Destino streamed from Munich, again with Anja Harteros at the end of December, Conductor: Kirill Petrenko. This one didn't happen yet--the stream is on December 28.
As we move into the awards you are bound to notice certain repeats from the above list. To be eligible for an award a live performance must have taken place in 2013.
- BEST VERDI OPERA AWARD is split to two awards: for production we award to the Metropolitan Opera's neon Rigoletto, while for music the award cannot help but go to the Salzburg Don Carlo. There was a lot of Verdi this year, but there was also some very high quality.
- BEST WAGNER OPERA AWARD must go to the Metropolitan Opera's Parsifal. I cannot indeed think of any Wagner performance I found superior. James Morris as Wotan. There are people who thought René Pape's Gurnemanz was boring, but for me it was exactly as I would have wanted it.
- BEST BAROQUE OPERA AWARD goes to the Metropolitan Opera's Julius Caesar, the Musical. This may be my last view of Natalie Dessay for a while. Her dancing was fabulous. I liked this opera best for David Daniels who made the character of Caesar really seem like someone who could conquer the world. In the constant search for ways to make the stagings of Handel operas seem interesting this one sets a standard.
- BEST ROMANTIC OPERA NOT VERDI OR WAGNER AWARD has quite a few entrants: Les Troyens, Francesca da Rimini and Eugene Onegin all from the Met, Les Conte d'Hoffmann and Mefistofele from San Francisco. For all its complexities I'm awarding to the very dark Les Conte d'Hoffmann with the Met's Les Troyens as a close runner up. That's a second award for Natalie Dessay.
- BEST REVIVAL OF A HISTORICAL MASTERPIECE AWARD goes to the Met's production of The Nose. I felt that the production itself rose almost to the level of a masterpiece and perfectly suited the opera.
- BEST MUSICOLOGY OUTCOME AWARD Musicology played a role in the American Bach Soloists' performance of the Bach St. John Passion, Les Conte d'Hoffmann and the Salzburg Norma. This means because of research into original performance practices, these works were presented in ways that were different from what the audience would be familiar with. I had a problem with the Bach Passion because this version of the score omitted my favorite part--the final glorious chorale. I award to Norma because it seemed to me that the complete transformation of this opera and the resulting re-emphasis on plot was significantly aided by the changes to the score.
- BEST TRANSFORMATION OF A FAMILIAR WORK INTO SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT AWARD goes to Cecilia Bartoli's Norma from Salzburg with Julius Caesar, the Musical a close second. I very much enjoyed the film noir Norma with its increased realism. Pollione would leave Norma for a much younger woman, in opera terms a soubrette such as we see here, and not for the heavy mezzo we traditionally see. It's the only opera I traveled for this year.
- BEST ACTING IN AN OPERA AWARD goes to Cecilia Bartoli in Norma. I should award this category every year. Honorable mention goes to Nina Stemme in Fanciulla. BEST IMITATION OF ANNA MAGNANI EVER AWARD. This is obviously a one time award.
- BEST PUCCINI AWARD goes to Fanciulla from Vienna. There is hardly even any competition. People in the wilderness panning for gold don't really translate into factory workers, but the basic plot stayed in tact. For once all the singers were fully up to their roles.
- WORST EUROTRASH PRODUCTION AWARD goes to Il Trovatore from Munich. Other contestants in the running were Hippolyte et Aricie and Die Meistersinger, but they weren't bad enough to merit an award. Cupid popping out of an egg is just fun.
Other operas that were new for me were Spontini's La Vestale, Shostakovich's The Nose, Glass' The Perfect American, Humperdinck's Königskinder, Golijov's Ainadamar, Donizetti's Maria Stuarda, Barber's A Hand of Bridge, Rameau's Hippolyte et Aricie, Bucci's Sweet Betsy From Pike, Barab's A Game of Chance, and Barber's Antony and Cleopatra.
- BEST NEW (to me) OPERA AWARD goes to Golijov's Ainadamar from Opera Parallèle, a wonderful opera with dancing, singing and time travel. It was new in 2000, which is new enough. The Met has commissioned Golijov to produce another opera for them.
It was a fabulous year for opera. These awards reflect only my taste.
- BEST FALSTAFF AWARD goes to the Met. It was both visually and musically extremely satisfying, in general an excellent performance for this difficult opera. I only added this because I saw 3 Falstaffs this year.
Thursday, December 05, 2013
Monday, December 02, 2013
It seems to some of the commenters on YT that Anja is deliberately trying to look like Cecilia Bartoli in this aria, though being 20 cm taller. Well. There is the hair, and the brow furrowing and other expressions. This is Cardiff which she won, so maybe it worked.
Friday, November 29, 2013
Netrebko in Russian
You have to read really fast. The only word I understand is Vodka. You can wonder along with me why there is a clip of Diana Damrau in the middle. The pictures of Anna with her mother are San Francisco--outside the war memorial, in north beach.
The Russian perspective on Anna's life is very curious and revealed only in the studio comments by the interviewer. They would think nothing of the idea that she would give up her career for the sake of Erwin, would in fact think that was correct, while we could not help but be appalled by the idea. An appropriate evaluation of the situation would deem that Erwin should abandon his career for her. Oh well. The point is moot.
The interviewer hopes for her that someday she will get married. We're not sure we do. She seems to be doing fine. This is the interview where she explains that since they were not married, she gets to keep all her stuff.
Wednesday, November 27, 2013
Proud Cross-dresser
This is Sarah Connolly at the Last Night of the Proms 2009 where she appears in the guise of Admiral Nelson. Isn't it more fun to celebrate than to mourn?
She revives the original Arne arrangement.
She revives the original Arne arrangement.
Monday, November 25, 2013
Brief History of Cross-dressing in Opera
Please forgive me. This is written out of my head and involves no research. Usually I research things, but it can ruin my train of thought.
In the beginning (Greece, Shakespeare, etc.) theater was a masculine activity. Often society decided that all public appearances by females were immoral. The world was pretty much the same as it now is in Saudi Arabia. Men did things and women stayed home and had babies and cleaned house. If you're my age, you can remember this. Don't go around asking yourself why there were no women composers or painters. Composing and painting are jobs, and women were not allowed to have jobs. Except prostitution, of course. Women were angels or devils with no in between statuses that allowed for holding jobs. Opera singing is also a job.
In the early era of opera the situation was somewhat confusing to follow. In Venice and Mantua women appeared on the stage in female roles. In Rome and the Papal States all roles were played by men with the high voices sung by castrati (men surgically altered to retain their child voices). There were plenty of castrati around to serve in this capacity. Women singing in church was still forbidden in most places. This means lots of cross-dressing in opera, all by men, such as would have occurred in Shakespeare. High voices were preferred, and castrati sang both male and female roles.
The French were violently opposed to the idea of castrating men to provide high singers. Their female roles were always sung by women. Then Napoleon conquered Italy and put a stop to castration there, apparently imparting the French horror over the practice to the Italians. Over the next 100 years the practice died out until eventually there were no living castrati.
By the time of Mozart, who in his person embodied all the musical practices of all the musical centers of Europe of his time, an additional cross-dressing tradition arose: roles for teenage boys were sung in their pre-pubescent high voices and were portrayed by women. The most famous example of this is Cherubino in Le Nozze di Figaro.
Summary--opera seria included roles for castrati, opera buffa did not. There is a very nice role in an opera by Cavalli (Venetian school, heir to Monteverdi, lived before the seria/buffa split--La Calisto--looked the name up) where Jove pretends to be a woman. As Jove he is a baritone, as the female he is a falsetto soprano. Very funny. This is cross-dressing outside the traditional stereotypes, and as far as I know is the only early opera role intended to be sung falsetto.
Rossini came after the invasion by Napoleon. He composed both for castrati and women singing men, with the preponderance being the latter. Women began to replace castrati during this time in the portrayal of heroes in serious opera. It is surprising how few castrato parts there are in Rossini. Women singing male roles is far more frequent.
One wishes to hear the sound of two high voices singing together: I Capuletti e i Montecchi, still always sung by two women; Semiramide. The plot makes one of them a man, the music makes both of them women. DiDonato and Kasarova have kept Capuletti alive, but Semiramide is now very rare now that Marilyn Horne has retired. Women sing these bel canto roles and have since the beginning. Countertenors were not known in Italian opera in any period.
The only part of the cross-dressing tradition that survived into operas composed in the twentieth century is the tradition that teenage boys should be sung by women: Octavian and The Composer.
My sense of the cross-dressing tradition of opera is that it comes from two causes--the original reluctance to allow respectable women to appear in theater, which morphed into the later realization that seeing people portray the other gender was itself a distinct pleasure, a pleasure that works in both directions.
In modern times certain traditions are followed when reviving older operas.
In my youth Handel and Vivaldi revivals involved Marilyn Horne donning masculine attire, including very tall helmets to compensate for her short stature. Alfred Deller was the only known practicing countertenor, and I don't think he sang very much staged opera. This would require research.
I am reminded that Sarah Bernhardt, a French stage actress, portrayed Hamlet. And there is a movie of The Tempest where Helen Mirren plays Prospero.
Then came the countertenor explosion. If there were an opera composed for 6 countertenors (don't worry, there isn't), casting this would no longer be a problem. Some of them are actually good. No woman could achieve the heroic intensity of David Daniels' Giulio Cesare. The new tradition says that if a male role was written for a castrato, it should be sung by a countertenor, but so far the countertenors have not completely displaced the female mezzo-sopranos. It has so far not become a tradition for teenage boys with high voices to be sung by countertenors. The main objective of this revolution seems to be to reduce the amount of cross-dressing in opera.
Which brings us to the problem: society wishes to look down on cross-dressers of either gender in or out of opera, accusing them of doing it on purpose I suppose.
Susan Graham has a song written for her where she complains similarly. She also sings La Grande Duchesse, Iphigenie and Dido to great acclaim. (I almost looked this up. Caught myself in time.) Susan has the additional disadvantage of being tall.
The most spectacular of all operatic cross-dressers is Vesselina Kasarova who I am pleased to say has not complained, at least not in my hearing. She sings Carmen.
And now Elīna Garanča (cannot display her correct name without looking it up) has announced that she is retiring from trouser roles, as they are usually called. She wants to become a Verdi mezzo. My official opinion on this subject is that while Netrebko can truly say that her voice has transitioned to Verdi, Garanča is premature. She has a dark but not a particularly heavy voice. People don't seem to be able to differentiate between the two--a distinction that is vital to the vocal health of the singer. What matters is the actual physical heaviness of the voice, not how heavy you can fake it. This is the same reason Jonas is not ready for Tristan. Elīna Garanča so far has always cancelled on the west coast, so I have not been in the room with her.
After her Cenerentola, Garanča announced a similar retirement from bel canto. She wants to sing only Carmen forever. Perhaps she simply doesn't want to dress up like a boy any more. Sesto in Clemenza could be any age. She mentioned specifically only Cherubino and Octavian. One would prefer to think that major career decisions were not made for reasons of social bigotry.
The Strauss trouser roles, and perhaps others from Romantic repertoire, are not vocally similar to Mozart. Kasarova warns that it is dangerous to sing Octavian too soon. If you're 18 and can sing him, it isn't too soon for Cherubino.
I have friends who don't like to see cross-dressing in opera. I explain that only in England do countertenors have a long tradition. Italian operas were not composed for the male falsetto and don't sound right in their voices. They are establishing turf in the Baroque era, and even I am beginning to like it. I respond well to people reinventing a musical genre.
So for some people everyone should appear in public, and that includes on the stage, in their gender assigned costume. There is even a Google (I googled this, I confess) question that explains that being a countertenor doesn't necessarily have to do with being gay. The thing it most likely relates to is that the particular singer sounds better in his falsetto voice than he does in his natural voice. You can see films on YouTube of Philippe Jaroussky singing in his normal crooner baritone voice. You would never have heard of him singing like this.
Apparently Jaroussky has announced that he does not wish to appear in a female role. I think it is correct to lump this together with Garanča's announcement. The type of vocal issues that arise for Garanča are not relevant to Jaroussky, since there is no established tradition for countertenors and no roles composed for them until Britten. (Footnote: all of Bach's high voice music would have been written for falsettists or boys, but this is not opera. Still not from research.)
Opera is by now an ancient tradition. I attended the 400 years of Orfeo performance. I don't want to get into the sociological ramifications of this issue, but I feel firmly that looking down on the honored cross-dressing tradition of opera is disrespectful of the genre. It's fun. Relax and enjoy it.
This is a response to the essay in Eye Bags. The picture at the top is Erwin Schrott in Les Vepres Siciliennes at ROH. For a list of roles that involve cross-dressing see here.
Sunday, November 24, 2013
Benjamin Britten's Birthday
November 22 was the 100th birthday of Benjamin Britten. There are some complete Britten operas on YouTube if you are interested:
Death in Venice You have probably not seen this--this version is a film.
Turn of the Screw pt1, pt2 (88)
Billy Budd This version has Peter Pears in it.
Peter Grimes (84)
A midsummer night's dream A charming opera.
Albert Herring (91) This version is from Glyndebourne. I should definitely watch it since this is the only one I haven't seen.
The Rape of Lucretia The main character is a contralto, but he distorts the meaning of the story.
Owen Wingrave
The numbers in parenthesis are the standing in the 100 most performed operas list--a remarkable feat for a modernist.
Death in Venice You have probably not seen this--this version is a film.
Turn of the Screw pt1, pt2 (88)
Billy Budd This version has Peter Pears in it.
Peter Grimes (84)
A midsummer night's dream A charming opera.
Albert Herring (91) This version is from Glyndebourne. I should definitely watch it since this is the only one I haven't seen.
The Rape of Lucretia The main character is a contralto, but he distorts the meaning of the story.
Owen Wingrave
The numbers in parenthesis are the standing in the 100 most performed operas list--a remarkable feat for a modernist.
Posted by Dr.B at 12:32 AM No comments:
Labels: +100, British Music, Britten, Lists
Saturday, November 23, 2013
Swenson and Lopardo
I tried to find a picture of them together but failed. So I am settling for side by side. Now I can't get the text to go below the pictures. Sigh.
Yesterday Two in Tune in Sacramento presented a joint recital called International Stars of Opera. Both Ruth Ann Swenson and Frank Lopardo are opera singers whose careers have soared very high, Ruth Ann's arguably higher than Frank's.
This was a very pleasant recital of war horse opera arias and duets, the sort of recital that in by-gone days, before the era of the academic recital format, was dedicated to the idea that the audience should enjoy themselves. Though they are both not so light on their feet as they once were, they still know how to do it.
We heard things from Donizetti, Rossini, Puccini, Verdi, Gounod and Massenet, usually exactly the things you would want to hear from these particular singers.
It was very enjoyable.
Friday, November 22, 2013
Love is Over
According to bz-berlin.de, to which my computer will not navigate, at a photo shoot for Il Trovatore for the first time Anna Netrebko said that between her and baritone Erwin Schrott it is all over.
"Beim 'Troubadour'-Fototermin gab die Diva erstmals zu: Zwischen ihr und Bariton Erwin Schrott ist alles aus."
This was widely rumored throughout the Salzburg Festival. The verifiable facts here are that Anna is now in Berlin preparing for Trovatore.
P.S. Saturday. The announcements are now everywhere.
"Beim 'Troubadour'-Fototermin gab die Diva erstmals zu: Zwischen ihr und Bariton Erwin Schrott ist alles aus."
This was widely rumored throughout the Salzburg Festival. The verifiable facts here are that Anna is now in Berlin preparing for Trovatore.
P.S. Saturday. The announcements are now everywhere.
Thursday, November 21, 2013
Like Bonnie and Clyde
Interview: Thomas Voigt
