It's Skypulous!

I have a distant cousin who is a talented pianist, arranger, teacher and general all-around supporter of the arts. His name is Jeffrey Biegel. He is always looking for new ways to share his enthusiasm, and he turns to the internet for inspiration. Or the internet turns to him! Last month he was called in last-minute to replace a pianist in Bogota, Colombia, all because someone knew someone who was friends with him on Facebook. The organizer sent him a message and the next thing he knew he was on a flight south. But he also takes the initiative - in this case, with Skype. Skype is a messaging system that has real-time audio and video, and after successfully giving piano lessons to a student in Singapore, he has set himself up to give lessons via Skype. How cool is that? So innovative! It opens up such wonderful opportunities, for example, for people who for whatever reason are unable to travel. Or it could be used for a regular student who is traveling and either doesn't want to miss a lesson, or wants a refresher before a performance or audition. Bravo, Jeffrey, for implementing this fabulous idea!

More Sad

Weird stuff's been happening lately. Most of it is so unrelated to opera that it doesn't appear here in the blog.

But now, something that I suspected might happen has happened, and I'm not surprised, as I would have reacted exactly the same way.

One of my opera friends, a regular reader of this blog, is several months shy of his 18th birthday. His mother found out we were friends and told him no, no, no. Now, this is a perfectly normal friendship, an innocent friendship, nothing smarmy or funky or whatever. The point is, we became friends over opera, before we knew each other's ages, because it just didn't matter. We became friends because of the music.

However, when Alex is 17, I'd be pretty freaked out if he were friends with a 41 year old woman. This friend's mother and I come from a generation of not having had internet as children and young adults. Not knowing how internet-savvy she is, she may not understand the types of innocent friendships that can form between unlikely people, such a teenage guy and an adult woman, over a common interest. All we hear about are the creepy relationships where minors are lured to hotels to be molested by creepy ... well by creeps. So I can totally understand where she's coming from, and although it makes me sad to put a friendship "on hold," I absolutely must respect her wishes. Like, as soon as I found out, I immediately terminated the conversation.

It's possible that this friend and I will continue to communicate publicly about music via comments on blogs, youtube videos and so on, however, I will not allow any direct interaction via chat or email.

So, to the mom of my opera friend, I hear ya, I understand, I respect your wishes. I'm a mom too. Your son is a kid I'm friends with. There's nothing inappropriate. So no worries, ok?

Endings and Beginnings, Year #2

Final Traviata performance was this afternoon. For some reason I was a little nervous but I made it across stage without a spill. No spills at all - hooray! Although a teeny tiny part of me wanted to get out on stage on my hands and knees one last time... ok not really. Well maybe a little.

I said a general goodbye as I left the dressing room but I don't think anyone heard me. Everyone is zonked-out tired beyond belief from their boot-camp schedule and as I type this they're all BACK at the theater for a performance of Merry Widow.

But on to the fun stuff - I left the dressing room and trotted upstairs to meet Jimmy! Anyone who's been reading my blog and the accompanying comments knows that he is a regular commenter here. We first "met" on YouTube, of all places, when he commented on the Magic Flute videos I posted. Turns out his brother was one of the dancers. Go ahead, read the comments here. Wow they're from a year ago! So anyhoo we eventually connected on one of the popular social networking sites and today we connected in person. Although he almost didn't make it in - he had purchased a ticket in advance and it was allegedly waiting for him, but when he got there they had no record, although no doubt they charged his credit card. So the woman at the ticket desk said, "Sorry kid, you're out of luck, it's sold out," or something like that. I'm sure he'll add a comment to this post with the exact line, but I do recall he said she used the word "kid." So he was sitting in the lobby wondering what to do when one of the opera company Head Honchos came out, saw him there and told the ticket person to give him a standing room ticket. Whew. So he didn't see Alfredo put the flower down, or Violetta wake up on the table and look around, but he made it in by the time we were setting the table.

It was so much fun to meet in person! We got along instantly just like we do online. There was no weirdness at all. He gave me this really cool book - The Opera Lover's Companion. It's perfect - it has lists of operas with a little background about how each came to be written and then a synopsis. I was totally surprised that he got me a gift.

So then we watched Act 3 and I cried my eyes out. Silently of course. I thought of it as Opera Therapy. When Violetta pleads with God not to take her so young when her life is just beginning I pretty much lost it. I mean that part always makes me weepy but in light of recent events it pushed me over the edge and I had to really struggle not to sob audibly. OH and OF COURSE... As soon as the singing began, a woman seated below us very slowly unwrapped a cough drop or hard candy or something... oh so slowly... and then of course slowly folded it up. WHY WHY WHY???? She had all of intermission to unwrap an entire package of hard candies - why did she wait until people were singing????? Ahem rant over.

