Pre-Hijack 6 Month Update

I seriously haven’t posted since JANUARY????? Yikes.

So I guess I’ll squash 6 months worth of opera and Mars activity into one post before hijacking my own blog to participate in an education chat over the summer.

One topic at a time:

First… The WING is no longer. I’m not sure what happened. So … I’m back on the main stage, as they call it. I’ve performed in two concerts. One was “April in Paris” and it was so much fun!

It was held at a historic mill – basically this large barn-like structure with some antique milling equipment still there. The stage is about 2 steps up from the floor. The floor was set with little round tables, cabaret style. There was a table of food at the back. And as the name suggests, it was all in French. Now, to back up… I had been working on Voi che sapete, then I learned of the theme about a week and a half before the show. French! Hmmm… back when I first began studying voice, I did learn a few songs in French. The easiest one for me to relearn in time to perform was The Tipsy Waltz. There were two Opera Project rehearsals and I had just one voice lesson before the concert.  It’s such a short song that

I sang it through twice. See if you can tell when I spilled the wine all over my dress.

The next month we had another cabaret-style concert at the mill. This time I sang Voi che sapete. The person who recorded this for me probably didn’t realize he was recording it sideways! Here we go:

I still need to work on standing still! Also, breath control. Remember to breathe! But I’m doing so much better with keeping my voice on top of the air.

Now I’m learning this silly aria from Barber of Seville. The maid sings it – it’s about how crazy the house is with everyone being in love with all different people, love is this terrible thing and OH NO SHE FEELS IT TOO. No video yet of ME singing it. Here’s a silly one I like. It doesn’t include the recit, which is a about 30 seconds long.

Then the other day I found a CD I made of accompaniments for songs I was learning with my voice teacher. I sang through them for my current voice teacher and we decided to work on Gretchen am Spinnrade and Vedrai carino. And I’m going into it all with the attitude of DON’T FEAR THE HIGH NOTES!!

So that’s the voice lesson summary. Now, onto the performances I’ve attended.

JOYCE DIDONATO in Princeton! Yes indeed. She is amazing. Had front row balcony in a tiny tiny venue.

Then I saw her AGAIN in May at the Met. La Cenerentola. Went alone. Went to the matinee. Took myself out for lunch at Bar Boloud beforehand. Food and service were fab fab fab. I had the prix-fix 3 course lunch. There was pate with these tiny pickles, quiche and a pear tart.

It was more food than I could eat. Then I went across the street to the Met and made my way to my seat in the orchestra rear. I was about 3 rows from the very back. View from my seat:

The opera itself was FABULOUS. But of course it was. How can any opera with Juan Diego Florez and Joyce DiDonato be anything but? She'll be there again next year. And so will I of course!

Next season I plan to see The Merry Widow and of course La Donna Del Lago. Nathan Gunn, Renee Fleming, Juan Diego Florez, Joyce DiDonato and John Osborn!!! Whoop whoop. Will convince the Huz to come with me to at least one of those.

Finally, in Mars news... not much. Saw Artifact in NYC. Ticket included Q&A and photo with Jared. He saw me and said, "Hey! The opera singer! We have an opera singer here!" And I swooped in for the hug. 

Future Mars news: 2 shows in August, but they're sharing the billing with another band so I have a feeling the crowd won't be the same. We'll see!

And now, the next several posts over the summer will be related to a virtual camp I'm participating in, about school involvement in the community. And maybe opera stuff, if anything happens in the middle of the summer.

Comte Ory, Take 2

I had no idea when I purchased opera tickets on a hot day in August that the performance date I chose would turn out to be one of the coldest days of the year. Last week’s cold weather (highs in the 20 degrees F) made wardrobe planning a little tricky. How much time would I actually be spending outside? How overheated will I get on a crowded subway, if I’m dressed for the outside weather? Of course I tackled this problem with my usual over-thinking, and ended up in leggings under a long skirt, also a many-layered shirt ensemble that ended up being pretty nice. And, as usual, I wore my hiking shoes, and stashed my heels in my pink purse. Here I am on the train, sneakily putting my feet up on the opposing seat.