Anja Harteros and Jonas Kaufmann are known worldwide as the perfect couple on stage. Thomas Voigt met the soprano and tenor before the new production of Giuseppe Verdi's La forza del destino. A dialogue on fate, partnership on stage and the eroticism of singing.
"Like Bonnie and Clyde"
MAX JOSEPH Immediately an acid test: how would you describe in a few sentences the plot of Verdi's La forza del destino?
ANJA Harteros In the beginning there's a corpse.
JONAS KAUFMANN A situation almost like in Don Giovanni.
AH Yeah, both times the dad dies.
JK who does not want his daughter getting involved with "someone like that."
AH But unlike Don Giovanni the old Marchese doesn't stand against the rapist of his daughter, but has surprised his Leonora when she wants to elope with a half-breed.
JK This man's name is Alvaro. And that the old man dies this time is not murder, but an accident. Or at least that's how it stands in the text. Alvaro drops his weapon, and upon impact it triggers a shot that hits the Marquese.
AH But Leonora's brother Carlos believes that both have the old man on their conscience.
JK This is why they are on the run from here on. As fate would have it, Carlos and Alvaro become thickest friends in the tumult of war, of course, without recognizing it. That the whole thing does not proceed well, you can imagine.
MJ Are Il trovatore and La forza del destino not siblings? Both pieces play in Spain, both times is the protagonist named Leonora, both times it was a tragic family history from which there is no escape.
JK That's why I think it's good that we do here in Munich both operas within a short time. In November is the revival of Trovatore, and right after that we continue with the rehearsals for Forza.
MJ Is La forza del destino a step backwards in Verdi's artistic development?
AH Maybe dramatically due to significant length compared to Trovatore, but not musically. Because there are such treasures in the arias as well as in the ensembles.
JK Since the beginning of the Verdi year, I am always busy with the big "Destiny aria" of Alvaro. This is one of the most challenging and most amazing scenes Verdi wrote for tenor, and I find that musically in Verdi's work it faces very strongly forward, namely in the direction of Don Carlo and Aida.
MJ What is fate for you? Is everything predetermined? What makes someone what he is?
JK Of course there is such a thing as powers and forces which no one can overcome. We all know the so-called misfortunes. But if someone believes in something like fate, he does not believe in himself. This is why I think much more of the saying "take your fate into your own hands."
AH Are you talking of career?
JK Not only! But if we want to discuss it on the example of career: This is made up of many components together, and that includes luck [Glück]. If an artist believes in destiny and says: "I can't influence anything, it is everything that happens to me, already planned by the hand of God," to my mind he eludes responsibility. I do think that there is something like fate there, but there are just as often situations that you simply must make active use of, the much-cited "opportunities".
AH This says the tenor, who is now on a total flight of fancy. [or maybe flying high] The love of God has given you a great voice, you look great, are sought after - no, you of course have worked everything out yourself, clear!
JK (laughs out loud) [I'm laughing, too.]
AH Of course, you had also to work, but most still have to work much harder to create only half of this, if at all. So, fate, many are beginning yes to believe in fate, after something bad happens, prolonged illness, loss of a loved one or something similar. And in such situations, everyone wonders: Why does this happen to me, what have I done to deserve this?
JK Here faith and superstition strongly come into play. Distress teaches us to pray, they say, and that always reinforces so-called strokes of fate. In some parts of the world, the term "destiny" is so loaded that one may not call it by name. For example in Italy you still may not pronounce the whole name of Verdi's opera. Only "La forza del" is said, and one may not hold "destino" in the mouth because that alone could bring bad luck. But for me fate is not just something negative. The word also includes unexpected good luck.
AH I used to think just like you, but now I am convinced that we do not have much in our hands.
JK I think our views are not so far apart. Believe in Divine Providence in honor, but it must not lead to a fatalism, according to the motto: Everything is predetermined, I cannot do anything anyway. So unreflective self-service to destiny as an excuse for inaction - that I cannot accept.
AH Drive is okay. But even that is a kind of talent that is given to some more than others.
MJ Since we are in the talent discussion. Is talent really 100 percent a gift of nature?
AH Yes, definitely!
JK I do think that it is a combination. There are certainly many people who are gifted by nature much more for our profession than we are - only they have never had contact with classical music, let alone had the chance to be something in this profession. To come back to the initial question: To be what one is, is a combination of gifts of nature and the circumstances in which one grows up. Related to our work: You may have received from the dear God the most beautiful instrument, but it helps nothing if you do not learn to make music.
AH You can achieve a lot with hard work, but you cannot purchase a lack of talent through hard work. You're either gifted or not.
MJ An example of the positive concept of fate: you both have found yourselves artistically.
AH Well, now I feel all warm in my heart. (laughs)
MJ Where did you meet?
JK We had our joint debut in Frankfurt, in Cosi fan tutte. [This was mispelled in the original. I'm not translating the mistakes in the text.]
AH And you were terrible! Totally arrogant! But you sang well. - No, Jonas has had great success. As his career took off, every pose fell away. Because he had arrived where he belongs.
MJ The next joint opera was the staging of Lohengrin in Munich. You were one in heart and soul. At least when singing.
JK I think we felt in the same moment: It can be like this if you inspire each other and it will together increase more and more. If you have Anja Harteros next to you, who can implement everything technically, then you can sometimes risk the wonderful piano phrases in the Don Carlo duets as quietly and intimately as it is possible to sing them. And if someone feels the same joy in such subtleties, then that is something out of the ordinary, and that rubs off on the audience.
AH The Joy, the delightful knowing [das Gönnen-Können] - and the trust! With Jonas I always have the feeling that he never crosses his boots [?] but is always there for me. And such a thing is rare in our profession. More disillusioning is when in rehearsal one reaches a state of tension, for example in the 2 Act of Don Carlo, and it reaches the moment where it really crackles - and then the director goes in and says, "More to the left!" This is the quintessential Interruptus.
JK I think our instinct for emotional tension is very similar, so we create in such key scenes as the 2nd Act of Don Carlo, these images that are not only from the director. And if someone is opposed to that kind of emotion and he works strongly against it, then you have a partner next to you who understands. A shared problem is a problem halved. Thank God we are both in the fortunate position that we can positively affect our working conditions. We can to get back to the topic, make our destiny entirely ourselves and actively contribute to our luck. And the good directors also understand that this is also a key to success.
MJ In La forza del destino you have unfortunately not as much to do with each other: only a brief duet before the accident and then again at the final trio, when Leonora is already dying.
JK Between, we are on the run. That is with us as with Bonnie and Clyde: If you see us together, we have also been caught. And by all love for Anja: In this opera the baritone partner is much more important for me. In Munich, I am fortunate to have one of the greatest baritones of our time on my side: Ludovic Tézier.
AH I am very excited about this new production, my first work with Martin Kušej. I already have a bit of the jitters. I have seen his Don Giovanni in Salzburg, and he obviously loves to bring out the singer physically, and frankly, that's not my thing.
JK I did with Martin Kušej Fidelio fifteen years ago in Stuttgart, then still Jaquino, and I was impressed by how he again and again convinced us of things that were not plausible at first glance. Then I saw some of his productions, I found his production of Franz Schreker's The Search especially strong.
MJ Back to singing: To what extent is sensuality part of the musical harmony?
AH Good singing is erotic, and not just the love duets! Jonas is a highly erotic type, which is wonderful for a partnership on stage. And if he feels a little bit what goes on with me, I would find that very great.
JK (with the voice of Horst Schlämmer) We talk later, darling!
AH At a joint Don Giovanni in New York René Pape said to me, "You have such a sexy voice ," I noticed this because it made me feel so good, and so I will gladly pass it forward.
JK Previously it has been called the "body connection" that you just sing from the gut, if not from deeper regions. Both technically and emotionally. Spirit, soul and body are connected when singing such as one maybe only knows from intense erotic experiences. Therefore, singing indeed requires a certain amount of exhibitionism. Because such experiences are normally more often enjoyed by couples and not in front of millions of viewers.
AH That's right. But it can also be a very internalized thing, I also like to sing with you without an audience.
JK I would say something to the so-called Regie theater. I have witnessed colleagues who have fought against a director's concept, without proposing an alternative. And I think: With a mere refusal you don't get any further. But only by proposing something different. You should also let yourself be creative, and in most cases it works. Also, by doing this you can very well take your fate into your own hands.
[This interview especially pleases me because Anja and Jonas are in it together. They are the people who are bringing the full operagastic (apologies to Operagasm) experience for me lately--Lohengrin, Il Trovatore, Don Carlo and soon to be Forza. I enjoy that they argue. I enjoy that Jonas must have the last word. I enjoy how they interact with one another. I enjoy that they discuss how singing, especially opera singing, is erotic.]
Sunday, November 17, 2013
I cry when the pressure becomes too great
Interview with Elīna Garanča translated from Kurier.
"I cry when the pressure becomes too great," The opera star presents her autobiography "Really important are the shoes." In the interview she talks about the pressure to succeed, why she is shy and her farewell to trouser roles.
KURIER: Ms. Garanča, tomorrow your first biography appears: "Really important are the shoes." Why do you already write your first biography when you are only 37 years old?
Elīna Garanča: Honestly? Because I was persuaded to. I myself would not have had the idea for this book, because I myself found that I am too young. But I am currently at a turning point in my life. I am about to turn 40, in a few weeks I will have my second baby - with this my family plan is completed. And in the next few years I want to sing new, more dramatic roles. So I thought, why shouldn't I after 15 years on the stage write a kind of interim result to be read in 20 years, as I then thought about my life and the world of opera.
In your biography you speak very openly about your childhood, your fears and your private life. This one does not even know of an Elīna Garanča ...
It was not easy for me to unpack these thoughts and details about my life, because I'm actually a very reclusive and shy person. I have never told before how my husband and I got to know each other, and I never talked about my melancholy.
In what moments are you melancholy?
My fans see me rather more like a "Wikingerweib" [female viking?], which nothing can shake. In fact, I'm the opposite, I am very vulnerable and there are rarely nights where I can sleep through the night without chasing the thousands of thoughts running through my head. I often look enviously at my colleagues, who brimming with confidence and often without knowing all the notes, stand on the stage - that would be a disgrace for me. My self-doubts usually start ten days before the premiere.
Then I argue if I can sing the role, if I understand what the conductor wants from me. To escape this misery I have several methods - go to the gym or I regain my peace of mind with gardening. If all else fails, then it only helps to cry against the pressure. I listen to the saddest arias, drink a glass of wine and let my tears flow, and afterward fall exhausted into bed. This cleansing process works. The next day I have found my good mood, and self- doubts are gone.
Is that the way you deal with the pressure to succeed?
Yes, of course. I try to protect myself from flops by choosing my parts very deliberately, often saying no to commitments when I'm not convinced. I prepare for every role very intensively. But nevertheless, the stage fright is getting bigger and the pressure grows. The older I get, the more my presence is ever more present. I become more and more aware that I need to protect my name. And I am on stage a completely different person than in private life. That's why it often bothers me how people think about me.
You want to make a repertoire change in the coming years. In which roles will one no longer see Elīna Garanča? Will you continue to sing Carmen?
Carmen is a role that can safely accompany a mezzo-soprano for a lifetime. It only changes which Don José is by my side. But what I definitely feel too old for at 40 are the trouser roles. I miss this youthful naivety, which is needed for the role of Sesto or Octavian. In these Bubenpartien [kid parts?] you will certainly not see me again. Besides that, routine bores me, I want to break new ground. In the next few years I want to sing a Santuzza, an Eboli and the highlight of my career Amneris in Aida.
You will have your second baby in a few weeks. What do you sing at the moment?
At the moment I do not sing classical music, but with my daughter Winnie the Pooh (laughs). I know the top ten hits of Winnie the Pooh.
When do you want to return from maternity leave?
I don't make any stress for myself. Fixed is the concert in Göttweig, but if I already appear before that will depend on my second daughter. Even though I can imagine it going well, for the second child one has more routine.
How do you manage logistically - to bring two children, your career and the career of your husband under one hat?
This is actually a logistical feat. My husband and I try never to be longer than two weeks separated from the children. We have our own nanny in Spain and a travel nanny. In the future we will be traveling with two nannies. And as hard as it may seem for some, we will also sometimes separate the children. Say, the baby accompanies me to a gig and my older daughter Katie accompanies my husband to a concert.
Your husband is a conductor. You are the superstar. How does he deal with playing second fiddle?
In trouser roles Elīna Garanča always excelled on the opera stage: 'But for these roles I now feel too old' My husband has never complained until now. He is not one who runs after the fame or the glory. Just like me, he is very down to earth and he got to know me when I was not long The Garanca. Sometimes he complains, because I've become very impatient in recent years. But we both try to realize our dreams. But between us there is no competition: Who got the better reviews, who received the greater applause. That would be the death of our relationship.
It is amazing that your mother when you were 17 dissuaded you from a career as a mezzo- soprano, because she saw too little talent. Has she already apologized for this miscarriage of justice?
When I think back to my voice then I have to agree with my mother afterwards. My voice had then perhaps timbre, but there was too little volume with only one octave and too little power - these were not prerequisites for an international career. There existed a nature of the voice, but which had to be polished properly.
They repeatedly emphasize that the Garanča of the stage has nothing to do with private Elina. What is the real Garanča ?
I am still the same natural person I was as a child. At the moment I'm winterizing my garden. Dirt is under my fingernails, I just put down rye seeds that I took from the earth in the spring. This is an ideal fertilizer for my vegetable garden. I can still milk cows or bake my own bread, which I learned from my grandmother. My friends always laugh when I describe myself as the best singing milkmaid.
Personal: Elīna Garanča World star without airs The native Latvian (37) wanted to be an actress. In the entrance examination for the Academy of Drama she fell through. When she expressed her desire to her mother, who was herself a mezzo-soprano, to become a singer, the mother said : "Nothing will come of your voice." But Garanča did not give up. Her first engagement was Garanča in Thuringia. From then on it was uphill. Ioan Holender gave Garanča a fixed contract at the Vienna Opera. Since 2005 she is a freelance artist and has sung on all the major opera stages of the world from the Met in New York to Vienna to Covent Garden. She are currently considered the best "Carmen" in the world. In addition to the biography, a new CD "The best of Elīna Garanča" has been released. ( Kurier ) Created on 10.11.2013 , 11:21
'Really important are the shoes' : In this biography Elīna Garanča gives insight into her career, her personal life and her self-doubt. Released in Ecowin-Verlag at 21.90 Euros.
[It is none of my business to second-guess the lady, but I disagree. There is a world of difference between a Mozart trouser role and a Strauss trouser role. You can feign youthfulness, but it is not possible to feign the mature voice required for Strauss. I have no argument for her being bored with them.]
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)


