Venice-Art-Tours Blog

Venice in February...

Sure, it's a bit cold, around 10°C this morning, but there are relatively few people here, streets are quiet, vaporettos have light traffic. Add to this clear skies, sunshine and no street fairs and no outdoor concerts.

See photo right of a deserted Venezia from last year.

Speaking of Venice, we were lent a DVD of "The Italian Job" by someone who thought we should see the Venice scenes. Venice did look great in the film..but it has to be the dumbest film I have ever seen. Add to that, the worst actor in the world, Donald Sutherland, is in it. The plot is idiotic, the characters cardboard, the dialogue laughable. It is an action film with unlikely, actually impossible, action scenes. Dumb, dumb, dumb. 

For a Venice movie, try "Brideshead Revisited" (BBC) or "Death in Venice". Having mentioned Mr Sutherland, the movie "Don't Look Now", based on a story by Daphne Du Maurier, does visually capture the beauty, mystery, and charm of Venice, despite having the aforementioned actor as a star. The story of the movie makes no sense but it is a lovely look at Venice.

The Naples report card: The Good, The Bad, The Ugly

Went to Napoli for 5 days to escape Carnival here in Venice and to see the sights. So let's review Napoli in the sequence suggested by the blog's title.

The Good....

Pompeii and Herculaneum, San Carlo Opera House, the Capodimonte art museum, Mt Vesuvius, pizza.          

The ruins of Pompeii and Herculaneum: extraordinary that the cities existed in the first place and that they have been uncovered and are visitable. They were both discovered in the late 18th century and began to be uncovered from approximately 30 or more metres of volcanic lava from the 79 AD eruption. Pic below of me in Pompeii with THE mountain at rest. Nearby Herculaneum is more visitable as its ruins are in good shape so that one can better see the interiors of houses, including lovely wall paintings and decorations.  Pompeii was practically deserted of tourists (and completely of residents). Herculaneum was totally ours. Only other people there were guides who, after you have informed them that you do not wish their services, follow you around and try to insinuate themselves into your tourist life. Sheeeesh! Guides! The picture of what looks like a kitchen is a kitchen. It was open to the public and those holes you see were warming areas for different foods. Beneath the holes were hot coals. Below is a cast of a child victim of Vesuvius. About 20,000 people lived in Herculaneum and most died in the eruption.

San Carlo is  lovely opera house, a little worn, but quite large. We heard Rossini's Stabat Mater with a large orchestra, the 4 soloists and a 100 member choir. Excellent. Some say it lacks the spiritual content of Pergolesi's Stabat, but it is very musical.

The Capodimonte is an enormous gallery built on a similar format and scale as the Kunsthistoriches Museum in Vienna. It contains hundreds and hundreds of master paintings with strong entries from Tiziano, Raphael, Lotto, Coreggio, Carracci, El Greco, Palma the Elder, Parmigianino, Salviati, Fra Bartolomeo, Bruegel the Elder, Mantegna, Bellini, Vivarini, Van Dyck...well, you get the picture.

They say pizza was invented here. It is certainly ubiquitous. James Joyce quipped that a good puzzle would be to try to walk from the north side of Dublin to the south without passing a pub. In Naples one cannot walk down a steet, an avenue, a square without encountering a pizzeria every 25 feet. They are inexpensive and, of course, the pizza is terrific. The home of pizza, they do say.

The Bad...

Vesuvius you have to call bad. It is unpredictable, incredibily dangerous, imposing. And it is sitting...right there, over your shoulder, and some day it's going shoot off the really big one, again. O tempore! O mores!

The Ugly... 

I am afraid Napoli does ugly well. It's 18th and 19th century architecture is run down, disfigured by peeling and faded stucco and paint and by horrible, dated alterations. Then you have the postwar contribution of concrete highrises (5-8 stories) which are very run down and falling apart. There is absolutely no sense of planning, civic responsibility and direction.  The picture below (right) is the look of Naples today. We saw no part of Naples that was not like this.  

The real ugly of this city is the graffiti. No un-graffitied wall exists. Here are some images.  Especially egregious is the graffiti on the statue of Dante.                                        

 

   

The final ugly thing is the ubiquitous garbage. We saw dozens of scenes like those in the photos. Turn a corner, there it is, especially in the suburbs. Maybe another eruption would solve that problem?

Ridiculous to the sublime...

