I have tickets to the Ring cycle at the Chicago Lyric Opera next month:
Wagner’s Ring cycle is one of the greatest achievements in Western culture and an immersive adventure that every opera lover should experience. Lyric is proud to present a brand-new Ring in April 2020 — a rare and monumental undertaking that will attract audiences from all over the world to the city of Chicago.I've already accepted that I can't go, but I wonder when (if?) it will be canceled (postponed?). I don't think the audiences "from all over the world" can make it.
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Panic is cascading
I would hope it would be postponed -- any large concerts anywhere in the US should be cancelled or postponed at this point. An opera just isn't the same without an audience, and if the performers have all prepared for the Ring, it would be waste if they never got to perform it.
Ann, they are shutting down Broadway in NYC as of 5 PM today...........
I am surprised! I never pegged you for a Wagnerian, or indeed a classical music fan. James Levine's recording on DG is my favorite of the half dozen I have heard. (I own 4 I think). Janowski is also very good, in studio sound.
Rudy Gobert has just become a trivia question. Somewhere Bill Buckner smiles.
"I have tickets to the Ring cycle at the Chicago Lyric Opera next month"
Coronavirus to the rescue!
Maybe MLB will take this occasion to return its season to a duration and weather that doesn't have the teams playing an, apparently, infinite number of games, with those at the beginning and end being played in the snow up north.
BTW I think the expansion of the NFL season is criminal and should be turned down by the players.
While on sports in general I expect the NCAA will come to its senses and cancel the men's and women's tournaments. Big disappointment for the players who are probably the least likely to be seriously affected by the Coronavirus.
Sorry about you missing The Ring, sounds like a hared ticket to come by. Small consolation that almost all tickets will soon be null and void.
Seems Mens Basketball is off. At least all the conference tournements are cancelled, the NCAA has to follow suit. MLB has suspended all operations. Major events are off for the next? 6 weeks?
Maybe MLB will take this occasion to return its season to a duration and weather that doesn't have the teams playing an, apparently, infinite number of games, with those at the beginning and end being played in the snow up north.
BTW I think the expansion of the NFL season is criminal and should be turned down by the players.
While on sports in general I expect the NCAA will come to its senses and cancel the men's and women's tournaments. Big disappointment for the players who are probably the least likely to be seriously affected by the Coronavirus.
What do you suppose will be the reaction of fans to the cancellation of events if Vivid-19 proves to be less of a threat that expected? I'll reserve judgment until more is known about it, but if the sports world has overreacted, I think it will not go well for the institutions.
Today's the day we see panic buying in groceries in Colorado. (Thank goodness, we took care of stocking up a 3 week supply starting 2 weeks ago.)
"I am surprised! I never pegged you for a Wagnerian, or indeed a classical music fan..."
If you were reading this blog in January 2008, you'd have seen this:
"From "Die Walküre" on Monday to "Jersey Boys" and "Wicked" on Friday and Saturday, I've spent the past week sitting in expensive chairs.
"But Althouse, did you enjoy yourself? Review the shows!
"Do I review shows? I think you'll find that I do not.
"Not a shred of information? Of judgment?
"I'm too afraid of being boring. I'm afraid to take those expensive seats because I'm afraid of being bored and I'm afraid to write about them because I don't want to be boring. I will say something about each show, but bear in mind that these are not reviews. These are just a few things I dare to say.
"1. "Die Walküre." I never took Fricka seriously before. She seemed like the annoying wife who had to show up and sing once to make God do something he didn't want to do and set the tragedy in motion. But Stephanie Blythe made me really believe her point of view, a rock-solid ban on adultery. And isn't it fascinating to be so outraged by adultery, when there is also that brother-sister incest, which is what shocks the mortals in the audience? There are so many more adulterers in the audience than violators of the incest taboo...."
"Today's the day we see panic buying in groceries in Colorado...."
