Pins and Wings - The Full Adventure

Finally ready, I think, to tell about the entire day of the opera. Surreal as it was.

It didn't start out surreal. Looking back, I realized I wasn't feeling 100% earlier in the day but attributed it to nervous excitement. I even remember thinking, funny, this isn't usually what my body does when I'm excited, but what else could it be. Ha!

Anyway, I actually fell asleep on the train on the way into the city. Another red flag. I fell asleep? On the train? I don't do that. For so many reasons, I simply don't do that. Apparently I do... when I'm not in 100% health.

Met my voice teacher (who is also my friend) and we walked uptown. I was fine, no problems. We had drinks and a very nice dinner at Rosa Mexicano. They made guacamole for us at the table, that's their shtick. They serve it with red and green sauce, chips and warm soft tortillas.



It was part of the prix-fixe dinner.

For entrees, we both had salmon over tropical fruit mole. It was delish. I was so full from the guac that I ate only half.



That triangle is a slice of pineapple, in case you were wondering.

Then, a chocolate hazelnut cupcake for dessert! YUM! I managed to eat all of that of course.



Then we rolled out of there, filled to the gills. I ignored that strange feeling in my stomach, attributing it to overindulgence in food and drink. We crossed the street to the Met where we took the usual photos.

Outside:



Check out my $2 gloves with the sparkly hearts.

Inside:



View from my seat in the front row of the balcony... you can see the titles system they have there on the panel in front of the seat.



Me in my seat:



And so the opera began. And as I sat there... the odd feeling in my stomach got... odder... and uncomfortable... and suddenly I felt quite unwell... hot prickly... cold sweat... nausea... stomach gurgles... shaking... I did my best to suppress these feelings while my mind began racing... "Ohmygod I can't be getting sick, here at the Met, during an opera. This isn't happening. And Ohmygod if I am sick how the heck am I going to manage going home on the train? What am I going to do? I can't be sick!!!" And my next thought... "...Maybe I'll just sit on the floor and put my head down on my seat, to rest..." and then my rational brain, what was left of it, said, "Uh... no... better to get out of here..." and then I realized that, as much as I wanted to be there, if part of my brain wanted me to get out of there, I should probably listen... I realized that I no longer cared where I was... so I stumbled up the stairs where the usher immediately came over to see if I was ok. She assisted me to the lobby where I was suddenly surrounded by ushers and the bartender, asking if I was ok, can they help, here's some water, here's a damp cloth, and meanwhile I was quite woozy and my brain had pretty much had left my head and I was sort of watching this all happen. I thought I'd be sick so they brought me to the bathroom. Everyone was so concerned and friendly and caring.

When I came out of the bathroom the house doctor was there and he asked me a few questions. After my trip to the bathroom I was feeling a bit better and the head usher actually unlocked the doors and let me back in! Didn't expect that. (I'll credit my dress for that!) I managed to hold it together until intermission, practically passed out in my seat. People probably thought I was drunk. Whatever. I made myself alert for the singing and snoozed during the talking. And with La Fille, that meant I had a lot of snooze time.

At intermission I realized there was no way I could make it through the rest so my companion asked the usher to call the doctor. The doc and the lead usher brought me down to the doc office, which is this tiny room backstage with a too-large desk squeezed in, a little bathroom and a closet with a gurney in it. It was cluttered with medical equipment.

The doctor was so so nice. I was feeling rather stupid for getting ill (irrational but whatever) and was annoyed at myself that I was missing the performance. He told me that there are 4000 seats there and that someone gets ill every night. Every night. And tonight was my night. Then he asked if I'd ever had acupuncture and would I be willing to try it? And in my woozy state I said, "Sure, why not." So there I was, backstage. On a gurney. With pins stuck in me. I could hear the opera going on. I thought I was hearing on a monitor. Little did I know that this little "treatment" room was basically a short hop, skip and a jump down the hall from the stage and I was hearing it live.

I cannot express now nice the doctor was. He stayed with me the whole time. He treated my physical symptoms and made me feel better about the situation. When I was feeling better, he said that if I promise not to throw up on Diana Damrau he'd let me watch from the stage. I guess I wasn't clear on what he meant, exactly... because surely he couldn't mean, from the stage, right?

