Musical Notes

Mooching around the bargain bin at my local record store last night, my eye alighted upon a CD whose cover featured an aerial photograph of some multi-spired Bavarian stronghold, the package tour snapshot grandeur of which was balanced by a terrible cartoon of a bulky woman wearing a winged helmet. The CD was called “Weekend Wagner.”
Now - I don’t know about you - but I have no desire to be awakened by the Entry of the Gods into Valhalla on Sunday morning. In fact, the whole notion of Wagnerian weekend activity leaves me cold: you can just imagine the Flying Dutchman ceaselessly zooming up and down his garden on one of those loud motorized lawnmower things; Tristan und Isolde deafening the neighborhood with horrible rap music at their Saturday night barbeque; the Mastersingers of Nuremberg parade blocking the streets with their ridiculously decorated floats; Seigfried allowing his poodle Gotterdammerung to crap all over the sidewalk and not bothering to clean it up … still, I suppose it’s better than Tuesday afternoon Polyphonic Chant.
Anyway, the CD was only $3.99 but I didn’t buy it, even at that low price. These days I invest my music money in Opera DVDs, since I can surreptitiously slip them on when the doorbell rings announcing that friends have come around to call: “Oh no. Don’t worry.” I tell them, “You’re not disturbing me at all. I was just sitting around watching Faust. Can I get you a drink?”
“Maybe just a small one. We’re not staying long.”
“Oh okay then.”
Then the minute they depart I put the Contempt special features disc back on: Bonjour Brigitte (this is one Criterion Collection DVD that is definitely worth the money!)