AVA Gala - Wowwwwwwie!!!

Wednesday I went to the AVA "Brava Philadelphia," 75th Anniversary Gala.

Silly me, I didn't check the time on the ticket. I left my house at about 6pm, thinking I'd get there in plenty of time to grab a bite to eat before the performance. But when traffic stopped because of a truck stuck in the left lane, I pulled out the ticket for a peek. OOPS! 7:30 start time. Maybe I'd be able to grab a bag of peanuts somewhere...?

Traffic finally picked up and I made way to the parking garage below the theater. I just want to point out here that I paid $50 for the ticket and then $22 to park!!! There weren't enough spots in the garage so I had to leave my car in the middle along with the keys. They gave me a ticket for the keys which I promptly lost. But on the positive side, the lobby snack bar sold these little sandwiches so I was able to scarf something down in the moments before the bells went off.

So the format was, there were AVA graduates who were the "Gala Artists," and a group of "Resident Artists" who are still students. Everyone was great. A few of the resident artists had solos but for the most part they did ensemble pieces. They were all so good!! And the dresses - OMG one piece of eye candy after another. I'm still talking about the resident artists here. One woman had this gorgeous blond hair and was wearing the most stunning gown ever - it was this reddish/maroonish/brick color, shimmery, with shiny parts on the straps. Should have brought my binocs I guess... that's all the detail I can provide. There was so much glitz and rhinestone on stage. But why am I going off track with the clothing? The singing was phenomenal.

So in between the resident stuff, the Gala Artists came out and did their thing. And their thing was, sing. Oh no I've veered into Dr. Seuss land, sorry about that. I'm not going to write every detail about the evening... but I might come close! I should have taken notes, right? Everyone sang more than one piece. Here's what I remember.

Eglise Gutierrez. So so awesome. Words cannot describe. She did something from La Sonnambula and later a scene from Rigoletto. Legato, legato, legato. I think she took one deep breath at the beginning and then didn't need to breathe again until the end. Emotion in her face, her voice, her eyes. And she was wearing a beautiful purple gown and big sparkly earrings.

Angela Meade sang something from Abduction. She was in NJ Opera's production of it last summer. She is AMAZING. What a voice. The aria had a range from way down here to all the way up there and everything in between. Sounded like one of those arias that he wrote for someone specific. I don't know enough about Mozart to say more than that, but doesn't it make me sound knowledgeable? "Oh yes, he wrote that one for a specific soprano..." Ok, back to business. Her dress: Red gown. Spectacular. Let's see... checking the program...

Latonia Moore. Ok, I don't remember what she was wearing. Black probably? Gorgeous face but her hair kept falling in it!! She kept flipping it back. However it did not distract from her GORGEOUS voice. Madame Butterfly - blew me away.

Ok. Another soprano. Indra Thomas. Wow. WOW! And wow on the black dress with the green wrap! She changed it to a black gauzy type wrap later which made it even more elegant, if that's even possible. Hair pulled back into a tight bun with rhinestone crystals glittering everywhere. She looked like a princess and sang like a goddess.

It wasn't just a girls' night out. The guys - of course, Michael Fabiano!! Nessun Dorma. Don't think there was a dry eye in the house. His voice just washes over you. And after being in a production with him, it was so familiar. I was like, Oh yeah, that's right. He was great then and he's even better now.

Luis Ledesma sang the Toreador song from Carmen, surrounded by the resident artists. Like all the men, he was wearing a tux, but that doesn't stop me from imagining him all Escamillo-ed up. He seemed so familiar to me, I should check and see if I've seen him perform before.

James Valenti!!! We all remember him from this. He just made his Met debut in Traviata. You can read all about that in all the regular places. Here he sang O Sole Mio and had the crowd in the palm of his hand. And this man is TALL!! A tall tenor. Yes, I know, I barely push the bar at 5 feet, but that doesn't mean I can't tell tall from down here. I didn't realize just how tall he was until I saw him later backstage.