So I jumped down from the table and he led me through a set of doors and the next thing I knew, we were in the wings! I was like, holy crap! He kept urging me forward, closer to the stage. It was unreal. I was so excited and still vaguely ill and I was right there like 10 feet from Juan Diego Florez and Diana Damrau and they were singing the trio as I mentioned in my last post. Like, right there. Next to me. And my brain was still floating a bit above my body, it was so bizarre. After we left I joked that had I known I'd get to watch from the wings I'd have gotten sick at the Met long before this. And it was also a sort of familiar feeling since I often watch from the wings when I super. But this wasn't my local opera company. This was the Metropolitan Opera. And that was Juan Diego Florez. And Diana Damrau. Right there. Ahhhhh!!!!!

I watched the rest of the performance on a television monitor from this little couch in the hallway. My friend collected me before the curtain calls and we made our way through the freezing rain into a taxi and eventually back to NJ. I stayed home from work the next day and really wasn't myself until the evening - about 24 hours after it all began.

What an adventure!!! Obviously it was no picnic getting sick and almost passing out, but the experience - acupuncture backstage and a view from the wings - totally bizarre - totally surreal - and looking back - It was almost like a gift!!

Everyone at the Met was so so nice, from the bathroom attendant to the ushers, the bartender to the doctor. Today I sent them a thank-you note.

I'm sure there's more to tell, and no doubt I'll remember once I publish the post. But for now, that pretty much covers it.

Ready for the Opera, Part Two: Glam!

This time I'm the one who's ready.

Visited Incogneeto Vintage yesterday, the store owned by friend and fellow blogger The Vintage Maven.

Walked out of there with this dress:



The sparkly colors didn't show up until I fiddled with the photo shadow settings, which ended up making my hair look gray. It also made other things in the photo look weird. So just look at the dress and think of the hair as a glimpse into my future. Of course I'll ditch the socks (they're Alex's!) and change to pumps. Still unsure if I should wear black or off-black hose.

So here's more dress.

Front:




Back:



Then of course I had to whip up a pair of earrings to wear with it:



...and then I checked some other pairs I already had to see how they'd look.



They'd do, I think, but I like the ones I just made.

And then, after the opera tomorrow, I have another reason to wear the dress... I'm singing in another recital with the Opera Project!! I'll post more about that as the date approaches - it's March 27. Batti Batti here I come.

From Here to There!!

Back when I supered in Traviata, the local opera company hosted party here and there for the entire company. At one such party I met a guy with whom I hit it off immediately. No, not like that! He wasn't in the chorus for Trav b/c each chorus member was in two of the three summer productions and he was in the other two. But we chatted there and on FB and I am continually trying and failing to beat him at Scrabble.

Here's why he is an inspiration.

Most of the singers in the summer program are in their 20s. Some are in their very early 20s. He was in his 30s and was still in that type of program because he started studying voice within the past 10 years or so. Well... from there, that YAP chorus, he went on to the chorus at the Lyric opera of Chicago, and from there to many other prestigious opera companies around the country. And this week... he's in the chorus for La Fille du Regiment. At San Fransisco Opera. With Juan Diego Florez and Diana Damrau. I'm plotzing here. I'm thrilled for him!! He's worked his butt off to "catch up" and has landed himself parts in all these fabulous operas. He was in my local opera company's chorus 18 months ago and now he's SHARING THE STAGE with Juan Diego Florez and Diana Damrau. I don't even have the words to express how excited and thrilled I am for him. I can't wait to hear about when he's the lead tenor in some opera for which I can barely afford balcony seats. BRAVO, Mike!!!!!

Successfully Ticketed

Well, what a difference from last year, when I waited 2 hours to spend $200.

Today at noon I had my computer logged on and the phone in my hand. Called once, was a smidge too early and the lines weren't open yet. Called again, got right through, was on hold for about a minute, spoke with a person, ordered tickets for Carmen in January and Die Zauberflote in April. I then looked at the computer to see that the seating section page was only just loading. So this year it took me 5 minutes to spend $450. Someone else I knew had the hardest time getting through. Like last year, his tickets kept getting released from his cart because the system took so long to navigate from page to page. For both performances we're in the Grand Tier, Row E, center section.