text:
Our Story
Based in London, The One Over Here believes in ethically sourced materials, created by up and coming independent designers as well as a curated selection of unique pieces picked by us . We aim to bring you a collection of well crafted contemporary products, hand made from all around the world to one place, over here.
At The One Over Here everything from design, branding, marketing and online sales gets done in house.
As a brand that values compassion and supports action, we thought you might like to know that 10% from every sale goes directly to Help Refugees, a charity that works with those involved in humanitarian crises across Europe and the Middle East.
Visit helprefugees.org to learn more.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Go to our page PHOTO CONTEST 2016 to vote for your favorite picture among the 47 that qualified for our big contest. The theme is: Caught Red-handed.
Ldoll once more sets the trend by bringing you the first international online doll photo contest, opened to all!
Vote by clicking on the pink heart by the picture of your choice.
Beware, only one vote per person, so choose wisely.
Thank you so much to all of you who have entered.
We are astounded by so much creativity and talent!
And of course, thank you to our partner SWITCH for their generosity.
The winner will get a fullset MSD doll!


text:
Logan Paul: Outrage over YouTuber's Japan dead man video
BBC News
January 2, 2018 3:12 pm
An American YouTube star has prompted a barrage of criticism after he posted a video which showed the body of an apparent suicide victim in Japan.
he video showed Logan Paul and friends at the Aokigahara forest at the base of Mount Fuji, known to be a frequent site of suicides.
Going in to film the "haunted" forest, they come across a man's body and are shocked but also make jokes.
Online comments have called the video "disrespectful" and "disgusting".
The video was uploaded on Sunday and had millions of views on YouTube before it was taken down.
Logan Paul, who has more than 15 million subscribers on YouTube, posted an apology on Twitter, saying he had been "misguided by shock and awe".
He later uploaded a video apology, and said: "I should have never posted the video. I should have put the cameras down and stopped recording what we were going through."
"I'm ashamed of myself," he added. "I'm disappointed in myself."
apan has one of the highest rates of suicide in the developed world.
Aokigahara has a tragic reputation in Japan and internationally as a destination for people who want to kill themselves.
Data on the number of suicides there each year is not made public, to avoid publicising the site. Signs are posted in the forest urging people to seek medical help rather than take their own lives.
The 15-minute video is part of a series of posts from Japan where the US vlogger is on a trip with friends.
They go on a visit to the forest intending to focus on the "haunted" aspect of it, he says in the video.
After walking a short distance into the forest, the group come across a body.
The group is filmed approaching the body, which is shown in several close-ups where only the face is blurred out.
A member of the group is heard off camera saying he "doesn't feel good". Paul then asks him: "What, you never stand next to a dead guy?" He then laughs.


