Ephemera

Parsifal- The Six Flower Maidens, Minneapolis Music College Production, 1941

Until the advent of cinema, dramatic productions lived only while they were being performed. Over the years millions of these have come to fruition, only to wither to memories once the curtain closes. The above image was found among family snapshots in a box of photos at an estate sale. There were the usual pictures of vacations and graduations in the collection, but this was the only one that depicted a theatrical performance.

This ghost-image, this shadow play, had almost vanished but has now been reborn as a fleeting vision for a few hundred internet flâneurs, taking one last curtain call before oblivion.