I used Whole Foods Prime Delivery service today. Went to the website after 11 a.m., picked out 75 items and had it all here at 1 pm on the dot.
Everything exactly fine.
If I was reading the blog in 2008 then I missed or forgot that post. Interesting, merci.
Now I want to put Wagner on the stereo, but the wife is more of a baroque fan ...
Looks like my Hall & Oates concert took place just before the virus hit the fan.
March 12, 2020: The Day Everything Was Canceled.
Except for the Census, of course. That'll be coming on April 1, come Hell or high water. You should see your form in the mail in the coming days. I know this for a fact, because I worked on one of the machines this morning and the Census envelopes were in the mail for delivery starting today.
I went to the grocery store after work today. Not terribly crowded and plenty of everything. The couple in front of me at the register paid $547 for their groceries. I got out for $500 less.
You should at least try to catch Götterdämmerung. Very timely. ;-)
So far here, southern Ontario but not Toronto, no real issue with shopping. A number of things out of stock, mostly in the pharmacy section of the store, but we still saw hand soap on sale, bought toilet paper, Kleenex, meat, vegetables. Crowds are down but there is nothing that looks or feels deserted.
There have been cases in town.
"We're all gonna die!" seems to cover a lot of situations these days.
Dylan, Wagnerian opera - remind me not to take music recommendations from this blog...
Surely that performance will be postponed.
I’m going to see either Marty Stuart’s band or Spider Stacy and Caitlin O’Riordan with the Lost Bayou Ramblers tonight. I’m flying all next week and now I’m going to Chicago and Oakland on the 22-26th. When Hawaii hits $200.00 I’m booking it.
This is insanity.
Went to the website after 11 a.m., picked out 75 items and had it all here at 1 pm on the dot.
75 rolls? That's a lot of toilet paper.
I expect the NCAA will come to its senses and cancel the men's and women's tournaments. Big disappointment for the players who are probably the least likely to be seriously affected by the Coronavirus.
Not sure about that, the internet is full of articles saying that NBA players suffer an abnormally high rate of heart attacks and heart disease, which seems to be attributed to a combination of the high amount of training over their lives and the genetic makeup required to grow to 6'8 and taller.
minnesota farm guy said...
"Maybe MLB will take this occasion to return its season to a duration and weather that doesn't have the teams playing an, apparently, infinite number of games, with those at the beginning and end being played in the snow up north."
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If only. I wish baseball would confine itself to a season lasting from May 1 to September 15. You're most likely to avoid frost/rain at either end that way.
Any of the games played before May 1 are a joke, and the final three weeks of the regular season for so many teams is useless. By the middle of October I'm deep into the NFL season and have dismissed baseball from my mind.
The Bergall said: they are shutting down Broadway in NYC as of 5 PM today...
They should do like basketball planned to do and have the plays but no audience. The show must go on......
The Metropolitan Opera, La Scala, and the Vienna State Opera have shut down for the duration.
Watching some of the PGA Players Tournament. They will not permit spectators starting tomorrow and the announcers keep talking about how difficult it will be for the golfers not to have the crowds. But I should think at least some of them will be relieved to not hear someone shouting, Go in the hole! every time they tee off.
minnesota farm guy said...
"Maybe MLB will take this occasion to return its season to a duration and weather that doesn't have the teams playing an, apparently, infinite number of games, with those at the beginning and end being played in the snow up north."
-------------------------------------------------------
If only. I wish baseball would confine itself to a season lasting from May 1 to September 15. You're most likely to avoid frost/rain at either end that way.
Any of the games played before May 1 are a joke, and the final three weeks of the regular season for so many teams is useless. By the middle of October I'm deep into the NFL season and have dismissed baseball from my mind.
I'm supposed to be playing six more performances of West Side Story this weekend. Starting to wonder if the university will be shutting down before we can get those shows in. It seems like the nation is making the move towards isolation right now.
Noel Coward asks the musical question Why must the show go on?
