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The Musical Mercenary: Unsung Heros

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War meets opera. May all our passions be deadly. Wednesday, July 4, 2007. Mercenary or not, the 4th of July is always a poignant moment for us military veterans. In my experience, soldiers do not fight and die for ideas. Leave the ideas to those with “other priorities.” Soldiers fight and die for one another. Adapted from Thornton Wilder’s Pulitzer Prize winning play. It is a quiet, humble piece on a grand scale. And the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra's tighter, faster (2 minutes! Bem maneira. Se você ...

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The Musical Mercenary: March 2007

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War meets opera. May all our passions be deadly. Saturday, March 3, 2007. More Fun Than Being Bitten by a Monkey. The child was clearly the victim of ritualistic killing and cannibalism. It was done by one of the old secret societies that still penetrate the highest ranks of the country in question. The highest ranks. Probably even my boss’s boss. It’s time like these when you need Erik Satie. War orphans trying to find their parents, thanks to the ICRC. When I worked in the public sector, the U.S&#4...

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The Musical Mercenary: July 2007

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War meets opera. May all our passions be deadly. Monday, July 9, 2007. A Night to Remember. Is there no better metric of civilization than the dinner party? We can thank the war-loving Romans for bringing this timeless tradition to the masses. Prior to them, it was pretty much constrained to royalty, albeit the odd Athenian symposium with naked dancing girls and paltry talk of philosophy. Portrait of Gertrude Stein by Pablo Picasso, 1906. The late, great Ms. Stein. We can only aspire to crawl in Stein&#8...

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The Musical Mercenary: July 2012

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War meets opera. May all our passions be deadly. Wednesday, July 4, 2012. Happy Independence Day, USA! As the US remains in Afghanistan, Iraq and elsewhere fighting insurgents, it shouldn't forget it too started as an insurgency. See the second half of the Declaration of Independence. For a list of US grievances against the English oppressors. Our love for opera does not abate on Independence Day. From Puccini. The musical Condottiero is back! For example, let’s take today: July 4. So in the saucy style ...

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The Musical Mercenary: Scratching Itches and Other Ludicrous Urges

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War meets opera. May all our passions be deadly. Friday, June 29, 2007. Scratching Itches and Other Ludicrous Urges. Dear Fellow Patrons of the Arts,. Do I stand any chance of getting the job? 1 Briefly describe the situation and the person/people you worked with. Tired of studying Nash equilibria, I said “sure,” and two days later was in sweltering [insert capital city of said country] negotiating with vicious warlords and AK-47 wielding child-soldiers. 4 What was the outcome of this situation? Pairing ...

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The Musical Mercenary: February 2007

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War meets opera. May all our passions be deadly. Wednesday, February 28, 2007. Opera and Mercenaries: Life's Little Collisions. Yes, it’s true, I do love opera and it makes me cry. Just don’t tell my war pals. I would lose all jungle-cred. You see, my line of work frowns upon opera, ballet and other frou-frou pastimes. What is my line of work? Sorry, but I had to get that off my chest at the beginning. However, who can withstand the insult of being called a mulatto? Don Alvaro can stand it no more and gr...

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The Musical Mercenary: August 2007

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War meets opera. May all our passions be deadly. Friday, August 24, 2007. Balm to My Soul. Music is my lodestone in an irrationally horrific world. Opera's beauty offsets war's ugliness, and without such balance, we slip into insanity or numbness, both of which rob us of our humanity. Perhaps this is why the more horrors I witness, the deeper I cling to music. It’s all burnt. I kept him alive, but that’s another story…. In Minnesota get more memorialization. 8221; from the opera Pagliacci. Somewhere betw...

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The Musical Mercenary: April 2007

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War meets opera. May all our passions be deadly. Tuesday, April 10, 2007. I Am Not Alone. I am often asked: “How can a mercenary also be such an opera zealot? 8221; My answer is always the same: “Passion is everything.”. Admittedly, there are few in my (former) profession who enjoy a good Ring. Cycle or cry during Madame Butterfly. But that doesn’t make me unique. In fact, I come from a long line of song-loving soldiers for hire. Well, not exactly a long line. Ok, a line of one. The viol de gamba. Captai...

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The Musical Mercenary: Outed on NPR!

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War meets opera. May all our passions be deadly. Tuesday, August 7, 2007. Yes, it’s true – my cover has been blown! NPR) was kind enough to feature a 10-minute segment on “The Musical Mercenary” on the news program All Things Considered. You can listen to me. Wax lyrical about the intersection of war and opera. Host Jacki Lyden’s witty cool could disarm even the toughest warlord, and everyone at NPR, especially Petra, was magnifico. Hear the pop collision. Of war and opera:. August 8, 2007 at 12:58 AM.

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The Musical Mercenary: On Meeting Makers

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War meets opera. May all our passions be deadly. Sunday, July 1, 2007. Speaking of joy and Beethoven (see last blog), one cannot simply pass by the master without doffing the proverbial cap. There is a reason why nearly every great classical musician has a bust of Ludwig somewhere in his or her lair, from Wagner to Schroeder (Peanuts cartoon). Beethoven is the real thing: the mad genius creator, greatest revolutionary, Dionysian fire child, alpha and omega – in a word, the Decider. The climax of the piec...