For the first time in months, I went to "Sunday At The Opera," run by my friend, Mary Ann Van O., at our clubhouse. We saw Der Rosenkavalier, by Strauss, which started at 1:00 and went on for more than three hours. It was very enjoyable, though, and I'm glad I went. I'm still amazed at myself for liking opera, but I do. This one--the title means "Rose of the Knight"--is a farce and involves illicit love (husband away, wife at play), a boorish nobleman, and mistaken identity. One of the main characters has a "breeches role," e.g. the role of a man sung by a woman. That was somewhat disconcerting: In the opening bedroom scene, it's hard to suspend disbelief and see the action as anything but a lesbian liaison. (I understand the breeches role is designated most often when the character is an adolescent or very young man--in this opera, the character is supposed to be 19.) I had never heard of this practice before--interesting.
WIDER: Earlier, I attended the peace vigil at the Unitarian Church in Galloway. About a hundred people were there, most, I surmised, congregants. Of course, the names, ages, branch, rank, and hometowns of the "fallen warriors" from Jersey were read, nine of them by me. The one that sticks in my mind is Harry R. Swain, IV, of Millville, 22 years old. I looked him up--there's a web site, created by his father--where all the old cliches abound. His official Marine picture shows a solemn teenager's face--I'm guessing he was told not to smile--and there are the usual inanities, without which his death could hardly be borne: "...died for his country...for freedom...to keep us safe...a hero...." There's a slideshow featuring Harry with his family, with classmates, with fellow soldiers in Iraqi. His father, we're told, had also been a Marine and his brother is one now. Guess it's a family tradition, as is the designation of Harry I, II, III, and IV. Well, they can put that practice to rest along with Harry IV, who's permanently at rest--there'll never be a Harry V.
Here's the site: http://harryswain4th.soldiertributes.com/