Fabulousity

Every time I walk into Lincoln Center and see the arches of the Metropolitan Opera House I want to jump around and giggle. Like this. Just the sight of the fountain and those arches fills my stomach with happy butterfly flips.

So even though I wasn’t attending an opera Monday evening, I still got those tummy flips as I entered Lincoln Center to attend a performance of Nathan Gunn and Kelli O’Hara with the NY Philharmonic. The theme: Classic Broadway.

But of course let’s back up a moment. For when does a blog entry of mine ever start with a review of the performance? No no no. We must discuss the entire adventure.

The adventure began the day before the performance. I trekked into NYC to meet Ann for our annual Gunn performance outing. We hopped in a cab downtown to a FABULOUS Greek restaurant called Snack. It was TINY. We got the last available table (there are 5 total) and feasted on grape leaves, skordalia, white anchovies and other goodies:

Then we walked around the village a little (that’s Greenwich Village, for all you out-of-towners) and wandered into the few boutiques that were still open at 8:30 on a Sunday night. I got a FABULOUS selection of rhinestony items, including this: for a Grant Total of $10.

Breakfast in the hotel was on the 33rd (I think) floor, which boasted a lovely view of buses exiting the Lincoln Tunnel:

The next day we wandered around NYC, did some shopping, I found a FABULOUS bargain on a FABULOUS raincoat that actually fits because it’s petite length!

We eventually made our way to Lincoln Center where I got those happy tummy flips as described above. I exchanged my extra Comte Ory tickets for a performance of Rigoletto in May. Had to upgrade to the orchestra. Confirmed frantically via text and telephone that the babysitter was available while I stood there at the box office window. I figure Husband will like Rigoletto - I’m toting it as “Verdi’s Greatest Hits.”

We trotted across the street to Cafe Fiorello where we feasted on the King’s Antipasto:

And finally we made our way to our seats in Row R of Avery Fisher Hall for the performance.

View from my seat:

And then... I got scolded by the usher for taking a photo. Oops. Phone off and into purse.

Confession: I always get a little nervous before a Gunn performance. I’m not sure why, but I’m guessing it’s because there’s been so much drama associated with past performances, both happy and ... not so pleasant... Or perhaps it's simply because I'm excited to be there? Either way, that anxiety quickly passed, and I’m happy to report that none of his entourage crossed my path. The usher scolding was as dramatic as it got. Whew.

Another confession: I’m not really that “into” Broadway tunes. I am, however, “into” hearing beautifully performed music. The concert itself was delightful! The NY Phil is an amazing amazing orchestra. What a treat to hear them play! And the singing... WOW!!! I believe this is the BEST I’ve ever heard Nathan sing, and I’ve seen him perform several times. I don’t know if it’s because he was wearing a microphone, or because it was not opera, or just that he was in top form, or what. His voice was AMAZING. Wait, what’s the word of the blog post? FABULOUS. He was fabulous. Kelli O’Hara has an absolutely beautiful voice too. Clear as a bell. And I took advantage of our proximity to the stage to pay particular attention to her technique - how she pronounced certain consonants and how wide open her mouth was. All thing my voice teacher has been telling me - to not over-pronounce, to open open open wide, to stand still. I realized that I understood the words even though she did not over-pronounce, and in fact, sometimes barely touched or even skipped the consonants completely. In between songs the conductor explained the history and context of the pieces, which was really really nice. He was very personable. It felt like a private conversation rather than a presentation to an audience. We left the theater smiling and feeling good. And not that anyone else’s opinion matters to me, I do want to point out that the NY Times reviewer felt the same way. Plus that's the article to read if you want all the musical details. My favorite line from the review (of course):

Mr. Gunn injected a note of lubricious sleaze into “Wouldn’t You Like to Be on Broadway” from “Street Scene.”

Afterwards, we changed out of our finery and walked around Times Square where we ran into Spiderman! Look! He complimented my hat... then he tried to steal my purse!! Hahaha!!

