Stravinskys The Rakes Progress: I Walk the Line
b'Almost three hundred years ago, the English artist William Hogarth created a series of paintings called A Rake\\u2019s Progress, which tell the tragic story of a man whose life spirals out of control after inheriting an unexpected fortune. He leaves behind a fianc\\xe9e, and it is her story of devotion that reverberates through Igor Stravinsky\\u2019s opera The Rake\\u2019s Progress and the aria \\u201cNo Word from Tom.\\u201d\\xa0\\nIn this episode, you\\u2019ll visit with Hogarth\\u2019s paintings, hear how Stravinsky captured the undying loyalty of the forgotten lover and get an inside look at how unexpected fortune and fame upended the family of Vivian Liberto and Johnny Cash. Yes, that Johnny Cash. And, yes, in this podcast about Igor Stravinsky.\\xa0\\nAnd here\\u2019s the best part: the incomparable Dawn Upshaw will sing it for you from the stage of the Metropolitan Opera.\\nThe Guests:\\nSoprano Dawn Upshaw has performed The Rake\\u2019s Progress many times and says that some of her happiest moments on an opera stage were when she was singing the role of the devoted fianc\\xe9e, Anne Trulove.\\nTara Cash is the youngest daughter of Johnny Cash and his first wife, Vivian Liberto. When she was growing up, everyone always wanted to hear about her father\\u2019s life. Now, she welcomes the opportunity to share her mother\\u2019s side of the story.\\xa0\\xa0\\nJoanna Tinworth is Curator (Collections) at Sir John Soane\\u2019s Museum in London, where the original paintings, A Rake\\u2019s Progress by William Hogarth, have resided for\\xa0over 200 years. Hogarth\\u2019s paintings are among the museum\\u2019s most popular exhibits.\\nMichael Bragg is the Music Planning Associate and Librarian at San Francisco Opera. He gives lectures and talks about opera around the Bay area, and he loves Stravinsky because of the composer\\u2019s unique approach to blending old and new styles of music.\\xa0 \\nBelow is the first painting in Hogarth\'s series\\xa0A Rake\'s Progress, entitled "The Heir." You can see the complete set of paintings here, courtesy of Sir John Soane\'s Museum.\\n\\n\\nWilliam Hogarth, "The Heir," from "A Rake\'s Progress" series, the inspiration for Stravinsky\'s\\xa0opera.\\n(Photo: Sir John Soane\'s Museum, London)'