<

A Second Hearing

If you are new to opera or even if you are an opera veteran the NY Metropolitan Opera’s weekly radio broadcast offers the opportunity to hear some of the best singers in the world perform and also the chance to learn a few things about opera. The Met has been broadcasting opera since 1931 and now reaches an international audience in some 40 countries.  This past weekend’s broadcast was Puccini’s “La Boheme” .  La Boheme was the my first opera experience seen at Glimmerglass Opera in Cooperstown, NY.  I wasn’t bowled over by the opera, not because the performances were bad but for reasons I’ll address shortly.  I was pleased to hear this popular opera again now that I have a few years of opera under my belt.  Although listening to opera on the radio on a Saturday morning while working around the house is not the best circumstance to evaluate a performance, it was quite enjoyable and left me wanting to see the opera live again.  José Luis Duval as Rodolfo was terrific in his performance of “Che Gelida Manina”  in Act 1.  Hear this well known aria performed by tenor Jussi Bjorling 1936 {Mp3}. 

One of the best features of the Met Broadcast are the intermissions.  Every intermission has some educational component that may or may not relate to the current production.  Usually there is panel of experts that discuss the topic and share their broad range of opera knowledge.  Recently (Feb 12) there was an discussion of opera with director Martin Scorsese and Howard Shore, composer of “Lord of the Rings” soundtrack.  This week there was a behind the scenes series with fascinating interviews of the production staff of electricians, carpenters and others telling about their respective rolls and the logistics of staging operas at the Met.  Since the Met is a reporatory company several operas are in production at the same time.  On Saturday, for instance, La Boheme was the matinee performance and Verdi’s Nabucco the evening. 

The longstanding “Opera Quiz” is the main intermission feature.  Here the panel (which varies every week) attempts to answer questions sent in by listeners.  On Feb 12 there was a great answer by British conductor Mark Elder in response to a question from a teenager about how to get friends interested in opera.  The jist of what he said was that it is critical that new opera goers sit as close as possible to the “source of the sound”, as he put it, in order to fully connect the music with the emotional component of opera.  Sitting far away from the stage for a novice makes it difficult to make a connection with the interplay of music and theatrical elements.  He also went on to say how important it was for the singers to be able to bring the opera alive with performances that help the audience make this connection. to draw them into the “emotional world” of the opera. 

His comments made perfect sense to me and jibbed with my own experience.  Our seats at Seattle Opera are fourth row gallery on the left side (they are very reasonably priced).  Although we are on the side, we’re very close to the stage.  We can see facial expressions and of course can hear well. I’ve sat farther back in the house a number of times and find closer to be much better.  The only downside is one has to work harder to see the supertitles since they are high about the stage ( the very expensive seats just to the right of us in the center section have the same problem).  During my recent trip to Greece a friend went with Sue and sat in our seats and she said it made a world of difference for her.  In the past she had only sat in the far back and had a hard time engaging with the operas she has seen.  My experience at Glimmerglass suddenly made sense.  Glimmerglass is a unique house in that is partially open air although it is a covered structure.  The day I saw La Boheme it was cool and wet and I was actually cold during the performance which was very distracting.  We also sat on the far side near the back leaving me very much out of touch with the singers.  My advice to the beginner: sit as close as you can afford.  Try getting tickets on the front sides they are more affordable than the center sections. 

BBC archive of Met Quiz and intermission features mentioned above

Met Opera Broadcast Website

Another Roadside Attraction

Drive threw any American city or town and you are sure to find churches of every size and denomination. America is not only an ethnic melting pot but a religious one as well. In Greece it is an entirely different story. Orthodoxy is the official "state religion" of Greece. The Orthodox Church enjoys governmental status on par with defense, agriculture and the like. Orthodox clergy are employed by the "State Church’ and paid by the government. You would be hard pressed to find churches from any other denomination in all but the largest cities. While most Greeks are baptized in the Orthodox faith, not all are church goers or could be considered pious Orthodox. Yet, Orthodoxy still has a big impact on modern Greek culture and day to day life.

A common sight everywhere are chapels. Ranging from the size of a large phone booth to ones that can fit several people, chapels seem almost as pervasive in Greece as latte stands are in Seattle; there seems to be one on just about on every corner. Each chapel is outfitted with one or more icons, small candle tapers and a sand box tray in which to place a burning taper. It is even common to see chapels in the parking lots of factories and other commercial establishments. There is no risk of offending the atheist in the next cubicle or provoking a freedom of religion lawsuit by the ACLU in Greece. Having a bad day at work? Girlfriend run out on you again? Just head down to the corner chapel, it is that easy!