So just now, on a lark, I thought, "Hey, let's see if the system is blocked up now."

Nope. Got right in. Looked at La Fille. Found myself putting the two front and center balcony seats into the cart for a day in February. Oh look, they already have all my info saved. Click, click there's another $190 spent in 30 seconds after this morning's $450. I'm half expecting my credit card company to call to alert me to unusually large purchases.

Yes, they are large. Large piles of dollars. HOWEVER Banawoman is paying her own way, (I'd treat her if I could afford it!!) AND I expect to be able to sell the extra La Fille ticket to a companion - perhaps my voice teacher... and Husband and I decided that Carmen will be a date out in NYC for ourselves. Yesterday he kept saying, "Don't worry about the money!! We'll have a great time!!" And hey, the tickets will be paid for by then, so the guilt won't seem so pressing. Gotta get over that. So... anyone wanna babysit that night?

It's so tempting to go back and get more, more, more! Click, click, click. The internet is a dangerous place.

One Week!

Met tickets for us non-subscribers go on sale next Sunday. So in a week I'll know what day of the week I'm going to see Die Zauberflote. I'll have my Carmen ticket. Husband is now saying he'd go to the Met but only to see Barbiere, and he doesn't care if Rosina is Joyce D or Diana D. I'm trying to convince him to come to Carmen. I'm going to see Elizabeth C at the Met no matter what. If I'm supering in the other Carmen I guess he'll see that one too, if only the final dress. But I won't know anything about that for a few months - not sure when, but my guess is that it'll be near or after Thanksgiving (that's the end of November for my non-US readers) before they know anything.

Why why why isn't Juan Diego Florez singing in something I haven't seen? I'm torn - I so want to see/hear him, and I do want to hear Diana D, but I'm not sure if I want to see La Fille again.

Oh who am I kidding. Of course I'll go, in balcony seats in the $65 range. Better seats for the others.

So I guess my plan is, get a pair of tickets for each performance I want to see, and then find a date. Banawoman for Die Zauberflote, I bet I can drag my voice teacher to La Fille to see JDF, Husband to Carmen... and who knows what other events will pop up over the season. Frankly I'm surprised that Husband doesn't want to come to Die Zauberflote. I mean, I know why he doesn't want to see that particular opera - we've seen it before and he admits that while the music is great, the talky bits are a bit tedious. But considering the Papageno, I'm just surprised. And relieved. I'd be nervous, he'd make fun of me for that, he'd make snide comments about... stuff... and silly man, doesn't he know that he's the beneficiary of all this nonsense? Well, anyway. He's not coming. Banawoman and I can be silly to our hearts' content. Husband would cramp my opera-going style. Maybe I'll see if there's a baseball game the same day and if so, get him tickets to that.

From Wine to Lucia to La Fille to Barbiere

What did we all do before the days of DVRs? I have mine set to automatically record Great Performances at the Met, and then I can protect them so the DVR doesn't record over them when it runs out of space.

So today after running my finger around the rim of my wine glass to make that tone, I naturally suddenly felt like hearing a bit of Lucia. First I put on the Greatest Moments countdown which has Joan Sutherland doing the mad scene. That link is not the the performance we have recorded, but it looks pretty much the same. I have to say, the shape of her head in that totally freaks me out. So then we switched to the recent HD transmission, with Anna Netrebko. It was set at Alex's favorite part. Well, one of his favorite parts. No, now that I think of it, this is the first thing he asks to see - the scene where Lucia sings about the ghost in the fountain. In the Met's version, a dancer plays the ghost and exits by slowly spinning down in the fountain.



So we watched that. Then he said he wanted the dogs, which is the very opening scene, but quickly changed his mind and asked for "when she's all bloody." Fast forward to the Mad Scene. Meanwhile, Husband and I are talking about other Lucias. I mention Diana Damrau, he mentions Natalie Dessay and asks, "Wasn't she the one in Fille with Juan Diego Florez?" Well of course then Alex wanted to see a scene from that. He pretty much only ever wants to see the Rataplan scene.
Ha well I can't find the video clip at the moment however I did find a Dutch cartoon about a dog named Rataplan. Now I understand how Alex can watch Woody Woodpecker in Russian. Who needs to understand the words? But as usual I digress. So we watch that, which as we all know leads into this.