Broadway shows have been suspended until the middle of April. That's a lot of people not working. That's a lot of tourists not touring.
As I suggested the other day, this is a good way to find out where our weaknesses lie regarding pandemic procedures so when we get hit with an annihilating bio-weapon we will be better prepared.
The NCAA tournament is canceled. Will Obama still share his bracket picks??
But I should think at least some of them will be relieved to not hear someone shouting, Go in the hole! every time they tee off.
That's the response to a putt. The requisite refrain when a tour pro hits a tee shot is MASHED POTATOES!!!
NCAA baskeball tournaments cancelled.
As long as 'Total Wine and More' remains stocked to the gills, I'm fine.
Althouse
Tickets.available in Bayreuth for The Ring. July. Should be safe by then. Drive to NYC, QE to Southampton. Trains from there. Trip of a lifetime.
The NCAA tournament is canceled. Will Obama still share his bracket picks??
Did Warren Buffett offer the $1 billion for a perfect bracket yet? Blank sheet wins!
Berkshire is gonna have a whopper of a loss on it's books...
Ann, you'll be able to go.
An opera is easy pickings for the Wuhan virus. 90% of the audience is over 50. THe Masters can go on, without the crowds. No one more shouts of "In the hole" - what a relief!
Wow, talk about stupid. No reason to cancel the NCAA games without audiences.
That's the response to a putt.
Certainly it would be more appropriate to a putt but these clowns, many the worse for drink, are using it for every shot--even a tee shot on a par 5.
Dylan, Wagnerian opera - remind me not to take music recommendations from this blog...
Dunno about Dylan, but Wagnerian opera is not as bad as it sounds. So I've been told.
Mock read my mind. I just saw her comment. Spooky.
Mrs Squid and I have cancelled our travel plans for the weekend. We were going to New Orleans to renew our honeymoon vows and to take in the races at Fairgrounds. I feel like all these cancellations are an over reaction to the situation, but maybe, MAYBE this will bring this thing to an end a little bit sooner. I suspect it may get worse before it gets better, wait till the colonies of homeless inLA, SF, Seattle begin showing symptoms. shit, meet fan.
BTW, I agree about the Baseball Season. Losing the first 4 weeks and the last 2 weeks of the regular season would be OK. The NBA is closing down because nobody cares about the last month of the regular season. 16 Teams out of 30, make the Playoffs. If I had my way:
NBA Season - December 1st to April 1st
Baseball - May 1st to September 15th
NFL September 1st to December 21st
Golf should go back to the USAPGA being played in August. Sandwiching it in between the Masters and the US Open is too much.
If I was a Kansas Jayhawks fan I would be seriously pissed. this year’s NCAA was theirs for the taking.
So there’s an upside to this.
The June College World Series in Omaha is cancelled. June!
Insanity I tells ya.
Does this mean the Spartans will not win the NCAA Tournament?
Certainly it would be more appropriate to a putt but these clowns...
Florida Men.
In New York, Fredo (that's our Guv) has banned all gatherings of 500 persons or more for the rest of March. No Broadway, no Lincoln Center, so no Metropolitan Opera. In a city of 8 million people there are a few dozen cases. And DeBlasio has declared a state of emergency. I guess that gives him super-duper powers, which will certainly be put to good use (not).
It might be nice if the MSM were cancelled for a few months.
Not a great Wagner opera fan, myself. When it comes to opera, give me Mozart or give me Shostakovitch. Wagner was a genius though. The Siegfried Idyll is exquisite.
To be fair to him though, don't say that Wagner's operas have no merit until you've listened to Wozzeck by Alban Berg. If that experience doesn't make you feel sorry you were born nothing will.
