Today is a big day: the official publication date of my book, Succeeding Puccini: The Operatic Career of Italo Montemezzi, 1875–1952, coauthored with Raffaele Mellace. I first fell in love with Montemezzi’s music around 2006. I was then consciously working through the major works of all Puccini’s le...
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The Japanese economic “bubble” is usually thought to have come to an end in 1991, and by some metrics, Japan is no longer the “rich” country it long claimed to be (as Japanese people often lament). Yet in some respects, there is still an awful lot of wealth on display, and this includes funding for ...
02.03.25 01:31 AM - Comment(s)
I made a remarkable discovery this past week. An article I'd written on the Fast and Furious film franchise, and its engagements with Japan, recently published in one of my department's own journals, had been downloaded over 4,000 times. Here's a link to the article.
It's an intriguing developme...
21.05.23 05:35 AM - Comment(s)
The news at the moment is dominated by Russia's war in Ukraine. It's heartbreaking. I've never been to (or even particularly near) Ukraine, but I've had a special feeling for the country all my adult life. This is because of two powerful fictions. My high school library, which I have extremely fond ...
08.03.22 09:08 AM - Comment(s)
Looking back on my interests since undergraduate days (if not earlier), one thing which has always fascinated me is the beginnings of an artistic career. When a young writer starts to write, or a young composer starts to compose, or a young painter starts to paint, then a fascinating link tends to b...
08.03.22 08:35 AM - Comment(s)