[Editor’s note: Only a few places remain in longtime Toronto Pursuits leader Gary Schoepfel’s seminar Benefit of the Doubt. If you’ve never taken part in a discussion led by Gary, you are in for a rare treat. His questions open up new ways for participants to examine their beliefs about […]
By Üstün Bilgen-Reinart As an adolescent, I heard my father, who passionately loved music, discussing Verdi’s Otello with my uncle. I perked up my ears when I heard him say Otello was a masterpiece; the ultimate flowering of Verdi’s genius. At that time, I dreamt of becoming an opera singer, […]
By Üstün Bilgen-Reinart I kiss’d thee ere I kill’d thee. No way but this— Killing myself, to die upon a kiss. (V.ii.258–59) For insights into the great mysteries of life such as the workings of love and death, many of us turn to the masterpieces of music and literature. The […]