2017-2018 Royal Opera Season Premieres From the House of the Dead

Summary: The 2017-2018 Royal Opera season premieres From the House of the Dead, the last opera by Czech composer Leoš Janáček.

Innovative Greek-Russian conductor Teodor Currentzis makes his Royal Opera House debut in Krzysztof Warlikowski's new production of Czech composer Leoš Janáček's From the House of the Dead in spring 2018; Teodor Currentzis and MusicAeterna Orchestra at Moscow Conservatory: Alexey Voronin (alfavoro) via Instagram March 22, 2017

The 2017-2018 Royal Opera season premieres From the House of the Dead (Z mrtvého domu), the last opera by Czech composer Leoš Janáček (July 3, 1854-Aug. 12, 1928), in a first-ever production at The Royal Opera House in central London’s Covent Garden district.

The Royal Opera House’s premiere of From the House of the Dead occurs as a co-production with Belgium’s Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie and France’s Opéra National de Lyon. Opéra de Lyon also co-produces another new production at The Royal Opera House during the 2017-2018 season: the world premiere of English composer and conductor George Benjamin’s third opera, Lessons in Love and Violence.

The Royal Opera House’s premiere is scheduled for the Spring 2017-2018 season. The new production plays for six performances. The first performance takes place Wednesday, March 7. The last performance is slated for Saturday, March 24.

The running time for The Royal Opera House’s production is timed at about 2 hours 40 minutes. The three-act performance has no intermission, termed “interval” in the United Kingdom.

Polish director Krzysztof Warlikowski makes his UK directorial debut in a contemporary setting of the three-act, Czech language drame lyrique (lyrical drama). Warlikowski’s production team consists of his regular collaborators. Warlikowski’s wife and life partner, Malgorzata Szczesniak, is costume and stage designer. Israeli American Felice Ross is the lighting designer. French videomaker Denis Guéguin is the video designer. French choreographer Claude Bardouil is the movement director. Christian Longchamp is the dramaturg for the Royal Opera House’s premiere of Janáček’s final work.

Teodor Currentzis conducts all six performances. Opening night marks the Greek-Russian conductor’s Royal Opera House debut.

Jamaican bass Willard W. White appears in the main role as Alexandr Gorjančikov, a nobleman whose pardon ultimately frees him from the Siberian prison camp. Willard White debuted at The Royal Opera House in 1978 as Don Diégo in L’Africaine (The African Woman) by German opera composer Giacomo Meyerbeer (Sept. 5, 1791-May 2, 1864).

Danish bass-baritone Johan Reuter appears as Šiškov, imprisoned for his fatal crime of passion against his wife Akulka. Johan Reuter also appears in a secondary role as a priest in the prison camp. Johan Reuter made his Royal Opera debut in 2006 in the title role of Wozzeck by Austrian composer Alban Berg (Feb. 9, 1885-Dec. 24, 1935).

Canadian tenor Pascal Charbonneau appears as Aljeja, whom Gorjančikov teaches to read and write.

Slovak tenor Štefan Margita appears as Luka Kuzmič, whom Šiškov finally recognizes under his real name of Filka Morozov as rival for Akulka’s affections.

Czech tenor Ladislav Elgr appears as Skuratov, who kills an old relative about to marry his love interest, Luisa from Germany.

English tenor Peter Hoare appears as Šapkin, arrested for vagrancy. He made his Royal Opera debut in 2001 as Spoletta in Tosca by Italian opera composer Giacomo Puccini (Dec. 22, 1858-Nov. 29, 1924).

From the House of the Dead is based upon Fyodor Dostoyevsky’s (Nov. 11, 1821-Feb. 9, 1881) semi-autobiographical novel about life in a Siberian gulag. Janáček composed the opera’s music and also wrote the libretto.

The world premiere of From the House of the Dead occurred posthumously, 1 year 8 months after the composer’s death. The world premiere took place April 12, 1930, at the National Theatre Brno (Národní divadlo Brno).

Online database Operabase places Leoš Janáček at number 17 in a ranking of 1,281 most popular composers for the five seasons from 2011/2012 to 2015/16. From the House of the Dead places at 311 in Operabase’s list of 2,658 most popular operas.

The 2017-2018 Royal Opera season premiere of From the House of the Dead also marks the debut of Polish director Krzysztof Warlikowski and his production team in the first-ever staging of Leoš Janáček’s final opera at The Royal Opera House in Covent Garden.

Greek-Russian conductor Teodor Currentzis and Polish director Krzysztof Warlikowski make their Royal Opera debut in The Royal Opera premiere of Janáček's last opera in the 2017-2018 season: Alex istudor @alexandertufor1 via Twitter April 8, 2017

Acknowledgment

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Image credits:

Teodor Currentzis and MusicAeterna at Moscow Conservatory: Alexey Voronin (alfavoro) via Instagram March 22, 2017, @ https://www.instagram.com/p/BR9HNRqhFIF/

Greek-Russian conductor Teodor Currentzis and Polish director Krzysztof Warlikowski make their Royal Opera debut in The Royal Opera premiere of Janáček's last opera in the 2017-2018 season: Alex istudor @alexandertudor1 via Twitter April 8, 2017, @ https://twitter.com/alexandertudor1/status/850637903306870785

For further information:

Alex istudor @alexandertudor1. “This is really exciting - leading Polish director Krzysztof Warlikowski makes his UK debut directing @RoyalOperaHouse.” Twitter. April 8, 2017.
Available @ https://twitter.com/alexandertudor1/status/850637903306870785

“Composers: Composers Ranked by the Number of Performances of Their Operas Over the Five Seasons 2011/2012 to 2015/16.” Operabase > Opera Statistics.
Available @ http://operabase.com/top.cgi?lang=en

“The Royal Opera House Announces its 2017/18 Season.” Opera Today. April 8, 2017.
Available @ http://www.operatoday.com/content/2017/04/the_royal_opera.php

Shipman, Chris. “Opera and Music at the Royal Opera House 2017/18.” Royal Opera House > News. April 5, 2017.
Available @ http://www.roh.org.uk/news/opera-and-music-at-the-royal-opera-house-201718

Spencer, Mel. “Royal Opera House 2017/18 Season Announced.” Royal Opera House > News. April 5, 2017.
Available @ http://www.roh.org.uk/news/royal-opera-house-2017-2018-season-announced

Americanized Hairy Willow Herb Gardens; Ditches, Roadsides, Wastelands

Summary: Weedy clarksia and fuchsia relatives in Americanized hairy willow herb gardens grow greener ditches, roadsides and wastelands than croplands and wetlands.

hairy willow flowering plant: Rob Routledge, Sault College, Bugwood.org, CC BY 3.0, via Forestry Images

Americanized hairy willow herb gardens abound along drainage ditches and irrigation canals, in cultivated fields and North America's fragile wetlands and on roadsides and wastelands and attack fall rye and winter wheat.

