Milan Days 4 and 5

One of Milan's finest.
We need identification of this Milanese bird -- a magpie?

One of our signature "stupid" pictures taken in the beautiful little park near the Principe.

Our walk in the park near the Principe on Tuesday, October 5.

T The program for L'elisir d'amore on October 5.

JoyJoycee at Teatro alla Scala for L'elisir.

J and J at Teatro alla Scalla at L'elisir.

Monday was our first rainy day from beginning to end. It did not stop us from having dinner with Patrizia Piacentini, an Egyptologist we met in Milan in 2008 at the end of our round the world trip, through our friend Elmar Seibel. Patrizia is delightful company, and we so enjoyed her visit to Martha's Vineyard last summer with her family.

Tuesday was our last day in Milan, with high expectations for the Donizetti opera this evening, L'elisir d'amore, featuring Rolando Villazon as Nemorino. We were curious about whether Villazon had fully recovered from his operation, and we concluded at the end of the performance that he is not the same singer he was two or three years ago. However, his furtiva lagrima brought bravos galore, and the cast received a wild ovation at the end. We were not overwhelmed by Nino Machaidze as Adina but it was a splendid evening.

Milan Day 3

The musicians at work.

The cover of the program.

The highlight of Sunday was a program of Bach flute sonatas at Chiesa di San Marco. The flautist was Stefanao Canzi, a gifted musician, the clavicembalo was played by Carlo Mascheroni, and Annamaria Bernadette Cristian was the cellist. The church was packed (ingresso libero) and we were not disappointed by the musicians, who drew so much applause that they returned for an encore.

Milan Day 2

Versace's home furnishings set a new standard.

A magnificent sculpture near the Duomo.
One of the New York fashionistas visits Milan, complete with Trussardi jeans and black leather.


And another New York fashionista on the streets of Milan.

Pregnancy is no bar to performance art.

One of the innumerable window mannequins on display.

Any votes for this chair to be included in the lobby at 15 West 81st Street?

They will see you coming on the beach at the Hamptons.

When planning a trip to Milan, disregard the published weather reports. Before we left Venice the weather reports for Milan were uniformly predicting five straight days of rain, i.e. rain for our entire visit. In fact, we experienced rain on exactly one day, the other four days sunny and mild. Today, Saturday, October 2, on our way to the Via Spiga/Monte Napoleone we stopped in an old master drawing and print shop, Stanza Del Borgo, on Via Turati, and discovered that the owner, Silvana Boreggi, is acquainted with my bookseller/print dealer friend Elmar Seibel in Boston. If you are a collector of old master drawings and prints, be sure to visit Ms. Boreggi: she has an exquisite collection on display.

The shops in the prime fashion district of Milan are a visual delight. We New Yorkers felt so drab by comparison.

We had dinner at an old favorite not far from the Principe: Cafe Solferino, a family owned restaurant with an amazing wine list. Be sure to order the risotto.

Milan Day 1

The Duomo is one of the visual pleasures of Milan, and never ceases to thrill.
Our Teatro alla Scala tickets for L'occasione fa il ladro

Don't be misled by this billboard: there is no shortage of clothing in Milan.

This is our third visit to Milan so we feel very comfortable here (who wouldn't at the Principe di Savoia?). The train ride from Venice to Milan was less than thrilling: dirty and smelly coaches, too many stops (the express train left too early in the morning), and no cafe/dining car. How can a person expect to survive in Italy without at least one capuccino at the mid-morning break? The Stazione Centrale in Milan is very close to the Principe, and we were quickly settled. I had purchased tickets online for Rossini's L'occasione fa il ladro but thought that I might improve the location of the seats by visiting the box office. The ticket agent was most helpful, yellow frame glasses notwithstanding, and we were assigned seats in Row M in the orchestra: a perfect row because it is a cross-theatre aisle with extra leg room but not too wide to impair the view of the translation display on the back of the seats in Row L. The opera was very well done; I did not recognize any of the singers but they were quite young, nimble, and in fine voice. What more could one ask?

Venice Day 5

The houses on Burano

A Torcello garden on our way from Locanda Cipriani to the ferry landing

The garden at Locanda Cipriani from our table

Joycee enjoying an aperitif at Locanda Cipriani

Seated on my throne in front of the Basilica

The Basilica on Torcello

For our last day in Venice we visited Torcello, an outlying island about 30 via water taxi minutes from our hotel, Bauer Palladio, on Giudecca. It is well worth the trip. First and foremost, the Last Judgment mosaic in the Basilica di Santa Maria Assunta rivals the Ravenna mosaics in both beauty and size. Whatever else has been done to the interior of the Basilica, the Last Judgment is truly awe-inspiring, whatever the religious beliefs or non-beliefs of the viewer. By all means take with you the detailed description found in the Michelin guide to Venice: I would not have known without it that the fair skinned child seated in the lap of Lucifer is the Antichrist. I could not help but be impressed with the punishments meted out for the Seven Deadly Sins; in case you were wondering about the punishment for the Covetous, the mosaic shows skulls whose eyesockets are filled with worms!

The adjoining museum is very small but filled with artifacts from as long ago as the 7th century B.C., including instruments for applying leeches to the skin.

On the grounds outside of the church there is a white (alabaster?) throne-like chair, which so reminded me of the Pope's throne in Avignon that I knew I had to be photographed seated on it.

We had a most delightful pranzo at Locanda Cipriani; Locanda would be a perfect place for a honeymoon (as one of my friends did many years ago), but book well ahead of time: there are only a few rooms.

We walked from Locanda to the ferry dock after lunch and were overwhelmed by the physical beauty of Torcello. We returned to Giudecca via Burano, the lace-making island, and spent a few minutes strolling the colorful streets while waiting for the ferry back to San Marco. All in all a splendid day!

Venice Day 4

Venetian vaporetto skipper

It is not easy to be at this altitude in Venice, day in and day out.

The Venice city fathers pay for restoration with billboard advertising! How American!

Piazza San Marco from the top of the San Giorgio Maggiore campanile

The magnificent floor of San Giorgio -- copied in Tarnowska's American Bar

The classic facade of San Giorgio Maggiore

San Giorgio Maggiore is one of the prime places to visit, not only because of its Tintorettos and Palladian architecture, but also because of its campanile and the unsurpassed views from the top (accessible by elevator). On our way to San Giorgio Maggiore we stopped at the Navale museum, which has many relics of Venice's maritime history, including such splendid items as a model of the Bucintoro, the floating palace for Venetian nobility, and a Doge's chair. The day concluded with our meeting a friend of Jane Scovell's (one of the residents of 15 West 81), Marie Louse Brulatour Mills, who has an apartment on one of Venice's canals, where we enjoyed an aperitif on the terrazzo of Marie Louise's apartment.

Venice Day 3

The Venetians want everyone to know where the giudei live(d)

Casa Israelitica di Riposo in the Venice ghetto

The campo of the Venice ghetto

Gam Gam restaurant in the Venice ghetto - the images on the wall are Torah excerpts

I Musici Venezia recital at Scuola Grande di San Teodoro
Today we revisited the Venice ghetto. We first enjoyed il pranzo at Gam Gam, with an assortment of Israeli mezes. There seems to be more life in the ghetto than on our last visit; certainly more shops selling the usual tourist mementos. We walked from the ghetto to the Rialto, where we boarded the vaporetto for the hotel to change for the evening recital at I Musici Veneziani. The venue for the recital was Scuola Grande di San Teodoro, a short walk from the San Marco landing. Of course, we stopped for our usual pre-recital booster; this time it was a Bellini and a dolci. What a Bellini! Frothy and beautifully colored.
The recital was in a large auditorium, with a stage on which the musicians and singers performed in 18th century costumes. There was a variety of arias and orchestral pieces, one of which was a beautiful sinfonia from La Diavolessa, an 18th century opera composed by B. Galuppi, a native of Torcello which we will visit on Thursday (Day 5). The baritone was first rate, singing the factotum aria from Il Barbiere, and a duet with a soprano singing Brindisi from La Traviata. All in all, a swell evening.

Venice Day 2

This image made us feel right at home at Tarnowska's

The interior of Tarnowsak's

Tarnowska's American Bar - "The Mean Maria"

A rainy day in Venice. It started sunny but by 2 p.m. it was raining steadily. The concierge recommended a recital in a palazzo: Duetti d'Amore, in the Palazzo Barbarigo Minotto, so we signed up for it. Our first venture of the day was the Peggy Guggenheim Museum, which we had visited on our last trip here about 10 years ago. This time I noticed that in the many photos of PG in her home -- now the museum -- none show her with a smile. Her life was not that desolate; but of course the photos may have been taken after the death of her beloved daughter Pegeen, which in PG's own words was a terrible blow. After the museum visit, the rain drove us back to the Palladio for lunch and some noodling on the computer.