I met my friend at Penn Station and we headed uptown on the subway. We had a little time to kill so we puttered around the Met Opera shop, which was amazingly empty. I’ve only ever been there just before an opera, when it’s wall-to-wall people. Then we went to Avery Fisher Hall to use the Secret Public Bathroom. Anyone who is stuck uptown in that area of Manhattan, there is a nice bathroom in AFH open to the public. There’s even a bench and a full-length mirror. So we got ourselves together and switched out of our traveling shoes into our heels for the short walk to the restaurant.

As usual, we went to Café Fiorello. Don’t know why I always go there. Habit? It seems about as good as any other place in the area, and I do love the seafood. This time we shared a “Seafood Supreme Pizza”

and for dessert, a tiramisu cake:

I’m not that into tiramisu, to be honest, but the cake was nice and light and fluffy. And of course we enjoyed a cocktail – this is a “metropolitan daquari” and was quite yummy.

Next, on to the Met. And guess what? It had snowed during dinner. The sidewalk was a slushy slippery mess! We clung to each other like old ladies as we minced our way across the street.

Our seats were in the last row of the Grand Tier. There are only 7 or 8 rows so it’s not such a big deal…however that didn’t stop us from upgrading ourselves to empty seats directly in front of us in the first row. Here’s the upgraded view:

The opera was just as funny as I remember.

The soprano – Pretty Yende – was A M A Z I N G. This was her Met debut, filling in for someone who dropped out before rehearsals began, due to illness. As usual, the legato poured out of Juan Diego Florez like honey. And Nathan Gunn was pretty good too, except that he was kind of hard to hear over the orchestra. I’ve read reviews of other things he’s done where people commented on that, but I’d never actually experienced it until then. Anyway, I must admit, it was pretty funny seeing him and JDF dressed as nuns.  You can see some of that here, a few minutes in.

 

Usually during intermission I like to go out on the Grand Tier balcony but the door was locked... Yeah, that's snow. You can see the fountain all blurry in the background.

At the end of intermission we decided to put our snow-worthy boots on because we knew we'd want to make the mad dash for the subway the moment the curtain calls ended. So we were very stylish, sitting in our fancy clothes and clunky boots. 

People went NUTS at the curtain calls, hooting and hollering for the singers. It was kind of awesome. Everyone left the building with a smile. My friend and I joined the press of people entering the subway. There were so many people, someone had opened the emergency gate and we were herded through with the crowd. Finally made it home at 1am! Long day but totally worth it. Plus, I broke 3 rules!!! 1. Feet on train seat. 2. Upgraded opera seat. 3. Unpaid subway ride. I'm seriously living the rebellious life.

Another Catchy-Uppy

Trying to get back into a regular blogging schedule, rather than this “1 post every 3 months” pattern I’ve fallen into.

Voice lessons are going well. I was supposed to sing at a concert in October but I was ill. Woke up with basically no voice. After discussion with my voice teacher she urged me to drop out, because if I tried to sing and didn’t do my best, I’d beat myself up. Then a few weeks later I got strep throat. Again, no singing. Then the subsequent concert was canceled because it was scheduled for right after Hurricane Sandy, which basically wiped out most of the electricity and half of the trees in New Jersey. So I missed about 3 weeks of lessons due to the storm and the infection. Didn’t sing when I was sick, obviously. So now I’m busy trying to work my way back up to where I was. Amazed at how quickly I’ve lost the placement and breath control. It’s coming back quickly too, but it shows me that taking that much time off from singing and from lessons is not a good idea.

For the concert I dropped out of, I was going to sing Sposa son Disprezzata. For the concert that was canceled, I was given the role of Iolanthe in a scene from Gilbert & Sullivan’s operetta of the same name. Yeah I’d never heard of it either. Sounds glamorous to have the title role, but actually it’s a pretty small part in that scene. I’m fine with that – I don’t have the mental energy to learn a huge amount of new music in a relatively short period of time. I’ve also requested (not quite begged, but that’s how I feel) if I could sing Sposa in that concert. I’ve gone over it with the vocal coach, I’m confident with it and am eager to sing it to an audience. They did have some art songs and arias in the program so hopefully they’ll let me. Fingers crossed!

