A Definite Fan

Giuseppe Verdi

Since I myself have placed In Memoriam tributes in the NYT and know what they cost, I always scan that section of the paid death notices to see who has what to say about someone. And imagine what they shelled out to do so.

You can expect the usual family member paying tribute on the anniversary of the subject's birth, or death. You pay by the line, so naturally, the tributes tend to be short. 

Sometimes however you get an In Memoriam from someone who is not a relative. There's been the one for the birth/death of Isaac Stern, the violinist. There was once one for David Niven, the actor. Today there is one for Verdi, as in Giuseppe Verdi the composer of so many operas.

Verdi was born October 10, 1813, and passed away January 27, 1901. The sentiment goes for seven lines:

Viva Verdi. For over 120 years Verdi's music has lived on without the presence of its composer and that music is now younger, more vital, more universal than ever. "Un bacio ancora."

Rabbi Saul Wohlberg, Haverstraw, New York.

Of course I had to look up what the Italian quote was, and found it means "a kiss one more time," a love duet from Verdi's opera Otello. I confess, I'm not an opera fan, but the good Rabbi obviously is.

January 27 is Mozart's birthday, 1756. It is also my second daughter's birthday, 1982. That of course makes her a milestone 40 today. Right now she and her husband are skiing at Lake Placid. She sent a photo of her sporting a T-shirt she had made, "A Legend Since January 1982."

Happy Birthday.

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