Diva

Across the room from yesterday's pictures this mezzo was letting it fly. She was what some opera reviewers call a force of nature. (You get the point.) I'm sorry that I didn't get her name.

It doesn't come naturally for Westerners to sing over didgeridoo improvisations. The two artists mostly went their own ways but it somehow worked together.

St. Louis Fringe: Didgeridoo In The Dark

The St. Louis Fringe was on last weekend and this. What with my whirlwind life and pseudo blogging break, I was only able to go yesterday. Caught five performances.

This is Michael Hagmeier, a virtuoso of the didgeridoo. His performance was called Didgeridoo In The Dark and that's just what it was, a forty-five minute improvisation in a black box theater with the lights out. I imagined my self sitting at the foot of Uluru on a moonless night, absorbed in dreamtime.                      

Didgeridoo And Oboe, Too

We attended a strange musical performance at the Fringe, a trio that called itself Terra Camera. It consisted of a classically trained oboe player and violist plus a didgeridoo virtuoso. He played a couple of solos and explained the many techniques. The ensemble did some classical, a new composition and a bit of jazz. Heaven knows I like edgy, contemporary music but this, to my ears, didn't work all that well, sort of a buzzard with nightingales. The part I liked best was a baroque chamber piece in which the Aussie pipe played the basso continuo. That made a good fit. 

Photo tip of the day: do not use fill flash on iridescent wigs and hats. It leads to disaster.                               

Delft, Via Uluru

We made it out yesterday to the St. Louis Renaissance Faire, which takes place in May and June on the edge of the metro area. The conceit is that this is "Petit Lyon" of 1518. The lords, ladies, peasants and knights of 16th Century France walk about with the most outrageous fake French accents, right up in this league. As we left, one of the cast bid me au revoir.  Jusqu'à l'année prochaine, I replied. Say what?

The young lady above might have posed for Vermeer. What she's doing with a didgeridoo I haven't the faintest. The man in the second photo could be looking for Velasquez's studio or a disreputable Mexican cantina. 

I'm going to run with this all week. Jousting! Sword play! Gratuitous cuteness! Shrek!