Next adventure: Comte Ory at the Met!!

Cosi Fan Tutte Adventures!

Cosi fan tutte at the Met was fabulous! Besides singing beautifully, the entire cast had great chemistry together, and great comic timing.

So the adventure begins, as usual, on the train!! I went with my friend Anna, the same person with whom I went to Grapes of Wrath. Totally packed train on a Saturday afternoon. I’m glad we are the 2nd stop on the line - we found seats together, AND they were facing forward. Don't want to ride backwards!! Then every station was crowded with city-bound and airport-bound people. At every stop the conductor announced in his New Jersey accent that there were no more seats up front - move to the back, move to the back... Meanwhile, in our car, directly in front of us were two women with a baby. An older guy was across the aisle from them, obviously intoxicated. In fact, I have no idea how he was still conscious. At first we weren’t sure, but we later realized that he was, indeed, with the women. He was loud and belligerent, threatening to kill anyone who got in their way and so on. I didn’t see, but Anna later told me that he was waving a pocket knife around. She had her eyes on the exits and was ready to pull out outta there if things got crazy. He was so wasted she could've just stuck her foot out and tripped him. Luckily it didn't come to that, and actually I never even saw the knife. And while all this was going on, another guy came down the aisle, hanging out little slips of paper saying he was deaf and asking for money. How did he get on the train? Was he running around the cars, avoiding the conductor so he wouldn’t have to buy a ticket? So he’s there with this smile, begging for money, meanwhile the women and the drunk guy were cursing up a storm and he was threatening to kill people. Yes, just another relaxing outing to NYC.

As usual, we had worn our sneaks and we walked up to Lincoln Center from Penn Station. As usual, we changed to our fancy but painful shoes a block from the restaurant. Dinner was at Rosa Mexicano. All I have to say is, YUM! Actually, I can say more. The food was really, really good. I had beef enchiladas in a mole of hazelnut and pine nuts. It was divine.

For dessert we shared the hazelnut chocolate cupcake.

Across the street at Lincoln Center we took the requisite photos in front of the fountain, next to the poster and of the front of the Met. These are all from my phone and the lighting was low so the quality isn't the best... Anna took some with her camera so when I get copies of those I'll post them.

The fountain:

Anna at the fountain:

Anna at the poster:

Magic Flute banners hanging outside the Met:

Snuck a pic in the lobby:

When we got to our seats I was disappointed to see that the famous chandeliers were already up so Anna didn’t get to see them go. I’ve seen it a bunch of times and I was disappointed. It adds to the excitement - the warning bell rings, the chandeliers go up, the violinist tunes up the orchestra, your stomach does that little excited flip, the lights go down...

The seats were great. Center section of Grand Tier Rear, row E. Rows A-D are like $100 more expensive. We did spot a few empty seats front and center and could have moved, but we were settled in so we stayed put. Here's the view from our seats:

Me in my seat:

Intermission on the outside balcony:

And now let's talk about the performance.

IT WAS DELIGHTFUL! Does everyone know what the opera is about? If not, look here. And I'm happy, and not surprised to report, that Nathan Gunn did not disappoint!

Of course I knew he would deliver, but I didn’t expect him to be so... well, so adorable in this role. I mean, part of me did, but ever since ... how shall I put it... his (or his minions') misunderstanding about my level of fandom (as in, his entourage thinks I’m a crazy fangirl and treats me with suspicion, a fact I have tried but failed to ignore... especially when one over-zealous employee once questioned why I was standing where I was standing during intermission at a performance!!! And then had the nerve to send me a rude “my boss doesn’t know I’m emailing you” email!! I still have it... Uh oh will this tiny italicized writing prompt another? I say, bring it on!) anyway where was I? Right, I must admit that my admiration for his work has waned because of the ridiculous (rude) treatment from his employees ... anyway, that doesn’t mean I’d pass up an opportunity to see him perform, because the intellectual side of me realizes that all that stuff doesn’t take away how fabulously talented he is. And I’m so glad I went!