Currently listening to Juan Diego Florez. I’ve written this about a thousand times before, but I must say it again. His voice. Sigh. It washes over me like a warm soft waterfall of happiness. Extremely excited that I’ll be seeing him in January in the same opera with Nathan Gunn. Speaking of Nathan Gunn...  I haven’t blogged about the Gunnster for a while. I do check his website for updates. He’ll be performing in Carousel in NYC around the same time he’ll be at the Met. Those tickets are tres $$$$ so I’m going to have to pass. That makes me sad but what can you do? He'll also be at Zankel Hall again in February but you know. Been there, done that.

The Lazy Blogger

This might possibly be the longest break I’ve ever taken from the blog. And really it’s just because I’m lazy. And busy. Busy being lazy. So what’s new? Let’s break it down.

Voice lessons: They're going great!! Working on the lower part of Rossini’s Cat Duet. Don’t have anyone to sing it with. How pathetic is that? I’m also working on Sposa son disprezzata. It’s sounding better and better. It’s in a perfect range for me. My main concern is keeping the air up and over and front for every note. I practice sections at a time to make sure each vowel combo gets lifted, lifted, lifted.

Opera: Got tickets to see Comte Ory at the Met in January! They changed their pricing structure. No  more Grand Tier Rear. Bye bye jokes related to that. Now it's premium, prime and balance. Like steak, almost. So of course the prices went up too. Balance is the last two rows on the sides, except for the aisle seats. The price difference is ridiculous. So I got the best possible balance seats. Hoping we'll be able to move to slightly better seats like I've done in the past. And of course if they still have it, I'll enter the weekly drawing for $25 weekend tickets. And YES!! I'm excited to see Juan Diego Florez and Nathan Gunn in the same opera. Finally! Maybe. As long as no one cancels this time. I don’t think either of them will. I don’t think I’ll cry if they do, like I did last time, but I make no promises.

Other upcoming adventures: Seeing Blondie (again) in early October, and then Adam Ant (again, after a Very Long Hiatus) that same week, two nights in a row. Meet and Greet tickets for Adam are $300 so that won’t be happening. But, as usual, I have something in the works… the tickets for one of the AA concerts are courtesy of a friend’s husband’s friend… so the friend will work on the husband to work on the friend to see if there’s any way we can somehow participate in some type of meet and greet. I suggested she bake the guy cookies, or maybe even a cake. Because Adam Ant was my life in the early and mid-80s. Much like opera and 30 Seconds to Mars are now. Now, the idea of meeting him makes me crazy with excitement. And even though I kept my cool meeting Juan Diego Florez and 30 Seconds to Mars, I can’t help but wonder if I wouldn’t dissolve into tears meeting Adam Ant for real rather than down an alley and behind a fence like I did last time… in 1985. And since I have no idea if it’ll even happen, I’ve decided to simply refuse to think about it. Wish me luck.

Finally, YouTube: I have an accounts under Melfindel, TheLuindriel and Bookshelf23. I don't need or want multiple accounts so I plan to consolidate them soon... whenever that will be.

Old Wish (Hopefully) Coming True!

Waaaaay back near the beginning of this blog I wrote about how totally awesome it would be to see Juan Diego Florez and Nathan Gunn in the same opera. Then, it almost happened, until the infamous fishbone incident. That all worked out for the best in the end… and at the time I thought, eventually, EVENTUALLY, they’ll be in something together at the Met. Well, finally, FINALLY, that eventuality has arrived! Or, it will arrive, a year from now. Look! So, the question is, do I go see Le Comte Ory again? Ok. Dumb question. Nathan Gunn and Juan Diego Florez in the same opera. Of course I do. And I drag along as many people as I can!!! Hopefully neither of them will swallow anything throat-scratching.

Other tasty looking picks, for me, include La Traviata with Diana Damrau, and possibly the holiday performance, which next season will be a shortened, English version of Barber of Seville. What are the chances that I can drag Alex to that? He’ll be 8 ½ then. He’s familiar with the opera. He likes it. Hm. It’s a definite possibility.

Whirlywind

The days are just flying by!