That was our week...the Sublime was the peformance of Die Meistersinger in the Staatsopera in Vienna. The ridiculous was the performance in the Italian senate during the debate on whether of shut down the current (Prodi) government, which it did.

Start with the ridiculous. Tempers flaring, heated exchanges, champagne flowing on the senate floor (literally on the floor) and a senator spitting in another's face. So if you wish to see an out of control country...click on these 3 You Tube clips to see  what passes for government here. These scenes occurred during the "debate" and the champagne business was at the announcement that the government had fallen. During the last clip, the president of the senate is yelling to the revellers that "this is not an osteria". Here are the clips:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=3_F5JPHZxBc&feature=related

http://youtube.com/watch?v=IBEHZcwy_R4&feature=related

http://youtube.com/watch?v=KMTbw_Ml6_E&feature=related

Now the sublime, Die Meistersinger. Fantastic singing, wonderful sets, full opera house, all elegantly dressed. 6 hours of pleasure. Bravo Wagner! Bravo Vienna! Hear and see Ben Heppner (who was not in this week's performance) singing the Prize Song sung by von Stolzing by clicking this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FPAgTnmGF5Y .

Having beautiful weather here in Venice. Yesterday the "Angelo" flew down from the campanile in S Marco, recreating an traditional event at the first day of Carnival. Historically, it is a woman, dressed angelically, who floats down a wire to the base of the Campanile distributing sweets along the way. Usually she is accompanied by fairy-type music. My friend Frank took his 4 year old daughter to see this spectacle yesterday also witnessed by 40,000 people. Except... Frank tells me, the fairy was a black rapper in a black wrapper, who floated down to the accompaniment of rap "music". If any Venetians were at this business, well... perplexed would be a good word for them. Venice knows how to outdo itself in stupidity.

   

And now the hangover...

Yes, the Panto show is over and already the masses want another for next year. But she who must be obeyed has said "No" to 2009 but "Yes" to January 2010. Seems so long away, doesn't it. Laurie wrote in her blog yesterday that there are no ants out there in her future which will become elephants when they get closer. Hunh? Another panto is a potentially huge elephant. But she knows best. Anyway it gives me another 2 years to hone my acting skills (look and speak to audience, mime, speak loudly, with pauses, etc.), all taught to me by coach Krys Grudniewicz. Thanks Krys although I am still hopeless.    In pic, Laurie taking bow; I with top hat and assorted rats and kittens.

Forgot to mention that the principal boy (Judith Asher, aka Jack Whittington) took ill day before opening. An emergencty call to Rosie Forbes Butler, soprano extraordinaire, did the trick: 3 perfect performances on 40 hours notice. Learned the script, did the job. Don't you like professionals? Brava Rosie!

Went to Dublin to visit Conor, now in his sixth week, should be shaving soon. Needless to say a handsome boy, but there will be no proud granddad pics of the lad on this blog. My idea is that I am not terribly interested in other people's kid photos so why would other people be interested in mine? It's a bore, isn't it?

Venice frustrations: Have been trying to phone the Accademia Gallery to prebook a large group. Also visited the Accademia and got blank stares there. The line has been busy for the past 48 hours. And it ain't due to the number of people calling to pre-book. There is no calling queue, no nothing except in-the-customer's-face-bad-business. And their office is in the deep bosom of the city buried to paraphrase Richard III. Therefore, no personal visit by me is possible. In case there was anyone there.  They will never learn here about customer service. Never. I'll bet service is better in Moldova which is reckoned to be the most backward of EU members. But Moldova is still run by Commies, so it has an excuse!

Still at the Accademia, the good news is that half of the Giovanni Bellini paintings that have been in storage for 18 mos are back on view. These are the best paintings in Venice.

And to those of you who wish to see Venice at its best...this is the time. Very few tourists, streets and boats empty. Hurry up though, you do not want to be here for Carnival. We are away for carnival and return from holiday on Ash Wednesday, heaven, the revelers have departed. Goodbye! 

To the Statsopera in Vienna for Die Miestersinger Tuesday...will review.

Finally, heard today that a friend here had an American visitor who referred to the Nigerian bag sellers on the street here as "African-Americans". It say it all about politically motivated morons who are ruining our language and its relationsip to reality. So says this European-American.  

 

Pantomime reviews are in...

  "Wow!",  "No you can't!",  "Have not seen acting like this in years!", "Lots of sitting ovations!"