text:
PTO/Leave Request and Approvals for SharePoint and Mobile
ESS – PTO/Leave Request App for SharePoint and Mobile (HTML5)
MSS – PTO/Leave Request – Manager Approval – SharePoint and Mobile (HTML5)
Universal Work List (UWL) – Review, Approve or Reject – for SharePoint and Mobile (HTML5)
Contact us at info@Enterprise Cloud Connect™.com to get more information!
Basic Terms and Conditions
- Provide PTO/Leave Request and Approvals, including Universal Work List (UWL) to your organization for only $79,999.00.
- This promotional offering may be combined with other Enterprise Cloud Connect™ promotions or incentives, subject to approval by Enterprise Cloud Connect™.
- Enterprise Cloud Connect™ will provide Enterprise Cloud Connect™ production licenses and deployment services for unlimited users for selected promotional functions.
- Limited to the first 5 organizations who sign all required agreements including a master services agreement(MSA), promotional license agreement(PLA), and a statement of work(SOW).
- All agreements must be signed by June 30, 2013.
- Client will provide all prerequisite software licenses including but not limited to SAP and SharePoint.
- Client will perform all necessary administration and configuration of non-Enterprise Cloud Connect™ or prerequisite software as needed to support promotional solution installation and deployment.
- Client will provide all required access to SAP and SharePoint systems for purposes of installation and configuration of promotional software components.
- Client will be responsible for actual business travel expenses, if travel is required.
- Client will provide security design, framework, user administration for purposes of deploying SSO or compliance with client corporate/enterprise security standards.
- Workflow engine/platform is limited to SAP Workflow.
- Client is responsible for all SAP workflow configuration and support; Enterprise Cloud Connect™ will integrate to workflow scenarios subject to Enterprise Cloud Connect™ discretion.
- Approval experience is limited to Accept, Reject, and Comments for a given workflow item. Additional user experience or capabilities may require additional fees.
- Deployment platforms limited to SharePoint/Web and Mobile web(HTML5).
- Native android and iOS mobile apps available but are not included in this promotional offering.
- Details of deployment requirements will be included in the Statement of Work(SOW).
- Other limitations and conditions will be considered in good faith on a case-by-case basis with the client(s).


