I believe in letting an invader in and then setting a good example. That is the reply Benjamin Britten gave to a tribunal for the registration of conscientious objectors in 1942 when asked "What would you do if Britain was invaded?" I was reminded of it when researching my recent article on Marco Pallis , who was an authority on both Tibetan Buddhism and early music, and, together with Britten, a champion of Purcell . In his best-selling book Peaks and Lamas , which was written in 1939, Pallis tells this story about the Sakyas , the ethnic group of which Gautama Buddha was a member which inhabited the foothills of the Himalayas. News was brought to them of an impending attack by a hostile tribe and it was debated anxiously whether resistance should be offered or not. Eventually they decided that, as followers of [Buddhist] Doctrine, they were debarred from offering armed resistance, but must welcome the invaders as friends, so they threw down their arms... The Tibetans, how...
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And with all due respect for Philip Glass's and Constance DeJong's generally beautiful "Satyagraha", I might be tempted to group this experimental American musical/opera in with the other two (initially, partially?) American musicals -- "On the Town" and "Kismet". By that count, 48 of the 61 ENO performances during the ENO's "forthcoming season" will be Broadway or Brooklyn Academy of Music musicals -- that is, almost 80 %.
I remember when New York City's "other Robert Wilson" -- as head of the Board of the New York City Opera -- insisted on winter or spring American musical interludes, but never, I believe, to the degree of 80% of performances offered. (I also hope that "Death in Venice" does much better at the ENO this coming May/June than it 'last' did the at the MET Opera when attendence, I believe, was below 70% or 65%. But again, don't material Guys and Dolls just wanna have a fun Night at the Opera?)
In those days the Coliseum had a widescreen - was it the Todd-AO format? I can still remember a short before the main feature of a rollercoaster ride that made your stomach turn, and I can still remember Mitzi Gaynor ...
I don't know if the Coliseum was a full time movie theatre in those days, or if it doubled as a venue for stage musicals.
That theatre has quite a history. My strongest memories are of the English language Ring and Mastersingers in the 70s with Reginald Goodall, performances that stay with me today.
Thanks for bringing back those memories.