I sang in the first Opera Project Wing performance last week. I sang two songs – Nel cor piu non mi sento and Voi che sapete. I did ok, but would you believe I actually FORGOT THE WORDS at one point? I fudged it and no one seemed to notice. People who know Voi che sapete will know where I made up a word. Hey at least the vowel was the same. And a few people actually approached me afterwards to compliment my voice and say how much they liked my performance. That was nice! I'm always so surprised when that happens. All I hear are mistakes, so I always assume that people are just being nice. But I also know they wouldn't approach me and say that just to be nice. So it's pretty cool!

The voice lesson following that recital I was lucky enough to have two teachers at once. Sometimes they talked about me like I wasn’t there. I was fine with that. I learned a lot about breath and legato line and how to really incorporate the two. Like my voice teacher says, sometimes you just need a different person to explain the concept to you a different way in order for you to get it. So I’ll see her today for a lesson, then I’ll be seeing the other teacher later in the week.

Then… on Friday. FINALLY! L’Elisir D’amore at the Met!! Juan Diego Florez. Ahhhh. And then on Sunday, another recital, where I plan to tackle Ombra mai fu. Then I'll write all about both adventures, hopefully while they're still both fresh in my mind.

Random

Let’s start with voice lessons and singing.

I can hear and feel myself improving every week. Slowly, slowly, I am incorporating and blending together the different techniques that together help me to produce beautiful rounded notes on top of my air. I’m currently working on many many songs, but focusing mainly on Voi che sapete and Deh vieni non tardar. Because why not sing two different character’s arias from the same opera? Also working on El Majo Discreto, I Love all Graceful Things, O mio babbino caro, and keeping fresh and updated on the songs I’ve already performed. Upcoming concert will be in April, I think in a local library.

Speaking of April, I’ve planned a trip to see the parents. Last time I was there they told me and Alex to stop singing around the house. Oh joy. Then if for some reason they do ask me to sing, my mother will interrupt and ask why I’m not singing in English. Oh joy. My dad will make some snarky comment about the crystal breaking, or when will I be onstage at the Met. Oh joy. So they’ll be snarky to me, but I will learn later from the relatives that they brag about me when I’m not there. What’s up with that? I wanted to plan the visit to coincide with Rigoletto at Florida Grand Opera so I could take my mom, but I just couldn't work it out.

Next random. For a giggle. Jared Leto has a photo blog. He has been asking people to send self-portraits that he makes into a collage and posts on his blog. He gets thousands of entries and uses about 20. He chose my picture for the first one. Look! Guess which one is me. Go ahead, look for me there.

Another random: Fun with the blog tracker! There was a period of time where I was getting hits from a search on “spider with striped legs,” mainly from people in Ohio. That’s weird, right? I often get hits from google searches about the Grand Tier in the Met Opera. And now I wonder if Nathan Gunn isn’t up to something, as I’m suddenly getting many hits from searches about him… including people looking for naked pics!! Uh… no. I realize that simply by putting this in a blog entry I’m going to get more hits. It’s a loop. It’s loopy. I’ve also got people googling him and my blog together. Like they're looking for him here. More than once. So now if they do it again they’ll know that I know they’re looking. I know that they know that I know…and so on, and so on, and so on.

Final random: My next operatic adventure is in March! It seemed like it would never get here when I bought the tickets back in August. But finally, soon, I'll be seeing Juan Diego Florez and Diana Damrau in Elixir of Love. Makes me all warm and fuzzy inside, thinking about it.

Comte Ory in Multiples of Three

Saturday was packed with opera! I had a rehearsal for an upcoming Opera Project recital at 3. We got there promptly at 3:00 and I'm proud to say I think I sang pretty well! I did the song twice because my teacher arrived halfway through the first time. Then we all chatted briefly with the director. I told him that we were on our way into NYC to see Le Comte Ory, and who was in it. Well. He told me that the O.P. is planning on doing some sort of benefit next year for some sort of vocal award (can't remember the particulars of any of it) and happens to be an award that both Juan Diego Florez and Joyce DiDonato have won. And there's a slight slight infinitesimal chance that they would actually be at the event. I mean, let's be realistic. It's highly unlikely. Highly. But just the idea that there's even the slightest, less-than-1% chance that they could be there… OH.MY.GOD. Just the idea is leaving me floating in my happy place. And then off Husband and I went to see them in NYC.

We drove in and got there an entire hour before our restaurant reservation. We wandered around a little and then ducked into Bar Boulod for drinks.

