Opera: As one familiar with England's wild and windy Norfolk coast, there is much that resonates in the Washington National Opera's production of Benjamin Britten's Peter Grimes. Set in a post-war fishing village somewhere between Norfolk and the more southern Suffolk, set designer Robert Innes Hopkins' cluster of plain buildings amid a volatile sky nicely evokes this part of England's southeastern coast at its desolate best. And though this coast is now popular with cosmopolitan weekenders and dedicated ornithologists, even the briefest perusal of a local village newsletter reminds one that the picturesque settlements dotting the coastal road have not lost all of their insular ways and deeply held traditions. Indeed, these villages mark the edge of England's Big Sky territory known as the Fens, a vast area of marsh-turned-farmland worked for centuries by the locals who are still referred to as Fenlanders.
'Peter Grimes:' Washington National Opera
It is a pleasure to be aware of this context when seeing Grimes, but it is by no means essential. Britten, a master of poignant, economical storytelling, wastes no time in dropping us immediately into the middle of this dark, utterly unforgiving tale. In the very first scene we learn that the fisherman and loner Peter Grimes is suspected by his vby his village neighbors of somehow murdering the young apprentice who died while working aboard his fishing boat. And though Britten grips us instantly with the mystery of whether Grimes is some kind of abusive monster or merely a terribly unlucky man, along with the question of what the village is going to do about it, he refuses to give us easy answers. We must live with the uncertainty of whether the ''evidence'' directs us to share the so-called righteous condemnation of the villagers or whether it is nothing more than a pretext for the villagers' animalistic urge to oust an outsider.
Soaring among these themes with breathtaking emotional power is Britten's score, played beautifully by the WNO orchestra under the hand of conductor Ilan Volkov. This is spectacular music, at once evocative of the uncontrollable energy of the sea as it threatens the village, and the roiling sea of human emotion as it threatens to destroy lives. Britten captures despair, horror, awe and the human cry. Though some may balk at the underpinnings of atonality in Peter Grimes, patience will be rewarded with perhaps the most breathtaking aural experiences found in contemporary opera. ...more
'Peter Grimes:' Washington National Opera
It is a pleasure to be aware of this context when seeing Grimes, but it is by no means essential. Britten, a master of poignant, economical storytelling, wastes no time in dropping us immediately into the middle of this dark, utterly unforgiving tale. In the very first scene we learn that the fisherman and loner Peter Grimes is suspected by his vby his village neighbors of somehow murdering the young apprentice who died while working aboard his fishing boat. And though Britten grips us instantly with the mystery of whether Grimes is some kind of abusive monster or merely a terribly unlucky man, along with the question of what the village is going to do about it, he refuses to give us easy answers. We must live with the uncertainty of whether the ''evidence'' directs us to share the so-called righteous condemnation of the villagers or whether it is nothing more than a pretext for the villagers' animalistic urge to oust an outsider.
Soaring among these themes with breathtaking emotional power is Britten's score, played beautifully by the WNO orchestra under the hand of conductor Ilan Volkov. This is spectacular music, at once evocative of the uncontrollable energy of the sea as it threatens the village, and the roiling sea of human emotion as it threatens to destroy lives. Britten captures despair, horror, awe and the human cry. Though some may balk at the underpinnings of atonality in Peter Grimes, patience will be rewarded with perhaps the most breathtaking aural experiences found in contemporary opera. ...more
CARLISLE, Pa. (AP)Defense Secretary Robert Gates says it could take years to change the the U.S. military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy for gay troops - if it ever happens.
Gates spoke Thursday at the U.S. Army War College in Carlisle. He says he hasn't taken a position yet on whether gay troops should be open about their sexuality. That could lead to their discharge under the current rules.
But Gates says he and President Barack Obama have been discussing the policy and whether to change it.
Gates also noted it took five years for the U.S. military to racially integrate during the Truman administration.
Gates told reporters later th ...
By CHRIS JOHNSON, Washington BladeA longtime LGBT activist and former executive director for the Human Rights Campaign was recently appointed by President Obama to a post in the Office of Personnel Management, according to an informed source.
Vic Basile, who is gay, started his position as counselor to the director in the OPM about a week ago, the source said.
John Berry, who heads the office, is the highest-ranking gay person to ever serve in the executive branch of the U.S. government.
Basile served as executive director for HRC from 1983 to 1989, when it was known as the Human Rights Campaign Fund. Basile also helped found the Gay & Lesb ...
OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP)Same-sex domestic partners would have all the rights and benefits that Washington state offers married couples under a bill passed Wednesday by the state Legislature.
The Democratic-controlled House approved the Senate-passed measure on a mostly party-line 62-35 vote after nearly two hours of debate. It next goes to Gov. Chris Gregoire, who said she will sign it into law.