After it ended I brought him downstairs and we bumped into Liz (Violetta) as she was headed down to the dressing rooms, so he got to meet her. I had never seen her in the "sick and dying" makeup up close. It was creepy. The makeup people are really good - she had yellow makeup on all around her eyes - she really looked sallow and ill. Well, not completely - her eyes were bright and happy with the excitement of the performance so there was this contradiction - sickly complexion with healthy bright eyes.

We went into downtown to meet Husband and Alex for dinner, then I walked Jimmy back to the train station. Jimmy, I know you read the blog - feel free to comment with any corrections and additions.

Why I Smiled, Laughed and Laughed Again

Traviata #4 was this evening.

As I was wending my way through the halls and passageways to the dressing room, the stage manager pulled me aside. "I want to talk to you," he said.

Uh oh, what did I do now?

"I wanted to let you know that... [dramatic pause] we've put weights in the bottoms of the glasses to help keep them from tipping."

Whew, is that all?

He said we were all doing a great job. That's nice to hear. I mean, what we do isn't very difficult (except for the spillage issue) but still, it was nice of him to say that. Thanks, Stage Manager!

Mild drama pre-curtain: No one had seen one of the singers, someone who has a part, which, coincidentally, is the only part in the opera that has no cover. (A cover is an understudy, someone who learns the part just in case the singer can't sing a performance.) So there was a little excitement there for about 3 minutes, until someone confirmed that this singer was, indeed, in the theater.

Whew again.

So here's why I smiled:

Pre-curtain, we were all in our places, which means everyone backstage except Liz (Violetta), who is laying (lying?) on the table. Before the curtain rose, Michael (Alfredo) ran out and kissed her. Isn't that sweet? It was an awwwwww moment.

Here's why I laughed:

So the chorus and supers come slowly onto the stage. Then during a rest in the music the chorus starts slowly moving to a count of 8. Some fast music starts in the middle of that but they ignore it... they freeze, there's another rest in the music, then the lights come on and they move normally and start chatting, laughing, etc - you know, party noise. That's when the supers move forward and set the table. So today, just as they went from silent to partying, one of the guys in front of me sneezed. I don't know how he held it in, but he did. He waited until the very moment that the orchestra began playing loudly, and then..... AahhhhCHOO! So as I moved forward with the flowers I laughed. The entire chorus is on stage laughing and partying so it didn't matter, but after half a second I was like, "Wipe that grin off your face and look serious!"

I laughed again after the drink serving because we had no spills! Although I did learn that one of the prop people lost a trayfull backstage when they were setting them up for us. But that doesn't count!!!

Liz sounded fabulous tonight. I know, I sound like a broken record. All you young'uns out there, think of "broken record" as a skipping CD that plays the same bit over and over... get the idea? I wish I could've stayed for the 3rd act but the pizza I had for dinner wasn't sitting well in my stomach so I decided not to hang around.

Everyone looks tired. You'd never know it from their performances, but as soon as they leave the stage they droop with fatigue. It reminds me of those first few months of parenthood. At least they have the opportunity for several hours of sleep in a row.

Next and final performance: Saturday afternoon. And my Internet Friend will be there!!! Today while I was standing there sweating on stage at the end of Act 2 I realized that I can see the people in the standing room section, where my friend will be. I thought about what it's going to be like next week - I'll be scanning the crowd for him and then scrambling up there to find him during intermission. I'm really looking forward to meeting him!

Have I Mentioned Lately That I Love the Internet?

Yes the Internet is a cool, cool place.

About a year ago, possibly more, there was one person who commented on all the Magic Flute videos I posted to YouTube. We had these little comment conversations, and soon he began commenting here on the blog. Then, I don't remember when exactly, we found each other on one of the Social Networking Sites and became friends. We've exchanged emails, chatted online and even spoke on the phone once. Well guess what? He's coming to see Traviata next week!

Now before your mind wanders off in the wrong direction: This is not a romantic attachment. Besides the fact that he has a girlfriend and I have a husband, I'm old enough to be his mother. But thanks to the Internet, we found that we have a similar sense of silly humor and we like much of the same music. He normally lives in Another Country although he's from the states. He's coming back for a visit. He'll be in a Nearby Large City from where it's an easy train ride to the theater. So we're going to meet In Real Life. I've spoken on the phone with a couple of Internet Friends but this will by my first Actual Encounter.

So thanks, YouTube, thanks Magic Flute and of course, thanks Mozart.