Deborah Frances-White on Chance Encounters and Mozart
About this episode
Deborah Frances-White is a comedian, writer, and host of “The Guilty Feminist” podcast, where she explores the balancing act between feminist idealism and human imperfection.
In this episode, White reflects on her upbringing as a Jehovah’s Witness and shares a story about the first time she saw a performance of Mozart’s opera “Così fan tutte.” On the train home from the performance, she shared a serendipitous encounter with a stranger that could have been lifted from an opera plot. To this day, when White listens to “Soave si il vento” — a trio from the opera meaning “may the wind be gentle” — it evokes for her “the longing and the loss for all the loves that might have been.”
This performance of “Soave sia il vento” comes from the 1997 EMI recording of “Così fan tutte” by the Vienna Philharmonic under the baton of Riccardo Muti.
Get every episode summarized
Each time The Open Ears Project publishes, we email you a written briefing from the transcript — the topics, who appeared, and any specific claims, with the ad reads skipped.
Email me new episodesFree for 3 shows. No card needed.
Hosts & guests
No transcript yet
This episode has not been transcribed. Request it and it moves to the front of the queue.
More episodes
More from The Open Ears Project
Introducing Classical Music Happy Hour with Emanuel Ax
The Open Ears Project
Introducing Our Common Nature with Yo-Yo Ma
The Open Ears Project
Janna Levin on Mozart’s Unfinished Ambitions
The Open Ears Project
Hanna Arie-Gaifman on Bach and Survival
The Open Ears Project