October 31, 2016

20,000 Vinyl LPs 72: Rocky Horror Picture Show with Audience Participation

movie poster


It is believed that many Halloween traditions originated from Celtic harvest festivals which may have pagan roots, particularly the Gaelic festival Samhain, and that this festival was Christianized as Halloween. Some academics, however, support the view that Halloween began independently as a solely Christian holiday.    

What better way to celebrate a modern Halloween tradition than with the pagan (and raucous), The Rocky Horror Picture Show with Audience Participation?  



photo by Styrous®





It has become a tradition to show The Rocky Horror Picture Show in hundreds of locations throughout the United States on All Hallows' Eve. But the first time I saw the film with some friends in 1975 the theater was virtually empty; our howls of laughter ricocheted in the vast vacuum. To say the film was a major flop is in no way an exaggeration (see Sarandon link below). 



photo by Styrous®






The album is a gatefold. A gatefold cover, when folded, is the same size as a standard LP cover (i.e. a 12½ inch, or 32.7 centimeters square). 


vinyl LP, gatefold, front
photo by Styrous®


vinyl LP, gatefold, interior
photo by Styrous®


According to J. Hoberman, author of Midnight Movies, it was after five months into the film's midnight run when lines began to be yelled by the audience. The first person to yell out an audience participation line during a screening was Louis Farese Jr., a normally quiet teacher who, upon seeing the character Janet place a newspaper over her head to protect herself from rain, yelled, "Buy an umbrella you cheap bitch". This self-proclaimed "counter point dialogue" was soon helped into standardization by Piro and repeated nearly verbatim at each screening. By that Halloween, people were attending in costume and talking back to the screen. By the end of 1979, there were twice-weekly showings at over 230 theatres.    



vinyl LP, cover detail
detail photo by Styrous®




Links to Rocky Horror on the net 
and histories at the end!





vinyl LP, side 1
photo by Styrous®

vinyl LP, side 1 label detail
detail photo by Styrous®

 



vinyl LP, side 2
photo by Styrous®

vinyl LP, side 2 label detail
detail photo by Styrous®






vinyl LP, side 3
photo by Styrous®

vinyl LP, side 3 label detail
detail photo by Styrous®






vinyl LP, side 4
photo by Styrous®



Tracklist: 

      
Side 1 Begins With A Welcome By Sal Piro And Ends With "The Time Warp"

Side 2 Begins With "Sweet Transvestite" And Ends With "Charles Atlas Reprise"

Side 3 Begins With The Bedroom Scenes And Ends With "Planet Schamanet"

Side 4 Begins With "The Floor Show" And Ends With "Science Fiction Double Feature Reprise"             



Credits:

                      
Arranged By [Music] –
Richard Hartley   
Engineer – Denis Dragon
Performer [Music] –
Richard O'Brien 
Producer – Howard Franck
Producer [Music] –
Richard Hartley       
Written By [Music] –
Richard O'Brien    

Notes:  

        
Vocalists (Cast):   
    
Tim Curry (Frank N Furter)
Susan Sarandon (Janet Weiss)
Barry Bostwick (Brad Majors)
Richard O'Brien (Riff Raff)
Patricia Quinn (Magenta)
Nell Campbell (Columbia)
Jonathan Adams (Dr. Everett Scott)
Peter Hinwood (Rocky)
Meatloaf (Eddie)
Charles Gray (Narrator) 
   

   

The Rocky Horror Picture Show (The Original Audience Par-Tic-I-Pation Album)    

Label: Ode Records (2) ‎– 1032
Format: 2 × vinyl LP   
Country: US
Released: 1983
Genre: Non-Music, Stage & Screen
Style: Soundtrack, Dialogue, Comedy





Links to Rocky Horror on the net: 
       
Susan Sarandon on her 70th birthday           
Official Fan Site       
         (Tips for first-timers) A Virgin's Guide     
              How to do the Time Warp
              Rocky Horror Etiquette
mortaljourney.com ~ Audience Participation Script     
Director Lou Adler Interview           
The Spectrum ~ Rocky by the light of the night     
Rocky Horror Picture Show ~ live on TV?         
Live in New York City
UC Theatre 10/31/16‎             
Images for Rocky Horror Picture Show
Rocky Horror Picture Show on YouTube:           
            Time Warp     
            Sweet Transvestite     
History of Halloween
Halloween Videos, Facts, Origin & Meaning     
            
           
           
         
             
Here's to ya, Louis Farese, Jr.!
           