The pink drink is some fabulous mixture of blood orange and absinthe. The other is kumquat and I don't recall what kind of alcohol. They were both yum.

Then we went to Rosa Mexicana where I had a mango laden drink and Husband had an uber-fancy margarita. Then he had a pear something with cinnamon simple syrup that I drank most of.

He ended with a glass of "sipping" tequila and I had a coffee with Kahlua, tres leches and Kahlua mousse. And that's just the drinks. The food was YUM. We ended up with their famous guac for two, then we shared a bunch of appetizers as our meal. Everything was delicious, PLUS we had room for dessert: The most scrumptious flan ever, with a scoop of absolutely delectable chocolate mole sorbet that was just TO DIE FOR.

We stumbled across the street to the Met where I bought myself a wind-up Nunzilla that spits fire!!! Look! I also got a Magic Flute flipbook, which Alex at first rejected but then later looked through and now loves.

We got to our seats with plenty of time to hit the restroom.

View from the seats:

And now, the opera itself.

Very loosely, the story line is, the men have gone off to fight in the Crusades. Their wives have vowed to live as widows until they return. The countess isn't married but her brother is one of the crusaders so she decides to live as a widow too. So they're all (allegedly) chaste and in mourning. The Count Ory, who happens to be in love with the countess, but apparently not THAT much, sees this opportunity to help "console" all these lonely women so he runs off with his assistant and comes to the village disguised as an old wise hermit, complete with long hair and a long beard. His assistant totes him as this mystical guy who can grant them blessings, etc. So he comes in and all the women are fawning all over him. Everyone lines up to ask him for blessings. He is all, come back to my hovel with me and I'll comfort and bless you all. Then along comes Isolier, his page. This is a trouser role played by Joyce DiDonato (who tweeted me back during intermission when I tweeted her a photo of my view of the stage!) So of course the hermit/count recognizes the page, but the page doesn't recognize his boss. He too is in love with the countess. The countess has asked for an audience with the hermit because she's so depressed. Isolier suggests that the hermit counsel the countess to fall in love with Isolier to help lift her depression. Isolier also tells the hermit of his idea to sneak into the castle dressed as a nun. So of course the count is all pissed off that Isolier is his rival, and of course he steals his idea. The countess comes, he counsels her, she falls in love with Isolier, there's all this confusion typical of Rossini and then the hermit removes his hair, beard and raggedy shift to reveal that he's actually the count. Everyone is royally pissed off, they chase each other around in circles, etc. End of Act 1.

Zipped out to the balcony for some fresh air:

Act 2 takes place in the Countess' castle. It begins with a terrible thunderstorm, complete with pyrotechnics on stage - they used some sort of arc-creating device like a welding tool to create the lightning, it was really cool. So all the ladies in the castle are freaked by the storm, then there's a knock on the door - it's a bunch of nuns who claim they have been harassed by the count. Except… it IS the count and his knights. We have an absolutely ridiculous scene where the count, dressed as a nun, thanks the countess for saving them… and gets very, very friendly. The countess is like, what the… why is this nun behaving this way… meanwhile… the count's assistant, dressed as a nun, has broken into the wine cellar and brought the nun-knights plenty of bottles. And I have to say that nothing pleased me more than to see Juan Diego Florez dressed in a nun's habit, spinning happily in the middle of the stage, habit flying out. The nuns-knights proceed to get trashed. Every time a woman from the castle came by they pretended to pray, but it was more and more difficult for them the more they had to drink. They sang, they danced, they formed a kick line. It was hilarious.

Then by far the best scene… Isolier gains entrance to the castle. When he learns that a group of nuns is there, he realizes that the count has stolen his idea and it's actually all men. Oh the horror, oh the scandal!! Isolier pledges to protect the Countess. They figure the count will try to sneak into her bed that night so Isolier stays with her. And of course he does, pretending to be the nun and claiming to be scared and unable to sleep. What ensues is confusing and hilarious. He gets into bed with them and somehow (perhaps because he's drunk??) doesn't realize that Isolier is there. So the three of them are pretty much all over each other. Isolier tells the countess (who at this point knows it's the count and not a nun) that if it makes the count happy, why not let him caress her? Yowza baby! It was quite interesting to watch, and watching through binocs gave it an added touch of voyeurism that opera is known for. They were seriously all over each other. Hands on legs, diving under her dress, snarfling each other and so on. It was this bizarre sensual mixture of, are we watching a woman with two guys (Countess, Page and Count) or a guy with two women (Juan Diego, Joyce and Diana)? At the end the husbands return and the count I guess gives up.

