WTF?
by Terrence von Bülow
Must…. touch…. hair….
I must admit on more than one occasion I have awoken in a cold sweat running my hands compulsively over my pillow.
I had the dream again, the one where I am hired by Maestro Gustavo Dudamel to sing Carmina Burana with the Los Angeles Philharmonic. In performance as I stand in the solo spotlight, Gus is conducting…. going to town…. doing his thing….. I become mesmerized by his hair…. lustrous…. dark…. sensuous…. bouncing curls…. As the orchestra deafeningly blows through the fortissimo passages and the chorus bellows… O Fortuna… velet luna….statu variabilis…. I see my hand, almost as if disconnected from mine own body…. reach out…. extends…. (sidebar: my goodness, my cuticles look good) …. touches…. Gus’…. hair. As the music pounds away I am running my hands through his hair…. per….fec….tion….
It looks like I am not the only one dreaming of running my fingers through G-Dud’s hair as the authorities at the Tel Aviv Ben-Gurion detained him in order to spend some quality time with the Dudamane for questioning upon arrival for a guest appearance with the Israeli Philharmonic and again prior to his departure. According to the LA Times , “It appears that Dudamel, 32, is considering not returning to Israel based on the unpleasant experiences.” Nice going Israel…. couldn’t you just put an action shot of my man conducting/posing for his close-up for a Pantene commercial as your screen saver like everyone else? WTF?
I have been to Israel many times. Their security procedures are far more justified than those in US airports – and – far less invasive/ intrusive. While I too am a fan of the maestro, I fear his ego has gotten the better of him, and unless he was mistreated by security, his complaints of being detained (one unfortunately cannot expect an security team to be familiar with the classical music scene) because of a lack of documentation (I say that based on the article referenced in your post) fall on deaf ears.