And I just want to point out, as I point out to Alex every time we watch La Fille, that I was THERE that very day. I tell him that I was in the same room - but it's a Very Big Room. So after the famous 9 high ones, as JDF is standing there basking in the audience's admiration, we switch over the Barbiere. And wouldn't you know... there he is, it's the end of Cessa, and he's in the exact same position, exact same look on his face, pretty much the same adoring crowd. It was funny. I swear it was. Ok, I guess you had to be there.

ps I survived Torchwood, but barely. It wasn't quite as intense as Rape of Lucretia, but it was 5 days of intense tension in a row, culminating with the final episode. I bawled like a baby and even hid behind a pillow at once point. But I survived.

Child Enthralled by Opera !

Check out the new video I put on the video bar over on the right ----->>>>

I think I can embed it here too:



That's my boy. No, not the Mr. Potato Head with two mouths! And not the other weird Mr. Potato Head. The boy!! That's who my boy is. Yeesh.

Today's Forecast

I really am going to paste the weather forecast here:

This Afternoon: A slight chance of showers and thunderstorms after 3pm. Partly cloudy, with a high near 96.

Well. That's the weather forecast.

Performance forecast:

Traviata #4 of 5 tonight. I forecast much sweating on stage, minor silliness backstage, standing ovations and runny mascara in the house.

And now, a musical interlude:

Grammar Police!

Wow people (including myself) are going a bit nuts on Nathan Gunn's Yahoo Fan Group. It started with a link to his journal entry, and then a comment on the grammar and spelling in his journal, and then everyone (including me!!) went off (or is that on???) about grammar.

Meanwhile, what none of them know is, because I spend so much time with my over-generalizing son, I've been known to say "goed," "taked" and other rule-following yet grammatically incorrect conjugations.

Speaking of my over-generalizing child, today we watched parts of Fille. Again. Rataplan Rataplan Rataplan. Actually I don't mind at all - I like it too. When I like an opera I can listen to it several (hundred) times in a row. I'll hear different things each time. In fact, today I was listening to the music lesson in Act II on my way home from work. It's so wonderful. Natalie Dessay's voice is just... too beautiful for words. I felt like the music was pouring into my ears and spreading through my body like warm sweet syrup. And it's all calorie-free!

It's La Fille-ful

Fille was on PBS again this afternoon. I saw the DVR recording light on so I turned on the TV to see what it was catching. Canceled the recording because I already have it, but kept it on anyway. Alex was totally into it! It was at the part where the soldiers caught Tonio and dragged him into the camp. Ah yes the Little Tenor in his lederhosen, so adorable. Alex kept complaining, "This is an OPERA! There's too much talking." I agree, there is far too much. But we did some puzzles and played some games during the talky bits. He watched the ENTIRE THING THROUGH TO THE END!!! INCLUDING THE CREDITS!!!!

His favorite part: When the drunken soldiers sing the "Rataplan" song.

Natalie Dessay is AMAZING. I so want to be able to sing like her but realize that it's just impossible. It will never happen. She hits notes that when I try, no sound comes out. What's up with that????

After watching it through to the end this afternoon, I came and reread my post-Fille posts and got that happy excited tummy feeling. Sounds hokey but y'all know what I mean, right?

Flashback!

Looked up tonight to see the little red light on the DVR. What oh what could it be recording? Wait a sec... it must be Great Performances... which means it must be La Fille du Regiment!! The very same one that I was at , up up up and away in the beautiful balcony balloon!

No matter how good it sounds in the theater or on TV, live and in person, even from waaaay up in the balcony, it's exponentially better. Exponents, remember them from math class?

*sigh* Juan Diego does look so very cute in lederhosen, especially when compared to this. Go ahead, click on that, and then once there click on the "not safe for work set." Seriously. Then you too will think how wonderful the little tenor looks in Tyrolean digs.

