The Week

Rachel Warner, Cheryl Moore, Eliza O'Malley  and Kristin Genis-Lund are "the merry wives of Windsor" in Verdi's FALSTAFF
Rachel Warner, Cheryl Moore, Eliza O'Malley and Kristin Genis-Lund are "the merry wives of Windsor" in Verdi's FALSTAFF
 

News

New: Verdi’s Falstaff at the Hillside Club on Saturday, September 28, at 7 p.m.

Sunday September 22, 2019 - 12:44:00 PM

Bay Shore Lyric Opera, a non-profit company based in Saratoga, presents Verdi's Falstaff, an opera in 3 acts by Giuseppe Verdi, on Saturday. September 28, at 7:00pm, at the Hillside Club in Berkeley, 2286 Cedar St.

This is the final performance of a fully staged and costumed production which has played in several Northern California venues, including Redwood City, Capitola, Santa Cruz and Big Sur. It will be sung in English accompanied by a 20-piece orchestra. Berkeley soprano Eliza O’Malley sings the role of Alice Ford, and Falstaff is Chris Wells.

Tickets, priced from $15-$37, are available at the door or may be purchased from Brown Paper Tickets by clicking here.

Admission includes a complementary wine and appetizer reception.

Verdi’s sophisticated Shakespearean comedy Falstaff is brimming with backfired plans, failed disguises, and uproarious personalities. This brilliant opera, Verdi’s last, features one of Shakespeare’s most memorable characters: the rotund and lovably oafish knight Falstaff, from the Bard’s Henry IV and The Merry Wives of Windsor. In this operatic take, Falstaff attempts to seduce two wealthy (and married) women—but they concoct their own scheme to expose him for a fool.

A deeply human comedy full of humor and genuine emotion, Verdi’s last opera is a splendid finale to an unparalleled career in the theater. With a supremely well-crafted score, which has long commanded the respect even of Verdi’s critics, it is among the greatest operatic comedies of all time. -more-


Opinion

Public Comment

An American Tragedy: The Decline in Life Expectancy

Harry Brill
Friday September 20, 2019 - 02:35:00 PM

On average the population in The United States as well as in other developed nations have experienced during the past decades substantial gains in longevity. However, unlike other developed countries, life expectancy in the United States has recently declined for three years in a row. The decline for women has been relatively small. Their life expectancy averages slightly over 80 years. But men have been very hard hit. Life expectancy for males has dropped from 78.6 to 76.1 years. Drug overdoses, suicides, and alcohol are among the most frequent explanations that the mass media offers to explain the decline in longevity. Typical of the media, the victims are being blamed. It is their bad habits and psychological problems that are shortening their lives.

Yet little or nothing is said about the underlying causes that precipitate their premature death. Particularly important, historical factors that have contributed to and shaped the current lives of Americans are for the most part ignored. It is as if history does not exist. Yet, the evidence shows that developments which go back many decades have contributed to the decline of longevity and to shorter life spans than in many other countries

Serious troubles confronting working people became evident in the early 1970s. Good jobs were being replaced by low wage and temporary jobs. Enormous numbers of jobs were being exported to low wage countries. Also, Unions have been taking a serious beating, which has been depriving many workers of any leverage on the job.

But what do these developments have to do with longevity? As two Princeton faculty members discovered several years ago that there was an unusually high mortality rate among whites age 45 to 54 who lacked a college degree. In contrast to whites with college degrees, who did not experience high mortality rates, the researchers found that the attachment of this group to the labor force was marginal and their wages low. And so they lost their sense of status and belonging. In turn, they experienced poor mental health. As their study found, pain and distress had built up over time. The researchers characterized the high mortality rate as deaths of despair. As many more good jobs continue to disappear, will college graduates also suffer a similar fate?

As distressing as it is that life expectancy has recently been declining, the prior years have not been good. On the contrary, the life span of American males is shorter in more than 30 other countries. Moreover, in contrast to American males, the average lifespan of males in 20 other nations are in the eighties.

Certainly the most important measure of health is life expectancy. On this issue we are lagging behind. The NY Times recently reported that the percentage of the population that lacks health insurance climbed in one year from 7.9 to 8.5 percent in 2018.

In fact, although Jeff Bezos, the billionaire who owns Whole Foods, signed a pledge last month that corporations should serve employees and the community, he nevertheless eliminated last week health benefits for 1900 Whole Foods part-time employees. Some of these employees have been working for the supermarket chain for as long as 15 years. It is likely that the considerable drop in health coverage for working people and their families will be reflected in a higher death rate.

Also according to the New York Times the gap between the rich and poor continues to widen. As a result, the purchasing power of low income families, which was already minimal, continues to decline. This too is very troublesome because poverty is a life threatening issue.

