Posts Tagged ‘Tristan and Isolde’

On Tristan und Isolde: Daniel Barenboim and Company Rock the Met

26Nov08

In which The Gay Recluse is annihilated by a soundtrack for the recession. When we arrived at Lincoln Center for yesterday’s final dress rehearsal of Tristan und Isolde, we were required to walk through a maze of corridors to find the Metropolitan Opera; this somehow seemed appropriate, as if to demonstrate the point that no […]


Filed under: Capitalism, Decay, Dissonance, Good Rock, Longing, Memory, New York City, Opera, Pessimism, Ruins, Search   |  10 Comments
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On What You Need To Know About Tristan if You’ve Ever Loved My Bloody Valentine or What You Need To Know About My Bloody Valentine if You’ve Ever Loved Tristan

09Mar08

In which The Gay Recluse compares the Richard Wagner opera Tristan and Isolde (first performed in Munich in 1865; financed by King Ludwig II of Bavaria and now running at The Metropolitan Opera) with Loveless, the final record by My Bloody Valentine (Creation, 1991). While the music is dissonant, it’s never abrasive; it’s just another […]


Filed under: Dissonance, Good Rock, Longing, Memory, Opera, The Gay Recluse   |  Leave a Comment
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On a Conversation about Opera Held in Terminal C

17Oct07

I sat down in Terminal C next to an older woman, who in a long black dress and ostrich-feather hat appeared oddly elegant among all the business suits. “I hope it’s not too crowded,” I remarked in a somewhat stilted attempt to engage this mysterious woman in conversation, as if we were both waiting to […]


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