Here are some more pictures I found online. Usually I say where I found them, but I forgot to keep the links... oops... So... some of the production pics here are from the New York Times, some are from the Met Opera. And one is a pic I lifted off the Met's website using the iPhone screen capture feature.

Danielle de Niese was fabulous as Despina. Hilarious! Her entrance was her pulling the set onto the stage, because as a servant, she does EVERYTHING, including moving the house onto the stage. Of course I tweeted her about it during intermission:

@Danielledeniese Loving Cosi!! You sound great and are an adorable Despina!

And look, the next morning, she replied!

@Luindriel Thanks so much, glad you enjoyed it! Cosi was really fun last night- loads of laughs- the audience was in a good mood! :) DD

Isn't Twitter fun?

Isabel Leonard was in it too. I'd seen her before as Stefano in Romeo & Juliet. Fun to see her as a woman this time. She was great.

And also Miah Persson, my favorite Zerlina! It's funny, I think of people based on roles I've watched them in. Then it's fun and even refreshing to see them in something else. She was out-of-this-world amazing. Amazingly amazing.

The train ride home was almost as interesting as the ride there... Half-asleep drunken people on the wrong train talking about fights they've been in and so on. Got home after 2am. And that's it, another successful Opera Adventure featuring the Metropolitan Opera and Nathan Gunn.

Next time: The Hurricane Video and update on voice lessons.

Magic Flute & Armida - Two Operas in 24 Hours!

Two adventures to write about - the short version: Both operas were FABULOUS!!

And now to the nitty-gritty details.



Thursday evening was Magic Flute!!! Wow wow and WOW! Ann and I made our way to Lincoln Center and got the requisite photos in front of the fountain and the poster.


Fountain:


Posing with a larger-than-life Papageno:


You can't really tell from the photo but I had my hair in a bun, of all things. I had forgotten my sparkly barrette and it was hot, so I temporarily twisted it up, then decided to leave it. It came out later but I had it up for most of the evening.

The weather was so nice, we canceled our reservation at the Fancy Restaurant and grabbed a take-out dinner from a nearby deli. We had a picnic supper on a low wall with a view of both the front of the Met and the fountain. So here is the photo of my dinner - pesto pasta with chicken. It was quite yummy.



And the front of the Met with the Armida advertisement:




Eventually we made our way in to the Grand Tier Rear. View from the seats:



The music... ahhhh it's just beautiful. To hear it at the Met is like a dream come true. The sound in the Grand Tier is great. Matthew Polenzani was Tamino. His voice is like silk. Just gorgeous. Pamina's voice was so beautiful - beyond words. I fell in love with her as soon as she sang. And Nathan Gunn as Papageno. WOW. He is truly the Best Papageno Ever. He gets the comedy, the music, the timing, all of it. I've seen him in several different roles now and this was by far the best performance of his I've ever seen. The fact that I love the character of Papageno (who doesn't?) doesn't hurt. But he was WOW and there was no problem hearing him (as prior critics have complained) and he was just fab. And oh-so-adorable, especially when his hat was off. The duet he sang with Pamina - yes, I know I seem to cry easily at operas, but that duet did bring tears to my eyes - the beauty of the music, the singing and the words. I just can't help it. I am my mother's daughter. Luckily I was wearing waterproof mascara.

Queen of the Night, Sarastro and everyone - everyone blended together so beautifully. It was a package and it was great. The scenery - holy cow!!! Seeing Julie Taymor's production live, the entire stage, was amazing. It added so much magic to the Magic Flute. The puppetry - WOW!!! The scenery - amazing!! There was one scene with these giant puppet statue people with flaming heads. I mean, giant, like, 30 feet tall. They flanked the door to the temple I think before Tamino and Pamina entered for their trials. Their arms moved and did I mention that their heads were flame? I think it was done with orange cloth and a fan. It looked like real fire!!