How to reverse current trends and advance the health and general well being of the country's population is certainly a pressing issue. Unless we develop strategies to successfully challenge the callousness toward human life what lies ahead for most Americans is very worrisome. -more-


Attacks on Saudi Oil Facilities

Jagjit Singh
Friday September 20, 2019 - 03:12:00 PM

US Intelligence is notoriously unreliable often manufacturing intelligence to suit political agendas, (The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution precipitating the Vietnam War, non-existent WMD’s leading to the “shock and awe” destruction of Iraq, the overthrow of Moammar Khadafy generating a horrific civil war in Libya. . .).

The Trump administration is now accusing Iran of helping the Houthis in Yemen of launching drone and missile attacks on two oil refineries in Saudi Arabia punishing Iran with more sanctions and possible military strikes.

The harsh reality is that finally little David Yemen has given the Saudi-US Goliath a bloody nose and dispelled the notion that it is impregnable to attacks. The UAE has wisely abandoned the Saudi-US coalition conceding that the war on Yemen is lost.

The question of the origin of the attack is TOTALLY IRRELEVANT.

By the law of war, Yemen has every right to defend itself from blistering Saudi air attacks that has killed a record number of civilians.

Secretary of State Pompeo's rush to judgment accusing Iran is ludicrous given our own dark role supporting Saudi air attacks on Yemen.

Furthermore, President Trump has created this crisis by abandoning the 2015 nuclear treaty and making a mockery of US treaty commitments.

He should stop boasting of record arms sales to the Saudis and broker a peace settlement between Saudi Arabia and Yemen. We must stop being proxies to Saudi Arabia and Israel and chart a new course putting the health and survival of the planet FIRST. -more-


Stand by Your Word

Dennis Fitzgerald, Melbourne, Australia
Sunday September 22, 2019 - 12:29:00 PM

President Trump has announced that 'We're going to Mars.' I'm all in favor of that so long as he is actually going and it's only a one way journey. -more-


Time to dethrone the King

Tejinder Uberoi
Sunday September 22, 2019 - 12:26:00 PM

The seamless wall of our democracy has been completely shattered by POTUS. -more-


Columns

ON MENTAL ILLNESS: The Usefulness of Journaling

Jack Bragen
Friday September 20, 2019 - 02:28:00 PM

Journaling of thoughts and feelings can allow almost any person to gain a greater understanding of oneself. When you write down some of the content of your conscious mind, it allows better ability for you to know what you are thinking.

It might surprise you to realize that you may not be conscious of many of your thoughts and feelings. This is because some of them may be in the periphery of consciousness or beyond the periphery. Or, in other instances, some thoughts and feelings are submerged.

Sometimes we submerge emotions to protect our consciousness. Therefore, journaling could give some amount of air and light to things we've been avoiding. We could get in touch with pain that we've been afraid to face. Sometimes this can cause adverse results. Yet, for the most part, journaling will help most people. -more-


ECLECTIC RANT: Trump versus Iran

Ralph E. Stone
Sunday September 22, 2019 - 12:17:00 PM

Last weekend, coordinated strikes on key Saudi Arabian oil facilities knocked out half of the country's oil capacity. On Monday, U.S. oil prices spiked. Without presenting convincing evidence, the Trump administration and the Saudis claim that Iran was behind the attack. Iran denies responsibility. Given Trump’s history of lying, who would believe any “evidence” Trump provided? -more-


THE PUBLIC EYE:Consequences of the Saudi Oilfield Attacks

Bob Burnett
Friday September 20, 2019 - 02:42:00 PM

On September 14, Saudi Arabia's Aramco oil fields were attacked by drones and cruise missiles, and approximately half of the Saudi oil capacity was "disrupted." The details are in dispute but Yemens' Houthi rebels took credit for the attack that appeared to originate across the Persian Gulf -- either in Kuwait, Iraq, or Iran. -more-


SMITHEREENS: Reflections on Bits & Pieces

Gar Smith
Friday September 20, 2019 - 02:54:00 PM

Sprouts Gives Loiterers a Pass

Between the parking lot behind the Spouts outlet on San Pablo Avenue and the adjacent forest of the Gill Tract, the powers-that-be have posted a sign.

The sign was meant to punish people for "loitering." But because of a punctuation error (a missing period), it actually grants one and all the opportunity to loiter without fear of consequences.

Here's is the message the sign was intended to send:

"No loitering. Violators will be prosecuted."

But here's what the sign actually promises:

"No loitering violators will be prosecuted."