Finding our way to the Palazzo for the recital took us through the usual winding alleys of Venice, to a decaying palace on the Grand Canal which had obviously seen better days. We arrived early, so we had a prosecco and capuccino at Tarnowska's American Bar -- an obvious tourist attraction but over-the-top decor.

The recital was only so so; the vocal talent on display was mediocre at best, although the string accompaniment was quite good. The first part of the recital was in a very small unventilated room with peeling wallpaper and a general air of decrepitude; a canary would have been a good idea. The second part of the recital was in a grand bedroom with no risk of asphyxiation. One of the non-musical highlights of the evening was meeting a young couple who raise sheep on their farm in Wales. According to them, Welsh lamb is prized in Italy. Opera lovers come in all sizes and shapes!

Tomorrow evening we attend I Musici Veneziani: Baroque and Opera, at a different venue.

Venice Day 1

The interior of La Fenice, September 26, 2010, from our balcony seats.

La Fenice, September 26, 2010

The patio at the Bauer Palladio. The garden at the Bauer Palladio.

Our five week trip was delayed by two days so that Joyce could recover from an intestinal bug but it worked out for the best because the flying weather was near perfect, we had a strong tail wind -- 128 mph! -- so we arrived nearly a half hour early, and the weather in Venice was spectacular. The trip from the Marco Polo airport to our hotel, Bauer Palladio, was less than 30 minutes. The Bauer Palladio is a converted Palladio building on Giudecca, a short water taxi ride from San Marco, and directly across from its much more expensive sister hotel, Bauer Palazzo. It is unpretentious from the outside but the interior is relatively new and well designed. We were upgraded to a suite, and it is well appointed with a grand and practically new marble/granite bathroom, complete with Jacuzzi. The outdoor garden is a visual delight, and has a sweet fragrance from the many rose bushes.

After a latte and some dolci, we prepared for our trip to La Fenice. The vaporetto was much more comfortable than the vaporetto of ten years ago, with real seats, and the trip from the landing on Giudecca very near the Bauer was under ten minutes. The walk from the vaporetto dock on San Marco was circuitous because of flooding in Piazza San Marco from a recent heavy rainstorm, but we found La Fenice without much difficulty. A prosecco and a cappucino at our favorite restaurant directly across from La Fenice helped restore our somewhat flagging spirits - - sleep on an airplane is fitful at best. Part of the reason for the timing of the trip to Venice was to see La Traviata at La Fenice, where it premiered in 1853, and the presentation could only be charitably described as Eurotrash. Violetta was transformed from a sophisticated courtesan and favorite of petty nobility to a common whore: the opening scene is in Violetta's bedroom and a succession of johns parades in, each one crassly handing her a fistful of U.S. dollars (more about the producer's use of American themes later). This scene is followed by Liabiamo, with a near-orgy of demimonde characters in outlandish costumes. In fairness the singing was quite good, and Violetta was well performed by Ekaterina Sadovnikova. One of the highlights for us was the conductor, Stefano Rabaglia, who not only had committed the music to memory, but who also was the prompter as he mouthed the entire libretto while conducting!

The use of American dollars pervaded the performance: the country scene in the second act takes place in a forest whose floor is littered with a deep carpet of U.S. dollar bills, which continue to flutter down during the remainder of the act, including one stray bill that landed in the orchestra pit on a violinist. But the highlight (or lowlight) was the dance scene after Violetta abandons Alfredo. Instead of the Met's bull fighting pantomime, this version used a dozen scantily clad men and women in the producer's vision of American cowboy costumes, who mimicked lewd acts as part of the choreography. Very distracting and off-putting: Violetta is no longer the pitiful and tragic fallen woman but just another denizen of a world that we know is there but would rather not explore, at least not with Verdi's exquisite music which seems so out of place. Sadovnikova is blonde and was a credible prostitute; however, Patrizi Ciofi alternates with Sadovnikova and it is difficult to imagine her performing as well in this characterization.

We had less than optimal seats in the balcony with a partial view, but because La Fenice is so small, we had terrific closeups of the singers, the stage and the orchestra.

We returned to the restaurant across from La Fenice and had a first class risotto, some Chianti, and a spectacular ricotta cheesecake. We somehow made it back to the hotel on the private launch operated by the two Bauer hotels, and collapsed into bed for a much needed night's sleep!