Hasta La Gadget!

Tenor Michael Fabiano is superb as Rodolfo in San Francisco Opera’s current presentation of La Bohème. Already acclaimed for his command of the role, Fabiano’s dynamic range, musical finesse and passionate energy shine in this exciting co-production with Houston Grand Opera and Canadian Opera Company. This final entry of SFOpera’s fall season is performed by two extraordinary casts and runs through Sunday, December 2. Designed by David Farley, directed by John Caird and conducted by Giuseppe Finzi, the production is a must-see experience.

MICHAEL FABIANO. Photo, Arielle Doneson

Michael appeared as Gennaro in SFOpera’s 2011 production of John Pascoe’s Lucrezia Borgia. Superstar soprano Renée Fleming sang the title role. The recently released DVD of that production captures Michael’s vocal dexterity and brawn in handling composer Gaetano Donizetti. Michael seized our attention with his opening aria, Di pescatore ignobile. He returned to the City in May 2013 to sing Beethoven’s An die ferne Geliebte and Missa Solemnis with conductor Michael Tilson Thomas and the San Francisco Symphony. Earlier this year, Michael received both the Beverly Sills Award and Richard Tucker Award. My first interview with the dynamic young star occurred during his engagement with Seattle Opera for the 2013 production of La Bohème. We connected in our mutual admiration of tenor Franco Corelli. During our recent conversation, we talked about the discipline involved for the tenor who has Rodolfo on his performance calendar. Rodolfo is a physically climactic role. A succession of performances requires much more than muscle memory.

Michael Fabiano (as Gennaro). Lucrezia Borgia, SFOpera. Photo, Cory Weaver

“I always miss Bohème,” said Michael, “because it’s the realization of human emotion. Bohème has all the fat cut out of it. The whole body is engaged in this opera. When we did the piano/tech rehearsal, we hadn’t gone straight through the show in a big way yet. By the end, I was worn out. Not with my voice, but worn out mentally and physically. Going from elation and falling madly in love and trying to embody that – then moving to jealousy and rage and extreme sadness in the course of two hours – really does a number! If you hit the mind hard, it will hit your body. There’s a reason why opera singers do not perform day-to-day as with Broadway. The synthesis of extreme use of the voice, unamplified, combined with an entire abandon of the physical and emotional spirit can leave you worn out after a performance. But, that’s OK, it’s good! Because that is what the public wants. The public wants to witness that arc. I know that I have a divine obligation to serve the three thousand people who are in the theatre. For three hours they want to live an experience they don’t get otherwise during their daily lives. It’s my duty to give that to them because there is a fiduciary responsibility on my part – I’m getting paid to do it. I love to do it! The by-product is that I get extreme joy out of it. I love to sing. I do it for the benefit of others. That’s why I do it.”

Michael Fabiano (Rodolfo) and Alexey Markov (Marcello). Photo, Cory Weaver/SFOpera

La Bohème has no overture, Rodolfo’s opening phrase begins within a minute of the conductor’s opening downbeat. Looking out at the grey skies over Paris – filled with smoke from a thousand working chimneys – he says to his garret-mate that their dead cold and empty stove is like the dandy who thrives on doing absolutely nothing. Solution? Rodolfo sets a match to his latest attempt at romantic playwriting and tosses it onto the grate. Hear those hot kisses? How they sizzle! Michael’s radiant tone shot through the house and ignited a glowing response that here is the Rodolfo we’ve been waiting for – a young man, artistically mature, handsome and fit, with the edginess and driving force of Puccini’s most adored in-your-face bad-boy. According to Mimi, however, Rodolfo fits the profile of a typical rage-aholic. He is a verbal abuser, unduly suspicious, accusatory – a hothead who constantly screams at her, “Get out!” And then it’s all tears and kisses, until it starts again.

“There’s no extraneous music that wastes time. Everything on the page has merit and extremely good intention. From beginning to end, there is a continuous and complete arc. With other operas, you don’t always see the joy, the poverty, the sadness – everything within a moment. Like at the end when I give Mimi the cuffietta or when I take her cold hand and realize she could die in that moment. It’s all right there in one little spot. Not all operas have that. This one is extremely prescient. There may be moments when something almost irrelevant will spark a memory from the past and cause me to dig even deeper for the next five minutes and become engrossed in that moment. It’s essential. That’s what live theatre is about. It’s what gives the performance a different palette every time.”

Michael describes his vocal category as a lyric+ tenor, i.e., a voice that can handle certain roles in addition to the repertoire of standard lyric tenors. At this point in his young career, that expanded list includes – Corrado (Il Corsaro), Oronte (I Lombardi), Anatol (Vanessa), and Fernando (La Favorita). Surprisingly, Michael’s next booking for Bohème is three years away. His long-range goals include performing the entire Verdi repertoire. That makes Michael Fabiano a fiery role model for novice singers. I asked him how he would counsel today’s teens who are contemplating a career in Classical music.