The perennial native of Europe and North Africa backs up river flow rates along banks that border and beat out native vegetation and weedy purple loosestrife. It challenges and crowds out purple loosestrife, non-native weed officially unwelcome in five provinces and 30 states, at temperatures below 64.4 degrees Fahrenheit (18 degrees Celsius). It diminishes the dissolved oxygen levels in marshes and wetlands with large-flowered and yellow water primroses and dominates drier lands with cutleaf and yellow evening primroses.

The herbaceous member in the Onagraceae family of evening primroses experiences unwelcome weed designations, sanctions and status enacted by the Massachusetts and the Washington state governments.

Hairy willow herb, commonly called apple-pie, blood vine, cherry-pie, codlins-and-cream, fiddle grass and purple rocket, furnishes long-stalked seedlings with oval to round embryonic leaves called cotyledons.

The first and the second leaf stages respectively get smooth and small-toothed margins even though both stages grow oblong to oval, opposite-arranged foliage with prominent midribs. Hairy, mature willow herb has oblong to lance-shaped, opposite, prominently veined, 0.79- to 4.72-inch- (2- to 12-centimeter-) long, 0.19- to 1.77-inch- (0.5- to 4.5-centimeter-) wide foliage. It is stalkless, with glandular and woolly hair-inundated surfaces and with sharp-toothed margins, on branched, erect, 7.88- to 98.42-inch- (20- to 250-centimeter-) tall, soft hair-covered stems.

Hormones and nutrients journey upward from creeping rhizomes and fleshy, ropelike, thick stolons and hormones and photosynthates downward through stems in Americanized hairy willow herb gardens.

Hairy willow herb, described by Swedish botanist Carl Linnaeus (May 23, 1707-Jan. 10, 1778) and named Epilobium hirsutum (hairy pod), knows July through August bloom times.

Leaf-to-stem attachments called nodes on 23.62-inch- (60-centimeter-) long underground stems called rhizomes and on horizontal stems called stolons lead to new roots for numerous flowering plants. Leaf-to-stem attachment angles called leaf axils maintain fireweed- (Chamerion angustifolium-) like, perfect, regular, rose-purple inflorescences called racemes on 0.19- to 0.71-inch- (5- to 18-millimeter-) long stalks. One pistil with 0.19- to 0.43-inch- (5- to 11-millimeter-) long styles always nuzzles four dense-haired, 0.24- to 0.43-inch- (6- to 11-millimeter-) long sepals and eight stamens.

Every flower's four 0.24- to 0.79-inch- (6- to 20-millimeter-) long petals offer notched tips, unlike fireweed's similar but notchless petals in Americanized hairy willow herb gardens.

Dry, explosive, fruiting, 1.18- to 3.94-inch- (3- to 10-centimeter-) long capsules on woolly, 0.19- to 0.79-inch- (5- to 20-millimeter-) long stalks produce seeds of unknown viability.

The 0.03- to 0.06-inch- (0.8- to 1.5-millimeter-) long, 0.016- to 0.019-inch- (0.4- to 0.5-millimeter-) wide seeds quit their capsules four to six weeks after flowering stages. In-soil and in-water germination and viability specifics concerning the oblong to oval seeds with dull white, 0.19- to .028-inch- (5- to 7-millimeter-) long hairs remain unknown. Basal corklike semiaquatic tissue, rhizomes, seeds and stolons serve hairy willow herb and, despite weed-profiling in North Carolina, South Carolina and Washington, large-flowered water primrose well.

Americanized hairy willow herb gardens transform weedy cutleaf and  yellow evening and large-flowered and yellow water primroses into ground cover for nonweedy, related clarkia and fuchsia.

closeup of hairy willow's flowers: Rob Routledge, Sault College, Bugwood.org, CC BY 3.0, via Forestry Images

Acknowledgment

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Image credits:

closeup of hairy willow's flowers: Rob Routledge, Sault College, Bugwood.org, CC BY 3.0, via Forestry Images @ http://www.forestryimages.org/browse/detail.cfm?imgnum=5499409

hairy willow flowering plant: Rob Routledge, Sault College, Bugwood.org, CC BY 3.0, via Forestry Images @ http://www.forestryimages.org/browse/detail.cfm?imgnum=5499406

For further information:

Dickinson, Richard; and Royer, France. 2014. Weeds of North America. Chicago IL; London, England: The University of Chicago Press.

"Epilobium hirsutum L." Tropicos® > Name Search.
Available @ http://www.tropicos.org/Name/23200135

Linnaeus, Carl. 1753. "3. Epilobium hirsutum." Species Plantarum, vol. I: 347-348. Holmiae [Stockholm, Sweden]: Laurentii Salvii [Laurentius Salvius].
Available via Biodiversity Heritage Library @ http://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/358366

Modzelevich, Martha. "Epilobium hirsutum, Great Willow-Herb, Son-Before-the-Father, Codlings and Cream, Apple Pie, Cherry Pie, Gooseberry Pie, Sod Apple and Plum Pudding, ערברבה שעירה." Flowers in Israel.
Available @ http://www.flowersinisrael.com/Epilobiumhirsutum_page.htm

Weakley, Alan S.; Ludwig, J. Christopher; and Townsend, John F. 2012. Flora of Virginia. Edited by Bland Crowder. Fort Worth TX: BRIT Press, Botanical Research Institute of Texas.

