This is not a reply to anything but just a short (we all hope)
meditation on one of the great Learning Organizations of the
past. It was called the Florentine Camarata and was made up
of professionals from every profession and area of Italian
society. They discussed business, medicine, science, religion
and art. They were also avid students of history. They did
many things in their wide ranging discussions but there is one
gift that the entire world remembers. They set out to explore
the methods and intent of Greek drama, a dramatic aesthetic
perfection that included all of the Arts, music, dance, painting,
drama, poetry and ensemble. However, like Columbus looking
for India and discovering America, in their seeking to bring the
perfection of the ancient Greeks into the present they actually
ended up creating something completely new. The formula that
was to bring the great performance stories of Sophocles and
Euripedis at Epidoris alive again in 15th century Florence,
instead created the musical crown jewel of Italy and later the
Western world, the Opera.
-- Ray Evans Harrell mcore@soho.ios.com