Plenty of time left to explore Wagner, though, if I live to see the end of Plague Time. Who knows, I could change my mind. It's happened before.
the fat lady has sung, yes major bane is ridiculous,
Perhaps the madness and panic will have peaked before your ticket dates (assuming the singers can get here from Europe, which is doubtful at the moment). The Met did a Ring cycle last year, and we went to Siegfried and Walkure. Just loved it. Chicago Lyric has been doing one-a-year since 2016 and now is doing all four in one season. The singers (especially Christine Goerke, who also sang in the Met's Ring) are first rate but the buzz has been all about the wild production -- Siegfried starts out as a kindergartner, and then things really go post-modern crazy. Impossible to know without seeing it whether it's an over-the-top exercise in directorial conceit, essentially dumping on the operas, or a new take on old warhorses that makes you see it in a new light. For what it's worth, the audiences in Chicago apparently loved it.
Terrible if it gets cancelled.
I used Whole Foods Prime Delivery service today.
Talk about having money to burn.
We are in Chicago and have Ring tickets too, not that I expect it to happen. Lyric just sent out an email offering single show tickets yesterday, though...
The Metropolitan Opera has a streaming service that includes two full Ring cycles, one in HD. They have a free trial for a week, and work on a TV with a Roku and some other devices.
Drudge is full on scare mongering. Misquotes Fauci. Pathetic.
Drudge is full on scare mongering. Misquotes Fauci. Pathetic.
The only panic that I am seeing is the panic of you deplorables who are freaking out over the fake news of the panic everyone seems to be taking this in stride and understands that isolation is the best way to keep the infection rates down duh.
At the moment, I'm mostly okay with organizations acting out of an abundance of caution. Frankly, the NCAA tournament could be played without local fans and viewed (on TV) by almost as many people. If a player were to test positive for the virus, I'd be inclined to cancel. Certainly it's best to avoid crowds at the moment, but I think that should be voluntary.
Gov. Inslee is closing Seattle schools for 6 weeks!
If the season gets delayed by a few weeks, I don't think MLB will play a shortened season to avoid October and November playoffs in frigid cities. Instead, the World Series will be staged at a neutral site (hopefully it's Tampa).
As I commented this morning. I was at a spring training game yesterday. I knew as soon as I got to the gate that it was stoopid, but by that time, it was, “well, if the virus has my name on it...."
We are all pussies now.
"Wow, talk about stupid. No reason to cancel the NCAA games without audiences.”
The NBA. shut down because a player tested positive and the other team walked off during a game.
Ride of the Coronavirus.
So they cancelled all the sporting events which we needed to watch while we are stuck in our houses. Ill say it again. We are all pussies now.
Jim at said...
As long as 'Total Wine and More' remains stocked to the gills, I'm fine.
You're speaking my language, brother. I picked up some nice Funky Buddha Maple Bacon Coffee Porter there the other day.
We are headed to Disney World, FL, next Tuesday with Son, DIL, and grandkids. For now. Disneyland, CA, has closed through the end of March. If they're open, we're going. At least that is the consensus as of this writing.
Since we are having a 'state of emergency' here in Oregon, the Eugene Symphony concert next week has been re-scheduled to the end of May (the word is that they expect the concerts in April and early May to go on as scheduled) and all school sports and other extracurricular activities are cancelled.
I wouldn't myself stay away from the Ring cycle at the Lyric Opera but it's a good thing that we can follow our own consciences in these matters.
People at work today were muttering about 'panic buying'. I was at that temple of commerce, Walmart, earlier and noticed that there was plenty of toilet paper but that there seemed to have been a run on flour.
I caught Goetterdaemmerung once, but it's hardly worse than the Wotan Flu.
Narr
Gesundheit!
James K, Fredo is Chris, the guy on CNN (even though he looks like he could kick his brother's ass). Andrew is...I don't know. He's no Michael, maybe Sonny but much whinier.
The Telegraph has revealed that British airports are bracing for a crush of travelers from the Continent who wish to work around the travel ban.
Mikel Arteta has tested positive. Time to stop flights from the UK. Do it now, Trump.
Wagnerian opera is not as bad as it sounds
It's the 4 hours of it at a time that's the killer.