Before it started and also in between the singing, someone came out to introduce and thank various people who were involved in putting the evening together. The mayor of Philadelphia even showed up to say a few words. They also explained that Joyce Didonato was supposed to have been there but she injured herself (again?!) on stage in Chicago and needed surgery to repair a torn ligament in her knee. Ouch. But you know what? She's such a huge name, such a huge star, that having her there might have taken some of the spotlight away from the other performers. Not that I wasn't disappointed - but I wonder if the dynamic of the performance would have been different.

The crowd: What a mix. Several men in tuxedos, entire rows of them. Women in ball gowns. Women like me, in a nice long skirt and top. And then some people were very, very casual. Not quite pajamas, but not dressed up either.

The row behind me - one woman was eating Goobers, yes, you know, chocolate-covered peanuts, from one of those movie-size boxes, and offering them to her companions. Apparently she had a box of Raisinettes too. Another guy behind me had running commentary - "Wow. Amazing. Listen to that. Did you hear that?" and so on. It was what we were all thinking, but he said it all out loud.

The row in front of me - just as it was starting, one woman whispered something to her companion and a man two seats down let out this rude "shhhppp!"which did the trick, but still... Where was he when the same woman started humming along????

Over in the row of men-in-tuxes, this one woman kept talking to the people on either side of her. But it's ok. She was whispering. It was the loudest whisper I had ever heard. It echoed throughout the entire theater. It was amazing.

These minor incidents did nothing to mar the evening, they are merely amusing to relate.

When it ended I went back to say hi to Michael and give him a squeeze. You can see me doing that here. See my hand coming around? Squeezing. That's not a smile on his face, it's a grimace. Ok ok, I'm just kidding. I mean yeah I was squeezing but he was (I think) smiling. He was so sweet.



I finally finally got to meet Eglise in person! We have had comment conversations on facebook and it was wonderful to finally meet "for real." She had changed out of her gown but was still absolutely gorgeous in person. Her eyes are WOW! I felt instant warmth from her, as if we had known each other forever.



As usual it was super-crazy hectic back there with visitors and performers all wanting photos of and with each other. So after chatting for a moment I made my way back to the car where they let me have my keys back in spite of me having no idea where my ticket was. After a few crazy city-driving maneuvers, you know, wild u-turns, lane changes and so on, I found my way onto the highway and was home within the hour.

The only think I'd change: Next time I'm writing down what the singers are wearing so I can describe it here in greater detail.

...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!!

Carmencita

Carmen was wonderful. No surprise there!!

Husband and I deposited Alex with the neighbor and hopped on an afternoon train to NYC. When we got to Penn Station we walked up to Salumeria Rosi, meaning, we walked from 34th and 8th to Amsterdam between 73rd and 74th, just over 2 miles. Good thing I was wearing my hiking shoes because while my heels are comfy, they're not 2 miles comfy. The block before the restaurant I leaned on a wall and changed into the shoes.

The meal was awesome. Go to the link above to see what the place is about. We ordered the Chef's Choice meat plate, which consisted of two slices of all these different types of cured meat. I didn't take a photo of it, but I did get one of a separate plate of something Husband ordered:



This is some type of meat. Some sort of air-dried beef maybe? I can't recall.

Another fab dish we had was the anchovies:



They may look odd, but they were the most delicious, melt-in-your-mouth bites of richness. These are not the same fishy, spiny anchovies you're getting on your local pizza. These were marinated in lemon and oil and other spices and my mouth is watering just writing about them.

All of the dishes are small plates like that, which is great because you get to taste all different sorts of things.

Then we walked to Lincoln Center and took a few photos outside before going in:








We tootled around the gift shop before going in. Asked a security guard where to go after the show to get backstage. He said to go down the right side of the orchestra until we get to a guy with a clipboard. Keep that in mind as you read this because that wasn't entirely accurate... what else is new?

Wasted $11 on a glass of BAD champagne.



All those plastic champagne flutes were lined up on the bar. It was so tempting to "bump" into them, but I restrained myself. Instead I asked the bartender if anyone ever has. He was like, "Oh yeah, all the time! That's why they're plastic!"