North American Death Camas Gardens Away From Honeybees and Sheep

Summary: Drought resistance, heat tolerance, honeybee and sheep poisonings and land invasions isolate North American death camas gardens for scientific research.

closeup of death camas (Zigadenus venenosus) flowers; Bozeman, Gallatin County, southwestern Montana; June 2, 2003: Matt Lavin, CC BY SA 2.0, via Flickr

North American death camas gardens as natives west of the Continental Divide advance environmental health least problematically on barren, compacted, disturbed soils in indoor and outdoor courtyards and in scientific research settings.

Toxic land invasions by the herbaceous perennial in the Liliaceae family of lily-related herbs, shrubs and vines bother grazing livestock, nectaring, pollinating honeybees and neighboring vegetation. The toxin zygacine cuts expected lifespans for foraging honeybees and, within 30 hours, for grazing sheep through its concentations in fresh spring bulbs, nectar and pollen. It delivers lethal doses at 0.6 to 2 percent of sheep body weight and does not dissipate from dried death camas as old as 20 years.

Moisture-, nutrient- and soil-grabbing fibrous roots and poisonous bulbs, roots, seeds and shoots ensure the Canadian provincial government in Manitoba's sanctions against the hillside-loving, prairie-seeking weed.

One grasslike cotyledon whose lower part furnishes bulbous looks with age functions as the seedling's embryonic leaf for death camas, scientifically named Zigadenus venenosus (poisonous pair).

Mature death camas shoots get alternate-arranged, basal-appearing, grasslike, green-white, moisture-channeling, parallel-veined, 3.94- to 19.68-inch- (10- to 50-centimeter-) long, 0.08- to 0.39-inch- (2- to 10-millimeter-) wide foliage. Drought-tolerant, grasslike, hairless, shade-intolerant, 7.88- to 27.56-inch- (20- to 70-centimeter-) tall stems include foliage at their bases and flower-clustered terminal inflorescences, called racemes, at their tips.

Hormones and nutrients in drought-loving roots join hormones and photosynthates in sun-loving shoots to jumpstart flowering, fruiting, offsetting and seeding in North American death camas gardens.

Ten- to 50-flowered, 0.79- to 7.87-inch- (2- to 20-centimeter-) long, 0.79- to 1.97-inch- (2- to 5-centimeter-) wide racemes keep floral clusters predominantly on one central stalk.

Racemes leave room for green to white, leaflike, papery, 0.19- to 0.98-inch- (5- to 25-millimeter-) long bracts and oftentimes for one basal flowering branch or two. They must maintain cream-white, perfect, regular flowers, each 0.35 to 0.47 inches (9 to 12 millimeters) across, on 0.12- to 0.98-inch- (3- to 25-millimeter-) long stalks. They need to nestle one pistil, three 0.16- to 0.19-inch- (4- to 5-millimeter-) long petals, three same-sized sepals and six stamens into every death camas flower.

The native herb, commonly called alkaligrass, hog potatoes, meadow death camas and soap plant, offers April to July bloom times in North American death camas gardens.

Dry, explosive, papery, 0.32- to 0.79-inch- (8- to 20-millimeter-) long, 0.16- to 0.28-inch- (4- to 7-millimeter-) wide, several-seeded, three-celled fruits called capsules produce light brown seeds.

In-soil germination and in-soil viability of the oval, wrinkled, 0.19- to 0.24-inch- (5- to 6-millimeter-) long, 0.06-inch- (1.5-millimeter-) wide seeds qualify as anecdotal and scientific unknowns. Offsetting of onionlike, 0.39- to 1.18-inch- (10- to 30-millimeter-) long, 0.32- to 0.79-inch- (8- to 20-millimeter-) wide bulbs and seeding represent death camas' two reproduction means. Bulbs at 2.36- to 7.87-inch (6- to 20-centimeter) depths underground start death camas plants, described by Massachusetts-born American botanist Sereno Watson (Dec. 1, 1826-March 9, 1892).

North American death camas gardens treat poisonous, weedy relatives of agave, asparagus, daffodils, garlic, hostas, lilies, lily-of-the-valley, onions, tulips and yucca as drought-resistant, heat-tolerant research subjects.

death camas (Zigadenus venenosus) plant: Dave Powell, USDA Forest Service (retired), Bugwood.org, CC BY 3.0, via Forestry Images

Acknowledgment

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Image credits:

closeup of death camas (Zigadenus venenosus) flowers; Bozeman, Gallatin County, southwestern Montana; June 2, 2003: Matt Lavin, CC BY SA 2.0, via Flickr @ https://www.flickr.com/photos/plant_diversity/5242282714/

death camas (Zigadenus venenosus) plant: Dave Powell, USDA Forest Service (retired), Bugwood.org, CC BY 3.0, via Forestry Images @ http://www.forestryimages.org/browse/detail.cfm?imgnum=0807006

For further information:

Dickinson, Richard; and Royer, France. 2014. Weeds of North America. Chicago IL; London, England: The University of Chicago Press.

Rydberg, Per Axel. May 1903. "2. T. [Toxicoscordion] venenosum." Bulletin of the Torrey Botanical Club, vol. 30, no. 3: 272.
Available via Biodiversity Heritage Library @ http://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/712972

"Toxicoscordion venenosum (S. Watson) Rydb." Tropicos® > Name Search.
Available @ http://www.tropicos.org/Name/50117131

Watson, Sereno. 1879. "5. Z. venenosus." Proceedings of the American Academy of Arts and Letters, new series vol. VI, whole series vol. XIV (May 1878-May 1879): 279.
Available via Biodiversity Heritage Library @ http://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/8714572

Weakley, Alan S.; Ludwig, J. Christopher; and Townsend, John F. 2012. Flora of Virginia. Edited by Bland Crowder. Fort Worth TX: BRIT Press, Botanical Research Institute of Texas.

