No, you don't understand, it's not a mistake: only love can un-misunderstand us;
but not the way they understood it.
After half-a-day-ful* of all sorts of painful - and very tiring - misunderstandings with all sorts of people on all sorts of fronts of my contentious (& generally misunderstood) life, I heard of Richard Wagner** asking a Jewish conductor, son of a Rabbi, to lead some of the last performances of Parsifal at Bayreuth, not long before the end of Wagner's (largely misunderstood) life. I was so depressed that I nearly cried***. I went to the window to let more air and light in (true to the day’s form, I misunderstood the evening sun and gained next to nothing in enlightenment). On the other side, sitting at the bottom of the niche, was a pigeon. It looked at me with mindlessness in its eyes, which I took for sympathy and smiled at it. It flew away, scared – by my smile, I bet.
PS For a moment I nearly started doubting if one of the four persons that I believe understand me at the moment, really does. And even if the Father, the Holy Spirit and Jesus still do – as they do – it may well turn out at some point, that exactly today I completely misunderstood myself.
PS2 I've just looked up the Wagner/Parsifal/Levi story and there seems to be some kind of misunderstanding.
*sorry, I just can't stop myslef. But it' my blog and laissez-moi-faire! ... for once! (sorry, I feel like I need a proper rant; but fear not - it's not going to be at you; unless, that is... - or later, later)
**200 on Wednesday
***at the fact that W. may have been mistunderstood, not that he - as it seemed, but now it seem it was not what it seemed - asked a Jew to conduct Parsifal. Wow! - if I was misunderstood here, it could be bloody dangerous: I guess you're just rounded up and executed summarily if you're anti-semitic# these days.
***at the fact that W. may have been mistunderstood, not that he - as it seemed, but now it seem it was not what it seemed - asked a Jew to conduct Parsifal. Wow! - if I was misunderstood here, it could be bloody dangerous: I guess you're just rounded up and executed summarily if you're anti-semitic# these days.
#simply misspelt: no anti-Semitism implied, right?
PS 3. If this is not an apt dessert, I misunderstand what is:
[from Wikipedia]
At Bayreuth performances audiences do not applaud at the end of the first act. This tradition is the result of a misunderstanding arising from Wagner's desire at the premiere to maintain the serious mood of the opera. After much applause following the first and second acts, Wagner spoke to the audience and said that the cast would take no curtain calls until the end of the performance. This confused the audience, who remained silent at the end of the opera until Wagner addressed them again, saying that he did not mean that they could not applaud. After the performance Wagner complained "Now I don't know. Did the audience like it or not?"[22] At following performances some believed that Wagner had wanted no applause until the very end, and there was silence after the first two acts. Eventually it became a Bayreuth tradition that no applause would be heard after the first act, but this was certainly not Wagner's idea. In fact during the first Bayreuth performances Wagner himself cried "Bravo!" as the Flower-maidens made their exit in the second act, only to be hissed by other members of the audience.[22]
At Bayreuth performances audiences do not applaud at the end of the first act. This tradition is the result of a misunderstanding arising from Wagner's desire at the premiere to maintain the serious mood of the opera. After much applause following the first and second acts, Wagner spoke to the audience and said that the cast would take no curtain calls until the end of the performance. This confused the audience, who remained silent at the end of the opera until Wagner addressed them again, saying that he did not mean that they could not applaud. After the performance Wagner complained "Now I don't know. Did the audience like it or not?"[22] At following performances some believed that Wagner had wanted no applause until the very end, and there was silence after the first two acts. Eventually it became a Bayreuth tradition that no applause would be heard after the first act, but this was certainly not Wagner's idea. In fact during the first Bayreuth performances Wagner himself cried "Bravo!" as the Flower-maidens made their exit in the second act, only to be hissed by other members of the audience.[22]
