Monthly Archives: November 2016

Finale 10 – Falstaff (Tutto nel mondo è burla)

This one is a triple finale. It’s the end of the 3rd act, the end of the opera, and the end of Verdi’s career as a composer of operas. Verdi had written only one comedy prior to Falstaff – Un Giorno di Regno in 1840. Thus 53 years separated it from Falstaff. Verdi’s final opera…


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Genesis 25 – Predictions of Things to come

I happened to be leafing through Chapter 25 of Genesis when I was struck by its relevance to many of today’s most pressing issues. At some indeterminate time, I may get around to how the first chapter of this book seems to conform to modern cosmology’s explanation of the origin of the universe came to…


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Life Expectancy in the Elderly

Americans have a lower life expectancy than people in other developed countries. This lower longevity has been often used to disparage medical care in this country as being inferior to that of other similarly advanced nations.  Such an accusation is made acute by the high cost of American medical care – the highest in the world….


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Statins For the Primary Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease

The use of statins (drugs which lower blood cholesterol) for the primary prevention of CV disease has been controversial since the drugs became available almost 30 years ago. Primary prevention is the prevention of a disease which the patient does not have, eg a stroke or a heart attack. Secondary prevention is the prevention of…


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Tutto Verdi: La Forza del Destino

Parma’s production of Verdi’s epic opera is one of the weakest in its march through all the master’s operas. Forza is often criticized as the weakest of Verdi’s latter masterpieces because of its episodic nature, its length (when given uncut), and because of its “dry” patches. In my opinion, none of these criticisms apply when…


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Sois Immobile

Last night the Sirius Network broadcast William Tell from the Met. This run of the opera is the first time that it has been performed by the company in 85 years. The opera when done complete, as the Met is doing it, lasts about five hours including the two intervals. But the music is good…


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