            
       

                      
Styrous® ~ Halloween, Monday, October 31, 2016   






October 29, 2016

20,000 Vinyl LPs 71: Norma ~ Maria Callas debut @ the Met

Vinyl LP box front
photo by Styrous®



Sixty years ago today, October 29, 1956, Maria Callas made her Metropolitan Opera debut in the Vincenzo Bellini  opera, Norma. The performance opened the Met's seventy-second season. She was already world-famous at the time. Everyone knew who she was.    

I was 16 and I remember that the event was marred by an unflattering cover story in Time magazine, which rehashed all of the Callas clichés, including her temper, her supposed rivalry with Renata Tebaldi (see link below) and her difficult relationship with her mother. Nothing's perfect!  

October 29, 1956



She was asked to audition for Edward Johnson, the General Manager of the Metropolitan Opera. Johnson heard her and immediately offered her the leading roles in two productions of the 1946/7 season: Fidelio by Beethoven and Madama Butterfly by Giacomo Puccini. Maria, to Johnson's surprise, turned the roles down. She didn't want to sing Fidelio in English and she felt that she was too heavy to portray the young, fragile Butterfly. This story may just be a myth, though, since the Met maintains Callas' audition was not a success and that she was never offered a contract.  



1954: The first Norma recording
 photographer unknown



Her American operatic career never approached the numbers of performances she gave in Europe. She sang only 13 performances in Chicago, 21 at the Metropolitan. The last of these was a performance of Tosca in New York in March, 1965, when her partner was tenor Richard Tucker, with whom she had sung in Verona 18 years earlier.   

After only two more performances in that same year, Callas called a final halt to her operatic career. But in 1973-1974, she sang in an extended concert tour with her longtime colleague, tenor Giuseppe di Stefano. That tour brougt Callas to Washington in February, 1974, for her only appearance in Constitution Hall.   

Maria Callas was only 42 when she stopped singing in opera.   




Maria Callas with her teacher Elvira de Hidalgo in 1954


The press exulted in publicizing Callas's temperamental behavior, the rivalry with Renata Tebaldi and her love affair with Greek shipping tycoon Aristotle Onassis.  


photographer unknown 


Onassis amassed the world's largest privately owned shipping fleet and was one of the world's richest and most famous men. He was known for his business success, his great wealth and also his personal life, including his marriage to Athina Livanos, daughter of shipping tycoon Stavros G. Livanos, his affair with Maria Callas and his marriage in 1968 to Jacqueline Kennedy, the widow of the American president John F. Kennedy.   

Maria Callas, Commendatore OMRI (Greek: Μαρία Κάλλας) was born, Cecilia Sophia Anna Maria Kalogeropoulos, in New York City on December 2, 1923. She was a Greek-American soprano, and one of the most renowned and influential opera singers of the 20th century. Critics praised her bel canto technique, wide-ranging voice and dramatic interpretations. Her repertoire ranged from classical opera seria to the bel canto operas of Donizetti, Bellini, Rossini, Verdi and Puccini; and, in her early career, to the music dramas of Wagner. Her musical and dramatic talents led to her being hailed as La Divina

The soprano whose intensely dramatic portrayals on-stage and personal life off-stage made her the most exciting opera singer of her time, died of a heart attack on September 16, 1977, at her home in Paris, France. She was 53 years old.  



