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.

"Futures" Sticker Shock

Holy Cow!!! After conferring with my neighbor about which operas he and his wife want to see and on which day of the week, yesterday I purchased 2 subscriptions for the Saturday 6 series at the Met, Grand Tier Rear. The total was just under $2000. On my credit card. Divided into four payments. At least there's that. And the neighbor is taking 4 of the 6 performances so I'll get a chunk of the money back... but still... when they gave me the total, I think my heart rate increased a little. But now I am guaranteed tickets in the Grand Tier Rear for the two operas I want to see, Cosi fan tutti and Le Comte Ory. My neighbor will be keeping the Armida tickets and trading the others. I'll have to do it for them since the subscription is in my name, but I don't mind. I had originally wanted to go mid-week because the tickets are about $50 cheaper per seat, but then I figured that since I always take the next day off from work which is a "loss" of way more than $50, I still come out ahead by going on Saturday. Also there was no mid-week series with the two operas both in it. So now I am set and don't have to worry about switching tickets for myself. Plus, if Husband comes with me (as I may insist he do for Le Comte) we'll have an easier time finding a babysitter. I already know who wants to come along to Cosi.

And the best thing of all is, I don't have to sit around the day single tickets go on sale to the general public, waiting to get through online or on the phone!

As far as what to wear to these events... well, that all depends on how much ice-cream I eat this summer.

Official Future

Uh oh. I made the mistake, uh, I mean, I had the foresight, to check this site for future Met Opera info. I've already mentioned that I'll be going to see Cosi fan tutti in November or December. But I don't recall seeing this listed before:


LE COMTE ORY [Metropolitan Opera premiere, Mar/Apr] with Diana Damrau, Joyce DiDonato (Isolier), Juan Diego Florez, Michele Pertusi (The Tutor), Susanne Resmark* (Ragonde), Stephane Degout (Rimbaud), c. Maurizio Benini, dir. Bartlett Sher

WOW!! March/April 2011. Over a year from now. They're also doing the family version of Magic Flute this coming Winter, but the full cast isn't listed there.

The official next-season announcement will be out soon. But I like to plan far far in advance... so ... I will.

So looking even further ahead... for 2011-2012:


BILLY BUDD with John Daszak* (Captain Vere), Nathan Gunn (Billy Budd)

Tough call for me. Don't know if I can handle that particular opera. On the other hand, I don't think I can pass up seeing Mr. Gunn in his "signature" role. Well, there's plenty of time to decide/mull/ruminate over that. Oh come on. Who am I kidding. We all know I'll go. Maybe.

That site lists up through 2015! Wow. I do see that Lisette Oropesa, who I saw as Lucia with NJ Opera this past summer, will be Gilda in Rigoletto in 2012-2013. I hope to see more familiar names up there as unofficial information becomes semi-official and then officially official.

GRE Logic Question About Opera Tickets

I'm trying to figure out what operas to see next season. It's kind of like this:

An amusement park roller coaster includes five cars, numbered 1 through 5 from front to back. Each car accommodates up to two riders, seated side by side. Six people—Tom, Gwen, Laurie, Mark, Paul and Jack—are riding the coaster at the same time.

• Laurie is sharing a car.
• Mark is not sharing a car and is seated immediately behind an empty car.
• Tom is not sharing a car with either Gwen or Paul.
• Gwen is riding in either the third or fourth car.

Which of the following groups of riders could occupy the second car?
.
(A) Laurie only
(B) Tom and Gwen
(C) Laurie and Mark
(D) Jack and Tom
(E) Jack, Gwen, and Paul

If Gwen is riding immediately behind Laurie's car and immediately ahead of Tom's car, all of the following must be true EXCEPT:
.
(A) Gwen is riding in the fourth car.
(B) Paul is riding in the third car.
(C) Tom is riding in the fifth car.
(D) Laurie is riding in the third car.
(E) The first car is empty.

Which one of the following statements CANNOT be true?
.
(A) Neither Tom nor Gwen is sharing a car with
........ another rider
(B) Neither Mark nor Jack is sharing a car with
........ another rider.
(C) Tom is sharing a car, and Jack is sharing a car.
(D) Gwen is sharing a car, and Paul is sharing a car.
(E) Tom is sharing a car, and Gwen is sharing a car.

If Paul is riding in the second car, how many different combinations of riders are possible for the third car?
.
(A) one
(B) two
(C) three
(D) four
(E) five

Assume that a seventh rider is riding with Jack in the first car, but that all other rules remain unchanged. Which of the following is a complete and accurate list of the riders who might be riding in the fifth car?
.
(A) Mark
(B) Gwen, Paul
(C) Tom, Laurie, Paul
(D) Tom, Laurie, Mark
(E) Tom, Paul, Laurie, Mark

Got it? Go here for the answers.


Ok so here's my personal version.

• I'd rather not see an opera I've already seen.
  
• I'm hoping to super in my local opera company's production of Carmen. Performances are February 5, 7 and 12 so the rehearsals will be in the weeks preceding.
  
• I want to see Juan Diego Florez, Diana Damrau, Nathan Gunn and Elizabeth Caballero at the Met in 2009-2010 season.
• JDF is peforming only in La Fille there next season. Do I want to see it again... maybe... because... Diana Damrau is singing Marie. That's in Feb. Performances after Carmen are Feb 13, 16, 19 and 22.
• However, DD'll also be in Barbiere, with Lawrence Brownlee as Almaviva. Saw him in the movies in La Cenerentola - I'm sure he'd be fab as Almaviva. Dates are Feb 26, March 1 and March 4.
  
• I wouldn't mind seeing Joyce DiDonato in Barbiere. Those performances are in October and November.
• NG is Papageno on April 1, 6, 8 and 10.
• EC will be in Carmen on: December 31* , 2009
  January 5, 8, 12, 16 **, 21, 27, & 30
  February 1, 5, 9, & 13, 2010
  April 28 & May 1, 2010
• Other events: American Voices - Nov 7
• Diana Damrau at Carnegie - January 24
• Thomas Hampson is performing locally on Nov 17 - Songs of America Project. Locally as in, 15 minutes from me.

So. Do I go to see La Fille again, so I get to hear JDF again? Or go to Barbiere with Diana D?. And of course if I don't go to anything else, I will go to see Elizabeth Caballero in Carmen. But how can I NOT go see NG as Papageno? Plus Banawoman will come out to see it with me.

Answer: Carmen and Die Zauberflote for sure. Then most likely La Fille to economize and get my JDF and DD fixes at once. To further economize, I could see Carmen and La Fille on the same day. The day AFTER the final performance of the other Carmen, which I may or may not be supering in. Economize? Opera tickets? Those concepts do not appear together except in the sentence, "To economize, I won't buy opera tickets." Um... no. Will have to economize somewhere else. And, if I am in Carmen, could I possibly handle going to the city the very next day and seeing TWO operas that day? One being the same opera I might possibly be in, the other being one I saw before? Could I do two operas in one day, ever?

Hm, better rethink the dates. Perhaps separate days might be better... either way, it looks like next winter/spring will be busy!

ps I took the GRE in 1990 and got a 770 on the logic section, out of a possible 800! Yay me! Husband, of course, got 800. Of course.