"Zigadenus venenosus S. Watson." Tropicos® > Name Search.
Available @ http://www.tropicos.org/Name/18401475

Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney Murals Art Theft: Parrish West Panel 3B

Summary: The Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney murals art theft of Parrish West Panel 3A and Parrish West Panel 3B is unsolved since the July 27 and 28, 2002 weekend.

Panel 3B, one of two West Wall Panels completed by Maxfield Parrish in 1916, also was taken during the July 27 to 28, 2002, art heist: Federal Bureau of Investigation Art Crime Team, Public Domain, via Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)

The Federal Bureau of Investigation accepts on the FBI's top 10 art crimes list the Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney murals art theft in West Hollywood, California, the July 27 to 28, 2002 weekend.

The theft of Maxfield Parrish West Panel 3A and Maxfield Parrish West Panel 3B in a single weekend bears an estimated value of $2.5 million each. It concerned none of the other panels at Edenhurst Fine Art Gallery in Melrose Avenue's posh district between North Dohenyi Drive and North San Vicente Boulevard. Tom Nunziato, attorney for the gallery displaying fine arts and antiques since 1970, described the Los Angeles County Sheriff Department's determination of the theft as pre-planned.

A rooftop hole enabled entry and exit of one burglar, or more, with equipment to elude motion detection systems and extract the canvases from their frames.

"Three-quarter length portrait of Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney (Mrs. Harry Payne Whitney) wearing a jeweled gown and tiara and holding a peacock feather fan," ca. 1916 photograph by Baron Adolf De Meyer (Sept. 1, 1868-Jan. 6, 1946): Frances Benjamin Johnston Collection, Public Domain, via Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division

Maxfield Parrish West Panel 3A and Parrish West Panel 3B form a series with one north, two east and two south wall panels of framed canvases.

All seven panels go under the name of their commissioner, Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney (Jan. 9, 1875-April 18, 1942), for her Old Westbury estate on Long Island. They held historic roles as wall panels for the reception room of the Whitney studio designed by Delano & Aldrich, architectural firm in New York City. They indulged Chester Holmes Aldrich's (June 4, 1871-Dec. 26, 1940) and William Adams Delano's (Jan. 21, 1874-Jan. 12, 1960) interspersing openings on all walls but one.

The Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney murals art theft jeopardizes the historic togetherness, except during Edenhurst's six-panel exhibition since August 2001, of the seven 5.5-foot- (1.68-meter-) high panels.

In 1912 Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney commissioned seven wall panels for her Long Island studio from American illustrator and painter Maxfield Parrish; north-looking view from Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney's studio window, Roslyn, Long Island: Year Book of the Architectural League of New York (1915), Public Domain, via HathiTrust

Maxfield Parrish West Panel 3B knows the same 8.5-foot (2.59-meter) width as the other six oils on canvas kept alongside walls interspersed by doors and windows.

Art historians list the 18.5-foot- (5.64-meter-) wide North Panel, on the only unbroken wall, as Frederick Maxfield Parrish's (July 25, 1870-March 30, 1966) longest single work. All seven panels model Florentine-attired revelers, to memorialize Florence, Italy-born family friend Wilson Eyre, Jr. (Oct. 30, 1858-Oct. 23, 1944) and two of the painter's accomplishments. They nod to Maxfield Parrish's illustrations for Edith Wharton's (Jan. 24, 1862-Aug. 11, 1937) Italian Villas and Their Gardens and oil on canvas A Florentine Fete.

The Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney murals art theft obliterates the artistically, historically continuous 1914-completed east and south, 1916-painted west and 1918-realized north wall panels commissioned for $16,000.

Florentine influences on Maxfield Parrish's two West Wall Panels, completed in 1916, also appear in "A Florentine Fete," painted between 1910 and 1916 by Maxfield Parrish: Public Domain, via Wikioo The Encyclopedia of Fine Arts

Alan Farancz Conservation Studio's cleaning and stretching in 1998 put Maxfield Parrish West Wall Panel 3B and the other panels in tiptop condition for public display.

The Cornish Colony Museum quantified as record-breaking New Hampshire-hosted viewings of Parrish's 40- to 60-layered, glazed colors in Stanford White-conceptualized (Nov. 9, 1853-June 25, 1906) frames. It resulted in relocating the east, south and west panels to California for public display prefatory to expected group sale for $9 million to $12 million. No evidence suggests why one burglar, or more, slipped through a roof hole to separate just two of the six murals from their Dale Shafman-designed frames.

The Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney murals art theft turned owner J.P. Bryan's marketing strategies from Houston Texas into diasporas for Parrish West Panel 3A and Panel 3B.

West Wall Panel 3A, one of two murals by Maxfield Parrish removed from West Hollywood's Edenhurst Fine Art Gallery during July 27 to 28, 2002, art heist: Federal Bureau of Investigation Art Crime Team, Public Domain, via Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)

Acknowledgment

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Image credits:

Panel 3B, one of two West Wall Panels completed by Maxfield Parrish in 1916, also was taken during the July 27 to 28, 2002, art heist: Federal Bureau of Investigation Art Crime Team, Public Domain, via Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) @ https://www.fbi.gov/investigate/violent-crime/art-theft/fbi-top-ten-art-crimes/theft-of-gertrude-vanderbilt-whitney-murals

Maxfield Parrish's West Wall Panels 3A and 3B, painted in compliance with a seven-panel commission from Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney in 1912, were completed in 1916; "Three-quarter length portrait of Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney (Mrs. Harry Payne Whitney) wearing a jeweled gown and tiara and holding a peacock feather fan," ca. 1916 photograph by Baron Adolf De Meyer (Sept. 1, 1868-Jan. 6, 1946): Frances Benjamin Johnston Collection, Public Domain, via Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division @ http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2004676398/

In 1912 Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney commissioned seven wall panels for her Long Island studio from American illustrator and painter Maxfield Parrish; north-looking view from Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney's studio window, Roslyn, Long Island: Year Book of the Architectural League of New York (1915), Public Domain, via HathiTrust @ https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015086699413;view=1up;seq=160