Vinyl LP label detail
detail photo by Styrous®





Bellini*, Callas*, Filippeschi*, Stignani*, Rossi-Lemeni* ‎– Norma

Label: Angel Recordings ‎– 3517 C
Format: 3 × Vinyl, LP, Album, Mono, Box Set
Country: US
Released:
 
Genre: Classical
Style: Opera, Romantic

Tracklist:

A Act 1, Part 1 (Beginning) 29:11
B Act 1, Part 1 (Continued) 24:35
C Act 1, Part 1 (Conclusion) / Part 2 (Beginning) 25:18
D Act 1, Part 2 (Conclusion) / Act 2, Part 1 (Beginning) 27:30
E Act 2, Part 1 / Part 2 (Beginning) 26:00
F Act 2, Part 2 (Conclusion) 28:11

Credits:

Notes:

In Collaborazione Con L'Ente Autonomo Del Teatro Alla Scala

A = Record 1, Side 1
B = Record 2, Side 2
C = Record 3, Side 3
D = Record 3, Side 4
E = Record 2, Side 5
F = Record 1, Side 6

Barcode and Other Identifiers

  • Matrix / Runout (Label, Side 1): XBX 143-5N
  • Matrix / Runout (Label, Side 2): XBX 144-5N
  • Matrix / Runout (Label, Side 3): XBX 145-5N
  • Matrix / Runout (Label, Side 4): XBX 146-5N
  • Matrix / Runout (Label, Side 5): XBX 147-5N
  • Matrix / Runout (Label, Side 6): XBX 148-5N



Net links:    
           
Renata Tebaldi ~ Tosca              
Metropolitan Opera Archives ~ reviews
Bellini ~ Norma: Casta Diva on YouTube     
Limelight Magazine ~ Maria Callas: Her 10 Greatest Moments
The Guardian ~ Maria Callas: The truth is she was far from perfect
Cmuse ~ 60 years since Maria Callas debuted at the Met
Opera News ~ Sweet Inspiration     
Sopranos ~ Maria Callas            
On This Day Obituary            
         


Maria Callas
photo by Cecil Beaton - 1957


"To sing is an expression of your being,
a being which is becoming."
              -Maria Callas


Styrous® ~ Saturday, October 29, 2016    
    


October 28, 2016

Obiko fashion show history

 

For seventeen years it was my extraordinary fortune to work on the production of the Obiko fashion shows for Sandra Sakata in various roles from providing only sound design to complete production coordination. I was also involved with satellite shows that featured Obiko designers. Some of these shows were video taped and I will write about them and post the videos at some point.   


1979   
July 25   
KAISIK WONG, sound design, promotional fashion show, Hilton Hotel, Caracas, Venezuela


1980   
Apr. 10   
OBIKO, sound design, promotional fashion show, Obiko designers, John Casablancas School of Modeling, San Francisco, California 

Sept. 18   
OBIKO, sound design, promotional fashion show, Obiko designers, John Casablancas School of Modeling, San Francisco, California 

Nov. 11   
OBIKO,sound design , fashion show to benefit Aid To Adoption Of Special Kids, Obiko designers, John Casablancas School of Modeling, San Francisco, California 


1981   
Sept.   
OBIKO, sound design, promotional fashion show, Obiko designers, John Casablancas School of Modeling, San Francisco, California 

1982   
Mar. 21   
AT THE WILTERN, sound design, fashion show to benefit The Wiltern Theater, Obiko designers, The Wiltern Theater, Los Angeles, California   
 
Sept. 22   
OBIKO, production coordinator, fashion show to benefit the Aid To Adoption Of Special Kids, Obiko designers, The Galleria, San Francisco, California 

Dec. 8   
A HIGH TEA FASHION SHOW, sound design, Gibson Palermo, Obiko & Zoftig, fashion show to benefit The Attic Theater, The Attic Theater, San Francisco, California  
   

1983   
April 4   
HELGA HOWIE, MIKI, OBIKO & THREE BAGS FULL, sound design & choreography, promotional fashion show, San Francisco, California 

Nov. 7   
FIBER, FABRIC & FASHION, production coordinator, fashion show to benefit the Pacific Basin School Of Textile Arts, various designers, Berkeley Repertory Theater, Berkeley, California  
   

