Hi all, I hope you are having a great summer! There’s a lot going on in the next week or two, plus see #6 & #7 for some summer/fall reading – enjoy!
Susan H.
For a list of upcoming events, see: https://kingston-ny.aauw.net/calendar/
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1. Sun., 8/23, 2 PM
Il Matrimonio Segreto (The Clandestine Marriage)
by Domenico Cimarosa (1749-1801)
A fully-staged comic opera with orchestra
Altamura Center*, 404 Winter Clove Road, Round Top
2. Wed., 8/26, 4 PM
AAUW Kingston board meeting
Kingston Library, 55 Franklin Street, Kingston
Community Room, 2nd floor. All are welcome.
3. Sat., 8/29, 2 PM
Mario Lanza program by Warren B. at Irene’s**
4. Sun., 8/30, Bus trip to Kykuit
5. Tues., 9/1, 5 PM, Window on Pilates
A special, free demonstration by Maiya Greaves
Upstairs at the Stone Ridge Healing Arts Center
3457 Main Street (Route 209), Stone Ridge
If you need a ride or have questions,
contact ViVi (vvhlavsa@aol.com or 845-331-0155)
6. New book! In a brief email from the proud mama:
Subject: David Hlavsa’s book reviewed on Amazon
If you’re on Facebook, let’s get the word out.
The kid’s written a winner! XO ViVi
7. AAUW Kingston book discussion***
Sept.-June, 3rd Tuesdays (2nd in Dec.) at 1 PM
Kingston Library, 55 Franklin Street, Kingston
Community Room, 2nd floor. All are welcome.
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* Where to Find Great Opera in the Catskills
The Altamura Center for the Arts, based in scenic Round Top in the Catskills, offers a variety of music and theater programs during the summer and fall and hosts the annual Summer Institute — Encounters with the Masters — during which master teachers share their experience, knowledge, and traditions with aspiring singers. The distinguished list of teachers who have participated includes the late actress Celeste Holmes, opera stars Licia Albanese, Jerome Hines, Giovanna Canetti, Maria Bertolino, Virginia Zeani, and American maestro Anton Coppola.
If you love opera, you will not want to miss the truly professional and beautiful singing at the Altamura Center, right here close to home. Many of the singers, from all parts of the world, have gone on to the Met and La Scala after receiving the “polish” they get at this unique performing arts center.
For reservations, call 518-622-0070 (http://altocanto.org).
— Irene Miller
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** The Rise and Fall of Mario Lanza
Saturday, August 29, 2 PM
Irene Miller’s home, 634 Pennsylvania Avenue, Palenville, NY 12463
RSVP: 518-678-3516 or imiller65@hvc.rr.com
Warren says:
When I was growing up, in the 1940s and 1950s, the tenor Mario Lanza was all over the place—he had his own national radio program, his record, Be My Love, was a million-dollar hit, and his movies, like Toast of New Orleans and The Great Caruso made tons of money. Maria Callas allegedly called him “Caruso’s successor”.
But Lanza never sang at the Met. And near the end of his short life—he died at 38—he owed $200,000 in taxes. MGM fired him. He became angry and paranoid, even calling Ethyl Barrymore, his co-star in the movie That Midnight Kiss, “an old bitch for trying to steal my scenes! I’ll tell her where to get off!”
As Roland L. Bessette, the author of one of the many Lanza biographies put it: “His was a glorious and natural voice, with one of the broadest and most powerful ranges ever recorded. The worlds of music and film had not seen his like before. If he ultimately failed or disappointed, it was only when measured against his own dazzling potential.”
The question is: What went wrong? He was dealt four aces and a king, and still managed to get wiped out.
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*** 2015-2016 Branch Book List (Judee Irwin, judeeirwin@gmail.com)
2015
September 15 The Complete Stories by Flannery O’connor
October 20 Cheyenne Autumn by Mari Sandoz
November 17 And the Mountains Echoed by Khalid Hosseini
December 8 Lila by Marilynne Robinson (2nd Tues., followed by branch holiday party)
2016
January 19 The End of Your Life Book Club by Will Schwalbe
February 16 The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson
March 15 Gunnar’s Daughter by Sigrid Undset
April 19 Let the Great World Spin by Colum McCann
May 17 Old Filth by Jane Gardam
June 21 The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell