Monthly Archives: April 2019
Elderly Go Blind as NHS Ignores Eye Surgery Rationing Advice
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 26th April 2019The startling title is the headline from an article in the Times of London. Below are the first two paragraphs from the story: Tens of thousands of elderly people are left struggling to see because of an NHS cost-cutting drive that relies on them dying before they can qualify for cataract surgery, senior doctors say….
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Rights, Entitlements, and the Cost of Medical Care
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 25th April 2019The post previous to this one presented two links. The first was to an article that detailed the upcoming financial failure of Medicare. The second was to an article that outlined Senator Bernie Sanders plan to provide Medicare for all. The unstated implication was that if we couldn’t pay for the Medicare we have putting…
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Some Things Speak for Themselves
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 23rd April 2019Medicare to go broke three years earlier than expected, trustees say. Bernie Sanders Unveils ‘Medicare for All’ Bill.
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Penguins
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 20th April 2019The penguin is a noble bird, always dressed in formal attire. Most belong to the subfamily Spheniscinae, but some play hockey in western Pennsylvania. And still others belong to a prestigious but mostly obscure medical organization – The American Association of Physicians. The group was founded by William Osler and a few other physicians more…
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Javier Camarena – Contrabandista
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 14th April 2019Contrabandista is the title of Mexican tenor Javier Camarena’s new CD. It’s built around the career of the Spanish singer, composer, teacher, and general all around handyman Manuel Garcia (1775-1832). Of the 10 selections on this disc, five are by Garcia. He is better known as the first Almaviva in Rossini’s The Barber of Seville…
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The Martyrdom of Saint Elmo
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 11th April 2019He saw the light leap leopard low A ribbon from a wanton bow A slash of fire on Saint Elmo’s brow a lurid smile denotes the scholar’s mortal grin One would not think darkness the repose of sin Melancholy was a pose of those within the bounds of mortal care But age no longer rests…
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Sentence of the Century
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 8th April 2019I realize that we’re still in the early part of the 21st century, but this line from the April issue of Opera News will be hard to top. “Henry Stewart reconciles the dissonances in the career of opera’s greatest atonal composer.” The reference is to Alban Berg. This statement is akin to writing that Martha…
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Solenne In Quest’ora
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 5th April 2019Duets with a tenor and a baritone are not common in opera. There’s the famous one in The Pearl Fishers, the Wolf’s Crag scene in Lucia di Lammermoor is written entirely for a tenor and baritone, but it’s usually omitted. There’s a great duet between a father and son in Verdi’s The Sicilian Vespers. Don…
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