1984   
Sept. 19   
GALA FASHION PRESENTATION, production coordinator, fashion show to benefit Aid To Adoption Of Special Kids, Obiko designers, The Galleria, San Francisco, California  

Sept. 27   
OBIKO, sound design & choreography, promotional fashion show, Obiko designers, The Metropolitan Club, San Francisco, California 

Oct. 11   
OBIKO, production coordinator, fashion show to benefit Aid To Adoption Of Special Kids, Obiko designers, The Galleria, San Francisco, California  


1985   
Jan. 30   
OBIKO, production coordinator, promotional fashion show, Obiko designers, The Galleria, San Francisco, California   

Feb. 8   
ANTIQUITY TRANSFORMED, sound design & choreography, fashion show to benefit The Chinese Cultural Foundation Of S. F., Obiko designers, Empress Of China, San Francisco, California  
   

1986   
Feb. 3   
OBIKO, production coordinator, fashion show to benefit the Ladies Aid To Retarded Citizens, Obiko designers, Mark Hopkins Hotel, San Francisco, California   

May 17   
CRDC ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION, production coordinator, Obiko fashion show to benefit the Chinatown Resources Development Center, various designers, The Gift Center, San Francisco, California  

Sept. 17   
HAUTE COUTURE, production coordinator, Obiko fashion show to benefit the Peninsula Auxiliary of The Medical Mission Sisters, Obiko designers, Hillsborough, California  

Sept. 24   
OBIKO, sound design & choreography, promotional fashion show, Obiko designers, Stephen Wirtz Gallery, San Francisco, California  

Dec. 10   
OBIKO, sound design & choreography, promotional fashion show, Obiko designers, Ginsberg Showroom, San Francisco, California  
   

1987   
Feb. 11   
OBIKO, production coordinator, fashion show to benefit Theta Delta Xi, Obiko designers, Mark Hopkins Hotel, San Francisco, California  

May 14   
JEANNE-MARC, OBIKO, production coordinator, fashion show to benefit the Fiberworks Center for the Textile Arts, Marco Polo Showroom, various designers, San Francisco, California  

Aug. 25   
OBIKO, sound design, in-store ethnic fashion presentation, Obiko designers, San Francisco, California  

Sept. 16   
OBIKO, production coordinator, fashion show to benefit the Ladies Aid To Retarded Citizens, Obiko designers, Mark Hopkins Hotel, San Francisco, California  

Oct. 25   
THE SILK ROAD, production coordinator, Bergdorf Goodman fashion show for The Intercoiffure convention, Obiko designers, Essex House, New York, New York  

Dec. 8   
OBIKO, sound design, in-store ethnic fashion presentation, Obiko designers, San Francisco, California  
   

1988   
Mar. 1   
OBIKO, sound design  & choreography, promotional fashion show, Obiko designers, St. Francis Yacht Club, San Francisco, California  

Mar. 30   
A SPRING COLLECTION, production coordinator, Obiko fashion show to benefit the Children's Cancer Research Institute, Obiko designers, Hotel Nikko, San Francisco, California  

May 14   
OBIKO, sound design & choreography, fashion show to benefit The Asian Art Museum Society For Asian Art, Obiko designers, Metropolitan Club, San Francisco, California  

July 18   
JUN'ICI ARAI, sound design  & choreography, fashion show to benefit the San Francisco Craft & Folk Art Museum, Obiko designers, Fort Mason, San Francisco, California   

Aug. 25   
OBIKO, sound installation, ethnic presentation, Obiko designers, Obiko, San Francisco, California 

Sept. 19   
OBIKO, production coordinator, fashion show to benefit Theta Delta Xi, Obiko designers, St. Francis Hotel, San Francisco, California  
   

1989   
Feb. 15   
OBIKO, production coordinator, fashion show to benefit the Ladies Aid To Retarded Children, Obiko designers, Mark Hopkins Hotel, San Francisco, California   