Michael Fabiano. Photo, Cory Weaver/SFOpera

“I would say to a young student who has not applied to colleges but is on the verge – that they shouldn’t be thinking about what university to go to, but about which teacher to study with. That’s the first question. As a young person, I got the answer right away – from my aunt, who was also a singer, and others who said to study with tenor George Shirley. I didn’t know much about George Shirley when I was eighteen, but I took the advice. He was a terrific teacher and yes I’ve had other teachers and people who have helped me along the way. But in terms of style and phrasing, the diction, and the way music should be sung – I got a teacher who taught me with tough love. All the other kids around me were getting As from their voice teachers. Professor Shirley was not giving me As. He was tough! To answer your question – it’s first the teacher, and then the college, if it’s a part of that teacher. If not, then it’s the teacher. And then go to a university for other studies – such as language, which will help the career – and study music on your own. Music theory classes are essential, without them I would not be a good musician today. I graduated in three years from university. I pushed and did as much as I could to get out – because I wanted to start working.”

“I care very deeply about my métier and the field I work in. I see that there is peril in some places, but not here in San Francisco! I find this city to be overjoyed with classical music. You have two institutions next door to each other that live and breathe classical music. When I come back here, I basically say, ‘I’m coming home.’ The divine love for opera and classical music in San Francisco is wonderful. So, it’s not a uniform issue, it depends on where you are. I think many artists want to view classical music as something that is other – something else way over there – a different ecosystem than all the other genres of music. That mentality has created this otherization of classical music, that it’s outside the mainstream – when fifty, seventy, and eighty years ago classical music was the mainstream. Let’s take that ecosystem and replant it back into the core – right back into the same market place where all the other genres of music are. We have to make it for-profit again.”

Michael Fabiano and Alexia Voulgaridou. Photo, Cory Weaver/SFOpera

“Maybe we haven’t held up our bargain in American classical music – of producing acclaimed works that the American psyche and the American people understand, that they want to be a witness of – music that hits the heart right away. Basically, what we need are a lot more composers like Jake Heggie. From the beginning of his Moby-Dick you think, ‘Omigod! This music!’ And the story is a relatable story, something that hits home. I get asked a lot if I’m going to sing a new opera. My answer is that if it fulfills and does all these things. If it’s a great story, if it’s applicable to society or history or poetry, and if the music is accessible and wonderful. But not if it’s esoteric or strange or what the composer deems as, ‘his theme.’ Then it’s not accessible. The sentiment of most Americans is that they want tonal, beautiful music – a tune they can remember all day long. That’s what you get with La Bohème, Traviata, Rigoletto and Turandot – you can remember them. They stick!”

Neil deGrasse Tyson has already assessed the science in “Interstellar,” but since you’re probably still confused about the movie’s ending, here he is explaining things like time, space and how Coop (Matthew McConaughey) was able to enter the fifth dimension (you know, that library tesseract thing) to contact his daughter in the past. Most of Tyson’s chatter is about the overall mechanics of these concepts and how they relate to black holes, but it’s fairly simple to apply his explanations to Christopher Nolan’s complicated conclusion. He does emphasize that it’s all speculative because we don’t know what’s in a black hole or whether past events are actually amenable in higher dimensions. Still, maybe the Business Insider video will help you wrap your head around the movie’s puzzle. If not, he pretty much says, “Oh, whatever!” at the end — and what Neil deGrasse Tyson says goes.

[via Business Insider]

November 17th marks the fourth commemoration of World Prematurity Day. Millions of newborn babies are being born each year, many in complex environments and yet, in many cases these deaths are preventable. Greater momentum must concentrate around newborn survival and health, whilst also delivering on Millennium Development Goal 4 (MDG) for child survival. With greater investment and scaling up in newborn care, more premature babies born today will live and thrive into adulthood.

Preterm births, defined as birth before 37 weeks gestation, is a global problem and should not be defined as a developing-nation-struggle. For instance, the U.S experiences a preterm birth rate of 12.0 per 100 live births, the leading cause of infant mortality, which also ranks it close to Somalia.

However, in the main, the healthcare divide between developing and developed nations contributes to the drastic difference in survival amongst severely premature babies. In developed countries, at least 90 percent of babies born before 28 weeks will survive, whereas in developing countries only 10 percent will live. In 2012, more than three-quarters of the world’s newborn mortality occurred in South Asian and Sub-Saharan Africa, with India accounting for more than 25 percent. The map below pinpoints the top 10 countries that contribute up to two-thirds of the total annual premature deaths worldwide.