We went to our seats. (By the way, I was also tempted to press my nose against the glass of the control booth at the top of the section, but Husband convinced me not to. The champagne may have been cheap, but obviously it had gone to my head.) I have to say that I was mixed up about what bathroom is on what level. The Grand Tier doesn't have that private bar and secret bathroom - that's I think two levels up? But that's ok. Our seats were great and that's what counts... Here's the view from the seat.



Up went the famous chandeliers:



And then... the opera itself was great. The orchestra played the overture at breakneck speed. The scenery was so cool. Roberto Alana was great - what a voice! And Elina Garanca - WOW! She steamed up the role. Whew she was HOT!! And of course Elizabeth Caballero was in it - Fabulous!! Her gorgeous rich soprano soared above the mezzos and rang through the building.

Intermission.

Got yelled at by an usher-type in a cloaky sort of cape when I took this photo in the lobby:



Intermission lasted FOREVER. It was long to begin with but also some piece of the set apparently broke and we could hear them hammering like crazy for an extra 15 minutes. Finally the opera began again, to a loooong boring (yet very beautiful) aria of Micaela, the "good" girl, about how she's afraid of Carmen but will be brave... on and on about that... for far too long... the singing was beautiful but it was just too long!!

At this point, perhaps because it was way past my bedtime, my right eye started watering. Of course it took the mascara with it. Husband insisted that you couldn't tell, but you be the judge when you look at the photos.

The final scene was amazing. Carmen wanted to see Escamillo, her new lover, fight in this very exciting bullfight, but Don Jose showed up all distraught, accusing her of ruining his life and demanding that she go away with him. She tosses him away, saying she no longer loves him. Every time the crowd in the stadium cheered she got more impatient and he got more angry, and finally, in a true, "If I can't have you, nobody can," manner, he stabbed her to death. Then the very final moment, as she died, the stage turned around so you could see the inside of the stadium, and there is Escamillo standing over this bull he just killed. Wow. What a visceral, shocking ending. I mean, I knew that Don Jose killed her, but the way they showed it like that, so that it was obvious that Escamillo killed the bull at the same time, was really effective.

When the opera was over, we made our way down to the right side of the orchestra... where an usher found us and asked if she could assist us... because of course, we were in the wrong place! We had to go back out to the lobby area and down this little flight of stairs opposite the doors to the orchestra, then down a hallway that had a couch at one end, to where some dude stood with a clipboard. I gave him our names, he let us in. He said to go down the hall where we'd have to wait until Wardrobe had finished taking all the costumes from the performers, then they'd let visitors in. So went down another hall past boxes marked "Wardrobe - chorus" and things like that, to a raised security desk. All sorts of people were milling about. I gave our names to the woman at that desk. She directed me to another guy with a clipboard who was standing at yet another door. He confirmed we were on the list but there were so many people coming out that we couldn't get in. Finally we got in and went down a loooong hallway lined with lockers, turned right and there was this open space with lots of doors around it - stairs down, stairs to the stage, green room for soloist singers and the individual dressing rooms. Not too star-struck walking past Roberto Alagna's and Elina G's dressing rooms... hoping they'd come out but not really looking... there were lots of people just standing around. We found Liz's dressing room and gave a little knock. She had another set of visitors too. They were very nice - they brought her flowers and took our photos. I had chosen this lovely pair of earrings for her - multi-faceted crystal beads with a small purple rhinestone rondelle. That means nothing to anyone but me so click here to see a photo. But look no further to see pictures of us all posing together. Yes, this is a dressing room at the Met. Looks just like... a room... with a piano, and a chair, and a desk, and a mirror.



Looking at this photo I'm just realizing now that Liz is holding the flowers backwards! Oops. But you can see the little organza bag for the earrings.

Grabbed Husband for another photo, and then it was well beyond our bedtime and nearing the time of the 12:40am train so off we went!



Future scoop for all you South Floridians out there - keep an eye out for FGO's fall season production of Turandot - Liz will be singing the role of Liu, which means she'll get a fabulous suicide scene.

