Brahms’s “Great Tragic Opera”

Unilateral Vocal Cord Paralysis of a Great Jewish Opera Singer

George London was one of the most compelling vocal artists of the early twentieth century. At the age of 47, the great bass-baritone retired from singing. It has been suggested that the premature ending of his operatic career was due to unilateral vocal cord palsy (UVCP). When London retired, the common belief was that this UVCP was caused by viral hepatitis, although there is no evidence to su...

Opera Campus Opera Campus

Tragic and sudden death

the death of a child is probably the most traumatic event any parent can experience. this tragedy is made worse if the child dies in its sleep, appar­ ently for no reason. Sudden infant death syndrome (SiDS) inevitably strikes horror into parents’ hearts; it usually happens at night and occurs in complete silence—there is no fight for life or breath to warn parents that something is horribly wr...

A Tragic Loss

T he circumpolar health community lost a much respected and loved friend, colleague and mentor on 17 June, 2014. Dr. Éric Dewailly, aged 59, a professor at Laval University in Québec, Canada, died in a tragic rockslide on the island of Réunion in the Indian Ocean, while holidaying with his family. Eric was well known to many researchers across the Arctic. He was a superb pioneering scientist wh...

Shakespeare’s Tragic Heroines

Shakespeare's attitudes towards and portrayals of women have long been discussed and analyzed in many contexts, and often it seems as though sweeping generalizations are made about how he felt towards women. Based on such plays as Macbeth, Hamlet, The Taming of the Shrew, and some characters in A Midsummer Night's Dream, one might be able to conclude that Shakespeare generally did not view wome...