Sitting there on the couch in my Hello Kitty pajamas I totally remembered how excited I felt to be sitting there in the Met up in the balcony waiting for the moment when Juan Diego made his entrance. And Natalie Dessay is nothing to sneeze at - the opera is a showcase for her - she's AMAZING! And now that it's "intermission," instead of running down three levels to hang out with the rich people and drink the expensive champagne only sold at their bar, I grabbed an ice-cream sandwich and came upstairs to write. But that's only because we're out of champagne.

I wonder if I can wear my pajamas the next time I go to the Met?

Busy Earning Beverages and Remembering

Just threw this together... Now that I have the hang of the program, it's surprisingly easy. Although... I did try to just do the "Pour mon ame" part but could only figure out how to trim the end, not the front. So here it is... and LISTEN to those notes at the end. WOWZA!



And while I was waiting for it to process and upload, I watched this:



This took me from 7th grade up through college graduation. I was a bit out of touch with the MTV scene once I entered college in the fall of 1985, and I don't know all the songs listed for 1989! But I was, at the time, very involved in both my college radio station and the local music scene (follow that link and scroll down to the "music" section), plus there was no cable in the dorm, so who had time to keep up with the video top 40? The only time I watched TV was to see the Olympics and The Young Ones. Wait a sec, wasn't that on MTV???

Ok so while we're going down memory lane, I'll list some of the 80s bands I've seen in concert.

Adam Ant - (6 times, and met him.) (of course! I've always been this way...)
INXS - (6 times, hung out with them)
Eurogliders - (Many times, hung out many times, and recently reconnected on MySpace!)
The Police
REM - twice (Once opening for the Police)
Joan Jett (Opening for the Police)
Madness (Opening for the Police)
The Cure
Echo and the Bunnymen
Midnight OilGene Loves Jezebel
Lords of the New Church
Nik Kershaw
Fishbone
Joe Jackson
The Alarm (twice, and met them)
New Order
Squeeze
Duran Duran (3 times in the 80s, once in the 90s but for some reason never met them. Wouldn't want to now...)
Billy Joel (free tickets up in the nosebleed section of MSG)
U2
The Monkees (without Mike Nesmith)
The Fixx
Pink Floyd
Paul McCartney
Hoodoo Gurus (met them)
The Fleshtones
Siouxsie and the Banshees
The Grateful Dead (twice. don't ask.)
Phish (wait a sec I think I've entered the 90s... saw them several times, met them, etc.)

I also met Wham but didn't see them perform. I'm not quite sure that's something I should be admitting though...

I know there are more, and I'll probably remember a whole bunch the moment I shut down the computer. Meanwhile, it was a major PIA to do all those links, so please click a few so all my hard work will be worth it.

Why Opera Keeps me Awake

I'll always love this. I feel so lucky to have seen it performed live, just like this, with the same three singers. From La Fille du Regiment:



And then there's this, from La Cenerentola, which, now that I listen to after the Donizetti, doesn't sound that different. Rossini here, Donizetti there... A coworker of mine who Knows These Things told me that they competed in how quickly they could throw an opera together.



Here's a fun one from Barbiere, especially for those of you who like some girl-on-girl action:



Since they play catch with an orange in the above video, here's the orange's "revenge" as she sings Habanera from Carmen. I remember this from my childhood!



Now listen to this craziness. More Cenerentola. Lots of Cecelia Bartoli... her voice doesn't sound real...



This just swirls my brain. I love it! From Matilde di Shabran.



Finally, to calm us down after all that, here's something I sometimes listen to just before shutting down the computer. Yes, I know, I'm Jewish, but that doesn't mean I can't like Ave Maria, especially when Juan Diego is singing it.

That's My Boy

On the way home from a friend's house yesterday evening, Alex said, "I want to hear that music."
"What music?"
"That music we were listening to on the way here."
Right. Alex wanted to listen to... La Fille du Regiment.
"What part?"
"The loud part."
"Rataplan?" (this is what the soldiers sing when they're all drunk)
"YES!"

The CD was already set to the trio in act 2, so we listened to that, then I put the other disc in. The entire act is one track so I had to fast forward, so we also listened to the patriotic song Marie sings for Tonio and the regiment, and then the love duet.

That's my opera-lovin' boy.

Sad to let go...

...but happy not to travel 90 minutes each way to NYC, get home after 1am, considering that I will be getting up at 7, taking Alex to music class at 9 and then heading to a birthday party over 2 hours away... And now I can apply the money toward seeing La Sonnambula next season without guilt.