Florentine influences on Maxfield Parrish's two West Wall Panels, completed in 1916, also appear in "A Florentine Fete," painted between 1910 and 1916 by Maxfield Parrish: Public Domain, via Wikioo The Encyclopedia of Fine Arts @ http://wikioo.org/paintings.php?refarticle=9GG64M&titlepainting=florentine%20fete&artistname=Maxfield%20Parrish

West Wall Panel 3A, one of two murals by Maxfield Parrish removed from West Hollywood's Edenhurst Fine Art Gallery during July 27 to 28, 2002, art heist: Federal Bureau of Investigation Art Crime Team, Public Domain, via Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) @ https://www.fbi.gov/investigate/violent-crime/art-theft/fbi-top-ten-art-crimes/theft-of-gertrude-vanderbilt-whitney-murals

For further information:

The Architectural League of New York. 1915. "View From Studio Window, Looking North, Studio for Mrs. Harry Payne Whitney, Delano & Aldrich Architects, New York." Year Book of the Architectural League of New York and Catalog of the Thirtieth Annual Exhibition. Vol. 30. New York NY: Architectural Press.
Available @ https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015086699413;view=1up;seq=160

Campbell, Duncan. 1 August 2002. "Thieves Sneak $5M Paintings Out of Hollywood Gallery." The Guardian > World > World News.
Available @ https://www.theguardian.com/world/2002/aug/02/arttheft.arts

Cutler, Laurence S.; and Cutler, Judy A.G. 1999. Maxfield Parrish. New York NY: Gramercy Books, Random House Value Publishing, Inc.

Garrison, Jessica. 1 August 2002. "Two Parrish Paintings Stolen from Gallery." Los Angeles Times > Collections > Los Angeles.
Available @ http://articles.latimes.com/2002/aug/01/local/me-art1

Lyman, Rick. 1 August 2002. "Maxfield Parrish Murals Stolen From Gallery." The New York Times > U.S.
Available @ http://www.nytimes.com/2002/08/01/us/maxfeld-parrish-murals-stolen-from-gallery.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 21 July 2017. "Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney Murals Art Theft: Parrish West Panel 3A." Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2017/07/gertrude-vanderbilt-whitney-murals-art.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 14 July 2017. "Maxfield Parrish Ascutney River Study Art Theft Recovery Anniversary." Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2017/07/maxfield-parrish-ascutney-river-study.html

"Maxfield Parrish: The Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney Murals." Tyler Museum of Art > Exhibitions > Past > May 3-September 13, 2009.
Available @ http://www.tylermuseum.org/MaxfieldParrish.aspx

"Theft of Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney Murals." Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) > What We Investigate > Violent Crime > Art Theft > FBI Top Ten Art Crimes.
Available @ https://www.fbi.gov/investigate/violent-crime/art-theft/fbi-top-ten-art-crimes/theft-of-gertrude-vanderbilt-whitney-murals

Wharton, Edith. 1904. Italian Villas and Their Gardens. Illustrated with Pictures by Maxfield Parrish and by Photographs. New York NY: The Century Company.
Available via Internet Archive @ https://archive.org/details/italianvillast00whar

Man in the Moon’s Right Eye Has Fallen Astronauts Plaque and Sculpture

Summary: The Man in the Moon’s right eye has the Fallen Astronauts plaque and sculpture left Monday, Aug. 2, 1971, by Apollo 15 Mission Commander David Scott.

Carrying a 70 mm camera with a 500-mm lens, Apollo 15 Mission Commander David Randolph “Dave” Scott walks away from Lunar Roving Vehicle (LRV) during third and last extravehicular activity (EVA) on lunar surface; image taken by Apollo 15’s lunar module pilot, James Benson “Jim” Irwin: NASA, Public Domain, via NASA Human Space Flight

The Man in the Moon’s right eye has the Fallen Astronauts plaque and sculpture that Apollo 15 Mission Commander David Randolph “Dave” Scott (born June 6, 1932) placed Monday, Aug. 2, 1971, at around 13:17 Coordinated Universal Time (9:17 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time).

The Fallen Astronauts plaque and sculpture reside at a memorable lunar feature. The Mare Imbrium contributes to the pareidolic (Ancient Greek: παρα, para, “concurrent, alongside” + εἴδωλον, eídōlon, “image”) illusion of a human face, formed by the play of light and shadow across the lunar surface for moongazers in the Northern Hemisphere.

Looking outward from the moon, Mare Imbrium represents the Man in the Moon’s right eye. A straight-on view from Earth's perspective places Mare Imbrium in the Man in the Moon’s left eye.

The plaque commemorates 14 astronauts. Eight were NASA astronauts: Charles Bassett II, Roger Chaffee, Theodore Freeman, Edward Givens Jr., Virgil Grisson, Elliot See Jr., Edward White II, Clifton Williams Jr. Six were Soviet cosmonauts: Georgiy Dobrovolsky, Pavel Belyayev, Yuri Gagarin, Vladimir Komarov, Viktor Patsayev, Vladislav Volkov.

All except one of the 14 died in space-related accidents. Only Pavel Ivanovich Belyayev (June 26, 1925-Jan. 10, 1970) died from the natural cause of peritonitis after a stomach ulcer operation.

The age range was 31 to 44. The youngest was Roger Bruce Chaffee (Feb. 15, 1935-Jan. 27, 1967). The oldest was Pavel Belyayev.

Belgian artist Paul Van Hoeydonck (born Oct. 8, 1925) created the Fallen Astronaut sculpture. The 3.375-inch (8.5-centimeter) aluminum sculpture is a stylized statuette. The Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C. displays a replica of the Fallen Astronauts sculpture in the Space Race exhibition.

Commander Scott’s placement of the Fallen Astronauts plaque and sculpture occurred near the end of the Apollo 15 mission’s third and final extravehicular activity (EVA). EVA-3 began at 4:52:14 a.m. EDT (8:52:14 UTC; 163:18:14 mission time). EVA-3 ended 4 hours 49 minutes 50 seconds later, at 9:42:04 a.m. EDT (13:42:04 UTC; 168:08:04 mission time).