While the global newborn mortality has declined from 4.4 million in 1990 to 2.9 million in 2012, this decline is a third slower when compared to under-five deaths after the first month of life. Overall, this has meant that today premature deaths account for 44 percent, an 8 percent increase since 1990. The 2012 report, Born Too Soon, indicates that globally 15 million preterm babies are born each year, with more than 1 million dying from preterm complications, making up to 15 percent of deaths for children under five.

Preterm babies suffer through a host of complications, including longer hospitalization, illnesses and multiple lifelong complications, including breathing problems, cerebral palsy, and intellectual disabilities. Although little knowledge exists on why prematurity is so prevalent, dealing with its occurrence is the most effective way to ensure survival.

The following recommendations provide an up-to-date guidance on the promotion of newborn survival. Taken collectively, such guidance provides a wider and stronger safety net for preterm babies.

BREASTFEEDING FOR NEWBORNS

Breastfeeding is the best means to provide newborns with essential and natural nutrients they need. In the first few days after giving birth, mothers produce colostrum, which is an immune booster. The World Health Organization recommends exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of a baby’s life, with additional complementary foods for up to two years and beyond. Breastfeeding with complementary feeding offsets malnutrition and in turn saves millions of lives. It is not only cost-effective but also reduces the chance of infection for newborns.

INTEGRATION OF MATERNAL AND CHILD HEALTH TO ACCOUNT FOR NEONATAL HEALTHCARE

The first day a baby is born is the most dangerous day of a child’s life. Despite the problems and prevalence of prematurity, there is little understanding as to why so many babies are born prematurely. What is known is that with high coverage of cost effective medical care and early intervention, at least 75 percent of deaths of premature babies can be prevented.
This requires more direct integration of child health and maternal health in order to combat neonatal mortality. The siloing of healthcare weakens and widens gaps in premature healthcare.

This has influenced The Every Newborn Action Plan endorsed by the World Health Assembly in May 2014. The action plan lists five avenues to promote neonatal survival:

1. Strengthen and invest in care during labour, birth and the first day and week of life
2. Improve the quality of maternal and newborn care
3. Reach every woman and every newborn; reduce inequities
4. Harness the power of parents, families, and communities
5. Register and count every newborn.

IMPROVING QUALITY DELIVERY CARE

Building on healthcare integration, newborn-specific intervention that focuses on building quality delivery care should include the following recommendations from The Lancet Every Newborn Series:

1. Ensuring essential newborn care and training in neonatal resuscitation and application of of Chlorhexidine in the umbilical cord.
2. Introducing and promoting Kangaroo Mother Care (KMC) for premature and low birth weight infants.
3. Ensure proper management of newborn infection with antibiotics at the primary care levels.
4. Establish specialized newborn care unit at the sub-district and district level.

The Lancet Every Newborn Series suggests these interventions can be implemented for an annual cost of US$1.15 per person. Together, providing quality care at birth saves mothers, newborns and prevents stillbirths.

BUILDING THE CAPACITY OF SKILLED BIRTH ATTENDANTS

In many communities, especially in rural remote areas, women are unable to deliver their babies with sufficient assistance. Community skilled birth attendants (SBA) provide essential emergency care and provide greater healthcare integration by ensuring referrals to hospitals. The greatest advantage of local midwives is the sensitization and training they bring to child and maternal care, and by doing so, a bridge for neonatal survival.

The Birthing Kit Foundation Australia ,partnering with local NGO’s, offers midwifery training programs to educate SBA’s and provides birthing kits to expectant mothers to ease the care of newborns in rural and remote regions of developing countries.

Nigeria has launched Saving One Million Lives Initiative that aims to prevent 180,00 newborn deaths by 2015. In 2013, 260,000 babies die in Nigeria in the first month of life, a tenth of global newborn deaths. The initiative hopes to increase the number of pregnant women who attend four or more antenatal care visits from 45 to 80 percent and increase the number of births with skilled attendance from 40 to 85 percent. This initiative exemplifies one of the best pathways to promote greater focus on maternal and newborn health care.

NEWBORN HEALTH IN COMPLEX EMERGENCIES

Save the Children’s State of the World’s Mother’s Report 2014 highlights the critical needs of mothers and children struggling to survive in humanitarian crises. In such environments, mothers and children display higher rates of deaths.

Premature deaths are much higher when women struggle in communities afflicted by high rates of infectious diseases, lack of access to public healthcare, and medical resources. These societies often lack the knowledge and tools to promote premature survival.

The Ebola crisis in Sierra Leone and Liberia has placed unprecedented burden on an already weak healthcare system In Sierra Leone a child has a one in five chance of dying before their fifth year and with women often being the primary caregivers, they are disproportionately affected. Pregnant mothers are struggling to access hospitals, which are now overrun with Ebola inflicted patients. The disease has become a major inhibitor to achieving MDG 4 aimed at reducing child deaths by two thirds by 2015.