The singing was, of course, spectacular. At some points Juan Diego was a bit hard to hear. Diana Damrau… what a treat to hear her sing. Those high notes…WOW!! She seemed to have a little trouble with a few of them but for the most part she was spot on. And Joyce DiDonato…adorable. ADORABLE!

After intermission the people next to us didn't return to their seats so we got to spread out a little. Did they leave or simply move to other empty seats? Who knows…

Here are some videos the Met posted on their YouTube page, taken at the dress rehearsal... including the Menage a trois from act 2. As usual, if the blogger format cuts the video edge, click through to YouTube to see it.

Cashing In and Out

Dropping the big bucks again. First, this Friday- VIP tickets for 30 Seconds to Mars go on sale for their concert right here in My Home State for a show at the end of April. And now that I've done VIP I can never go back. Worth it alone for the early entry to the venue, to secure my spot at the railing. Will Shannon ask me to sing again? I doubt it. On the off chance that he does, I'm probably singing the following month in the Opera Project Birthday concert, so I'll be prepping something. But I don't think that M&G singing experience will ever or can ever be repeated.

Next, the Met announced their 2011-2012 season. And while we will have Nathan Gunn in Billy Budd, I don't think I want to spend money on something disturbing. The budget allows only one opera there next season, so I'm saving my pennies for L'Elisir d'Amore, with Juan Diego Florez and Diana Damrau. Together again! Of course I have lots of time to decide about Billy Budd. It's over a year from now, and even if it sells out (which I don't think it will) there are always tickets available.

Speaking of tickets available, I have extra tickets for Comte Ory at the Met on April 2. Juan Diego Florez !! And Diana Damrau!! And Joyce DiDonato!! Ticket info here. Anyone interested, pop me an email - luindriel@gmail.com - if we do this outside StubHub I'll cut the price listed there by 10%! Pass this info on, I'd love to unload these extra tickets to a deserving party!!!

Opera Chic's JDF Interview

Opera Chic's recent interview with Juan Diego Florez is such a delightful read that I simply must link to it from here. So not only is the man incredibly talented and quite handsome in person, he's actually got a brain. As if we didn't all love him enough already...

Another, "Look Who is Singing with Whom" Post

Favorite tenor, fabulous soprano.
Click through to see the entire video if the blogger format cuts off the frame.
The sound is a bit wonky with feedback when they hit the high notes. But then... the applause!!!

...and one more thing...

Don't think I've forgotten that I'm seeing Nathan Gunn from the 4th row later this month at Carnegie in Grapes of Wrath, cuz I haven't. There's just so much other stuff going on in Real Life that it has sort of slipped to the back of my mind. It's coming forward again and I'm getting excited. I'm starting to plan that adventure, including, of course, what to wear. Going with a good friend who has been wanting to see him perform forever. Can't wait!!

And then I'm seeing him yet again in early April, with Banawoman, at the Met. Grand Tier Rear, that's us. I mean, that's where we'll be sitting. We are busy planning that event as well. One thing that's not in the plan is me getting sick. Not that I planned it last time, but you know what I mean. Not that I don't like a little backstage action, mind you, just... not at that price. And not really that type of backstage action. Wait a sec, that sounds wrong. Ha! What I mean by action is, I don't want to develop acupuncture track-marks, thankyouverymuch, plus I'd probably be banned from the Met forever or something if it happened twice in a season.

Did I mention next season yet? Did I mention Nathan in Cosi in the fall and Magic Flute in English at the holidays? And then there's Le Comte Ory in April 2011, with Juan Diego, Diana D and Joyce D???? How fast will those tickets sell out? I guess I know where I'll be at noon on August 15.