text:
You are using an unsupported version of IE. Please update to version 11 or greater for the best website experience.
50 W. Lancaster Ave., Ardmore, PA 19003 610-896-6435
5000 Pennell Road, Aston, PA 19014 610-364-7800
135 East City Ave., Bala Cynwyd, PA 19004 610-664-6293
1436 Lancaster Avenue, Berwyn, PA 19312 610-581-4774
1436 Lancaster Avenue, Berwyn, PA 19312 610-527-1881
Cyber Security Education Identity Theft
Criminals have their eye on your financial accounts. They want access.
Call it a takeover attempt – a HOSTILE takeover.
Account takeovers happen when the wrong people dig up enough of the right private information about you to gain access to your checking or savings accounts.
Then they strike – either moving big chunks of your money at once, or small amounts a bit at a time … hoping you don't notice.
What's happening is a form of identity theft … because the more that bad people know about you, the easier it is for them to access your money.
We're used to sharing a lot of information about ourselves these days –experts say we share too much – and that makes us easier targets for takeovers.
Here are some things you can do to protect personal information to help battle takeover attempts:
You also need to stay alert … and check your financial statements regularly to make sure your money is safe.
Here are some things you can do to spot a possible takeover:
Think smart and stay alert … both are great defenses against account takeovers.


text:
OFAC's Licensing Division Changes Its Case Numbering System Format/
On April 16, 2012, the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced that the numbering system used by the Licensing Division has been changed and is being reflected in new licenses, denial letters, and other correspondence issued after March 26, 2012. As was previously the case, the new numbering begins with alphabetical characters designating the sanctions program - e.g., CU, IA, or SU. The new number is followed by (1) the calendar year, (2) a unique six-digit number, and (3) a final number denoting original or amendment. Thus, a new license issued pursuant to the Cuban Assets Control Regulations would bear a number styled as License No. CU-2012-XXXXXX-1, while a license issued pursuant to the Iranian Transactions Regulations would appear as License No. IA-2012-XXXXXX-1.
OFAC states that, for the time being, the old licensing case numbering system will not disappear completely. An amended version of a license that was originally issued prior to March 26, 2012, will continue to follow the original license case number system, i.e., alphabetical characters for the sanctions program followed by the existing license number and an alphabetical character, as in the past.


text:
No Products in the Cart
Invigorating, sparkling summer fruity-floral mix. Seductive, jolly scent of the first kiss. Refreshing aura of the pink grapefruit, juicy melon with the soft notes of the lily-of-the-valley and a touch of sensual musk are fused with warm sandalwood, immersing you into the pure, sweet sensation. Kiss, Dream, Love!
Top notes: bergamot, black currant, freesia.
Heart notes: jasmine, plum, peony.
Bottom notes: hint of cedar, hint of sandalwood, musk.
|20 ml/ 0.68 fl oz
|Made in Italy
Alcohol Denat., Parfum (Fragrance), Aqua (Water), Butylphenyl Methylpropional, Alpha Isomethyl Ionone, Geraniol, Hydroxycitronellal, Citronellol, Limonene, Isoeugenol, Methyl 2 Octynoate, Citral, Linalool, Benzyl Alcohol, Eugenol.


text:
modifications / maintenance
Goals for my RS:
1. Bring a smile to my face each time behind the wheel.
2. Make total strangers come up to me and ask questions.
3. Run 11s in the 1/4 mile on 93 octane gas and street tires.
4. Complete multiple autox or lapping day sessions without issue.
5. Survive weekend trips around the Louisiana countryside on its crappy roads.
Planned future mods:
1. More power
2. Continue tasteful weight reduction
Cost of mods completed so far:
Current Cost of Mods = $18,720.02
Weight Reduction completed so far:
Current Certified Weight = 3,240 lb (7/8 tank of fuel)
Current Race Weight = 3,240 lb (7/8 tank of fuel)
Best 1/4 mile pass while modified: firstname.lastname@example.com [Details Here]
Best 1/4 mile pass while completely stock: firstname.lastname@example.com [Details Here]


text: Shared_Studios, the global arts collective behind the public art initiative, Portals, is partnering with Biamp Systems to elevate the quality of audio used across the Portals network. Through Biamp's Devio® technology, participants in various Portals experience conversations as they unfold, providing a real-time, real-life experience. This enables people at different points on the planet to seamlessly create, collaborate, and play as if they're in the same room together.