This production of Carmen will be on PBS in their Great Performances series. I'll post details when I get them.

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...

HD Dilemma

Trying to figure out what to do. I'm seeing Carmen at the Met at the end of January. But the HD broadcast is at the beginning of January. Do I go, for a sneak peek? And see Liz? Or wait to see it live through binocs. After all, eventually it'll end up on PBS.

I'm leaning towards not going to the broadcast. I'm pretty sure I'd like to see it fresh and new when I see it at the Met. Really the only reason I'd go to the movie is to see Liz. BUT obviously I'll be seeing her live on stage and backstage. Have I mentioned that here in the blog? That backstage at the Met thing? To see Liz? Have I ?????? Cuz I jumped up and down and squealed like a girl when she suggested it. And it's a good thing she did, because Husband said he'd come with me to the Met only if I could guarantee him a visit backstage. So we're good.

And now, I think I'll go with him to a Yankees game only if he can guarantee me a visit to the locker room (clubhouse?) afterwards.

Ok, so I've blogged it out and I think I've decided, no HD. Good. Now I can mentally apply that $23 to the train ride to Manhattan. It's a money transfer in the brain bank. I just made that up, by the way. Not bad, eh?

My "Fight" with a Singer

It's true, sometimes I do get myself into sticky situations.

So this story is about how I had a conversation with a famous singer that turned sour.

It was 1986, I believe. A friend and I went to see Adam Ant at a small theater about an hour away. We got there early and were wandering around town, idly shopping and what not. We decided to check out the theater, and lo and behold, the backstage door was standing open. We looked at each other and then went in.

The backstage are was a maze of hallways with doors. We had no idea what to do. After a minute or two of wandering around backstage (not unlike how we had wandered around town) some guy was like, "Hey, you're not supposed to be here," or something like that. I explained that I worked for my college radio station (I did, I wasn't making that up) and that I wanted to get a station ID from Adam. A station ID is when they say, "Hi, this is Adam Ant, and you're listening to (call letters, station numbers, location)." The guy led us outside and down the alley behind the theater where he shut and locked a gate. He told us to wait and he'd have him come out. Okay... didn't think he would, but we waited. We didn't have to wait long. He came out about 5 minutes later. I remember he was wearing a cowboy hat and sunglasses. I held the tape recorder and gave him the info... and he couldn't repeat it back. He just couldn't remember it. He tried twice and then said, "You should have written it down. That would have been SMART." Well. I felt my indignation rise, here I was, a huge fan, and he was being snarky! So I said in a sort of obnoxious tone, "Oh... Do you want me to write it down NOW?" at which point the guy who brought him out there jumped in and said, "No, that won't be necessary. He'll do it right this time." And he did. And I had the whole thing on tape.

I did end up transferring the station ID to the proper format for use at the station. I did remain a fan. However I must say that my ardor faded quite a bit. I guess that's to be expected. I think that was when I decided that in the future I was never going to try to meet musicians that I liked because it had great potential of breaking the spell. Obviously I learned something from that experience, then conveniently forgot it 20 years later as I ran around for photo opportunities with ng and jdf. Ah well at least I amuse myself with these silly adventures. I wonder what the next 20 years will bring?

Word of the Day: Appoggiatura

Appoggiatura. It's not a type of apology. It's not a twist on an apple pie. No - it's a long word to describe adding a musical embellishment or ornament to lean on another. Luckily you don't have to say the word in order to do it. You can read about it here.

The music I'm learning has a * every so often above the staff. On the bottom of the page we see that the * means, Appoggiatura possible. So we wrote in the ornamental note - just one tone above the note with the star, just before it. A professional opera singer friend described it to me today like this: appoggiare means to lean... which is appropriate, since it means, leaning tone. And that's what it does - it's a tiny-ish note that leans on the main note.

It does make me wonder why sometimes these embellishments are printed there in a smaller note-font, and other times they're there like that. That very song has optional ornamentation written into the music. And I always do it, of course. Possible means probable.

