It’s this weird thing that my thoroughly continental childhood had a slight Asian flavor to it, although it’s not something I generally discuss. This influence is due to the fact that my grandparents lived in Manila and Macau during part of my childhood and sent me all sorts of fun things from that part of the world. This was at a time when Asia was still very far away from North America or Europe. Here is a typical childhood photo of me in Paris extolling my like for Hong Ko

I do enjoy pulling the celebrity-style vintage photos from my family vault to share with you guys. These are from a photo shoot my mother did in Paris for the opera in the late 1960s. Aren’t they just the most? The living end? But with the umbrella and those buildings it’s all a bit Jacques Tati somehow. #fashion #opera #vintagephotography #Paris #JacquesTati #glamour #France #MariaBaroni #1960s #vintagephotos

The items my performer parents accumulated in their long careers sometimes travel down to me in the form of mysterious poster tubes. I have a vague sense of the contents but I’m afraid to unroll them because they are from as far back as 1947 and fragile as a butterfly wing. These were not designed to be long-lasting posters. These are thin paper that got plastered across walls with cheap glue and the expectation of impermanence. I had looked into mounting and framing for post

I grew up in a talented family that holds the idea that talent runs in a family as a form of destiny. My grandfather, Roger, was a cold person. He didn’t like children and as a mechanical engineer he wasn’t expected to be good with people. Here is a pretty typical photo of us. You can see he barely tolerates children. Edited on October 2015 to add this photo because tell us how you really feel about children, Roger. My grandmother, his wife, adored me. And as a result Roger a

One of my fellow opera nerds made a joke by saying, “Meet you at Maxim’s” and I was transported to Art Nouveau Paris. Only, I could hear my mother sing Vilja. It’s funny how these things live inside us. I thought I’d share in my latest time travel adventure. Vilja is a delightful song and the most well-known piece from the beloved operetta, The Merry Widow. #opera #Vilia #Paris #Vilja #aria #France #TheMerryWidow #ArtNeaveau #MariaBaroni #mezzosoprano #Maxims #operetta

My paternal great-grandfather was a rakish fellow from near Brussels, Belgium. The bit of family lore we do know about him is that he was good with the ladies and he was a champion billiards player. This was, in fact, his profession. Rumor has it he taught royalty how to play. Here is a pastel done of him that I’ve photographed during the early days of digital cameras. Not the best image, but I think you can get a sense of his louche style. Great grandfather Gustave eventuall

The paternal grandfather and his family owned a factory outside of Paris and he and his siblings traveled the world selling their products — glue. I have access to a series of their travel photos taken around France in 1911-1917. Most of the locations have been labeled with a fountain pen. The one under the latticework of iron might well be the Eiffel Tower. The final photo with “Paulin” (my paternal great uncle) on the left and his mother “la Patronne” (my paternal great-gra

#Easterbunny #Paris #SamanthaChardin #Easter #creepyEasterbunny #SamChardin #1970sfashion #1970s

Governor’s Island, New York City hosted a vintage French carnival this summer. I rode a  Vélocipèdes and took in the sights and sounds whilst considering that these rides existed in 1900s Paris and may have well played host to my grandfather and his siblings. Fête Paradiso – 1900s garb Did these re-enactment types capture the style if the period? I think they might be dressed in too much white. Chardin family holiday snap in France in 1909. Not a lot of white clothing. Vintag

Great aunt Marthe and the thoroughly modern controversy As part of the research for my memoir I’ve been in contact with family members who are helping me piece together the family tree. At one point in 2001, my sisters and I spoke with our paternal uncle and he explained the details on his side of the family. He told us about various family members including our grandfather’s three siblings. More recently, I received the photos and it was nice to put a face to the names. [My

The French embraced jazz music very early. It may have been that there was a direct pipeline from the  cradle of New Orleans to the streets of Paris that allowed the music to immediately find roots in France. The French continue to love jazz to this day and it has become an integral part of French identity. Although the French can be as bigoted as any nation, they do seem to practice color blindness when an individual has sufficient talent to “surpass” their roots and they ar

My diva mother cavorting around Paris in the 1970s. You can hear her singing a duet with Jean-Claude Calon in the link below. The images in the video are super French: the Eiffel Tower, buying roasted chestnuts, visiting the outdoor artist salons, having a cafe in the park… the whole thing. Maria Baroni & Jean-Claude Calon Serge Clin in a duet from La vie parisienne (Parisian life) is an opéra bouffe, or operetta, composed by Jacques Offenbach, with a libretto by Henri Meilha