text:
Hre is a list of medical transcription schools
Career Step
Career Step partners with top companies that hire medical transcriptionists (MTs), so Career Step graduates get hired for the best jobs. Since 1992, Career Step has offered quality MT training designed to prepare students for employment.
Their training is comprehensive and covers all MT specialties
Website: www.careerstep.com/courses/medical-transcription-intro
Andrewsschool transcription programs are available by a combination of email and instructional message boards. For additional information on either or both of our programs, write to Linda Andrews, Director, at email@example.com
Website: www.andrewsschool.com
Med-Line School of Medical Transcription
Med-Line School of Medical Transcriptionis is an AHDI-approved career college exclusively devoted to the field of healthcare documentation specialists. Students complete the comprehensive program by way of distance education.
Website: www.medlineschool.com
CanScribe Career Centre
CanScribe Career Centre is one of the top Medical Transcription Schools in Canada. CanScribe's head office is located in Lake Country, British Columbia and offers its Medical Transcription course across Canada.
Website: www.canscribe.com
The VLC School of Medical Transcription Training
Transcription at the VLC includes the M.I.M.E. method of online teaching, SmarTechnologies, and for eligible students, a Work Placement Program. Medical transcriptionist career training courses are extremely thorough and they supply all materials needed.
Website: www.transcription.thevlc.com
Meditec's e-Learning computer-based courses incorporate proven training methods to ensure the highest rate of information retention. Online mentoring, comprehensive text and practice exams provide the basic theories needed for training and certification
Website: www.meditec.com
Tags: Medical transcription schools, medical transcription training, medical transcription courses
1 comment:
Those are indeed good schools to get medical transcription training online. It is really good that they are there since not a lot of places offers or have training centers for this industry.ReplyDelete
Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)


text:
UK Winter getaways
UK Winter getaways
Cosy cottage, majestic mansion or rejuvenate at a relaxing spa ?
We've picked a few of our favourite UK Winter getaways, although we do love to chase the sun, the natural beauty of our own country can sometimes be overlooked.
Cosy country cottages for an intimate weekend retreat or majestic manor houses for a lively house party weekend?
The Poet's Hideway, Cornwall
This quaint little cottage for two can be found on the Western side of the Bodmin Moor, Cornwall, only a short distance away from the popular surfers' paradise of Polzeath and sailing hub of Rock. With its wood fire, unique rustic style and idyllic setting, it makes for the perfect cosy couples winter weekend getaway!
Book here
Marsden Manor, Cotswolds
This magical Manor House sleeps 20 in the heart of the Cotswolds, with a swimming pool, tennis court, a games room, and plenty of greenery, what else would you want in a place to entertain 20 guests! We love that this house is powered by electricity from the water turbine, the pool and central heating system are heated from solar PV and the boilers are heated by biomass, which is also grown on the farm.
Book here
The Treehouse, Salcombe
The name says it all. It's quirky yet cosy and comfortable, meeting all your needs for a true hideaway. Having said this, the iconic British seaside town, Salcombe, is within walking distance with great pubs, ice creams and a ferry to take you to the beaches.
The Black Swan at Oldstead, York
This Yorkshire hideaway has been voted the best rated restaurant in the world by Trip Advisor and has earned its Michelin stars too. From growing its own produce to recycling waste heat from the generator to heat the garden's polytunnlel, this is definitely on our list to visit! There is absolutely no hanging around when booking this as it fills up fast!
Book here
Lime Wood Hotel, Hampshire
If you are in need of a relaxing spa break, Lime Wood is the place to go. Set in the heart of the New Forest, the intricate attention to detail and fresh air will have you at ease in no time.
Book here


text:
The Separable Soul
like the memory of water
an interstitial filtrate
between stones, within speech
the weight of absence,
of meaning implicit in
these empty spaces
reading you in
reading between the lines
absorbing small shocks of recognition that
ripple back
from some projected future conflux;
sound-patterns skimming the surface like
the dreams of fish
my interoceptors resonant with
vast electrical slippage
down the sky,
avalanches of invisible lightning;
shifts in tectonic weather through which
I strive to detect your undersong
in each volution,
to discover your cipher that
I envisioned as
underwriting the disjuncted chancel, this
footprint of a drowned house,
the seagrass meadows
"dotted with pulpy creatures
a silvery & spangled radiance
threads of occluded syllables
that bind me to the locale by
"strange & injurious ties"
dissolve to
symbols like marks made by gulls in the sand
exploring the contextures of this
(a nail in the vertex)
the exquisite salting of wounds
with each word I spoke
I was becoming less the person
you imagined,
a second biography encrypted
beneath my skin:
as if I had left my heart behind in the wrong place
as if my lungs were too low and that something was growing out of my sides
as if I were in a cave of unknowing
as if a distance could be measured between hollow and holy
as if my chest were full of tears
as if my bubble were slowly bursting
as if there were a need for a lighthouse so we knew where we were
as if the third star were missing and I found it at the bottom of the bed
as if a light spiralled upward and opened my head; the dandruff of old snapshots showering down
as if on your own you really do hear voices in the tide
as if I were so isolated I could have walked into the lake
as if water swallows light
as if a central sadness coalesced in the sternum
as if the lights were switched off when I was halfway up the stairs
as if I were trapped between white sheets
as if there were something lodged in my throat like chalcedony
as if the air had twelve edges
as if my head felt hot like a bird with high fever
as if a pain formed in my face in the shape of a bill
as if I were to start a soul-journey of a thousand and one days
as if while painting the ceiling white the marriage felt like a mourning
as if the moon had assumed the fullerine structure of consciousness
as if my cream silk clothes were covered in a huge clot of blood
as if a baby with bulging eyes were trying to suckle through its beak
as if I had broken an egg in my hand; a tiny white bird detached from its yolk, breathing
as if this brackish lagoon were lipped by languages I was reluctant to translate
as if in a dream subsisting on eel-grass among Siberian refugees
as if I were cutting apart two fish that were joined at the tails
as if a stigmatic inflorescence sprang from my right palm
as if there were a pulsating code at the base of the spine
as if white mucus dribbled from one nostril
as if a series of cuts had formed on the high arch of the palate
as if the coles feminus were coated in pearl
as if I woke with the scrape of feathers between my legs
as if I were laying on folded wings
straying into the fault zone
as westerly cliffs of shear evolve
points of collapse;
your leave-taking abandoned me
poised on the brink of a conversation
for which I now dis(re)member the
scratches of light dissecting
the ridge of Corallian beds
once formed in clear shallows
suffering attrition, a trituration
becoming trite
detritus fetched up by the
overwash of storm-surge:
marine transgressions
inventing/reinventing my
as the beach rolls slowly
over itself
red & black chert, jasper, tourmalinised
locus of transitions
a constant state of mutagenesis;
dialogue perpetually rehearsed
but never spoken
tracing whole sentences
on the roof of my mouth with
my tongue
glossing over details that
you will neither read nor hear:
the inverse reflection of a tower cloud
in a drop of rain on a reed-blade,
a floating quill plastered
to the smoothness of stone,
defence-posts of small bunting territories;
the capriciousness of the revealed world
my cell plasma preserving
(it once was said)
a saline imprint of
that original sea
all things tending towards solution
"tiny cuspate spits of gravel, limestone slab
shells &
a little sand"
the residew be sparkelid
Abbotsbury swannery; Chesil and The Fleet
Poet's Note: Since the swan moves in the three elements of earth, water and air, it has been traditionally associated with shape-shifting, especially in the form of a young woman. Tales of the animal-wife as swan-maiden occur universally, telling of a lover lost when she resumes her original form. Usually this is due to the lover breaking a taboo or committing a misdemeanour through a lack of communication, whereupon she disappears silently back into her supernatural life. I am indebted to Jeremy Sherr's Dynamis group for the homeopathic provings of Cygnus which provided a starting-point for this text."
© 2007, Elisabeth Bletsoe