I really like the song. I'm very comfortable with the range. And I don't have to struggle with the pronunciation. I think my teacher was getting a wee bit frustrated with me and the French. Or, frustrated that she had to keep correcting my pronunciation, which took away from the meat of the lesson.

Once I feel super-duper comfy with the music I'll try to make a video, cuz y'all know I live to embarrass myself. I manage to do it quite well without actually singing, but at least with singing I'm in control of said embarrassment. Right. I have earned my ribbon, or medal, or whatever, in embarrassment. Now I'm working on an upgrade to the next level - mortification. Geez I hope not. Well, if it does happen, it'll most likely be on a Thursday, since that seems to be the Weekly Embarrassment Day. Uh oh... Nozze is on a Thursday and I'm going backstage. Luckily Rape of Lucretia is on a Friday. And I'm not going backstage for that one. Unless I'm invited. As if. If I'm on a list, it's not that one. Hahahaha sorry I just burst a gasket laughing. Hey that's better than crying with embarrassment.

A Nice Summary of Day 2

I wanted to check in with a brief synopsis of today before going into the gory musical detail tomorrow.

Nice: Firebrand of Florence was great. SO funny. Almost every line was a pun or a rhyme or something silly. It was almost too much. But goofball that I am, I just loved that. Details tomorrow.

Nice: Before the performance two different people said, "Hi Susan!" and I was like, "Do I know you?" Nope. They read me!!! This blog! That, like, 25 people read! Ok maybe a few more but still... it was so cool! So you both know who you are - thank you!!!! Post comments!! Jump into the fray! They both thanked me for "all the work I do" posting videos and NG news. One told me that she learned about the free concert at Goucher here on the blog, and she went! How cool is that! Seriously. Fan-to-fan communication is as good as, no, better, I think, than any press you actually pay for because it's honest. There's no ass-kissing, no pretensions, just people sharing info. And they were both so nice. It was really nice. Nice nice nice. I have now over-used the word.

I'll post more details about the show and about La Sonnambula tomorrow. But I know from various text-messages and facebook comments that many people are wondering about my Backstage Visit.

So here you go.

After the performance, I followed the signs to the Green Room. That meant going up three flights of stairs and through a set of doors where I was met by two guys with Lists. One List was typewritten, one was handwritten. So the Typewritten Guy checked his Typewritten List... doubled checked... nope. I was like, ok, and was about to leave, when he turned to the Handwritten List guy who looked and said, (nice)"Yep, she's ok, she can go." Great. Nice, even. Go... where? Ha! Back down a flight of stairs and "Make a U-turn at the bottom." What? No. That would have put me on the stage. But there was a set of double doors and I saw a bunch of people in the hallway so I figured I'd give it a try. The hallway was outside the dressing rooms. It was crazy back there. Ca-Ray-Zee. People were milling about, coming in and out of doors, running around, greeting visitors and so on. Soon it sort of cleared out except for a bunch of people along one wall and me on the other wall. Nathan came out of his dressing room and went down the line, greeting people. Ok, awkward. It was like a repeat of the Zankel Hall thing. Hugs and kisses, blah blah blah, and then... me. I just waited until he finished. He was constantly interrupted by people asking for autographs and photos. He was so very nice to everyone. Finally he turned to me and very nicely (and quietly) said, "Hi Susan, thanks for coming." Then we chatted about nothing for approx 20 seconds, I thanked him for putting me on the list, blah blah blah and then someone with a clipboard came by and told him that "his fans were waiting in the green room to meet him," as in, get a move on mister. I asked for a picture, he was rushed but said ok. The person who took the photo cut his head off. Oops. He showed him the pic and the clipboard person was practically tugging at him so there was no re-do. I don't even remember saying goodbye - it was that crazy and rushed back there. So then my next adventure was finding my way OUT of there. Back up the stairs and get this - at the top of the stairs this weird woman asked me for my autograph. I don't know who she thought I was but I was like, "Uh... I'm not who you think I am..." and didn't even stop. I was totally ready to get out of the shoes, into my sneaks and on the road. Some security-guard type led me through a maze that lead into the theater itself and through an unmarked door and suddenly I was in the lobby. I did my Mr. Rogers imitation (that means I changed from heels to sneakers), and since it was a nice night I hoofed it down to Penn Station in time for the next train. One more weird thing to report before I go to bed - my stop and the stop before mine are under construction and only 1 train car meets the platform at those stations. So they make this announcement for anyone wanting those stops to move to the front car on the train. Of course I was in the back. So we all made our way through the train to reach the car that would let us leave. Not sure I like going between train cars on a moving train... eep!

