an important question...

lately we all in the world have been bombarded by many important questions: Who should be our leaders? Is the conflagration in Iraq just? Is the US spinning down into a theocracy? Does nuclear power threaten more than just peace? Is marriage under attack?

But, isn't there a more underlying question? Something along the lines of "What really is important and might be the basis of all these other questions?

What gives meaning to everything else?

Some say religion or god. Some say philosophy. Some say humanity. Some say hope. Some say discovery.

The question I pose is quite simple and was put into play best by Richard Strauss in his opera "Capriccio."

What is more important? The words or the music? The poet or the composer?

I've literally seen hundreds of operas both live and on DVD/tape. Below is what I consider my favorite scene from all of opera featuring my favorite soprano, Renee Fleming. It is the final scene.

The countess confronted by the poet and the composer to make a decision as to what is more important - words or music - poem or composition - writer or musician - wonders why she has to make that distinction. This clip is eery in that the countess is both on stage singing the debate and in the audience watching it. The composer and the poet are also both in the audience. It's a tableau of life watching itself. The original reality?




I used to tell Ronald, "Life's a bitch and then you die." He would laugh hysterically. He died in 1990. I still miss him terribly some times. His death became a defining moment for me. I have not searched for the answers as much as the questions since that moment.

The answers are really unimportant. The questions determine what kind of life I have.

What do you think?

just asking...