text:
We cooperated with JIUYU over 8 years,They have been providing high quality metal stamping products. Thank you for your great work and dedication.
—— Iwona Trojanowska
Thanks very much JIUYU team's hard work. Your outstanding capability and excellent team cohesion, successfully help us to reduce the cost.
—— Robert Koval
- I'm Online Chat Now
Automatic Sunflower Oil Press Machine , Oil Expeller 40t/d - 50 t/d
Product Details:
|Place of Origin:
|Cangzhou, China
|Brand Name:
|Model Number:
Payment & Shipping Terms:
|Minimum Order Quantity:
|1 set
|Welcome to your enquiry!
|Packaging Details:
|Plastic film, wooden case or nude packing
|Delivery Time:
|15 to 45 days
|Payment Terms:
|Supply Ability:
|40 to 100 sets per month
Contact Details
- Other Products
Powerful Home Olive Oil Press Machine / Screw Oil Pressing Equipment
Automatic Sunflower Oil Press Machine , Oil Expeller 40t/d - 50 t/d
Small Pumpkin Olive Oil Press Machine For Oil Plant / Household
Cold Pressing Screw Sunflower Seed Oil Press Machine High Capacity 18.5 kw
Stainless Steel Steam Cooker Seed Oil Press Machine for Baobab / Sunflower Seeds
Horizontal Edible Seed Oil Press Machine / Oil Extracting Machinery with Filter 20t/d
High Speed Screw Grape Seed Oil Press Machine For Olive Oil Production Line


text:
FORC makes finding a qualified and skilled attorney easy – choose from our nation-wide list of vetted counsel.
Whether you require services for insurance business transactions, legislative work with insurance laws and regulations, litigation, and/or regulation, a FORC attorney has the experience and skill you need.
FORC regulatory members have a minimum of seven years of experience in insurance regulatory law and bill the majority of their work for insurance regulatory matters. FORC members are recommended by a minimum of three insurance executives from unrelated companies who have attested to their skill and competency.
FORC members are dedicated to excellence in the practice of regulatory law, making your choice of counsel easier.
Stephen H. Zimmerman, Esq.
308 Chesterfield Pkwy.East Lansing, MI 48823
(202) 494-1355 | email@example.com
Areas of Practice
Business Transactions, Legislative, Regulatory
Licensed in
District of Columbia, Michigan


text:
Parenting for Ages 0 - 5
Parenting for Ages 6 - 12
Parenting for Ages 13 - 18
Court Ordered Parenting Classes
Instructor Led 6-Week Classes
Book: Raising Kids Who Blossom
Books on Parenting
Books on Sexuality
Charts for Kids
Co-Parenting Children
Parenting Around Technology
Parenting Articles
Parenting Autistic Kids
Parenting Quiz
Parenting Topics
Priceless Parenting Blog
About Priceless Parenting
Frequently Asked Questions
Our Parenting Approach
Policies and Terms
Increasing Motivation To Do Homework
Kathy Slattengren
, M. Ed., Priceless Parenting (
more parenting articles
are available)
Do your children get their homework done with little or no input from you? If so, consider yourself fortunate! On the other hand, if your children struggle to get their homework done, you may find yourself more involved.
Your role is to assist your child in establishing a good place to do homework and good conditions for working. For example, you might improve the conditions by giving them something to munch on while they are working like hummus and crackers, carrot sticks or strawberries.
How Involved Should You Be in Homework?
Let your child be in charge of requesting your help if needed. Establish times when you are available to help like from 3:00 – 5:00 and 7:00 – 8:00. If you don't set boundaries, you may find yourself overwhelmed by things like trying to prepare dinner while also helping with homework.
In their book
Smart Parenting for Smart Kids
, Kennedy-Moore and Lowenthal write "
Parents who are actively involved with their children's homework every night, or who check over their children's work before they turn it in, are establishing a dangerous pattern. First, they're creating confusion about whose responsibility the homework really is. Second, they're cutting off essential feedback that teachers need about what children do or don't understand on their own. Third, they're unwittingly criticizing their children's abilities, implying that what their kids can do alone isn't good enough to be seen in public. Parents who correct their children's homework are trying to be helpful, but they're unintentionally communicating to their children that mistakes are intolerable and must be hidden. This can be particularly harmful for perfectionistic children.
One mom realized she was establishing a dangerous pattern by checking over her daughter's math homework every night. One day she missed her daughter's mistake and the teacher marked the answer as wrong. The daughter stormed home complaining "You made a mistake!" This mom quickly realized that checking over her homework needed to be her daughter's responsibility not hers.
Increasing Homework Motivation by Making It a Game
Difficult tasks like homework become more engaging if they involve the attributes of a game:
Focus on accomplishing tasks to win
Time limit
Your kids can make homework more like a game by doing the following:
Write down the homework tasks that need to be done.
For each task, write down the time they think it will take.
Set a timer for a task. If it's accomplished before the timer goes off, score one point.
Determine the prize for the points. It can be as simple as running outside and shooting 10 baskets or eating three strawberries.
Check that item off and go to the next task.
By transforming homework into a game, they will have more fun doing it. They will also gain the important life skill of writing down what needs to get done and checking it off once it's done.
Getting Some Exercise Before Doing Homework
If your child is struggling to get started on a homework assignment, an exercise break might just be the answer. This is especially true if your child is feeling angry, frustrated or overwhelmed.
In their book,
The Whole-Brain Child
, Siegel and Bryson explain why this works. "
Research shows that when we change our physical state - through movement or relaxation - we change our emotional state. ... The next time your children need help calming down or regaining control, look for ways to get them moving.
They tell the story of a 10-year-old boy who successfully used this strategy when he was feeling extremely frustrated with all his homework. When his mom tried to coax him into getting up from underneath his beanbag chair and sitting at his desk, he decided to go for a run instead. The act of running as fast as he could for as long as he could helped him calm down. When he came back home, he was ready to have a snack and start on his homework.
Turning in Homework
One dad was frustrated by his son continually missing homework assignments. So he agreed to stop nagging his son about homework if his son would email his teachers weekly to check if he was missing any homework.
Although his son was embarrassed to have to email his teachers, he did it. This weekly email allowed any homework problems to become visible and helped his son greatly reduce his missing assignments.
Struggling Far More than Others
Is your child struggling in school year-after-year despite getting extra help? If so, there is probably a more fundamental obstacle that your child needs help in overcoming.
Experts are figuring out better ways to help these kids by addressing their underlying brain neurology. One of the thought leaders in this area is Barbara Arrowsmith Young who founded the
Arrowsmith Program
. This program is based on neuroscience research and 30 years of experience demonstrating that it is possible for students to strengthen the weak cognitive capacities underlying their learning dysfunctions through a program of specific cognitive exercises.
When your kids experience success in their homework, their internal motivation improves. Once they have the skills they need to get their homework done independently, your parenting job becomes much easier!
About Kathy Slattengren
Parenting expert Kathy Slattengren, M. Ed., is dedicated to supporting parents in doing their best parenting. She helps families create homes where everyone feels accepted, heard, respected and appreciated.
Parents and teachers from across the United States to Australia have been helped through Priceless Parenting's:
online parenting classes
parenting articles
Raising Kids Who Blossom
Do you want to print out this article?
PDF version
is available for printing.


text: There are still way too many leaf peeper tour buses in downtown. Anywhere I go I still bump into these bus tours that are on the way up to New Hampshire or Vermont. If they are going to stop here shouldn't someone tell them people live here and they should use the sidewalk. I really like that they want to come to see the history. Why can't they stay out of the path of my car that I drive 30 miles a week. They will be gone in a couple of weeks and I will have to find something else to complain about. On second thought I don't think there is something worth complaining about until we have a couple of big snow storms.


