Dear friends, family and neighbours,
Some of my exploits of the last week will be of no interest,
such as my routine dental visit which ended up with my first filling in 50
years! Likewise, few of you would be interested in my attendance at
Friday prayers as a secular visitor, now almost part of the furniture (except
there isn’t any in a mosque!).
Of wider interest: Graham Murphy’s new
Madam Butterfly will be a talking point for some time to come. The gala
performances were both this weekend (there are two casts for 23 performances
over 3 weeks!). This sets Butterfly as a bondage prostitute and has as
many ‘coups-de-theatre’ as you could imagine, many by means of video plasma
strips around the stage. The three principals had enormous voices and
they took all the hard options … yet later that night we wondered if it was
amplified … something which changes the playing field and breaks a major rule
of the opera theatre. We know that the orchestra IS amplified or
otherwise “enhanced”. The opera supremo insisted to me that there was absolutely no amplification of the voices.
I have finally bought a mobile phone at last so now I
exist! But for now I will only use it while in transit and for
emergencies so continue to use my current email and landlines please.
I made another batch of cumquat marmalade (happy to
share). And I had a Lebanese ‘master-class’ up-date on making
babaganouche. Choosing your egg plant (big but not too big).
Waiting until it is ‘ripe’ and ready for the flames (starting to soften with
one or two ‘marks’ appearing). Using the clear juice that oozes out of
the cooked vegetable (I was discarding it!). Adding plenty of lemon juice
(and zest if you have the energy and the grater). Don’t over-do the
garlic and make sure it is fully crushed. Salt to taste. Add only a
modest amount of tachini (and I cheat by adding a few drops of toasted sesame
oil as well).
Our friend, painter and handyman Barry Barakat died suddenly
at 59 while walking the dog … leaving his family and us reeling for the
loss. The nuns at St Mary’s have put on some sort of tribute. Very
sad.
I attended Bob Borowsky’s 80th birthday 10 years
ago and as he is still singing I was asked to speak at his 90th celebration
at Central Synagogue where I have only attended once in a year (after being a
regular for a decade). It was a warm welcome back for me, albeit the
sceptical and secular outsider, and a very sincere tribute to Bob who trained
at the Rome opera in the 1950s and has sung all around the world including the
Sydney Opera House (in Manon Lescaut and La Traviata). Bob’s recordings
are on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VF9naC8asFE
for one. He sings solos each Shabbat which is remarkable and his voice is
very well preserved. It was also the 47th anniversary of the
chief cantor Shimon Farkas whose glorious tenor voice compliments Bob’s
baritone with the male choir (supplemented for the occasion by the boy’s alto
choir). True vocal bliss … but not for the passing yokel I’m
afraid.
We heard the sad news that Kylie Kwong has finally closed
her long running Billy Kwong restaurant this weekend.
More anon. Happy daze to all. Andrew B ..