There actually seems to be a significant chapel construction industry sprung up to meet the demand for "modular chapels", the ones you often see in parking lots. Much like the business we see here in the US that sell pre-made sheds and small storage buildings, there is a similar industry in Greece that also carries a line of chapels in addition to the usual structures. I can just imagine TV commercials like the tacky huckster ones we see here: “our chapels are so tough you can drive a truck over them!”... “we will not be undersold”. 

There is also big demand for tiny chapels of the garden ornament type used as roadside shrines. The shrines mark places where people have died in accidents. Many of the shrines have burning votive candles and are obviously tended by the families. The Greeks are such terrible drivers that shrines unfortunately dot the roadsides. It was a bit unnerving in our travels to see so many along the road.

I’m publicly announcing it here: if , God forbid, I’m in a fatal car accident, no puny garden ornament shrine please, give one of the “modular chapels”.. you know the kind you can drive over with a truck!

Flush or Not To Flush…

Who would think that something like toilet paper would become a memorable part of a trip. Not sure what to expect on Mt Athos in terms of accommodations and related "services" I brought along some supplies.  I had Imodium (in case someone got some bad food), cough syrup, antacid, Tylenol with codeine, and a small roll of 100% recycled paper toilet paper. I had heard stories of people traveling in Eastern Europe where toilet paper was ripped up newspaper, I would have none of that on this trip. Fortunately our accomodations were great and a scrap of newspaper was not to be found in the bathrooms.

A day after we were got to Greece I came down with a cold; not a bad one but still the usual sneezing, coughing and requisite nose blowing. Now if I were at home this wouldn’t be a big problem but since I was up at odd hours of the night standing in long church services my trusty roll came in handy. Stuffed in my vest pocket I had an almost endless supply of nose blowing material. If you’ve ever used 100% recycled toilet paper you know that it is a bit on the abrasive side.  With ample facial hair and a tough schnoz a little abrasion perhaps worked better than the soft perfumed stuff designed for the ladies. 

The problem was I’m not a dainty sneezer, I’ve never been able to quelch a sneeze as others do.  The beautiful services were occasionally punctuated by my "full body sneezes". I can just imagine another pilgrim telling his friends " the services were marvelous, very peaceful and uplifting, except every once in awhile some American dude would sneeze and blow his big nose… Americans!".  I was perhaps the only person in the entire 1000 year history of the Holy Mountain to stand in church with a prayer rope in one hand and a roll of toilet paper in the other! 

Now comes the fascinating part of my toilet paper tale: In Greece (and perhaps elsewhere in Europe) rather than flushing the paper down the toilet one disposes of it in a small garbage can next to the toilet. I’m not sure why but perhaps it is due to the old plumbing in many buildings or bad paper that won’t degrade. Try flushing newspaper down your toilet sometime and see what happens! Anyway, it was very strange and disconcerting. Down the toilet is almost a reflexive act, in the garbage takes some thought. Complicating things further some places wanted you to flush it.

Truth be told, my lower GI tract doesn’t take well to major time zone changes and it’s a bit shy about strange bathrooms, especially ones where one is required to squat. So mix in the flush or not to flush quandary… well you know what I mean.  I have to confess, there were a few times I flushed when I should have thrown.  Once or twice ( OK , three times) I’ll admit I did flush in a spirit of defiance; "I’ll be damned if I’m going to open that garbage can with all the other "used" paper in there… it’s un-American!"

Greek Coffee

One of my concerns before the trip, albeit a minor one, was caffeine. Being a fairly hardcore coffee drinker I didn’t want to deal with coffee withdrawal during the trip. Thinking ahead I laid in a small supply of chocolate covered espresso beans in my bag in the event of a caffeine emergency. The delectable beans came in handy on a number of occasions. How marvelous they tasted to our weary band of pilgrims on the long trek to Karakallou Monastery . 

Finding a “real” American style (Gallicos Cafe as the Greeks call it) cup of coffee in Greece is difficult.  The common cup of black coffee is “Nescafe”, really, it is referred too as “Nescafe”.  Now that is good brand identity!  Unfortunately I had a number of Nescafes in desperation.  On the ferry to Mt Athos I had a Nescafe version of a “Frappacino”:  water, those magical Nescafe crystals, powered non-dairy whitener, and sugar all whipped like a milkshake… not bad really.