Well, Venice has never seen anything like it. Three performances, mostly full houses, raised over 3,000 euro for a worthy charity, lots of fun and hard work. Congratulations to actors, writer-director, producer, set designers, costume people, stage hands, prop people, technical people (sound & lighting), financial supporters at fundraisers, video man, business sponsors, and tens of more....baci baci baci!

Here are a few pics. More to come when we return from Dublin in 4 days.

   

above: Alice, Dick, Doge in S MArco; Master Muggins & Bosun Bilge do a mop dance; Capt Floggum & Mistress Polenta on the good ship Leaky Lil.

   

To right: Doge with Polenta, Idle Jack and Fairy Bo Bells; Fairy BoBells; Muggins applies a well deserved pie to Idle Jack.

Dick and his cat, Tom and the Town Crier.

 

More anon and maybe a video snippet.

Today's topic is ...rats! Rats in Venice, an update

Rats are apropos for two reasons today. First and foremost is that this week starts rehearsals for "Dick Whittington", the traditional British pantomime we are putting on here at the local theatre (S. Margherita - 3 performances 10 & 11 January). Laurie wrote it and panto board-treaders from the last two years are at it again, local residents almost all. For those of you not English, Dick Whittington was a very early mayor of London who made a fortuitous marraige and then freed London from rats. The Pantomine is set in London city, at sea on board the good ship "Leaky Lil", in Venice and in the Doge's Palace.

There will be a rat chorus, comprised of six local 7 year-old students who dance, slither and menace ("Hiss!") in London and Venice. The leader of the rats is Major Rat, played by Peter Page, an English goldsmith in his day job, but a thespian at other times. He has a fondness for villainry, having played Fairy Stinkweed in last year's panto triumph, Mother Goose. Here he is below in the left photo as Fairy Stinkweed taking a bow and as Major Rat at a costume fitting in the right photo. (That's me on the far right of the left photo dressed as one of the Blues Brothers).

Please come to the show, Thursday, 10 January (10 AM and 7PM) and 11 January (7PM), Teatro S.Margherita to benefit Care and Share Italia, a venerable local charity. Admission free, donation suggested.

The other rat item is less inspiring. This morning I met Frank O'Halloran who plays Bosun Bilge to my Master Muggins. At 9AM we were taking our cappuccinos and  going over our lines in a bar we frequent but which I will not identify. We sat a table and, as I looked towards the counter, I espied a smallish brown rat emerging from behind the bar and making a foray into an area about 5 feet from us. He was rather a good looking rodent, as rodents go, lightish colour, intelligent face, and was neither in a hurry  nor skulking or tentative, as I would have expected him to be. He was very casual.

The bar's owner seemed unaware. I told Frank about it and immediately the rat reappeared as if on cue. Then Laurie came in and sat down. We promptly informed her of the situation and we discussed our options. Tell the owner immediately? Don't mention it? Would the owner want to know? Would he be surprised? What if a kid comes in? Health and safety considerations? Solution: on the way out, after paying, I lowered my voice and casually mentioned to the owner that we saw a pantegane in his bar. He said, "Oh yeah, that happens when someone leaves the back door (where the toilet is) open."  I wanted to ask if the rat usually left on his own accord or what, since the owner did not seem nonplussed and did not rush into action. But I did my duty and he can deal with it.  Anyway, now  it's "Gambi Su!"* whenever we go in there.    *legs up!

The Romance of Venice

60,000 Kisses. That was what was supposed to happen in St.  Mark's Square at midnight this New Year's Eve. Instead, there were 60,000 projectiles tossed into the air: bottles, fireworks, and other debris. It was another triumph of hope over experience, as Johnson said of second marriages. Venice has not learned that you cannot put 60,000 drunk young (mostly men) people in a confined area. It was billed as the Night of Love. Hah! Take a look at the photo and ask yourself, "Is this were I wish to be on New Year's?" Stupid rock music, dumb young Italian alcoholics with strong contingents from Britain and you get a quasi-criminal mess. Of course, some innocent people, naìve tourists, and impractical idealists went to S Marco (a happening?) and got trapped. It is impossible to escape the crowd once so ensnared, sort of like being at the front (or is it rear?) of a retreating Italian army. Rivers of urine, garbage, broken glass, bedlam-like noise, no escape, hostility abounding, a Bosch painting updated. A beautiful Square despoiled. Congratulations, Venice.

   

2008...the year of the rat...Gambi Su!