At 9:15:30 a.m. EDT (13:15:30 UTC; 167:41:30 mission time), Commander Scott initiated a “standby” with Joseph Percival “Joe” Allen (born June 27, 1937), Apollo 15’s capsule communicator (CAPCOM) at the mission control center in Houston, Texas. Commander Scott ostensibly was preparing for the checklist procedure of aligning the High-Gain Antenna on the Lunar Communications Relay Unit (LRCU). Stops at EVA stations necessitated alignment of the High-Gain Antenna with Earth in order to patch through voice communication as well as live video from the Ground-Commanded Television Assembly (GCTA).

In actuality, Commander Scott was placing and photographing the Fallen Astronauts plaque and sculpture which had unofficially journeyed with him from Earth. He intended to leave the two items as a memorial on the lunar surface, on the other side of the parked Lunar Roving Vehicle (LRV).

At 9:16:15 a.m. EDT (13:16:15 UTC; 167:42:15 mission time), Joe Allen asked Dave Scott to check the TV Remote.

Responding 35 seconds later, at 9:16:50 a.m. EDT (13:16:50 UTC: 167:42:50 mission time), Dave asked for a “sec.”

Joe waited 40 seconds. Then at 9:16:55 a.m. EDT (13:16:55 UTC; 167:42:50 mission time), he requested an update on Dave’s “present activity.”

Six seconds later, at 9:17:01 a.m. EDT (13:17:01 UTC; 167:43:36 mission time), Dave explained that he was doing a little cleanup of the back of the Land Roving Vehicle (LRV).

Four seconds later, at 9:17:05 a.m. EDT (13:17:05 UTC; 167:43:40 mission time), Joe reminded Dave about the lack of TV feed and made another request for a TV Remote check.

Dave responded 14 seconds later, at 9:17:19 a.m. EDT (13:17:19 UTC; 167:43:54 mission time). He mentioned difficulties in viewing Earth in the sighting scope.

Commander Scott’s pause to situate and photograph the Fallen Astronauts plaque and sculpture in lunar soil lasted for 3 minutes 14 seconds.

At 9:18:44 a.m. EDT (13:18:44 UTC; 167:44:44 mission time), Commander Scott informed CAPCOM Allen that he was “back.” With his unofficial memorial project completed, he focused on initiating feed for observers on Earth. At 9:20:42 a.m. EDT (13:20:42 UTC; 167:46:42 mission time), he announced achievement of alignment. Scott’s cycling the Lunar Communications Relay Unit switch, beginning at 9:21:14 a.m. EDT (13:21:14 UTC; 167:47:14 mission time), led to Allen’s confirmation of a successful feed. The image transmitted to Earth showed the U.S. flag decal affixed to the Land Roving Vehicle’s right front fender.

The takeaway for the Man in the Moon’s right eye as the site of the Fallen Astronauts plaque and sculpture is the memorial’s easily remembered location.

closeup of Fallen Astronauts plaque and sculpture; image taken by Commander Scott after placement, Monday, Aug. 2, 1971, at about 13:17 Coordinated Universal Time (9:17 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time): NASA, Public Domain, via NASA Human Space Flight

Acknowledgment

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Image credits:

Carrying a 70 mm camera with a 500-mm lens, Apollo 15 Mission Commander David Randolph “Dave” Scott walks away from Lunar Roving Vehicle (LRV) during third and last extravehicular activity (EVA) on lunar surface; image taken by Apollo 15’s lunar module pilot, James Benson “Jim” Irwin: NASA, Public Domain, via NASA Human Space Flight @ https://spaceflight.nasa.gov/gallery/images/apollo/apollo15/html/as15-82-11168.html

closeup of Fallen Astronauts plaque and sculpture; image taken by Commander Scott after placement, Monday, Aug. 2, 1971, at about 13:17 Coordinated Universal Time (9:17 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time): NASA, Public Domain, via NASA Human Space Flight @ https://spaceflight.nasa.gov/gallery/images/apollo/apollo15/html/as15-88-11894.html

For further information:

“Apollo 15.” NASA > Missions > Apollo > The Apollo Missions. July 8, 2009.
Available @ https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/apollo/missions/apollo15.html

“Apollo 15 Mission.” Universities Space Research Association (USRA) Lunar and Planetary Institute (LPI) > Lunar Science and Exploration > Lunar Mission Summaries > Apollo Missions.
Available @ http://www.lpi.usra.edu/lunar/missions/apollo/apollo_15/overview/

“Apollo Imagery: (2 August 1971).” NASA Human Space Flight > Gallery > Images > Apollo > Apollo 15. Aug. 2, 1971. Last updated Nov. 1, 2012.
Available @ https://spaceflight.nasa.gov/gallery/images/apollo/apollo15/html/as15-82-11168.html

“Apollo Imagery: AS15-88-11894 (31 July-2 Aug. 1971).” NASA Human Space Flight > Gallery > Images > Apollo > Apollo 15. Aug. 2, 1971. Last updated Nov. 1, 2012.
Available @ https://spaceflight.nasa.gov/gallery/images/apollo/apollo15/html/as15-88-11894.html

“AS15-88-11894.” NASA Johnson Space Center (JSC) Earth Observing Laboratory (EOL) > Gateway to Astronaut Photography of Earth.
Available @ https://eol.jsc.nasa.gov/SearchPhotos/photo.pl?mission=AS15&roll=88&frame=11894

Ezell, Linda Neuman. “Table 2-43: Apollo 15 Characteristics.” NASA Historical Data Book. Volume III: Programs and Projects 1969-1978. The NASA History Series. Washington DC: NASA History Office, 1988.
Available @ http://history.nasa.gov/SP-4012/vol3/table2.43.htm

Jones, Eric M. “Apollo 15 Map and Image Library.” NASA > Apollo Lunar Surface Journal > Apollo 15 Lunar Surface Journal > Image Library. Last revised Nov. 23, 2016.
Available @ https://www.hq.nasa.gov/alsj/a15/images15.html#11164

Jones, Eric M. “The Hammer and the Feather.” NASA > Apollo Lunar Surface Journal > Apollo 15 Lunar Surface Journal. Last revised April 19, 2015.
Available @ https://www.hq.nasa.gov/alsj/a15/a15.html

“Lunar Rover Programmed to Return Colour-TV Pictures.” New Scientist and Science Journal, vol. 51, no. 762 (July 29, 1971): 261.

