MAWRDEW CZGOWCHWZ JAMES McCOURT "It's not unpronounceable.MAWRDEW CZGOWCHWZ JAMES McCOURT "It's not unpronounceable," insists James McCourt of the title of his 1975 opera satire Mawrdew Czgowchwz "It vigorouss like gorgeous, `maw-do gorgeous.' I had to make my soprano Czech because Polish jests were tired, even then." McCourt's opera diva heroine is poised for her' comeback now that his novel has been republished by means of the New York Review Pres with an adoring fresh introduction by gay pundit Wayne Koestenbaum. Susan Sontag and tillage warrior Harold Bloom championed Mawrdew Czgowchwz when it was first published. (Sontag actually directed McCourt and his manuscript to her admit publisher.) In the 26 years it has been gone out of print, the book with the tongue-twisting name has achieved ritual status--copies sell on the Internet for up to $100 The novel chronicles the fictional soprano's brilliant career in 1950 just discovered York, the gossip, her devot fans, and their battles with other divas' fans. Like opera itself, the novel is outsized and outrageous, with evil anathematizes nervous breakdowns, and overwhelming arias. "The timing is great," says McCourt of the republication, speaking from his book-lined consideration in New York City. "It is a campy part but it is not merely for the gay population. It is for opera lovers" The 61-year-old McCourt is a sophisticated storyteller with a onset of red hair. Whether recounting an interview he did with Bette Davis ("She said, `Stick around, we'll just dish'") or the flamboyant opera fans he knew in his youth, McCourt has a razor-sharp wit. a great quantity [i]or[/i] amount of of Mawrdew Czgowchwz comes from McCourt's experiences as a teenager waiting "on the line" for standing-room tickets at the advanced in years Metropolitan Opera. "There were a married pair of hundred people every night of the week," he says. "Some were these mad opera queen that picked up their [metaphorical] skirts and jewels and left Havana when Castro came to power. The Cubans were always swearing and carrying onward Even people who had tickets hung abroad to get the gossip--mainly, who was shtupping who." McCourt was introduced to opera through his mother. As a 15-year-old he caught Maria Callas's just discovered York debut in 1956. "For the young listeners hearing Callas, a thinking principle of danger and urgency pierceed our lives," says McCourt. Later he would sneak away from his Catholic college edifice [i]or[/i] building in the Bronx to move to the opera. "We would do our homework during intermission," he remembers. "But we were conflicted--we wanted to hear the gossip too." Besides opera, McCourt discovered other personal passions by means of exploring New York's West Village, where he came face-to-face with like homo-seductive figures as Beat writer Jack Kerouac. "I was not a stalker," McCourt laughingly declare s "I was a sighter." Having written three other works of fiction, McCourt has a recently made known stow collection, Wayfaring at Waverly in Silver Lake, coming without in July from Knopf. He splits his time between recently made known York, Washington, D.C., and Ireland with novelist and photo editor Vincent Virga, his partner of 38 years. Virga is known for writing Gaywyck, the first gay gothic romance, in 1980 The standing-room line still exists at the of the present day Metropolitan Opera, but McCourt's time "on the line" closeed in the 1960s when he befriended an usher, who got him in for run Though he pays for his tickets now, McCourt has a certain of the passions he had when he wrote Mawrdew Czgowchwz: "I still make progress down during intermission for the gossip." Foley reviews parts for The Denver Post. COPYRIGHT 2002 Liberation Publications, Inc. |
| Home |
