Charles T. Downey

@ionarts.bsky.social

1174 Followers 1272 Following

Associate Editor and Lead Critic, Washington Classical Review; Founder of Ionarts; Ph.D. in Historical Musicology; Classical Music Fiend; Opera Addict; Baroqueux agréable and Public Musicologist (all views expressed are my own, not those of my employers)

A cat, a mix of tabby and white, lounges on the back of a gray couch, his left paw stretched out
Nine men wearing black shirts and trousers, who are singers of the Suspicious Cheese Lords, sit in a row
A TV news slide reads "18 U.S. servicemembers have been killed and more than 600 have been wounded since the the war with Iran began "
Album cover for "The Sacred Bridge" by Joel Cohen and the Boston Camerata, featuring a manuscript illumination with Hebrew letters
A monk and a novice visiting an Italian monastery in a still from "The Name of the Rose"
A woman with platinum blonde hair sits on a gray dinner table, singing
An elaborately carved staircase railing, with Islamic patterns, and an ornate tapestry on the inside of the house at Olana
Church's painting of an arch formed by natural stone, with a semi-reflection of the photographer
View of the Hudson River from Olana, framed by trees
Olana, the 19th-century manor house of Frederic Edwin Church, sits on a green, flower-strewn hill under a blue, cloud-filled sky
Plants grow in the central stone courtyard, lined with Ionic columns, at the Frick Collection
A man in a red shirt gives a lecture before a performance of Don Giovanni
Bust of Archbishop John Carroll at Montpelier, where the Catholic prelate was a frequent dinner guest of Madison's
CNN showing a quote from Theodore Roosevelt that reads, "To announce that there must be no criticism of the President, or that we are to stand by the President, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public."
A crowd protests at the side entrance of the Kennedy Center, at the moment a judge's order halted the closure of the Kennedy Center
A shirt with a representation of the D.C. flag (two red bars under three red stars) over the words "get the fuck out."
A reporter in tan shirt and blue baseball cap speaks in front of a crude mock-up of an arch. The chyron reads, "Great American State Fair temporarily closing as heat soars"
A cat with white and tabby fur sleeps on his back, twisting in a large arc on a sofa with pillows
Actual footage taken by U.S. military planes tracking unidentified craft flying in impossible ways
A still from "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" shows a work truck stopped at a train crossing, with lights from an alien craft above it shining rays of light down
Two singers perform in Rossini's opera "La Cenerentola": a man with black hair and beard, dressed in a blue coat, white gloves, and striped vest looks to the left; a woman with brown hair and a plain brown and white maid's outfit looks to the audience
The ridiculous hat is now on the head of the NHL announcer to the left
A white-haired man in a white-tie tuxedo conducts, while audience members watch
A woman in a black top with flower designs, pianist Michelle Cann, faces the camera
Oreo, a cat with a mix of white and tabby fur, lounges on the arm of a tan couch, one hind leg stretched out over the edge
A woman with black hair, wearing a red blouse revealing one shoulder, stands in front of a piano with the lid open
Protesters gathered Friday night outside the Kennedy Center to mark the birthday of President Kennedy - and heard the surprise news that a federal judge had blocked the closure of the building