Marriner, Derdriu. “Fallen Astronauts Plaque and Sculpture at Southeastern Mare Imbrium.” Wednesday, July 27, 2016.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2016/07/fallen-astronauts-plaque-and-sculpture.html

Marriner, Derdriu. “Six Lunar Maria Shape the Man in the Moon for Northern Hemisphere Viewers.” Earth and Space News. Wednesday, May 3, 2017.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2017/05/six-lunar-maria-shape-man-in-moon-for.html

National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Apollo 15 Mission Report. Houston TX: Manned Spacecraft Center, December 1971.
Available @ https://www.hq.nasa.gov/alsj/a15/a15mrp1.pdf

Project Apollo Archive. "AS15-88-11893." Flickr. Sept. 23, 2015.
Available @ https://www.flickr.com/photos/projectapolloarchive/21471938068

Scott, David; Alexei Leonov. Two Sides of the Moon: Our Story of the Cold War Space Race. New York NY: Thomas Dunne Books, 2004.

“Sculpture, Fallen Astronaut.” Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum > Collection Objects.
Available @ https://airandspace.si.edu/collection-objects/sculpture-fallen-astronaut?object=nasm_A19860035000

Young, Anthony. Lunar and Planetary Rovers: The Wheels of Apollo and the Quest for Mars. Springer-Praxis Books in Space Exploration. Berlin, Heidelberg, Germany; New York NY: Springer, 2007.

2017-2018 Royal Opera Season Live Screens Six Operas From Covent Garden

Summary: The 2017-2018 Royal Opera season live screens six operas from Covent Garden to cinemas around the globe.

The Royal Opera House Live Cinema Season 2017-2018 features operas by Bizet, Mozart, Puccini and Verdi: Royal Opera House @RoyalOperaHouse via Twitter April 17, 2017

The 2017-2018 Royal Opera season live screens six operas from Covent Garden to cinemas across the globe in a program that mixes new and classic productions.

The 2017-2018 Royal Opera live screening season opens in September and closes in April. Works by two opera giants frame the 2017-2018 Royal Opera live screening season.

The first live-screened performance spotlights 18th century composer Wolfgang Mozart. The sixth and last live-screened performance highlights 20th century composer Giuseppe Verdi. Online database Operabase places Verdi in first place and Mozart in second place in a ranking of 1,281 most popular composers for the five seasons from 2011/12 to 2015/16.

Die Zauberflöte by Classical era composer Wolfgang Mozart (Jan. 27, 1756-Dec. 5, 1791) is live in cinemas Wednesday, Sept. 20, 2017. Covent Garden performances run from Tuesday, Sept. 12, to Saturday, Oct. 14.

Two casts are headed by conductors Richard Hetherington and Julia Jones. Julia Jones conducts the live-screened performance. British conductor Richard Hetherington debuted at the Royal Opera in 1981 in the title role as a boy soprano, also known as treble, in Pollicino by German composer Hans Werner Henze (July 1, 1926-Oct. 27, 2012). English conductor Julia Jones debuted at the Royal Opera in 2010 in Mozart’s Così fan tutte.

The staging is David McVicar’s classic production. The Glaswegian opera and theatre director debuted at the Royal Opera House in 2001 in The Kirov Opera’s production of Macbeth by Italian composer Giuseppe Verdi (Oct. 10, 1813-Jan. 27, 1901).

McVicar’s production team comprises John Macfarlane as designer, Paule Constable as lighting designer and Leah Hausman as movement director. Scottish designer John Macfarlane made his Royal Opera House debut in The Royal Ballet’s 1985 production of Giselle by French composer Adolphe Adam (July 24, 1803-May 3, 1856). British lighting designer Paule Constable debuted at The Royal Opera in 1990 in British film and stage director Bill Bryden’s production of The Cunning Little Vixen by Czech composer Leoš Janáček (July 3, 1854-Aug. 12, 1928). American choreographer Leah Hausman debuted at The Royal Opera in 2001 in McVicar’s production of Verdi’s Rigoletto.

A new production of La Bohème by Italian opera composer Giacomo Puccini (Dec. 22, 1858-Nov. 29, 1924) is live in cinemas Tuesday, Oct. 3, 2017. Covent Garden performances run from Monday, Sept. 11, to Tuesday, Oct. 10, 2017, and from Saturday, June 16, to Friday, July 20, 2018.

Richard Jones directs the new production. The English director debuted at the Royal Opera in 1994 in Der Ring des Nibelungen by German composer Wilhelm Richard Wagner (May 22, 1813-Feb. 13, 1883).

Jones’ production team comprises Stewart Laing as designer, Mimi Jordan Sherin as lighting designer and Sarah Fahie as movement director. American lighting designer Mimi Jordan Sherin debuted at the Royal Opera in 2004 in Richard Jones’ production of Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk by Russian composer and pianist Dmitri Shostakovich (Sept. 25, 1906-Aug. 9, 1975). Australian choreographer and director Sarah Fahie debuted at The Royal Opera in 2008 in Eugene Onegin by Russian late-Romantic composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (May 7, 1840-Nov. 6, 1893).

Three conductors take turns on La Bohème’s podium. Antonio Pappano conducts the live-screened performance. The English conductor debuted at the Royal Opera in the 1990 staging of La Bohème. British conductor and accompanist Paul Wynne Griffiths is on The Royal Opera’s music staff. Italian conductor Nicola Luisotti debuted at The Royal Opera in 2007 in Verdi’s Il Trovatore.

Verdi’s Rigoletto is live screened Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2018. Covent Garden performances run from Thursday, Dec. 14, 2017, through the live-screened date.