US $150.00
Auction ended early with Buy It Now.

Oh, did I mention I listed the Fri night ticket on Ebay?

No, I Didn't See Juan Diego Florez In His Underpants

Before I write up my account of my day yesterday, I just need to squeal for a second - It just dawned on me this morning - I MET JUAN DIEGO FLOREZ YESTERDAY!!!! And I didn't even make a fool of myself. At least I don't think so.

Ok, squeal over.

Disclaimer: As I've said before, if you want an official review of the opera, go to Opera Chic or the like. I will not be giving a play-by-play of every scene and musical note.

So we start, of course, with the train.

At the station they have these electronic ticket machines. You type a code in for the station you're going to, slip your cash or credit card in and it spits out the tickets. The station was really crowded yesterday morning. One machine wasn't working. The remaining machines were taking forever to approve the transactions, plus many of the travelers had no clue as to how to use them. I got my ticket as the bell went off to signal the approaching train - WHEW!

It was your standard boring train ride, but luckily it was an express.

Got to Penn Station and it was nice out so I decided to hoof it up to the Met, a mere 30 blocks or so. Luckily my Zankel Hall Footwear Experience taught me a lesson, and I was wearing my hiking shoes. When I got warm I tied my purple raincoat around my waist. I was a real fashion icon, I'm sure. Popped into a Starbucks for iced coffee and a sandwich for my picnic lunch on the ledge on the side wall of the Met. Of course I took my sneaks off and let my feet air out during lunch, then slipped on the Fancy Shoes. Wandered around, bought a silly scrabble-themed mug at the opera shop with all opera words on it, bought an overpriced coffee and snack at Avery Fisher hall and finally went in.

Took a few pictures


then made my way to my seat. Denise came in a few minutes later. Then ...the guy on the other side of me starting making these... noises... you know... snorting... coughing... throat clearing noises. Denise thought it was me and asked if I had a cold. I said, "No, that wasn't ME," and then I turned to the guy and said with a very nice smiley tone, "You're not going to do that during the performance, right?" and he immediately popped a cough drop. No waaaay is some sniveling snorting allergic person going to ruin my Juan Diego Experience!

The opera was great! So funny, so cute. Natalie Dessay was great. Beautiful voice - great high notes, great sound and LOUD!!!! Even when she was facing upstage she was loud. She looked like a little bird, all tiny and fragile, and then That Sound came out of her! She ran all over the set, jumping onto backs and into Juan Diego's arms, collapsing on the floor and doing a lot of physical comedy. Juan Diego... when he first came out... in those leiderhosen and that sweater- he was adorable. Trust me, I've never used the words 'liederhosen' and 'adorable' in the same sentence before. And I was so excited to hear him sing I do believe I might have been trembling. Then, of course, Ah Mes Amis - If it wasn't funny I would have been crying. Seriously, my eyes got moist. That happens a lot to me at the opera. Moist Opera Eyes. Then the cheering and hooting and hollering. He stood there and finally took a little bow and said thank you and the crowd went WILD. WILD!! But no encore this time.

Then... intermission. Denise kept checking to see if I was ok that he didn't do an encore. What? Meh? Why would that bother me? I was truly confused. This was all on the way to the bathroom three levels down. Yes, there is a bathroom on the Balcony/Family Circle level. But the bathroom on I think the Parterre Level had no line! Well, a very short line, compared to upstairs. So she took a couple of pictures of me standing next to a railing:

What's funny about this shot is, I climbed up there under the railing, and didn't realize that I had stepped on my skirt and pulled it down a bit. When I got back in line for the bathroom I was like, what am I feeling? Are my pantyhose falling down? And then I realized... It was my skirt! How funny is that! It was halfway down my butt. Hey at least it didn't come off completely! I was laughing and no one noticed. But it looks like a long skirt in that picture.

After the pit stop we got champagne ($17 a glass!) and went back up to the Cheap Seats where they didn't even offer the same champagne at the bar.

On to Act 2: Just as funny, silly and glorious as act 1. Snuck a few pictures:

The quality stinks but you can get an idea of the view from the balcony. Binocs are a must.

