ENDACOTT SOCIETY — January 2006
Retired Faculty and Staff of The University of Kansas — www.ku.edu/~emeritus
SCHEDULED EVENTS
All activities meet at the Adams Alumni Center unless otherwise noted.
Armchair Travel
Stitt Robinson (wsrobin@ku.edu, 843-1499)
January 26 —Coffee and tea available at 2:00 pm; program at 2:30. Michael Doudoroff, retiree from the Department of Spanish and Portuguese, will present a program on Spain.
Afternoon Lecture Series
Roberta Spires (rspires@ku.edu, 842-6820), Mary E. Schweppe (schweppe@ku.edu, 842-1147), and Howard O'Connor (843-1884). Bill Hambleton (wwhamble@ku.edu, 843-2508), Tom Eblen (teblen@sunflower.com, 865-3634), and Jerry Niebaum (jniebaum@wizardofkansas.com, 842-3127) are in charge of programs.
January 12 —Program begins at 2:30; sherry at 2:00. The speaker is Dan Rockhill of the K.U. School of Architecture and Urban Design who will challenge us with "The New Architecture."
Card and Game Theory
Ruth Ann Culvahouse (jwcul@ku.edu, 842-0626)
January 19 —1:30 in the Paul Adams Lounge. The usual games of bridge and scrabble will be played. In addition, anyone interested in other games is urged to contact Ruth Ann Culvahouse, who will try to find others with an interest in playing.
Cinema Studies
Grant Goodman (plim@ku.edu, 841-1066) and Fred Madaus (fmadaus@ku.edu, 841-4939)
January 17 —2:00. This month we will see the Alfred Hitchcock film "Rear Window" with James Stewart and Grace Kelly. Everyone is welcome.
Computer Study
Jerry Niebaum (jniebaum@wizardofkansas.com, 842-3127)
All Computer Study Group programs are subject to change, so check our Web site: www.wizardofkansas.com/oldku for the most recent listing of programs.
January 4 —9:00. Dr. Fixit and mid-year assessment: all.
January 11 —9:00. Excel part 1: Jeff Lewis.
January 18 —9:00. Excel part 2: Jeff Lewis.
January 25 —9:00. Computers in Geography: Jerry Dobson.
Domestic Public Policy Study
Jim Drury (jdrury@ku.edu, 842-3308) and John Poertner (jpoertner@sunflower.com, 749-2599)
Domestic Policy will not have a meeting in January.
Drama Study Group
Arnold Weiss (ahweiss@ku.edu, 842-5502)
January 13 —1:30 in the Music Room. Shakespeare's Richard II continues to be the vehicle; reading will commence with Act III (with perhaps some reprise of key events of Acts I and II of the crowded story of a troubled time and a very troubled king). Some time will be devoted to discussion of plays to be read at future 2006 meetings; as always, suggestions are welcome.
Evening Lecture Series
Tom Eblen (teblen@sunflower.com,865-3634)
Mark you calendars for February 2 . Wayne Osness will share the "Simple Rules to Good Health and Fitness." An emeritus professor of education, Osness formerly chaired health, sport and exercise sciences at KU.
Foreign Policy Study
Marilyn Bradt (mbradt@carrollsweb.com, 843-7751)
January 9 —3:30 in the Adams Library. The program is not yet certain since the Great Decisions books have not arrived. We'll do something interesting no doubt. Stay tuned.
Gardening
Arno Knapper (knapper@ku.edu, 312-9422) and Dick Shiefelbusch (843 5869)
January 4, 11,18, 25—9:00.
Great Books Study Group
Art Lamb (arthurlamb@sbcglobal.net, 749-4647) and Dave Hiebert (gundave@sunflower.com, 842-8706)
January 11 —1:45. Beginning a new series, "Living with the Past." Our first selection is "Overture," by Marcel Proust.
Music
Arno Knapper (knapper@ku.edu, 312-9422)
January 4, 11,18, 25 —immediately following coffee.
Opera Study
Jim Seaver (jseaver@ku.edu, 843-4081) and Al Sellen (jnalsellen@aol.com, 841-7432)
January 20 —1:30. The fourth opera in our series about the operatic compositions of Richard Strauss. This very unusual work is Ariadne auf Naxos (Ariadne on Naxos). It was the third collaboration of the librettist Hugo von Hoffmanstahl and the composer Richard Strauss. Hoffmanstahl's original idea was for a short opera called Ariadne auf Naxos , which would be a mixture of heroic and mythological characters, all dressed in eighteenth century costume. The opera would be combined with Moliere's play Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme . Strauss wrote the music in nine months, and when it had its world premiere at Stuttgart in 1912, it was a complete and absolute failure.
After this disaster, the opera was revised, Moliere's play was abandoned, and in this revised and successful version the work was staged at Vienna in 1916. This is the version we will see and hear on the DVD. In the prologue we meet the composer, who is deadly serious about his opera, Ariadne and Bacchus, who are a rather conceited couple, and a jolly bunch of commedia del arte players bound to disrupt any serious show with their antics. After the intermission we have the opera about Ariadne, the princess of Crete in mythological times, who was abandoned by her lover Theseus at Naxos. She longs for death, and not even the nymphs or the commedia del arte troupe can console her. But finally the god Bacchus appears, they fall in love, and Ariadne achieves immortality as his wife.
There has always been great controversy about this work. Some claim it is the greatest opera ever written, and others contend it is a ghastly mix-up of contradictory styles of action and music. Whatever one thinks about Ariadne , the fact is that it has become more and more popular during the second half of the twentieth century, and provides wonderful music for the protagonists.
Our DVD performance, which was filmed at the Metropolitan Opera House in 1988, stars soprano Jessye Norman as Ariadne, mezzo-soprano Tatiana Troyanos as the composer, tenor James King as Bacchus, and soprano Kathleen Battle as Zerbinetta, who sings what is arguably the most difficult coloratura soprano aria in all of opera. The orchestra and chorus of the Metropolitan Opera House are conducted by James Levine. The performance lasts about two and one-half hours. Coffee, tea, and cookies will be served during the intermission. The DVD provides subtitles in English.
Metropolitan Opera Radio
Al Sellen (jnalsellen@aol.com, 841-7432) and Vic Wallace (wallace@ku.edu, 842 7930)
Radio broadcasts of the Met begin in January at the home of Vic and Mary Wallace, 1509 Massachusetts, received as crystal clear sound via the Internet. Parking is in the church lot next door. Jim Seaver comes with his expert knowledge and librettos. 2006 is the 250th anniversary of Mozart's birth.
January 7 —12:30. L'Elisir d'amore, Donizetti.
January 14 —No gathering.
January 21 —12:30. Die Zauberflöte, Mozart.
January 28 — Così fan tutte, Mozart.
Ten O'clock Scholars, AKA “Wednesday Coffee”
Genevieve McMahon (841-2116).
January 4, 11,18, 25
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Newsletter Copy
Copy for the February newsletter should be in the hands of the editor no later than Friday, January 13 . Email Vic Wallace (wallace@ku.edu)