Greek-style coffee is ubiquitous.  We were served it at every monastery upon our arrival at the guesthouse.  The guest master (Arhondaris) would serve a glass of water, Greek coffee, and a sweet treat, usually it was Loukoumi (sort of like apples and cotlets but chewer and flavored with rose water) but on a few occasions it was a cookie or chocolate.  Greek coffee, for those who are unfamiliar, is made with a finely ground almost powered coffee that is boiled in a small pot (brikki) with sugar liberally added. Served in a small demitasse cup, it is only a few ounces of coffee-like liquid. The taste is very intense and sometimes just not very good. Of course a lot depends on the quality of the coffee as we all know. We did have on occasion what I consider a decent cup. By the end of the trip Patrick refused to drink it, he had had enough. Me, I was just in it for the caffeine and to be polite. Speaking of polite; Fr Peter told us Europeans regard Americans as too polite and “simple-minded”. I’ve never thought of myself as polite, simple-minded yes. From that point on I was on guard to avoid any unnecessary episodes of excessive politeness in order to not perpetuate this ugly stereotype of Americans. 

The danger of drinking Greek coffee is what lies unseen at the bottom of the cup. Since the coffee is poured unfiltered into the cup a thick sludge settles at the bottom. The problem comes for the neophyte not yet conditioned to stop before that fateful moment of no return when the unpleasant slurry invades every fissure of the unsuspecting mouth. Yuck! No amount of water easily at hand can flush the unpleasantness out, no antidote, a rookie mistake that not even the sticky sweet Loukoumi will annul. 

Drinking Greek coffee requires that one set aside a part of awareness to monitor the cup. An interesting conversation can pose certain disaster as it did me at Vatopedi . The polite American in me fortunately restrained the basic instinct to run from the room screaming! A few mistakes and one learns. By the end of the trip I was cocky enough to play a game with myself: how far down can I drink this without… life on the edge at 50.

How Was Your Trip?

This is a question I’ve been asked countless times by friends and coworkers since I returned. When asked, I reply "great!" "wonderful!" but in my head I’m thinking how inadequate such a casual reply is in conveying the full measure of this adventure. If I were simply on a vacation I might feel satisfied with such a common response. Even in situations where we get a bit more in-depth I’m never sure what to say. How do I convey such an experience? Well… I spent 8-10 hours a day in church. I slept 2-6 hours a day, never in one block. I ate twice a day. I even had to drink boiled sweet coffee (Greek coffee) to meet my daily caffeine needs… now that is a struggle! This was no sightseeing trip, no week on the beach (although that would have been nice!). This was a spiritual pilgrimage that I’m still trying to understand.

Now, I don’t want to make more out of it than it was; I wasn’t looking for answers, direction, or solace on the trip. I was open to whatever might happen. It would certainly be nice to get some "spiritual sense" slapped into me but that was unlikely. Major life changes do happen to folks on pilgrimages. As we saw and heard, many people come to Mt Athos with heavy burdens that are lifted by God’s grace. Again, how do you explain to someone that you stood in awe and prayed before an ancient icon, like thousands before you have done, some of them Saints, and have it make any sense. How do you convey the "other worldly" experience of spending all night in services? I’m reminded of the report to Prince Vladimir of the Rus (pre-Christian Russia 990 AD) by emissaries returning from Constantinople, saying of Orthodox worship: "we knew not whether we were in heaven or on earth". How humble and lowly one feels when gazing upon a relic of the "True Cross" of Christ, theuncorrupt (undecayed ) hand of St John Chrysostom, the belt of the Holy Virgin and on and on. Many people would think you nuts, deluded, a fool for believing in such things!

One takes from such an experience a sense of wonder at what has taken place in these great monasteries over the centuries. Indeed, much of what has shaped the course and life of the Church (Orthodox) in the last 1000 years was influenced by those who lived at one time or another on the Holy Mountain. Even today there are many holy men,"elders" and ascetics living there. At other monastaries across the globe there are also many holy women (not to leave out the ladies!). Some, but not all, provide spiritual guidance to others. All strive to pray unceasingly for their own salvation and at that of others.
 
If I had a "mission" on the trip it was to pray for other people: my family, extended family, church family, friends, co-workers and especially those I know who are ill. Rarely was I thinking of myself, I do that enough at home! As we hear many times, the spiritual path is narrow (as depicted in the icon above). We Orthodox don’t believe that simply professing a belief in God or accepting Jesus as one’s personal savior is the beginning and end to the spiritual journey. Growth rather, comes from struggle and hardship; not something we in the 21st century are accustomed to.  It is through humility, repentance, and love that spiritual progress comes often in imperceptible steps. The Church has often been referred to as a "spiritual hospital", if that is indeed true than the monasteries are the "intensive care units". It is here that immersion in the complete cycle of Orthodox worship and the ascetic life that one finds true medicine for the soul.

It even seems that today’s world leaders feel the same way. Read an interesting article about their pilgrimage to the Holy Mountain andVatopedi Monastery prior to a major summit.

More info about Orthodoxy