Then... Wild Screaming Standing Ovations at the curtain calls. Everyone had huge grins. It was great.

On our way out Denise was funny - she was like, "You should go to Natalie Dessay's fan page and write that you have earrings for her, then she'll put you on the backstage list next time." I stared at her like she was insane. What? Meh? Huh? "Denise, Denise," I replied, "I have my own way of doing these things." She ignored this and went on, loudly, with her fantasy for me... I had to cut her off and explain that as a super with NJ Opera... at which point she cut ME off all excited and said, "That's IT! You can be a super here at the Met and then you'll meet her!" Ok who ever said I wanted to meet her? And... well... I won't even state the obvious about being a super at the Met lest I offend the intelligence of anyone who might be reading this. So I had to cut her off AGAIN and explain that the best way to meet anyone is to be introduced, and I'll be working with plenty of people this summer who could be my "connection" or whatever to meeting other people. She is very enthusiastic! And has the best intentions so it's hard to be annoyed. By then we had made our way down to the main lobby. She had to run but urged me to go to the stage door. I was unsure. I didn't know where it was. She dragged me over to an Official Looking Person to ask how one finds the stage door. The guy totally misunderstood. He said with an Obnoxious Laugh, "You have to be on the list to get backstage." Yeah no sh** sherlock. I said, "Not BACKSTAGE... I'm looking for the stage door where people wait for the singers to come out." He gave me these wacky directions: Down the stairs, through the glass doors, make a left, go through the opening, follow the signs down a narrow hallway that twists and turns and you'll find it there. And that was pretty accurate! The picture in my last post, of the sign duct-taped to the wall, was pretty much what the whole place was like. Construction equipment on the floor, pipes and wires, debris, a twisting and turning passageway with paper signs duct-taped to the wall. Husband joked that maybe they do it to lure the rich opera-goers to a secluded spot where they can then rob them! But no, it did eventually lead to the stage door. There were a few people waiting there, sort of lined up against the wall of the hall. The guy I was next to was kind of strange - sort of socially off... like someone who'd be next to you on an airplane for a loooong flight. He hadn't been at the opera - he listened on the radio and then came. He had this poster of Juan Diego as Almaviva that he got on sale, blah blah too many details, he showed me all his different colored sharpies. you get the idea. I told him that all I wanted was a picture. He said he would take the picture as long as I promised not to get mad if he didn't go a good job... and, he said, after he got his poster signed. Whatever... he was nice and all, but just... well... a strange egg.

There were probably about 10 people bunched up by the stage door, and then a line of people down the wall. I, of course, was in the bunch. I was the youngest of the bunch too. One person in the production was a woman who spoke but didn't sing - she is/was a famous Broadway actress from the 1970s. About 6 of the10 there were there to see her. None of them were under 70. Then a few others in their 60s, then... me.

Every time the door opened, everyone looked and let out a breath. It was like a surprise party, waiting for the guest of honor and each time the door opened it was someone else. One short, dark-haired guy came out and immediately said, "I'm not him!" It was funny.

After about half an hour, the door opened and some nobody came out but someone said, "Oh, I see him on the stairs, he's on his way out. So of course my cool calm demeanor just vanished. Out the door. I had this adrenaline rush, my heart started pounding and my hands were shaking. That just wouldn't do - the iPhone needs a steady hand to take a clear picture! Juan Diego came out about 30 seconds later. I forced myself to be calm. The people right there shoved stuff in his face, "Will you sign this?" Some people were asking him to sign more than one thing. What's up with that? One guy said all dorkily, "Your music makes me happy." I decided then and there: No autograph. I'm introducing myself. In Spanish. So he signed a few autographs and then I Made My Move. I arranged my blouse (ahem), stepped forward (cutting off the weird guy) and said with a smile, "Hola Juan Diego, me llamo Susan" and he smiled said "Hola" and then my Spanish went out the window. I said, "I'm a really big fan... can we take a picture together?" and he said, "Of course," and several people offered to take it. So that weird guy took my iPhone and tried to take the picture. He said he thought it came out blurry. Juan Diego took it from him and said, "Let's see how it came out." He looked at it and it was blurry so we gave it someone else. I showed and explained how to take the picture. It's very easy. You just tap the picture of the camera. No squeezing, no pressing, just... tap. No one could get it. This batch of photos had his head cut in half. Then he was waving the phone in the air, "Does anyone here know how to use an iPhone?" And then I wrote about what ensued in my previous post.