So feel free to linger, all you local lay-abouts. Period. Full stop. End of sentence. -more-


Arts & Events

Great Singing in Gounod’s ROMÉO ET JULIETTE

Reviewed by James Roy MacBean
Sunday September 22, 2019 - 12:22:00 PM

It’s been more than thirty years since I last heard Charles Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette (in San Francisco Opera’s 1987-88 production starring Ruth Ann Swenson). So this year’s new production, which opened the season on September 6, was eagerly awaited by me, especially given that soprano Nadine Sierra was scheduled to sing the role of Juliette (or, as Shakespeare spelled it, Juliet). Then, however, only a few days prior to opening night, tenor Bryan Hymel, who was scheduled to sing Romeo, withdrew suddenly for unspecified “personal reasons.” Into Hymel’s place stepped Pene Pati, who is familiar to local audiences from his years with the Merola Program and the Adler Fellowship Program. In this context my initial decision to skip opening night and attend a later performance seemed all the wiser, since Pene Pati had very little time to prepare himself for opening night, even if he was scheduled to sing the last performance of Roméo et Juliette on October 1with his wife, Amina Edris, as Juliet. -more-


Daniil Trifonov’s Exquisite Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 4

Reviewed by James Roy MacBean
Friday September 20, 2019 - 02:55:00 PM

In reviewing Daniil Trifonov’s exciting performance last spring of Sergei Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 3 in D minor, I wrote that Trifonov played like a man with his hair on fire. Now, playing Rachmaninoff’s much less frequently heard Piano Concerto No. 4 in G minor, Daniil Trifonov offered a performance full of his usual intensity yet one that brought out in exquisite detail Rachmaninoff’s late style. This concerto’s middle movement, a Largo, was a lyrical masterpiece in Trifonov’s hands. His piano opens this movement with an exquisite phrase, which is immediately picked up by the strings. Then Trifonov plays Rachmaninoff’s simple embellishment of this theme, followed again by the strings, and so on. The theme itself is forever changing registers and colours, offering ever new harmonizations. Some find this Largo’s main theme brooding, but I find it hauntingly beautiful. -more-


A BILLY BUDD for the Ages

Reviewed by James Roy MacBean
Thursday September 19, 2019 - 02:35:00 PM

I’ve seen quite a few productions of Benjamin Britten’s Billy Budd in the past, including the first two — in 1978-9 and 1985-6 —of three prior productions at San Francisco Opera. I’ve enjoyed and learned something from each of these productions, as well as from those I’ve seen elsewhere. However, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a production until this one that effectively highlighted the intensity of the morality play inherent in Herman Melville’s unfinished novel of Billy Budd, and did so in Benjamin Britten’s strikingly idiosyncratic musical terms. In short, for me, this San Francisco opera production of Billy Budd, which opened on September 7, and which I attended on Sunday, September 15, is a Billy Budd for the ages. -more-


Updated: Around & About--Jazz: 17-Piece Electric Squeezebox Orchestra, with Guest Vocalist Kalil Wilson, on Their Way to the Monterey Jazz Festival, Plays the Jazz Conservatory on Addison Sunday at 5:30

Ken Bullock
Sunday September 22, 2019 - 12:20:00 PM

Erik Jekobson's 17-piece jazz ensemble of fine local players, featuring guest vocalist Kalil Wilson--one of our swingingest young singers--will play this Sunday at 5:30 in Rendon Hall of the California Jazz Conservatory, 2040 Addison (just off Shattuck), where they've been in residence with the Conservatory. Wilson appeared with Jeckobson's other, smaller jazz ensemble, String-tet, featuring some of the same players, at the Hillside Club recently, a fine show. The CJC Student Band will precede the Electric Squeezebox Orchestra Sunday at 4. $10-15. Info & tickets: https://cjc.edu/concerts -more-


The Berkeley Activist's Calendar, September 22-29

Kelly Hammargren, Sustainable Berkeley Coalition
Friday September 20, 2019 - 11:11:00 PM

Worth Noting and Showing Up:

Tuesday – City Council

Wednesday – The Disaster and Fire Safety Commission agenda includes parking and fire truck access in the hills. The Joint Subcommittee for the Implementation of State Housing Laws agenda includes objective standards for density.

Saturday – Berkeley has designated Opportunity Zones – the Opportunity Zone Forum explores how a Trump administration created mechanism for reducing capital gains taxes through real estate development affects / may affect Berkeley residents



Sunday, September 22, 2019

District 5 Residents, Town Hall with Councilmember Sophie Hahn and Mayor Jesse Arreguin, 10:30 am at Beth El Synagogue & “BYO” Picnic for noon to 2 pm, at Live Oak Park in front of the Berkeley Art Center -more-