A Different Opera, A Different Season, and Getting Inside

Turandot was on PBS today. It was the opera that started this blog, really. At the time I thought that except for a few parts here and there it was boring as all hell. Today I turned it on just before the aria that Paul Potts (I can't believe I just typed that man's name in my blog) made famous - Nessun Dorma. We sat through that and about 5 more minutes before Alex said in a tired voice, "I think I need to see a different opera right now." Thank goodness that Barber of Seville is on the DVR.

So there we were, watching Juan Diego Florez jump all over the stage during Ecco Ridente and it hit me - 7 days ago I was standing in the wings of THAT VERY STAGE!!! Sure I felt like I could hurl at any moment, but hey, I'd probably feel that way if I was brought there while healthy. Once again I have to wait for these things to transfer from my short term to my long term memory for the impact to really hit me. InSANE!!!

Anyway, Alex asked me to explain to him everything they were saying or doing so we went over how arias are named for the first few words, how they repeat, what coloratura is, what he's singing and why, and so on. He loves the part where the musicians are chasing him around asking for money. Can't find a quick link on YouTube for it. But it's funny. Trust me.

Voice lesson yesterday. Started Nel cor piu non mi sento (That's Cecilia Bartoli in that link!!) My teacher says it's much easier than the other pieces we've been working on. But since I know one version and the book we use has a slightly different version, it has a built-in challenge of me unlearning what I already know to learn the other version. And as always, me unlearning whatever mistakes I've manage to "teach" myself while learning the other version.

Two things to write about that deserve their own posts:

1. Met Opera's 2010-2011 season and their really cool online brochure

and

2. A group I just joined called The Opera Insider. Everyone should click that link, read about the group and join if you think it's for you. Note that their abbreviation is "toi." Very clever, no?

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.

The Short Version - Pins and Wings

I'm not ready to write about all of last night yet, but I had to tell everyone about the totally bizarre and surreal aspect of the evening.

Long story short... stomach virus and near-fainting. Ended up in the doctor's office backstage where I had... acupuncture!!! When I was feeling recovered, I was allowed to watch some of the opera... from the wings!!! Like, 10 feet from Diana Damrau, Juan Diego Florez and whoever sang the role of Suplice, while they did the "Tous les trois" trio. All this, except of course with Damrau instead of Dessay. If I didn't pass out from the illness, I was ready to pass out from excitement.

Full story to follow shortly...But I just HAD to share that first!!

Bidding for Good

Just came across this site, Bidding for Good. A quick search for "opera" brought up this auction. Yes, that's an opening bid of $150 for TWO orchestra seats for Barber of Seville in LA.



As usual, click through to YouTube to see the entire video frame.

And getting back to the Bidding for Good site, there are all sorts of auctions there, for every organization you can think of. Also of interest to me is this one, which I'd consider bidding on if I weren't waiting to find out about supering in it. I'm laughing because I'm thinking, Wait, aren't I busy that day? And that's because I have the performance dates in the back of my mind, just in case.

In case you don't feel like following the links, here are the descriptions:

LA Opera:

Estimated Value $446.00

Two Orchestra Seats at the LA Opera for The Barber of Seville. Dec. 19th, 8PM perf. Value $223 each. For this effervescent comic opera, LA Opera has assembled an all-star cast featuring two celebrated artists. The New York Times commented that the "dashing Peruvian tenor Juan Diego Flórez was a vocally brilliant and charming Count Almaviva...and the perky, rich-toned and vocally brilliant young American mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato had a triumph as Rosina." Principals include audience favorite Nathan Gunn as Figaro, who brings to the role "unmistakable star power"

Carmen:

You and 5 friends will enjoy VIP treatment at NJPAC’s presentation of Bizet’s Carmen performed by Opera New Jersey and New Jersey Symphony Orchestra on February 12, 2010. This package includes 6 premium seats in the President’s box, pre-performance and intermission use of a salon complete with refreshments of wine and fruit, and a backstage tour!

Sounds good to me. The opening bid on that is $177. The value listed there is "priceless." But it wouldn't be priceless for me, because I don't know of 5 people who'd want to come with me. I'd have to pay them to come. That, on top of the winning bid... I guess I'll keep my bidding card down for that one.

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!!!!!

Double Your Pleasure?

For a moment there I thought I had a double adventure in store, until common sense took over. And by took over I mean, it grabbed me by the shoulders, shook me and said, "Are you MAD woman?" before knocking itself into me.