Apr. 30   
TRIBAL VISIONS, production coordinator, Obiko fashion show to benefit The Fort Mason Museums, Obiko designers, San Francisco, California    

Sept. 20   
SCARBOROUGH FAIRE, production coordinator, Obiko fashion show to benefit the Peninsula Auxiliary of  The Medical Mission Sisters, Obiko designers, Hillsborough, California  

Sept. 26   
OBIKO, sound design & choreography, promotional fashion show, Obiko designers, Hornblower Yachts, San Francisco, California  
   

1990
ARTWEAR: THE BODY ADORNED, Music Consultant for KQED video presentation of wearable art, various designers, San Francisco, California 

Feb. 14   
OBIKO, production coordinator, fashion show to benefit the Ladies Aid To Retarded Children, Obiko designers, Mark Hopkins Hotel, San Francisco, California  

May 11   
SPRING PROMENADE, production coordinator, Obiko fashion show to benefit The Chinese Cultural Center, Obiko designers, Palace of Fine Arts Theater, San Francisco, California  

May 22   
KUBA, sound design, in-store ethnic fashion presentation, Obiko designers, Obiko, San Francisco, California   

July 13   
NEW THREADS, production coordinator, fashion show, Handweavers Guild of America Convergence, various designers, San Jose Center For The Performing Arts, San Jose, California  

July 16   
JUN'ICI ARAI, sound design & choreography, fashion show to benefit the San Francisco Craft & Folk Art Museum, Obiko designers, Fort Mason, San Francisco, California   

Sept. 19   
OBIKO, production coordinator, fashion show to benefit the Children's Cancer Research Institute, Obiko designers, St. Francis Hotel, San Francisco, California  

Oct. 18   
KUDO, sound design & choreography, fashion show to benefit Ocean Alliance, Obiko designers, British Motors, Inc., San Francisco, California  


1991   
Apr. 27   
THE EMERGING WOMAN, production coordinator, Obiko fashion show to benefit The Square & Circle Club, Obiko designers, St. Francis Hotel, San Francisco, California  

May 20   
THE GOLDEN DOOR, sound design, Obiko promotional fashion show, Obiko designers, San Diego, California   

Sept. 21   
TRANSFORMATIONS, production coordinator, Obiko fashion show to benefit The Japanese-American Cultural League, Obiko designers, St. Francis Hotel, San Francisco, California  

Nov. 25   
OBIKO, sound design,  choreography & staging, fashion show to benefit The California Crafts Museum, Obiko designers, Ghirardelli Square, San Francisco, California  
   

1992   
May 2-3   
ART IN FASHION, sound design & choreography, promotional fashion shows for various art-to-wear designers, Marin Civic Center, San Rafael, California    

May 22   
KUBA, sound design, in-store ethnic fashion presentation, Obiko designers, Obiko, San Francisco, California  

Aug. 5   
THE CRAFT OF THE COSTUME, production coordinator, Obiko fashion show to benefit the San Francisco Craft & Folk Art Museum, Obiko designers, Cowell Theater, Fort Mason, San Francisco, California  

Dec. 17   
OBIKO, sound design, Christmas fashion presentation, Obiko designers, Canterbury Hotel, San Francisco, California  
   

1993   
Dec. 10   
OBIKO, production coordinator, fashion show to benefit DrawBridge, Obiko designers, Fort Mason, San Francisco, California  


1994   
Aug. 4   
METAMORPHOSIS, production coordinator, Obiko fashion show to benefit the San Francisco Craft & Folk Art Museum, Obiko designers, Fort Mason, San Francisco, California  

Nov. 10   
AROUND THE WORLD, production coordinator, Musée de Noel, Obiko & Bernini  fashion show to benefit the St. Luke's Hospital Auxiliary, various designers, Sheraton Palace Hotel, San Francisco, California   


1995   
May 4   
MARIAN CLAYDEN, sound design, Golden Shears Award Ceremony fashion show, The Fashion Center, San Francisco, California    