I leave you with this nice thought, as it's my new favorite quote:

It's nice to be important, but it's more important to be nice.

Words to live by, and I try to. But now I'd rather be sleeping, so off I go.

Wheeeee!

Adventure today!!!! All packed and ready to go.

And... the final word on "I'll see what I can do" is...

I'm in!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm in!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Many thanks to my "source" for making this happen.

Kitty Distraction

To keep my mind off the adventures of the coming week - you know, the opera with the terrible reviews, the performance that I might or might not be making a backstage visit after - I've decided to go ahead and stop ignoring Cat Pic Friday. Well, at least this week. So here we go with the cats.


Look! Diego had a big blue thought bubble!



Caught!!!



So really I'm just trying to not think about my upcoming adventures. Except that I can't. So let's see... I'm meeting my friend and voice teacher (that's one person - not two) at Penn Station on Wednesday afternoon and we'll walk uptown and find somewhere to eat before the travesty oops I mean the opera. Afterwards I'll find a cab to take me across town to a friend's apartment. The other option is a subway and then a crosstown bus... Yeah, I think I'll spring for the cab.

Next day my friend and I will hang out - I'm really looking forward to that!! Then at 5:30 I'm meeting someone (a regular I'd Rather Be Sleeping reader and occasional commenter, fellow Gunnfan and all-around nice guy) for dinner before Firebrand. Then the thing itself. Is it a show? Like a Broadway show? Semi-staged? Concert/recital style? Costumed? No idea. These questions and many more will be answered that very evening. So anyway, after Firebrand, I might zip backstage for a photo op, might not. Once a year I guess I have to have an annual, "Am I on the list" week or two. Another question that has no answer at the moment. And if I'm not on the list there is no way I'm hanging around by the stage door - how pathetic would that be? I do have some shred of dignity. Somewhere. I'll find it by then. Hopefully the "I'll see what I can do-er" will see and do. Anyway... then I'll make my way to Penn Station and catch the next train home, retrieve my car from the parking garage and drive 20 minutes home. Then I drag my sorry a$$ to work the next day and push some papers around for a few hours before coming home to collapse. And THEN, of course, I'll write all about it here. Hm sounds good to me.

Random Ramblings Ending With Earrings

I came here thinking I should write about my voice lesson. The hope/idea is that once I start typing a wonderfully clever and insightful post will magically appear.

So let's see.

It was a pretty mundane lesson. Not bad, not earth-shattering. Went over a few bits and tricksy parts of Ouvre Ton Coeur. My teacher was once again all gushy about how much I've improved. She even drew BOTH a smiley face AND a star on my music. But grrrr that French. What is UP with that pronunciation? Apparently I'm not making my lips kissy enough. Who knew. Maybe I need some kissing practice. *smooch!* There I just kissed all my readers. I hope no one has a cold.

So we decided to put Ouvre back in the folder and revisit Apres un Reve next week, and then... yes... something new!!! Of course next week I won't have my voice lesson on Thursday evening because I'll be in New York City watching Nathan Gunn in Firebrand of Florence. And, you know, maybe saying hi, getting a new photo. You know, for the blog. We're still at the "I'll see what I can do" phase of the adventure. Who is seeing what who can do? Well that part I'm not at liberty to say. Can't give away all my secrets! But the word is, someone is seeing, uh, what can be done. By that someone. Got it?