Received word today that all religious services for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints are suspended world-wide effective immediately:
https://www.ksl.com/article/46729560/the-church-of-jesus-christ-of-latter-day-saints-suspends-church-services-worldwide
We indeed live in interesting times.
Ridiculous.
MLB is an outdoor sport (at least in most stadiums).
But after the Chinese Basketball League suspended their season yesterday, perhaps baseball was afraid of the lawsuits if someone who is diagnosed with the Coronavirus within a week after attending a game then dies.
MLB should have used the lull in the CBL season with their overpaid Chinese serfs staying home to garner more fans.
But the people who run baseball are pussies.
I used Whole Foods Prime Delivery service today.
Talk about having money to burn.
But she gets cash back when using the Althouse Portal!
This afternoon, my Aldi was crowded and out of TP.
That's a bummer. I have a ticket to see my 93 year old Mom in May for her 94th birthday (I'm in USA she's in Canada). I'm guessing that's off. At least for the Ring you can listen (not watch) the whole thing on Youtube. It ain't close to the same but it might be fun.
Just watch the first 5 minutes of Excalibur. That's some well placed Wagner.
Andrew is...I don't know. He's no Michael, maybe Sonny but much whinier.
Sollozzo, maybe?
So they cancelled all the sporting events which we needed to watch while we are stuck in our houses.
That's just what I've been thinking. Thank God for books!
“I used Whole Foods Prime Delivery service today. Went to the website after 11 a.m., picked out 75 items and had it all here at 1 pm on the dot.
Everything exactly fine.”
I use Instacart nowadays, I love it. Instacart shops for you at several area stores, Costco, Sam’s, Piggly Wiggly, PicknSave, CVS pharmacy, Metro Market and more I can’t recall off the top of my head. I used to shop with Peapod, but they left the Midwest market!
Can I say how tedious it is to read "Our highest priority is the health and safety of our patrons" in cancellation notices? What BS. A little honesty would go a long way here: "We are cancelling this because of the spread of the Wuhan Flu (or whatever you want to call it)" That's all you need to say. Stop telling me how noble you are.
Disney World closed, will waive the cancellation fee if we reschedule in 2020 (when, we had scheduled it for the time we could go?). Hotel is non-refundable, may not be able to reschedule. Lovely.
It's my DIL's birthday today, this was not a present (aka: shit sandwich) she requested.
As of this writing, in the US 1,716 confirmed cases and 41 deaths. FFS, people suck.
So cute to think you'll even be allowed into Chicago at that time.
James K said...
In New York, Fredo (that's our Guv) has banned all gatherings of 500 persons or more for the rest of March. No Broadway, no Lincoln Center, so no Metropolitan Opera. In a city of 8 million people there are a few dozen cases. And DeBlasio has declared a state of emergency. I guess that gives him super-duper powers, which will certainly be put to good use (not).
3/12/20, 4:12 PM
Good use? Jing Fong is closing!
https://nypost.com/2020/03/12/jing-fong-nycs-largest-chinese-restaurant-closes-as-coronavirus-hurts-business/
😲 what shall we do!?
For the record, Wagner's Ring is NOT "an immersive experience that every opera lover should experience."
What every opera lover should experience is love of opera, love of good singing, love of the effort to tell a story in the way only opera people can tell a story. There are a limited number of operas that any of us can fall in love with, and sometimes the Wagner operas are like those three guys that Judy Garland was so dismissive of at the ball in that movie about Saint Louis (For the record, one guy was too skinny and conversationally a little too old-fashioned, another and a bad haircut and a loud unfashionable suit, fit only for a foreigner, and the third was short and fat. The theme of the movie though is about how our heart goes out to Judy....)
For some people, Wagner is a genius whom we are fortunate to be able to listen to, for others, well, would it not be better to spend a lazy Balkan afternoon listening to the organ grinder playing and replaying the best of his songs on his wooden instrument, after his lovable monkey fortunately escaped to greener pastures, to a more beautiful life?