Under David McVicar’s direction, the production team comprises Michael Vale as set designer, Tanya McCallin as costume designer, Paule Constable as lighting designer and Leah Hausman as movement director. English designer Michael Vale debuted at The Royal Opera in 2001 in McVicar’s production of Verdi’s Rigoletto. English designer Tanya McCallin debuted at The Royal Opera House in 2001 in McVicar’s production of Verdi’s Macbeth for The Kirov Opera.

Puccini’s Tosca is lived screened Wednesday, Feb. 7, 2018. Covent Garden performances run from Monday, Jan. 15 to Saturday, March 3.

Three casts are headed by two conductors. Dan Ettinger conducts the live-screened performance. The Israeli conductor debuted at The Royal Opera in 2010 in Verdi’s Rigoletto. He shares the conductor’s baton with Plácido Domingo. The Spanish conductor and tenor debuted at The Royal Opera in 1971 as Cavaradossi in Puccini’s Tosca.

The staging is Jonathan Kent’s 2006 production. The English opera and theatre director’s 2006 production marked his Royal Opera debut.

Kent’s production team comprises Paul Brown as designer and Mark Henderson as lighting designer. Welsh designer Paul Brown debuted at The Royal Opera in 1991 in English opera director Graham Vick’s production of Mozart’s fourth opera, Mitridate, re di Ponto. British lighting designer Mark Henderson made his Royal Opera House debut in The Royal Ballet’s 1990 production of The Planets by English composer Gustav Holst (Sept. 21, 1874-May 25, 1934).

Carmen by French romantic era composer Georges Bizet (Oct. 25, 1838-June 3, 1875) is live screened Tuesday, March 6. Covent Garden performances run from Tuesday, Feb. 6 to Friday, March 16.

Barrie Kosky directs The Royal Opera House’s new staging of Bizet’s popular tragic opera. The Australian director debuted at The Royal Opera in 2016 in Shostakovich’s The Nose.

Kosky’s production team for the new staging comprises Alan Barnes as assistant director, Katrin Lea Tag as designer, Joachim Klein as lighting designer, Otto Pichler as choreographer and Zsolt Horpácsy as dramaturg. Austrian choreographer and director Otto Pichler debuted at The Royal Opera in 2016 in Kosky’s production of Shostakovich’s The Nose.

Two casts are headed by conductors Jakub Hrůša and Christopher Willis. Czech conductor Jakub Hrůša conducts the live-screened performance. British conductor and accompanist Christopher Willis is on The Royal Opera’s music staff.

Verdi’s Macbeth is live screened Wednesday, April 4. Covent Garden performances run from Sunday, March 25, to Tuesday, April 10.

The staging is Phyllida Lloyd’s 2002 production for The Royal Opera. The British director’s 2002 production marked her Royal Opera debut.

Lloyd’s production team comprises Anthony Ward as designer, Paule Constable as lighting designer and Michael Keegan-Dolan as choreographer. British designer Anthony Ward debuted at The Royal Opera House in 1999 on British choreographer and director Michael Corder’s production of Masquerade by Russian composer Igor Stravinsky (June 17, 1882-April 6, 1971) for The Royal Ballet. Irish choreographer Michael Keegan-Dolan debuted at The Royal Opera in Lloyd’s 2002 production of Verdi’s Macbeth.

Antonio Pappano conducts all seven performances. The English conductor has been The Royal Opera House’s music director since 2002.

The 2017-2018 Royal Opera live cinema season shares six operas from Covent Garden with over 1,500 cinemas in over 35 countries. The Royal Opera House’s cinemas page notes the constant addition of new cinemas at the beginning of the season (www.roh.org.uk/cinemas).

The Royal Opera House Live Cinema Season 2017-2018 comprises six ballets and six operas: Curzon Knutsford @CurzonKnutsford via Twitter May 27, 2017

Acknowledgment

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Image credits:

The Royal Opera House Live Cinema Season 2017-2018 features operas by Bizet, Mozart, Puccini and Verdi: Royal Opera House @RoyalOperaHouse via Twitter April 17, 2017, @ https://twitter.com/RoyalOperaHouse/status/853927944376418304

The Royal Opera House Live Cinema Season 2017-2018 comprises six ballets and six operas: Curzon Knutsford @CurzonKnutsford via Twitter May 27, 2017, @ https://twitter.com/CurzonKnutsford/status/868406424501600258

For further information:

“Composers: Composers Ranked by the Number of Performances of Their Operas Over the Five Seaons 2011/2012 to 2015/16.” Operabase > Opera Statistics.
Available @ http://operabase.com/top.cgi?lang=en

Curzon Knutsford @CurzonKnutsford. "The 2017/2018 season for the Royal Opera House. All tickets now on sale at Curzon Knutsford." Twitter. May 27, 2017.
Available @ https://twitter.com/CurzonKnutsford/status/868406424501600258

“Macbeth (2001).” Royal Opera House Collections Online > Performance Database > Macbeth (1865).
Available @ http://www.rohcollections.org.uk/production.aspx?production=1608&row=2

Royal Opera House. “Director Jonathan Kent on What Makes Tosca Such a Classic (The Royal Opera).” YouTube. Feb. 18, 2014.
Available @ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fG662vXvwTY

Royal Opera House @RoyalOperaHouse. “Popcorn, anyone? We’ve announced our 2017/18 cinema broadcasts from @TheRoyalBallet & @TheRoyalOpera.” Twitter. April 17, 2017.
Available @ https://twitter.com/RoyalOperaHouse/status/853927944376418304

Shipman, Chris. “Opera and Music at the Royal Opera House 2017/18.” Royal Opera House > News. April 5, 2017.
Available @ http://www.roh.org.uk/news/opera-and-music-at-the-royal-opera-house-201718

Spencer, Mel. “Royal Opera House 2017/18 Season Announced.” Royal Opera House > News. April 5, 2017.
Available @ http://www.roh.org.uk/news/royal-opera-house-2017-2018-season-announced