The Ebola crisis is one of many emergencies today that requires coordinated response to support fragile health care systems whilst assisting maternal and newborn health. Save the Children has recommended four cores areas of attention that the governments, international community and civil society must address:

1. Ensure that every mother and newborn living in crisis has access to high quality health care;
2. Invest much more in women and girls and ensure their protection; Build stronger institutions and promote early action, social protection, disaster risk reduction and strong health systems that provide universal health coverage and provide for the most vulnerable;
3. Design emergency interventions with a longer-term view and the specific needs of mothers and newborns in mind;
4. Ensure political engagement and adequate financing, coordination and research around maternal and newborn health in crisis settings.

These recommendations help deliver a continuum of care and greater accountability amongst the global community for preventing neonatal deaths and help provide country and community -level technical guidance, especially targeted towards poor families and communities.

With the rate of preterm births increasing, urgent action is needed to combat this growing problem. Knowledge and outreach is critical in complex environments, especially when children of uneducated mothers are 46 percent more likely to die before age five than children born to mothers who have completed secondary school. Therefore, investing in healthcare for women and children contributes directly to the socio-economic development and security of families, communities and nations. Within a generation, it is possible to bring an end to preventable maternal and newborn deaths with strong and sustained commitment.

I have an email folder filled with strangers who have taken it upon themselves to disown me from the faith.

I grew up in a branch of Christianity best described as fundamentalism, something I’ve written about here before.

I have a literal lifetime of experience in all those facets of the evangelical-fundamentalist-conservative compound, including anti-choice, sexual repression, political extremism, and a casual sprinkle of imperialism and racism to top it all off. But I’m here today to talk about sex. Because I am still a Christian, albeit a much more liberal one, and I’m sex-positive.

Dear Savvy Senior,
Where can seniors turn to for free or low-cost legal help? My husband and I need some professional legal assistance but don’t have a lot of money to pay a high priced lawyer. What can you tell us?

–Seniors in Need

Dear Seniors,
There are actually a number of free and low-cost legal resources available today to help seniors, but what’s available to you and your husband will depend on where you live, the type legal assistance you need and your financial situation. Here are several resources to check into.

Legal Aid: Directed by the Legal Services Corporation, legal aid offers free legal assistance to low-income people of all ages. Each community program will differ slightly in the services they offer and income qualifications. See lsc.gov/find-legal-aid to locate a program in your area.

Pro Bono programs: Usually sponsored by state or local bar associations, these programs help low-income people find volunteer lawyers who are willing to handle their cases for free. You can look for a pro bono program through the American Bar Association at findlegalhelp.org, or through lawhelp.org.

Senior Legal Hotlines: There are a number of states including the District of Columbia that offer senior legal hotlines, where all seniors over age 60 have access to free legal advice over the telephone. To find the states that offer this service and their toll free number, visit legalhotlines.org.

Senior Legal Services: Coordinated by the Administration on Aging, this service may offer free or low-cost legal advice, legal assistance or access to legal representation to people over the age of 60. Your Area Agency on Aging can tell you what’s available in your community. Call the Eldercare Locator at 800-677-1116 to get your local number.

National Disability Rights Network: This is a nonprofit membership organization that provides legal assistance to people with disabilities through their Protection and Advocacy System and Client Assistance Program. If you or your husband is disabled, visit ndrn.org to find help in your state.

Other Options
If you can’t get help from one of these programs, or find that you aren’t eligible, another option is to contact your state or local bar association, which may be able to refer you to a low-fee lawyer. Or, you may want to consider hiring a lawyer for only part of the legal work and doing other parts yourself. This is known as unbundled legal services.

Many bar associations offer public service-oriented lawyer referral services that will interview clients and help identify the problems a lawyer could help them with. If a lawyer can help with your problem, the service will provide you with a referral to a lawyer. If the problem does not require a lawyer, the service will provide information on other organizations in your community that may be able to help. Most of these lawyer referral services conduct their interviews and make referrals over the phone.

To contact your state or local bar association, go to americanbar.org.

And finally, if you are an AARP member, one other discount resource that may be able to help you is AARP’s Legal Services Network from Allstate. This service provides members a free legal consultation (up to 45 minutes) with an attorney along with 20 percent discounts on other legal services you may need. To locate a lawyer near you, call 866-330-0753.

Send your senior questions to: Savvy Senior, P.O. Box 5443, Norman, OK 73070, or visit SavvySenior.org. Jim Miller is a contributor to the NBC Today show and author of “The Savvy Senior” book.