Well, not in the Chinese calendar, but in our pantomine calendar. January 10 & 11 will see 3 performances of Dick Whittington at the Teatro S Margherita. Laurie wrote it and is directing with about 14 local actors, including me. I play Master Muggins the idiot first mate on the Good Ship Leaky Lil. I was groomed for this role. My sidekick is Bosun Bilge played by Frank O'Halloran, another veteran of the stage.

The sets (7 painted 3 metre by 3 metre canvases) are ready (Geoff Leckie and I painted them) and we are transporting them this PM in a boat to our side of town. An unpleasant task since it's 2° C and on the lagoon, a tad chilly in an open boat. Bosun Bilge is driving the boat.

Getting back to rats. British readers will know that Dick Whittington is the man who, according to pantomime legend, freed London of rats in the 15th century. In our story, he will free Venice from pantegane, and that is a monumental task.

One day of set up, 3 days of reheasrals, bang. Show time.

The theatre we are using was at one time a movie theatre (1940's). During a show, a local recently told us, someone up front would yell "Gambi Su!" or "Legs up!"  as a rat or two were spotted scrambling beneath the seats. How appropriate for our panto.

Christmas...

In Venice for Christmas.

Beautiful and cold day, ice blue skies, sun shining, if low in the sky, and Venice very empty at 9:15 AM as we left home for church. Waterbus was vacant, stroll through an empty S Marco Square. We left church at 1 PM (yes it was a long service as the Metropolitan was presiding and, among other things, the parish priest read the Patriarch's Christmas message in both Greek and Italian with each reading taking 15 minutes, Holy Cow!). Nevertheless, the Good News is "Xristos gennatai doxasate! Christ is Born! Glorify Him!" 

TheTemperature in church was about 5°C lower than outside. Outside was 6°C. But we are used to that, I wearing longjohns, Laurie her fur. So when we exited we discovered that Venice had filled up during the preceding three hours especially with Italiani here for the day and also with thousands of Japanese.

While on the waterbus home up the Grand Canal we saw a number of gondola convoys packed with Japanese, some with "singing" gondoliers. Yikes, being in a gondola with a wind whipping across your face on a freezng day listening to that. As we passed the Japanese flotilla, the Japanese all waved to us on the waterbus. This waving business is beloved of Japanese. I would guess it's the need to be recognised as being here. Similar to the Japanese incessantly requesting that their pictures be taken before well known monuments or signposts. It is one's attempt to place themselves, to overcome the estrangement and homelessness of man in the 20th century. As the American novelist Walker Percy suggests, it is a signpost in a strange land to fix their existence.

Last night (Chrismas Eve) dinner at sculptor Joan Fitzgerald's Fenice apartment. Other guests were  Jerret Engel and Cort Tramontin who make documentary films and are in transit to New York from the townships near Capetown. Also there was Alan Benjamin, Venetian resident, man about Venice, ex New Yawk. Chef Mauro Stoppa from Certosa (in the lagoon) made some scrumptious fish courses, all former residents of the lagoon itself. Thank you Joan and Mauro.

Went to midnight mass at Santo Stefano on the way home. What a dreary affair: terrible organ playing, no singing, inaudible prayers, temperatures at 4°C, no joy, underdressed (from a fashion point of view) parishioners, rote prayers and responses. Nothing like St Ignatius Loyola on 84th Street, St Pat's, Farm Street, or even St Francis de Sales on East 96th Street.

Sculpture by Joan Fitzgerald.

Happy Christmas, All!  (PS, grandson to the right...)

 

 

Welcome, Conor Timothy Brick...

The name game is over.

Caroline gave birth 20 December to a 7lb 7oz baby boy and he shall be called as above. A lovely solid Irish name. There was a Conor, Conchobhar MacNessa, who was the king of Ulster and, according to legend, was born on the same day as Christ. So our Conor slightly missed the day. Otherwise all is well with both. Heading to Dublin for an introduction January 14th.

Next five or so weeks look daunting: finishing sets, line learning, props, other logistics for the big pantomime (Dick Whittington); pantomime itself - 3 performances at the theatre 10 & 11 January (please come); visiting Dublin to meet Conor, Caroline and Gavin right after panto; four days in Vienna to see Die Meistersinger von Nurnberg and to see some art; 3 days in Palermo then 4 in Napoli (Pompei). A couple of tours in between. A day trip to the Italian alps to open up the mountain house for stepson and pals for skiing. Am tired just writing it.