Saturday, January 16, 2010

Caaaarrrmmmeeennn!!

I CAN'T WAIT UNTIL THURSDAY!!!! I specifically didn't go to the HD broadcast of Carmen today because I want to see it fresh, fresh, fresh. I haven't even read any reviews. But I did listen to the radio broadcast and it was FAB. It was SO COOL to hear Liz sing. I am so excited for her, and to be going to the Met, and to be going on a looooong "date" with Husband, that I'm ready to explode. Explode, I tell you.

So I listened to the radio broadcast - I realized I could listen to the streaming broadcast of the local classical station on my iPhone, meaning, I could go anywhere and still listen. Great, because during intermission we all went outside and joined some neighbors for a walk. One of the girls was at that New Year's Eve party, the one who kept demanding that I sing, sing sing. She's in 2nd grade so she's older than 6 - I guess she's 7 or 8. I told her what I was listening to, explained that it was LIVE and that I know one of the singers. We all ended up at the track field at the nearby school. This girl was so cute. She took me by the hand to lead me to the bleachers to sit and listen. She sat with me and listened for a good half an hour after the interminable intermission ended. She loved it. She kept saying, "Is that your sister?" and I kept saying, "She's my friend, not my sister!" Then she kept asking me to sing a note like that. Ha! Not bloody likely. But I showed her how to sing using her abs, opening wide like a yawn and so on. She was belting out the notes like nobody's business!! She had never heard real opera before. She said her mother watches it on TV - "You know, that woman with the curly hair?" Took me a moment before I realized that I think she meant Susan Boyle. All I said was, "Someone who wins a television contest is not an opera singer. The people you're hearing right now dedicate their lives to studying music and opera, they go to school for it and do nothing else." It was so much fun to share the excitement of the broadcast and the general excitement of live opera with her. She kept telling me that I was so funny, I think because I don't act like a "regular" adult. I tend to talk to kids like they're adults rather than talk "kid talk" to them, if that makes sense. Sharing the experience with her made it even more special.

Then to top off the fabulous day we had tamales for dinner. Oh and I did have my voice lesson this morning. For the very first time, I actually didn't have my music with me! I had taken it out of my bag to go over when to breathe. I do the breathing but sing it only in my head , not out loud. I might have left it on my desk at work. Uh, not that I practice my music while I'm at work. Ahem. I'm sure it was while I was waiting for some work-related computer program to load. So anyway we went over the words and some diction stuff, then for fun worked on Art is Calling for Me. That's going to be fun once I really get it together. We have a lesson next Saturday before the afternoon recital. Should be fun.

Next: What to wear on Thursday, and also, what in the world should Husband wear? He's anti-suit/tie. Dress pants, dress shirt and jacket, sans tie? We'll see. I'm sure I'll post pictures.

Really what I want is, when we're backstage, to be able to put 1 foot, just 1 toe, onto the stage and get a photo. Silly, I know, but that shouldn't surprise anyone.

4 comments:

edda said...

I´ve seen the HD transmission.Elisabeth Caballero was so great, I wish to hear more from her in the future (the whole performance was amazing, loved it, I can´t sleep, and it´s almost 3.00 in the morning)

Susan said...

Aha opera is keeping you awake too!
Liz's website is http://www.elizabethcaballero.com.
If you're on facebook search her name to find her fan page. Both sites have videos. :)

Patrick J. Vaz said...

I'm not someone who should be offering sartorial advice, but here goes for your hubby: My experience of the Met is that the audiences dress up a little more than at San Francisco Opera (in that you see a fair number of people at SFO in jeans and T-shirts, and they don't look really out of place, as they would at the Met). I wore dress pants and dress shirt sans tie and felt that was suitable. I didn't even wear a jacket -- just my raincoat or my leather jacket depending on how wet or cold it was. And I just wore dark tennis shoes, though they were the type you'd have to look at closely to see they were tennis shoes. And enjoy the show! Can't wait to hear about it.

Avocational Singer said...

The part where you are spending time with the little girl is so inspiring. I remember the moments that stand out from my own childhood where someone involved with classical singing made an impression on me, and those memories are very strong.

She will probably always remember that time in the bleachers with you, and this is another incident of how everything we do to enrich ourselves can have an effect on others too.