Dang so if this pans out and I do end up backstage, I can't go empty handed. Same old dilemma. What to bring? CD of some live performance? Been there, done that. Gift CD from Alex? Done. Ya know, if he wore dangling earrings this would be so much easier. Maybe I'll throw a few gifty pairs in my bag, just in case. You never know who you might need to give a gift to. Oh I should post pictures of some of my recent creations! Let's see...

I made these today:





And here are some others I recently made:







So the plan is to sell enough to finance my opera habit. Of course I don't have a shop, or a craft fair, or any other regular place to sell them. I do, however, have a group on Facebook called "Earrings for Sale." If you're on Facebook and you like what you see, join the group to see the rest! And shop, shop, shop! This operamummy is running out of operamoney!

Little... Brown? Outift People

So I have this cute brown-themed skirt and a scoopy-neck "my eyes are up here" shirt to go with it. I was thinking how great it would be if I could be all trendy and wear that to Firebrand of Florence next week, but the problem is, the only matching shoes I have are these totally cool brown things with a strappy thing around the ankle. I tried it on with tights - No. Way. Looks ridiculous. So I just ordered these and these. They're each a shade of brown that I think will go with the clothes. They should get here tomorrow so I'll model the outfit with the shoes to see if either of them work (and fit) or if I need to rework my whole "what to wear to the show" thing.

Still working on the backstage pass. Magic 8 Ball says, Maybe. Signs are Looking Good. People are Seeing What They Can Do. What people? Why, my people, of course. The same "my people" I mentioned here. I will continue to keep you, the reader, updated on my Backstage Adventure progress with as many details as I am willing provide regarding "My People" and what they are Doing. Which isn't many...

Moving On, Moving Back, Working It, What to Wear?

At least it's snowing. And schools are closed tomorrow. I guess I am sort of glad I'm not out driving in this.

But moving on...

Next adventure: March 11. La Sonnambula at the Met. What to wear????? I'll have to try a few things on and post pictures.

Thanks to Facebook, the site with which I have a love-hate relationship, but in this case it's love, I've hooked up with an old friend from the 80s who lived and still lives in NYC, and she graciously offered her couch to me for the night of the 11th! So we'll get to catch up and since she's home with a little one, we'll have all day to hang out and reminisce about the good old days when we walked barefoot through the snow to school, uphill both ways... ok, no. But we did do lots of fun stuff... we went to see INXS in the front row at the Beacon in NYC, and another time we saw them at some small bar in New Jersey when we were 18 and the drinking age was 21. Since we couldn't get in the bar, the guys in the band brought us in the stage door with them and into the bar from there. Another time we saw Siouxsie and the Banshees with free standing room tickets, then went to, was it the Peppermint Lounge to see I think it was The Fleshtones, yeah, so we saw someone somewhere... anyway a fight broke out and the crowd surged and I got stepped on, down the side of my leg, totally tearing my tights and scraping a layer of skin off. Shh don't tell my mother! One year on New Year's Eve we hung out with The Eurogliders, like, in their hotel (no, nothing like that, but don't tell my mom) before they went off to play the MTV New Year's Eve Ball and we went home to watch it on TV. We had many more adventures but you get the idea. Getting backstage is not a new hobby of mine. Ha! That sounds so... I don't know... rude. I don't mean for it to be. It's just fun.

Which ends my aside and leads me to the next evening - Firebrand of Florence. Alice Tully Hall. Nathan Gunn. Backstage? Possibly. You know, just to say hi, get a new picture of course. So anyway, re: the backstage thing, I'm putting my people on it. Love how that sounds. My people. As if. I don't have "people." But I do have friends who have, shall we say connections. And I am, shall we say, working on it, because we all know by know that I know how to work it. Or at least I pretend, which is just as good. So anything think he'll remember me from last year? Nah. Well, maybe. I guess if I do make it backstage I'll find out. Still have to figure out what to wear.

