Unbelievable? Believe it!! Camden Council were offering free compost bins, so I got one...and my landlady THREW IT AWAY, because she said she didn't want a compost bin in the garden.
She then got someone to trim the hedge and he left the hedge-clippings strewn all over the gravel and all over my plants for me to clear up, instead of -yes, putting them in the compost bin!!
going to the solicitor on Monday......!

(This is the serious bit!)

**********
19th. June 2006
Theatre du Chatelet, Paris
Schumann Recital by Thomas Hampson and Wolfram Rieger

The first half of the recital consisted of twelve Lieder to poems by
Justinius Kerner,which are not among Schumann's better-known works.
According to the excellent (and free!) programme,Schumann himself called
this series "Liederreihe" rather than "Liederkreis", to emphasise that
this is not a song-cycle with a unfolding narrative, but rather a series
of songs linked more musically than verbally. For me the most striking
song in the series was "Stirb, Lieb' und Freud'", in which the narrator
watches the girl he loves dedicated herself to life as a nun - and in
which Hampson produced the most incredible falsetto for the girl's voice!
A very strange and haunting song.
Hampson gave a very passionate and intelligent interpretation of all the
songs, and, as usual in Schumann, the piano is an equal partner with the
voice, not "the accompaniment", and Rieger does full justice to Schumann's
conception of this partnership, especially in the piano postludes which
characterise so many of his songs.
The last three songs, "Stille Traenen", "Wer machte dich so krank?", "Alte
Laute" are linked musically in this way - with no discernible break
between the postlude of one song and the beginning of the next. Hampson's
performance is very sensitive and conveys all the delicate nuances of the
text. In fact, he had been ill and had had to cancel a recital the
previous week - this was barely discernible in the voice or the
presentation, but at one point he did stop to mop his brow while he leant
on the piano, so he was evidently physically exhausted, but he didn't let
this affect his actual performance.
The second half of the recital was - what we usually call DICHTERLIEBE,
but, as a result of Hampson's own musicological researches into Schumann's
lieder, which can be read on his website at
http://www.hampsong.com/blog/schumannheine.php
four songs which were not in the original printed edition have been added
to the cycle, which was entitled "20 Lieder und Gesaenge aus dem LYRISCHEN
INTERMEZZO im BUCH DER LIEDER".
What impresses me over and over again in Hampson's Lieder interpretations
is his concentration on the meaning of the texts. I was especially struck
by the way he conveyed the bitter irony of "Ich grolle nicht" - the poet
claims that he's "not complaining", but of course the whole song is one of
complaint! Hampson captures Heine's irony in a way I've never quite
experienced before. And in "Im leuchtenden Sommermorgen" he conveyed the
idea that - perhaps the flower imagery isn't such a positive imagery after
all. The flowers say "Sei uns'rer Schwester nicht boese, Du trauriger,
blasser Mann" - as if they meant, don't be angry with our sister, she's
only a flower, she blooms, fades and dies, you can't expect constancy from
such an ephermeral creature.
I've singled these two out for special mention because Hampson seems to
have brought new insight into the interpretation, but he performed the
whole cycle with beautiful, sensitive phrasing and smoothness of tone and
intonation, equally partnered, as before, by Rieger.
For encores, he sang first "Du bist wie eine Blume", and then Meyerbeer's
setting of "Du schoenes Fischermaedchen", which most of us only know in
Schubert's setting. It's impossible to say which is "better", but the
Meyerbeer is a delightful version, which deserves to be better known.
During the applause, Hampson insisted that Rieger take a solo bow, as he
deserved. A great partnership of gifted artists.

Dr.Jane Susanna ENNIS
http://members.fortunecity.co.uk/leonora/opera.html

This is the frivolous bit!
Went to a recital of Schumann Lieder at the Chatelet, given by Thomas Hampson and Wolfram Rieger.
Afterwards I asked Hampson to sign my programme, and...he complimented me on what I was wearing!!! (Wow! Imagine, one of the most beautiful and elegant people in the world complimented ME!!!!)
The photo is of me with him at the Stage Door.

Will shortly write the serious bit...review of the recital!

Don't think I ever explained that, apart from my garden at home, I do a voluntary job as a garden for the William Morris Society at Kelmscott House in Hammersmith.

When I started this job I planted a white rose "Saints Felicite et Perpetue" - yes, it really is called that, it's named after a pair of medieval martyrs. The rose has grown up the trellising and looks really beautiful. The buds have a pinkish tinge, and when the flowers are open they are a pale cream shade.

Isn't it just wonderful when it's been raining....feels so fresh!! And the gardens must be so happy....:p

Managed to get all the tickets I asked for!!:p Without the site crashing!!!!
LA BOHEME

CARMEN and LADY MACBETH OF MTSENSK

The death has been announced of the composer Gyorgy Ligeti.
http://www.schott-music.com/news/komponistennews/show,3336.html

Some lovely violas have self-seeded in my garden!! One is HEARTSEASE, which looks like this...the other is a very pale cream with blue edging...the photo isn't ready yet!

Women of England, THERE IS HOPE!!

Click here for STOP THE WORLD CUP

Bought some plants at CAMDEN GREEN FAIR.

Some chard (aka Leaf Beet 'Bright Lights'- you can see why!) It doesn't look quite like this at the moment, but I'm hoping it will in a few weeks...and it tastes good too!

I also planted some tomatoes- these I didn't get from Camden Green Fair, just from a local greengrocers!

Friends of the Earth biodiversity campaign - some info HERE.

On the way in to the library this morning, saw and smelt the beautiful jasmine in the neighbours' gardens!
Mine doesn't qualify as a bush yet, but I planted it by the trellising, and am expecting great things of it!

The 2006 season for OPERA HOLLAND PARK starts soon. This year they are performing:
FEDORA (Giordano)
MANON LESCAUT (Puccini)
COSI FAN TUTTE (Mozart)
THE MERRY WIDOW (Lehar)
RIGOLETTO (Verdi)
THE QUEEN OF SPADES (Tchaikovsky)
*********
I've added some images from last year's MACBETH, which was a really good production, very well-performed.

Olafur Sigurdarson as Macbeth

Miriam Murphy as Lady Macbeth