Artistic Anecdotes
by Leticia Marie Sanchez French opera composer Jules Massenet once experienced an untimely mix-up in phone lines at the precise moment he was dashing off the finishing lines to an opera. Stuck on the last scene of his opera Thérèse he called up…
Read MoreAccording to author Norman Lebrecht, in his Book of Musical Anecdotes, virtuoso pianist Sergei Rachmaninov was in the midst of performing a violin and piano recital in New York when his partner, violinist Fritz Kreisler was struck by a memory block. A nervous…
Read MoreNo doubt, the re-release of Howard’s End has inspired readers to pick up E.M. Forster’s brilliant novel only to discover amusing gems that never made the film. In one such scene, protagonist Margaret Schlegel tells her soon-to-be fiancé Henry Wilcox about a…
Read MoreSoprano Lillian Nordica’s Wacky Wedding Crime of Passion or Fairly Typical Operatic Engagement? * You Decide. by Leticia Marie Sanchez Lillian Nordica, the first American opera singer to perform at Bayreuth, gives a whole new meaning to the phrase shot gun wedding. While performing…
Read MoreOne of the most illustrious artists at the forefront of the Italian Renaissance, Giotto di Bondone, enjoyed a friendship with his contemporary, the celebrated author of the Divine Comedy, Dante Alighieri. Legend has it that one day, Dante made an impudent comment to Giotto about the…
Read MoreCultural Cocktail Hour reports from the Secret Passageways of the Doge Palace, Venice. Escape from Doge Palace: Casanova and the Buttered Gnocchi by Leticia Marie Sanchez Photography and text © 2012 Leticia Marie Sanchez Cultural Cocktail Hour® is a registered trademark In typical prison escapes,…
Read MoreSince so many of my readers enjoyed reading about Richard Strauss’s unusual engagement to the libretto-throwing singer Pauline De Ahna: Strange Love: the berserk engagement of Richard Strauss we will now continue onto his roller coaster marriage. Due to a letter mix-up, his wife…
Read Moreby Leticia Marie Sanchez Some men plan a midnight stroll by the beach. Others a calm picnic under stars… Richard Strauss‘ engagement to temperamental soprano Pauline de Ahna involved: 1. being shrieked at by a soprano, having a musical score thrown at his head, and ducking flying objects…
Read MoreLegend has it that prolific Jazz guitarist Django Reinhardt enchanted Andrés Segovia with a jazz crepuscule. After the captivating performance Segovia asked if he could take a peek at the sheet music. Django laughed and replied, “I just made it…
Read More- « Previous
- 1
- 2
- 3
Click on a Category Below To Read More