But here's the fun stuff: THEN his WIFE came over and whined, "Juan Diegoooo, you made me RUSH and now what are you DoooOING?" And he was like, "Oh! I'm sorry" and he said he had to go back in but he'd come back out. I congratulated her on their wedding and she very sweetly said thank you. She is GORGEOUS in person, very glamorous. And it's clear who is in charge in that relationship! So anyway he went in and I left. I wasn't going to wait around for him to return - I got my set of blurry pictures.

While we were posing there, several people were taking pictures of us with their own cameras. I'm kicking myself now for running off without giving them my email address. Hopefully eventually one of them will come across my blog or myspace page and contact me. It's a small world, right?

And THAT is the whole story.

One of my friends pointed out that it's a good thing I already met Nathan and also John Osborn because that prepped me not to totally lose it when Juan Diego came out. She's right!

One thing I'm happy about is the fact that I introduced myself to him. Everyone else was just, "Would you sign this?" and shoving things at him. I think that was kind of rude. It's like people forget that a celebrity is a real person and treat them like an object.

I also must say that he's much cuter in person than he is in any photo or video I've ever seen of him. It's what I call the Derek Jeter syndrome, who is also much cuter in person. No, I never met Derek Jeter but we went to see him play with the Trenton Thunder several years ago when he was coming off the disabled list. So photos don't do him justice.

Ok so... the question on everyone's mind: Nathan Gunn or Juan Diego? I already know the answer but I'll save that for another post. It deserves its own post, don't you think?

"Does Anyone Here Know How to Use an iPhone?"

asked Juan Diego, after one person took blurry pictures, and the next cut his head off. "I think you and I might be the only ones," I said, turning to him, "I'm happy to stand here with your arm around me for as long as it takes to get a good shot, but I don't want to hog you. Everyone here wants a piece of you." Yes, I actually said that. So here are the craptastic photos. Several people were taking pictures of us with their own cameras but I was too boneheaded to think to give them my email address. So if on the odd chance any of you read this, and you have pictures of me and the Florezberry, please post a comment!

Details on the rest of the evening to follow tomorrow. Tomorrow! OMG! Tomorrow is my birthday. Happy Birthday, me.

Here I am at Intermission: *Heh heh I stretched out the picture so I look taller and a little thinner. I like that feature of blogger!

Is this legitimate????

Blurry and cut off pictures of me and the Florezberry himself, Juan Diego Florez.

It's a Juan Diego Saturday!

It's true, I've been bitter. The Fishbone Incident colored my opinion of Senor Florez. However, I'm going to see him tomorrow!!! Live!!! At the Met!!!! At the production that's being broadcast all over the world!!!! Finally!!! Tomorrow!!!! I'm finally going to see him perform LIVE LIVE LIVE!!!!

Ok I'm trying to drum up some enthusiasm here, is it working? Sort of. I'm not as excited as all those capital letters would make it appear. Still basking in a bit of the Gunnglow perhaps. But I am very excited about going to the opera tomorrow. TOMORROW!!!!! Hooray!!!! :) :) :) :)

Now Back to Your Regularaly Scheduled Fantasy Life

Ok, my previous post was a brief dip into reality. We can now return to My Silly Ramblings.

Fille tomorrow. What to wear, what to wear. Really it's a shoe thing. Walking from Penn Station to the Met... chance of rain... wear sneakers and carry shoes in the very large pockets of my purple raincoat? Would also need a plastic bag for potentially wet sneaker storage once I enter the building. Not a bad idea, actually.

Will write about my last two voice lessons shortly.

18 High Ones

Check out Opera Chic's review of La Fille at the Met last night. OC was kind enough to post during intermission to tell us that the Florezberry did an encore of "Ah Mes Amis." That's allota High Cs!

Hope he hasn't worn out that precious voice... of course I'm sure there's no way he'd cancel Saturday what with the HD thing... no matter how many fish bones or other irritating substances he may inadvertently swallow.