![]() | |||||||||||||||
"In un mondo di ciechi un orbo è re." (In a world of blind people, a one-eyed man is king.) Welcome to another recipe edition from Angela's Organic Oregano Farm! This week's Italian recipes:
"La fame muta le fave in mandorle." (Hunger makes hard beans sweet.) Enjoy your recipes. Thanks again for subscribing! Yours Truly,
Smoked Salmon Pate
Ingredients: That's it!
Corn and Radicchio Salad
Ingredients: That's it!
Vermicelli with Clams
Ingredients: That's it! Printer Friendly Version :: Submit Your Thoughts
"Only In Italy" is a daily news column that translates & reports on funny but true news items from legitimate Italian news resources in Italy. Each story is slapped with our wild, often ironic, and sometimes rather opinionated comments. And now, for your reading pleasure, a sample of today's edition: The Fat Ladies Won't Sing, Italian Opera Houses Go On Strike
Union leaders called the strike to protest a government emergency decree concerning the financing of the country's 14 state-supported opera houses, which have 5,500 workers. The union says benefits will be chopped and the decree also hobbles their ability to bargain properly. Reports say that stipends, which can account for up to 20 per cent of a worker's total salary, would be cut by 50 per cent. Giancarlo Albori, a La Scala union official, said that an emergency decree was not necessary: "We don't agree with the instrument." The Accademia Nazionale di Santa Celilia in Rome posted a warning on its website that it has scrapped performances Sunday, Monday and Tuesday because of a strike. The famed La Scala, in Milan, has already canceled its May 13th premiere of Wagner's Das Reingold. Barber of Seville: "FIGARO! FIGARO!"
This strike is part of a long-running boring drama involving Italy’s main opera houses, which are almost all dependent on government financing and frequently suffer labor stoppages or the threat of them.
The fight bears the asinine hallmarks of Italian life: Powerful blood-sucking unions holding on to long-held privileges, a struggle between local and central control, and seemingly wrongheaded decrees from Rome.
The Italian government provides about $321 million a year for all 14 opera houses. But that's not much more than the Metropolitan Opera’s budget in New York. There is no doubt that the protagonists of these houses have the brilliance, passion and talent of people like the late great Pavarotti...but the management of Bozo the Clown.
For example, the 'Teatro Massimo' in Palermo is the largest theatre in Italy (and the third largest opera house in Europe).
In 1974 the house was closed to complete renovations required by updated safety regulations, but the inflated cost over-runs from the Mafia, rat-bastard Sicilian corruption, and meddling from Sicilian politicians who had less knowledge of Opera culture than the vendors in front of the theater selling greasy "panini con la milza" (fried cow spleen sandwiches), all added to the delay and it remained closed for a staggering 23 years and reopened in May of 1997.
The only opera performance taking place at the 'Teatro Massimo' during those 23 years was 'Fantasia' by the local academy of Palermo rats.
"Only In Italy" Subscribe for free and day in and day out, 5 days a week, you'll have laughter, tears and intelligent commentary all blaring at you from your stupid little monitor. Click Here to Subscribe!
|
![]() SilverFromItaly.com
Read Past Issues
Submit Your Thoughts
Baked Polenta with Garlic Cauliflower and Lamb Pie Couscous with Vegetables Gnocchi with Mushroom Sauce Marbled Ring Cake Orecchiette with Red-Wine Veal Sauce Penne with Artichokes Porcini Mushrooms with Tarragon Rigatoni with Braised Lamb Ragu Sausage and Cheese Manicotti Spaghetti with Tuna & Fennel Veal Bocconcini with Porcini and Rosemary
Questions: Need more Italian recipes? How about Italian gift ideas? Or just plain Italian fun? Subscribe to these interesting newsletters from our closest and trustworthy Italian affiliates located here in Italy? Just click the sites that may interest you and sign up:
Silver From Italy.com
Copyright ©2000-2009 FromItaly di Ciccarello. ISSN: 1724-7977. All Rights Reserved. Please read our Privacy Policy This newsletter is powered by Libero. It no longer uses NOR does it recommend the services of Tiscali S.p.a. | ||||||||||||||