One of the casualties of my current occupation is that I never know what month it is. In September, I am in the final stages of preparing the November issue to send it off to the printer. December issue articles begin arriving in my in-box, and my mind is a swirl of article ideas and plans for the January, February, and March issues. So when I walk into Costco in September and find Christmas decorations already on the shelves, my calendar-confused self feels right at home.
And, so, the final days of September are drawing to a close as I write this—and the month of November is nearing or upon you as you are reading this. Perhaps foreshadowing this nonlinear merging, my thoughts while editing this issue at the beginning of fall have been drawn to an appropriate end-of-fall theme: gratitude. I join with others much wiser and more eloquent than I to introduce this issue.
“If you have lived, take thankfully the past.” — John Dryden
The gifted and eloquent tenor Marcello Giordani, featured in this month’s cover story (p. 22), has definitely lived. His long and varied career continues as he splits his time between two countries: his Italian homeland and the States, where he sings at the Met more than half of the year. And now, as he takes thankfully his own past, he looks to the future, establishing a foundation to help up-and-coming singers.
“He is a wise man who does not grieve for the things which he has not, but rejoices for those which he has.”
— Epictetus
Two Americans now living as expats in Germany (p. 16) and in Belgium (p. 42) chime in on the pros and cons of living and working in another country. While they both miss their homeland, they also recognize and rejoice in the blessings of their current circumstances.
“We can only be said to be alive in those moments when our hearts are conscious of our treasures.”
— Thornton Wilder
This month we feature baritone Giuseppe De Luca (p. 20) in a new series on singers of the past. In 1904, De Luca created the role of Sharpless in Puccini’s Madama Butterfly at La Scala. Could De Luca possibly have foreseen the history that he was making those many years ago—the huge hit that the opera would be, remaining on companies’ rosters for over a hundred years, and the countless baritones that would sing that role after him? Do we recognize such moments, or treasures as Wilder calls them, in our own lives?
“Gratitude is a quality similar to electricity: it must be produced and discharged and used up in order to exist at all.”
— William Faulkner
Superstar soprano Angela M. Brown (p. 50) has found a unique way to express her gratitude for the art form that has brought her success. She is producing and starring in her own one-woman show designed to share opera with those who have not yet experienced it. The show, featured on CNN and before thousands of school children, is truly electric.
“Hem your blessings with thankfulness so they don’t unravel.” — Author Unknown
As your thoughts are turned to pilgrims, turkey, and pumpkin pie this month, may you find a little inspiration within these pages—to live more in the present, to recognize the things you have, and to be grateful for both the past and the future. I am going to begin today by choosing to see my calendar confusion as a blessing rather than a curse, because my Thanksgiving season can begin today and last even longer. That is, if I can remember that it is Thanksgiving when it finally rolls around.