And the post referenced in that particular link up there reminds me -and now I'm not pretending - how freakin' crazy is this - John Osborn is currently performing in Barbiere in Dresden while at the same time rehearsing Lucia in Brussels. Like, every other day, almost. The man must have a TON of frequent flier miles and no blank pages in his passport. So if I had any doubt before, this confirms it: Opera singers are NUTS! Oh and of course he's wowing them everywhere he goes. You go Johnny O!

The Mysterious Backstage Redhead

Yes, someone called me that today. Time to work that self-fulfilling prophesy and live up to the title. Of course I'll probably have to enlist that particular person for help.

I'll never reveal my source (source, if you read this, you are welcome to "out" yourself) but I will hopefully live up to the title to the best of my ability.

The Melting Explosion

Despite appearances, I have not forgotten the music. Was listening to Arias for Rubini today. Ahhhh that voice. I'd still do anything Juan Diego Florez asked, if he'd sing his request. And I've been so focused on seeing the Gunnster in Firebrand of Florence in March that I have to keep reminding myself that I'm seeing Juan Diego and Natalie Dessay the day before. My brain is going to melt. Or explode. Or possibly both. Order is irrelevant. Explode, then melt. Melt, then explode. Either way. Then there's my whole "gotta get backstage" attitude. Not for the Met - but somehow, some way... I am not going to see Nathan Gunn perform without an in-person hello. Nope. And I'd really rather do it inside than out. And as you can guess, I'm working on that.

Oh No You Didn't

Received a post-backstage phone call from Ann!! The connection was bad as she was on the train, and then we were cut off when the train entered a tunnel, then I was putting Alex to bed when she called back, so I got the report in dribs and drabs. But boy did I get the report.

She said that the performance was wonderful, the sets were gorgeous, the staging and singing were superb. She got weepy, she was moved, she almost fell out of her seat at certain parts. No surprise there.

But then we have the non-performance goodies. As it was a matinee, the majority of the audience members were active members of AARP. So when it ended, she found herself stuck behind slow-movers with walkers and canes as she tried to make her way backstage. Then once backstage some flunky had to look up the room assignments to find Mr. Van Horn, and by the time they led her to the right spot all the singers were out in the hallway by the dressing rooms, in their street clothes, ready to leave. She found Christian, introduced herself, they chatted about this and that, you know, including his whole lack of YouTube presence, met Eric Cutler who was right there, everyone is very tall and then garble garble bad connection somehow she met the Gunnster. Hair slicked back, beard, surrounded by people. She chatted with him a little... apparently mostly about... me. Eek? She told him she knows me and then... yes, she showed him the picture of us to remind him. He was like, "Oh! Yeah!" but the man is an actor so who knows. Then she said that I would be upset if they didn't get a picture. Eek again? But they got a couple of pictures with her new magic camera that senses when people are smiling and automatically takes the shot. How bizarre is that? So anyway she got a few pics with the singers, joked and chatted a bit and then left. All in all a nice backstage experience. Photos to follow tomorrow.

She had left her program in the house, so she then went to the box office to beg another one. Then, as she was walking to the bus... the title of this post. Oh dear. I'll keep it short but I can't think of a way to write it that's sweet. She realized that she was walking behind him. She... called out... asked if she could ask him something... and... asked if... oh dear. I'm actually having trouble typing this. Forget it. Let's just say, it was mortifying and my name came up again and... Eek. I had nothing to do with it. She felt bad at the time, worse when she told me, I assured her it was fine and, no worries, Dear Reader, all is well between Ann and me. I'm sure we'll all be laughing about it in the morning. But for now... all I can say is... Oh no you didn't!

Uneventful Intermission

Received another call from Ann in Chicago, from the 2nd intermission. She went on and an about what a shame it is that Christian Van Horn doesn't have much of a YouTube presence, and what can we do to help him? I can make a slide show if I have the music, but she's interested in video.

Then she said she probably wouldn't be calling on her way backstage. WHAT??? She has to call so I can continue to post the play-by-play of her adventure. Hmm that should be any time now.

I have my voice lesson tonight so all updates will take place after 8:00 eastern standard time.