You know the answer.
As to the Ring Cycle, a friend of mine refers to "the hysteria induced by 18 hours of unresolved chords." That isn't quite true, but it is almost true.
The real cuprit is Tristan und Isolde. I have never made it through the last act of Tristan, but I have been told that there is chord resolution at the very, very end, when Isolde dies. Liebestod, indeed.
Having said all that, the Ring Cycle is a completely addictive week of music theater with gods that are all too flawed and demigods and humans who are their playthings.
It also emphasizes the importance of binding contracts. Things go awry when Wotan tries to pull a fast one on two rather dim-witted giants, Fafnir and Fasolt, and gets some bad legal advice from Loge, a trickster demigod. It is a bit like having Michael Cohen or Michael Avenatti be your lawyer.
I too have tickets to the Ring in April. Maybe they can pull it off. Jabba the Gov really big-footed the arts in Chicago and squashed them flat, but maybe it is the right thing to do. This may be the end for the Lyric Opera, unless they can reschedule.
I recently bought "Rackham's Color Illustrations for Wagner's Ring." The drawings look to be totally in Althouse's wheelhouse given her love for art and music. It's Dover book -- very cheap but NOT on Amazon but rather eBay.
"Sorry about you missing The Ring, sounds like a hard ticket to come by. Small consolation that almost all tickets will soon be null and void..."
It was not hard to come by. You have to buy tickets for all 4 operas, so it's a big commitment. They're doing it only 3 (or is it 4) times, and you have to pick one (and pay about $1000). We didn't need to be regular subscribers or anything. We just went on line and (of course) did so very early. It was fine.
I had accepted losing the money and reconceptualized it as a contribution to a worthy cause and was looking into a way to get the tickets used.
Now, I think they'll be some kind of rescheduling or vouchers for other operas.
"Wow, talk about stupid. No reason to cancel the NCAA games without audiences."
All those kids traveling about and physically contacting each other. As soon as anyone gets sick — or tries to hide it — and there is contagion, there will be immense trouble, blame, and litigation. Why did these horrible adults subject the young people to this danger? They couldn't do it.
It's certain not "stupid."
In these circumstances, locker rooms are petri dishes. The players would probably be at greater risk than the crowds. This is hardly the time for "real men don't run from flu" machismo.
"This is hardly the time for "real men don't run from flu" machismo."
Let these men do their running on a treadmill inside their own house.
The real issues with sports are
1 the big crowds
2 team travel
There is an opportunity here for someone to arrange TV for practices, exhibitions etc involving neither. The Lakers practice, etc. I wonder if it will happen.
Amadeus 48 T&I is the most incredible musical experience. The third act beginning may seem tedious after the incredible second act but the music and what is happening with Tristan is incredible and the resolution - nothing like that in the world. As some of my friends say "Pure Bellini" - one can understand why people fainted upon hearing it when it was first performed.
The Solti Ring is first rate. The 54 Bayreuth Walkure recording is intense with some of the cast never reprising their roles.
Amadeus 48 T&I is the most incredible musical experience. The third act beginning may seem tedious after the incredible second act but the music and what is happening with Tristan is incredible and the resolution - nothing like that in the world. As some of my friends say "Pure Bellini" - one can understand why people fainted upon hearing it when it was first performed.
The Solti Ring is first rate. The 54 Bayreuth Walkure recording is intense with some of the cast never reprising their roles.
The Astros not hardest hit.
The Masters has been postponed. This is serious.
The Met will be performing La fanciulla del West (The Girl of the Golden West) with everyone in outlaw masks - handkerchiefs tied around their faces.
------
And as for Baseball, I guess they figured out that catcher's masks were inadequate protection.
The NCAA tournament is canceled. Will Obama still share his bracket picks??
To be fair, it wasn't Obama who made a point of sharing his picks.
It was the jock-sniffing whores at ESPN who made it a thing.
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