"Our state is one that thrives on diversity," Gregoire said in a prepared statement. &"We have to respect and protect all of the families that make up our communities."
The bill expands on previous ...
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) told the Bay Area Reporter Wednesday, April 15 that repealing the federal Defense of Marriage Act is not a top priority of hers right now. The speaker said that her two legislative priorities for the LGBT community are passage of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act and the federal hate crimes bill; [...]
A report detailing what Equality California did to support the No on Prop 8 campaign and provide advice for future efforts that’s been in the works since at least January still has not been released. Geoff Kors, EQCA’s executive director and a member of the No on 8 executive committee, told the Bay Area Reporter in [...]
The Vermont House voted 100-49 Tuesday, April 7 to override a veto of the equal marriage rights bill, following the Senate’s 23-5 override vote Tuesday morning. The overrides make Vermont the fourth state where same-sex couples will be able to obtain marriage licenses the same as straight couples รข€" following Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Iowa. Filed by Lisa Keen, [...]
In one of his very first public appearances since the 2008 campaign concluded, Steve Schmidt, chief campaign strategist for John McCain, made a 20-minute speech at the Log Cabin Republican convention in which he unequivocally voiced his support for marriage equality and said that denigrating gay people in any way is “un-American.”
If, as tradition holds, Peoria, Ill., is the ultimate barometer for mainstream American tastes, then zero tolerance for antigay discrimination is definitively in vogue. 
A preeminent Baptist leader and adviser to President Obama’s faith council told the American Family News Network that he is “deeply concerned” about Pastor Rick Warren’s apparent de-emphasis on fighting same-sex marriage. 
LGBT Health Fair offers rapid HIV test, STI tests, BMI measurement, more. Free health screenings will be available this weekend at OutCentral Community Center during the annual LGBT Health Fair hosted by the Vanderbilt School of Medicine. Screenings will...
Defense Secretary says it could take years to nix policy
CARLISLE, Pa. (AP) | Apr. 17 at 11:04 AM Apr. 17 at 11:04 AM
Defense Secretary Robert Gates says it could take years to change the the U.S. military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy for gay troops - if it ever happens.
Gates spoke Thursday at the U.S. Army War College in Carlisle. He says he hasn't taken a position yet on whether gay troops should be open about their sexuality. That could lead to their discharge under the current rules.
But Gates says he and President Barack Obama have been discussing the policy and whether to change it.
Gates also noted it took five years for the U.S. military to racially integrate during the Truman administration.
Gates told reporters later that it's a touchy subject. He says to get people's ...
Basile to serve as counselor to the director
By CHRIS JOHNSON, Washington Blade | Apr. 16 at 2:52 PM Apr. 16 at 2:52 PM
A longtime LGBT activist and former executive director for the Human Rights Campaign was recently appointed by President Obama to a post in the Office of Personnel Management, according to an informed source.
Vic Basile, who is gay, started his position as counselor to the director in the OPM about a week ago, the source said.
John Berry, who heads the office, is the highest-ranking gay person to ever serve in the executive branch of the U.S. government.
Basile served as executive director for HRC from 1983 to 1989, when it was known as the Human Rights Campaign Fund. Basile also helped found the Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund in 1991.
Victory Fund Presi ...
Gov. Gregoire will sign measure into law
OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) | Apr. 16 at 12:53 PM Apr. 16 at 12:5312:53 PM
Same-sex domestic partners would have all the rights and benefits that Washington state offers married couples under a bill passed Wednesday by the state Legislature.
The Democratic-controlled House approved the Senate-passed measure on a mostly party-line 62-35 vote after nearly two hours of debate. It next goes to Gov. Chris Gregoire, who said she will sign it into law.
"Our state is one that thrives on diversity," Gregoire said in a prepared statement. "We have to respect and protect all of the families that make up our communities."
The bill expands on previous domestic partnership laws by adding reference to ...
Anti-gay groups in Washington state have announced an effort to repeal a gay partner law
Steve Schmidt is expected to endorse gay marriage today during a lunchtime speech to Log Cabin Republicans
A rising wave of anti-gay sentiment continues to engulf the Iraqi city of Baghdad
Great piece, worth the full read: The Prop 8 Monologues, Vol. 2 of 2:The Law is Gay . . . Nowhere on the ballot was there a subheading that read “Upholding same-sex marriage rights will not legally mandate you to become homosexual, divorce your current opposite-sex ‘better half,’ and marry a newly-appointed partner of the government’s choosing.” For [...]
We’ve been paying zero attention to this “teabagging” idiocy that took place yesterday (other than to LOL every time we heard the word “teabagging”; next time, we suggest using a certain other compound word containing “bagging,” as it would be more descriptive of the participants themselves), but this observation from Daniel De Groot at [...]
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