If I've been commenting on your blogs a bit less than usual, I've been a bit busier than usual. This week I've the events mentioned in the title, and there's even more than that.
The first funeral was yesterday morning. An acquaintance from when I was a teenager whom I've seen off and on over the ears. Couple of years older than me. Member of my church. All-around good guy. Fought cancer for ten years. Cancer finally won. Leaves a widow, three adult children, two brothers, several grandchildren.
Last evening I went to the wake of the second guy about 30 miles away. Eight months older than me, very active in his parish. I've known him for about 16 years. Heart attack. Visiting hours were 4:00 to 8:00. I arrived at the funeral home just after 7:30. The line was out the door. I got to the family at about 9:15. I understand it had been like that from the beginning. I've never seen anything like it. He obviously touched a lot of people. He leaves his mother, wife, four adult children, and several grandchildren. I got home a little after 10:00. The funeral was this morning, and it was also thronged.
Thursday at noon will be the funeral of the 85 year old brother of a 90 year old lady who used to talk my ear off on the train as we commuted to work in Boston. She is the aunt by marriage of someone who served with me in town government for a number of years, so she felt she knew me. The man finally succumbed to years of respiratory trouble. He was widowed, and leaves two sisters, three children and four or five grandchildren.
Thursday night I'll go in to Boston to hear a concert performance of Verdi's awesome opera, "Simon Boccanegra." (Lots of Verdi's operas are awesome.) And lucky you can hear it virtually live when the Saturday night performance is streamed over www.wcrb.com at 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time. If you miss it then, you can catch it 8 days later in a delayed rebroadcast/stream over www.wgbh.org on Sunday, February 8, at 2:00 p.m.
Here's an article about the opera from this past Sunday's Boston Globe.
http://www.boston.com/ae/music/articles/2009/01/25/the_psychology_of_power/
The opera has several powerful moments. Right at the beginning there is a great scene for the bass, as he sings of his grief over the death of his daughter and asks her, now in heaven, to pray for him.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UIQEMt0HlOU&feature=PlayList&p=1D7556FE93EC3D82&playnext=1&index=21
Then there is a beautiful scene for the soprano where the orchestra captures the feeling of the rippled sea. The soprano and baritone have a thrilling duet as they realize that she is his long-lost daughter. (Verdi's daughter had died, and he had a thing for father-daughter relationships.) And then there is the Council Chamber scene described in the article, with the noble music for the baritone.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gFtKL7k9Xcw&NR=1
That's the end of the scene. The first to sing is Boccanegra, denouncing the strife and calling for peace and love. Also prominent are the irreconcilable Fiesco and Boccanegra's daughter Maria, still believed to be Amelia Grimaldi by all except father and daughter.
Here's the father-daughter recognition scene. The the excitement grows on his part as she describes her earliest memories. At 4:40 he asks if her earliest guardian was named Giovanna, and if the portrait that Giovanna said was her mother matched the one he has. Yes! She is his long-lost daughter, and the daughter of Fiesco's dead daughter. I get tears of joy at their reunion.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8BVZQtLelns
Check out the videos, especially if you aren't familiar with opera. You just might find the music powerful.
If you'd like more previews, search YouTube for Boccanegra. And I'm sure you can find a good plot synopsis on Google.