text:
£35,000.00 - £40,000.00 / annum
Date posted:
11th July 2019
Employment type:
Job reference:
Staffing area:
HR Business Partner - Deeside
My client is a FCA regulated Insurance Business, selling products to either, consumers, through a UK based Contact Centre and Web Activity or to a network of partner brokers through a wholesale offering.
Due to significant growth and expansion in the previous years, they are looking for a skilled HR professional to join their team, as a HR Business Partner.
The HR Business Partner will manage all areas of HR to create, build and develop a cutting-edge HR function, connecting areas such as employee engagement and benefit management, recruitment, plus peripheral areas such as payroll.
- Working with Senior Management Team / Exec / Board to understand requirements
- Review current HR processes and procedures and produce a gap analysis to best practice.
- Manage existing (1 FTE) HR Admin team.
- Launch Employee Satisfaction survey - collate responses and suggest remedial action.
- Review current employee benefit offering and consider alternatives (e.g. Flex Bens).
- Responsible for production of all HR related MI (e.g. recruitment and retention stats, time to market etc).
- Manage end to end recruitment process - maximising social engagement and minimising use of agency. Also responsible for activity-based MI to allow for accurate resource planning.
- Manage external (i.e. social media / external advertising) recruitment strategy - balanced with careful resource planning.
- Review current payroll (outsourced) option and consider benefits for in-sourcing. Responsible for measurement and input into Payroll process.
- Working with various department heads - ensure on-boarding training, and continual training is fit for purpose and delivers what you would expect from a regulated business.
- Responsible for annual salary / benefits benchmarking.
- Working in partnership with [tbc] review the current sales agent bonus scheme and suggest revision.
- Review / update standing HR documentation (e.g. employment contracts) and ensure fit for purpose as we approach significant changes (e.g. SMCR).
- A proven HR professional
- CIPD /other recognised HR qualification.
- Experience of managing Recruitment, Engagement and Payroll processes.
- Experience of working in sales / contact centre environments.
- Experience of managing and influencing senior stakeholders.
- Insurance / Financial Services experience useful but not essential.
Salary: £35k
Robert Half Ltd acts as an employment business for temporary positions and an employment agency for permanent positions. Robert Half is committed to equal opportunity and diversity. Suitable candidates with equivalent qualifications and more or less experience can apply. By applying to this position, you acknowledge that you have read and accept the following terms: https://www.roberthalf.co.uk/privacy-notice
Manchester8th Floor, The Zenith Building,
26, Spring Gardens,
gb 0161 828 6100


text:
ESCVS SUMMER School - procedures in cardiovascular and endovascular surgery
Formation SIZING AND PLANNING IN CARDIOVASCULAR AND ENDOVASCULAR PROCEDURES.
In Patras, Greece.
The European Society for Cardiovascular and Endovascular Surgery is dedicated in providing educational opportunities to residents and young cardiac and vascular surgeons. The aim of the summer school is for participants to get acquainted with all aspects of surgical sizing and planning before and during the procedures in cardiovascular and endovascular surgery.
Interested participants, younger than 35 years of age, are invited to apply on email@example.com with their CV and ID copy (age proof). Granted candidates will be selected by members of EC of the ESCVS and informed via e-mail.


text:
New Delhi, July 10 (IANS) Technology-based learning solutions provider TATA ClassEdge and YES Bank on Monday announced they would mentor seven students from India for the 'FIRST Global Robotics Olympiad' at Washington, DC, slated for July 16-18.
US-based FIRST Global is organising an annual 'Olympics' style robotics competition aimed at generating interest in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) among youths from 160 countries.
"As we build an innovation and technology led economy of the future, it is crucial for us to invest in STEM learning among our nation's youth. We are certain that such youth centric initiatives will go a long way in creating awareness on pertinent social issues," said Rana Kapoor, CEO YES BANK, in a statement.
The competition aims to drive youths to innovate and create technology-led solutions for global social issues such as access to safe and clean drinking water.
India, represented by seven students, is participating in this competition for the first time.
"It is an excellent platform to inspire students to learn, think, imagine and use technology creatively. The Olympics will not only boost their confidence but also provide an opportunity to meet bright youngsters from all over the world," added Nirav Khambhati, CEO, Tata ClassEdge.
Post Source: Ians feed


text:
Date: We'll be hosting anohter live webinar later this year.
Time: TBA
Learning Level: Intermediate
Domains of Practice: Developmental Practice Methods
Price: $50.00
Course Description
This webinar will take the guesswork out of data collection and help you to add meaning and significance to the data you collect. We will talk about the different methods of collecting data and the different dimensions of behaviour that you can use when you collect data. Discussion about the intersection between Applied Behaviour Analysis (ABA) and the Relational Framework will be explored and how data collection can be used to strengthen your CYCP practice. We want to debunk the myths surrounding data collection strategies, clarify the different types of data collection and empower you to use multiple data collection and analysis strategies in your CYCP practice.
Learning Outcome
At the end of this webinar Child and Youth Care Practitioners in a school or residential setting will be able to:
- Create data collection plans that add clinical and social significance to your behaviour support and development process.
- Describe the theoretical framework of Applied Behaviour Analysis and how you can use it to strengthen your data collection practices.
- List the two types of data collection and the five dimensions of behaviour.
- Identify the dimension of behaviour and on which behaviour to compile data.
Who Should Attend?
Evidenced-based interventions and programs are highly valued in program design, implementation, and evaluation. Historically the CYCP discipline has resisted using systematic approaches to changing behaviour, by the very nature of the relational framework. This webinar will delve into the intersection between ABA and the relational framework, debunking the myth that systematic strategies do not fit with the relational framework.
This webinar is designed for classroom and residential CYCP's who want to sharpen their data collection skills and learn more about how data can be directly linked to socially meaningful behaviour change programs. If you have ever been asked to collect data, develop a behaviour support program or simply observe, this webinar is for you. We will open communication about how to bring clinical meaning to data collection for school, residential and community settings.
Your Presenter: Coura Niang
CYC, BA CYC, MA Applied Disabilities Studies
Coura Niang is a Child and Youth Care Practitioner with a specialty in Behaviour Analysis who teaches at Humber College and runs a private practice, Kidswork.ca. Coura is currently working toward national certification in the field of Behaviour Analysis. She has extensive experience working within the public school board and various other community settings.
What can you expect from a CYC Assets Webinar?
CYC Assets' webinars are designed to resemble a workshop; expect to participate in activities, ask questions and actively engage with your facilitator and others attending the webinar. Each webinar is approximately 2 hours in length.
Prior to the webinar date, you may be sent an email with any pre-course materials your facilitator would like you to review to prepare. Many webinars will have material available for download to refer to as you participate. During the webinar, you will use the chat feature to interact with other participants and the instructor. You do not need a web camera to participate in our webinars.
At the end of the webinar, you will be provided with a list of resources including web resources, articles, books, and client resources that were discussed or referred to during the webinar.
To receive a certificate of completion you will be required to complete and pass a knowledge assessment tool (KAT) that will be sent to you via the post-webinar survey.
You will have access to the facilitator for seven days, where you are able to email with any further questions you may have. We highly recommend you make every effort to attend the live webinar, however, if you are unable to attend, we'll send you a link to the recording. When you purchase access to a webinar it is intended for your personal use only. If you are part of a group or organization requiring access for multiple participants, please contact CYC Assets for group pricing payment at email@example.com
CYC Assets
CYC Assets was created to fill the gap in CYC professional development once you leave formal education and offers domain of practice-based webinar topics to help you build new skills, examine new research and methodologies, expand your knowledge in areas new to you, or to refresh your current skills. Continuing education is an ongoing process and essential to being a professional in this field. At CYC Assets we are committed to offering webinars, resources and other learning opportunities that are both cost and time effective.
Join us and be part of the collective where we can share with each other to advance our profession.
Cancellation and Refund Policy
Once your payment has been processed CYC Assets does not offer a refund. If you cannot attend the live webinar, we will provide a link to the recording.
If CYC Assets cancels a scheduled webinar for any reason the webinar will be rescheduled. If the webinar cannot be rescheduled your registration fee will be refunded in full.
Still have Questions?
Email us at firstname.lastname@example.com


text:
Netgrid presents the Alfred project at Illuminotronica, the national lighting, domotics and security exhibition hosted by Eurotech Spa, a leading company in the fields of research, development and production of high-performance miniaturized computers.
The building of the future can be managed by a virtual entity able to take care of the maintenance, support and safety of the structure. Are you wondering how? Thanks to the perfect union between IoT, artificial intelligence and Cloud services. Alfred, the virtual butler at the service of your building.