Oct. 5   
NOMADS, production coordinator, Obiko fashion show to benefit the Theta Delta Xi Women's Auxiliary, Obiko designers, Fairmont Hotel, San Francisco, California  

Oct. 7   
KAISIK WONG TRIBUTE, 1995 Golden Ring Awards, production coordinator, fashion show to benefit the Asian American Arts Foundation, Center for the Arts Theater, Yerba Buena Center, San Francisco, California  
   

1996   
Mar. 10   
HATS OFF! production coordinator, Obiko fashion show to benefit Yu-Ai Kai, various designers, Fairmont Hotel, San Jose, California  
 
May 16   
MINGEI, production coordinator, Obiko fashion show to benefit the Asian Art Museum, Obiko designers, Asian Art Museum, Golden Gate Park, San Francisco, California   

July 18   
DRESSED IN TIME, production coordinator, fashion show, Handweavers Guildof America Convergence, various designers, Portland Convention Center, Portland, Oregon  
 
Aug. 28   
GUJARAT TO ORISSA, production coordinator, Obiko and Anokhi fashion show to benefit the San Francisco Craft & Folk Art Museum, Obiko designers, Fort Mason, San Francisco, California 

Oct. 9   
IRRESISTIBLE MUSEÉ, production coordinator, Musée de Noel,, Obiko & Bernini fashion show to benefit the St. Luke's Hospital Auxiliary, various designers, Sheraton Palace Hotel, San Francisco, California 
   
  
1997

May 3   
TRIBAL VISIONS, sound design, Obiko fashion show to benefit the Medallas Endowment Fund at the Bowers Museum of Cultural Art, Obiko designers, Disneyland Hotel, Los Angeles, California 

June 6   
TRIBAL VISIONS, production coordinator, Obiko fashion show to benefit the Asian Health Services, Obiko designers, Marriott Hotel, Oakland, California   

Aug. 27   
SHIBORI, sound design, staging & choreography, Obiko fashion show to benefit the
San Francisco Craft & Folk Art Museum, Obiko designers, Fort Mason, San Francisco, California  

Sept. 4   
PORTRAITS, production coordinator, Obiko fashion show to benefit the Theta Delta Xi Women's Auxiliary, Obiko designers, Fairmont Hotel, San Francisco, California  


post Obiko

   
1998   
August   
DANCE OF THE CICADA, music composition for Cicada art-to-wear fashion store, San Francisco, California  

Sept. 19   
CICADA, sound design, staging & choreography, in-store grand opening fashion show, Obiko designers, Cicada, San Francisco, California 

Dec. 11   
FUSION ARTWEAR, sound design & staging, Cicada fashion show to benefit the Oakland Museum of California, Obiko designers, Oakland Museum, Oakland, California    
   

1999   
Mar. 22   
ART FOR WEARING, fashion show consultant, Cicada fashion show to benefit the San Jose Museum of Art, Obiko designers, San Jose, California    

Apr. 9   
ART WEAR FOR THE NEXT MILLENNIUM, sound design, staging & choreography, Cicada fashion show to benefit the Palo Alto Art Center, Obiko designers, Palo Alto, California  

June 23   
ADORNMENT OF ART, sound design, staging & choreography, Cicada fashion show to benefit the San Francisco Craft & Folk Art Museum, various designers, Fort Mason, San Francisco, California  
   

2000   
Dec. 23   
MARIEN CLAYDEN, sound design, fashion show, Los Altos, California   

         
2013   
Sept 21   
OBIKO ART WEAR PROJECT, fundraiser, video installation, Obiko fashion shows, Textile Arts Council Library, San Francisco, California   


2014   
Jan 29 - Apr 27    
METAMORPHOSIS ~ CLOTHING & IDENTITY, video installation, Obiko fashion shows, San Jose Museum of Quilts & Textiles, San Jose, California       

   
2019 - 2020   
Nov 9, 2019 - May 17,2020    


 


What a great time it was!

      


Styrous® ~ Friday, October 28, 2016