I got the Collegiate Chorale's brochure in the mail today. In the listing for Grapes of Wrath it notes that there's an open rehearsal on a specific date in February. The date sounded so familiar. Why? Because, what do you know, I'm going to NYC that day to see La Fille. Hm, I thought. An open rehearsal. It starts at 6:30 in Midtown. Could I possibly hit some of that and still make it to the Met for an 8:00 curtain? I'm just crazy enough to try it... I'm ashamed enough to admit I did a google map thing to see how far of a walk it was... but just to be sure it would be, you know, worth my while, I checked another schedule and saw that the main attraction has performances somewhere in another time zone the day before and two days after the date of that open rehearsal. It's highly unlikely that he'd fly out to NYC for one rehearsal for a concert staging of an opera that they'll probably have the music onstage for. Right? So this is most likely just the Chorale rehearsal that's open. So, as tempting as it may be to slip in to the locale listed on the brochure, you know, just for a peek, I don't think I will. Instead I'll enjoy where ever we end up for dinner before La Fille with whatever interesting martini-esque drinks I choose to sip before seeing Juan Diego Florez from way up in the front row of the nosebleed section.

So. Two years ago I planned to see JDF and NG in the very same performance but instead ended up seeing them in different things about 2 weeks apart. Then this year I saw them a day apart... and for 2010 I'm planning on seeing them a month apart... but can you just imagine seeing them in different performances (ok one would be a rehearsal...but still...) on the same day? Nope. Not gonna happen. Even if it could, it won't. That fleeting thought has fled... straight to a martini glass.

Peel Me a Grape

Found out about this today:

OPERA-IN-CONCERT / AMERICAN MASTERS
The Grapes of Wrath, at Carnegie Hall
Monday, March 22, 2010 at 8pm
Music by Ricky Ian Gordon
Libretto by Michael Korie

featuring
Jane Fonda, Narrator
Nathan Gunn - Tom Joad
Victoria Clark - Ma Joad
Elizabeth Futral - Rosasharn
Anthony Dean Griffey - Jim Casy
Peter Halverson - Pa Joad
Stephen Powell - Uncle John
Andrew Wilkowske - Noah
Steven Pasquale - Al
Christine Ebersole - Mae/Waitress
Matthew Worth - Ragged Man/Connie Rivers/Truck Driver
Madeline Gunn - Ruthie
The American Symphony Orchestra
Ted Sperling, Conductor

So. Jane Fonda. Will she be wearing leg-warmers? Or else I wonder if, as narrator, they'll have her dressed in this outfit. Right. What's wrong with me? The woman is an accomplished actor, political activist and fitness buff, yet whenever I see her name I think of this, which is strange considering I've never actually seen that movie.

Anyhoo, I went and got myself a ticket. Pretty good seat too. So. Looks like we have a full winter/spring of adventure - Elizabeth Caballero, Juan Diego Florez, Diana Damrau, Nathan Gunn and Nathan Gunn again. All that and only one trip backstage. Go figure.

Guess I should read the book and maybe see the movie before March. March! My annual "see Nathan Gunn" month. No, dear reader, I will NOT be attempting any face-to-face hellos this time around. But maybe March of 2011...

That Voice, That Voice!

I'm talking about Juan Diego Florez, of course. Can't get enough of his singing. Can't. Get. Enough. I'm so glad I got those tickets for La Fille. So. Glad. I already found a date - just as I suspected, my friend and voice teacher, who came with me to La Sonnambula, is happy to see Juan Diego again. And Diana Damrau!!! How can I forget! I haven't forgotten. I'm thrilled, that's what I am.

Another That Voice, That Voice person is Elizabeth Caballero, and I'm seeing her in Carmen! She's singing the role of Frasquita. At the Met. I'm thrilled about that too!! That's BEFORE La Fille.

So while we're talking about what I'm seeing at the Met, I'm also seeing Die Zauberflote. And Banawoman is coming to NYC to see it with me! I'm thrilled about that! Oh and about seeing the opera. Mozart! That totally cool puppety Julie Tamor production!

French, French and German. Nothing in Italian? What kind of opera season is that for me? Hahaha!

Yep. Another post about nothing.