totimundi.com Blog

I have recently been trying to get by with books I can buy at Costco, where the literary pickings are a little bit slim.  I just finished reading One Fifth Avenue by Candace Bushnell, who is best known for writing Sex and the City.  One Fifth Avenue is about fictional residents of the apartment building at that address.  The characters are interesting, but not much more than cardboard figures.  The story is pleasant to read, mildly humorous, but not very believable, especially insofar as it deals with a stolen piece of jewelry that once belonged to Mary Tudor.

The Boston Globe reports that conductor Gennady Rozhdestvensky has backed out of conducting four scheduled concerts for the Boston Symphony Orchestra because he was displeased that his name was not given more prominence in posters and brochures.

I recently flew Air Canada from Toronto to Heathrow. I’m glad I didn’t know then about the following incident that occurred in January:

“An air hostess helped land a jet carrying 146 passengers after the co-pilot had an apparent mental breakdown over the Atlantic Ocean, investigators revealed today.

“The UK-bound plane made an emergency diversion to Shannon Airport, in Ireland, last January after the Air Canada flight officer began a ‘rambling and disjointed’ conversation, said an official report.

“Another attendant suffered wrist injuries as the crew forcibly removed the co-pilot from the cockpit controls and restrained him in a seat in the cabin.”–dailymail.co.uk

Juan Diego Flórez said, for an article in Spanish at cope.es, that he does not consider himself a great actor, but that he always tries to be one.

Rathbone Hotel
hotels.com

I visited London for a few days earlier this month and stayed at the Rathbone Hotel in Fitzrovia. I was very happy with the hotel’s location. The room was small but clean, quiet, and attractive. There was internet access, but for a fee. Of course, I had to bring my own laptop and an adapter plug. There was a small television with about sixteen channels and four radio channels, but that was quite adequate for me since I was not there to watch television. The bathroom had a shower but no tub. I can remember a time when one would have been more likely to find the reverse. The hotel is a little bit to the south of Goodge Street and is within walking distance of many restaurants and retail stores. I could also walk to the Wigmore Hall and to Covent Garden. The hotel staff were all quite friendly.

As an addendum, I should say that my room was toward the back of the hotel.  I have read reports that some people who stayed in rooms at the front of the hotel were bothered by noise of early-morning trash collection from a pub across the street.

The Metropolitan Opera is dropping plans for next season’s revival of John Corigliano’s The Ghosts of Versailles, because of  its cost, according to Variety.

The paper further reports that the production will be replaced with Angela Gheorghiu and Thomas Hampson in a less costly revival of Verdi’s La Traviata, but that all previously announced new productions are scheduled to go on, according to general manager Peter Gelb.

Source:  theatermania.com

Sitorsquat.com has maps that provide the location of public toilets.  The site is not perfect.  They missed a few I can think of, such as the underground men’s room at Lincoln Center in New York.  In my town they miss the facilities at the public library, town hall, and supermarket.  They also list restaurant restrooms, but those aren’t necessarily open to anybody who walks in off the street.

Some thoughts on Doctor Atomic and For You, at johnrpierce.com/blog

Susan Baker says that Michael Kaiser will help City Opera “‘identify new leadership and to craft a plan for the 2009-2010 season.’ Mr. Kaiser has been previously called ‘the turnaround king’ for helping to revive the fortunes of organizations like the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, American Ballet Theater and the Royal Opera House in London.”–Dave Itzkoff, New York Times

There is discussion at parterre.com about an allegation that the Met is planning to excise four productions of those that had been planned for the 2009-2010 season.