What a difference to see the entire stage at once rather than the sections they show in the English TV version. The staging is meant to be seen all at once.

Everyone walked out of there smiling.

Very few tattles to tell:

A couple times there were these crashing sounds from the stage as if things were falling over... oops! Didn't see anything out of place.

Queen of the Night's sails clicked at one point as they were coming down during the aria. If that makes no sense, look here and here. (same production but in English) The costuming was a bit different, just a little. I could swear she was in bright red the whole time instead of the blue. And then audience applauded in the MIDDLE of her 2nd aria, after the first set of amazingly perfect runs up to that high f.

Also, after they unlocked Papageno's mouth, his tumblings caused the pipes to get tangled in the bamboo. Yeah I see that makes no sense either when you read it. Scroll up to the photo or look here. That English version has a section cut ... and the whole time they were singing that cut section, he was trying to untangle the string of the pipes from the piece that pokes up from his left shoulder. All without breaking character and while continuing to sing.

When Papageno ran up the circles (look in about the middle here) he fell and crashed HARD. It looked OUCH painful. His hat flew off. He didn't miss a beat but I bet he's sporting some new bruises.

The woman one seat over from me was worrying a cellophane wrapper during the entire first scene. I'm sure she didn't realize it - Finally I asked her to stop and she did.

And the best part - my own tattle - that morning I had checked the Met website and saw that a section of the front row in front of us in the Grand Tier was unsold. The seats were indeed empty so we moved down during intermission. Great view from the front row of the Grand Tier! Plus you get this little shelf to put your program down, put your feet up (!!!) or whatever.

After the performance Ann and I went back to our hotel and polished off a pint of Ben and Jerry's. I think it's a pattern - we go together to see NG and then eat ice cream in the hotel room. Didn't we do that last year after Rape of Lucretia? And speaking of Lucretia, Tamara Mumford, who was Lucretia, was one of the Three Ladies.

The next day, less than 24 hours later, I jammed myself into an over-packed Path train and went back into the city. I had 40 minutes to make my way to the Met for Armida. Decisions... figure out what subway to take, or hop in a cab? I decided that since my time was short, I was hot and uncomfortable from the crowded train AND I was schlepping my backpack with my overnight stuff that I should treat myself to the cab ride. I'm so glad I did! I opened the window, sat back and relaxed. It was exactly what I needed to relax and enjoy the day. I even thanked the cab driver for the relaxing ride. He said I was the third person that shift to thank him. I think it made his day!

I wove in and out of the various groups of schoolchildren and picked up my ticket at the box office. Look!!




Do you see? Orchestra Row E!! Like, right smack in the middle of the fifth row!! HOLY COW! I sat with John's talented and beautiful wife and adorable daughter. And then during intermission before Act 3, when John's wife and daughter were away from the seats, this other woman joined the row and immediately asked, "Are you friends with Renee? We're all friends with Renee. This entire section." Um... ok. "No, I'm friends with John Osborn." She replied, "Who's that?" I told her he was one of the tenors - the guy in the first act. She brushed that off with, "Oh, I got here late. Better late than never!" and she laughed. Um... ok. She was tall and expensive looking - long, gorgeous hair, designer head-to-toe, your typical NYC upper east side wife who was late probably because she was either out planning for a charity, having a private pilates session or possibly both. I complimented her earrings and she said that the woman in charge of the children's chorus made them. Turns out her that her teenage daughter, who was there for the entire performance, is in the children's chorus. She was very nice but also amusingly stereotypical. But enough about her.

I was next to a herd of photographers.



The constant clicking didn't bother me at all - I found it interesting - whenever the action changed, whenever the characters moved or interacted, there'd be a flurry of shutter clicks. Combined they must have taken over a thousand photos. I, personally, took about 10. Here's one looking straight up at the ceiling:



And a view of the curtain from my seat:


And the performance itself:

I had never heard of this opera before so I was going in fresh. So what I could figure out from the sort of mushy plot was, Armida is a sorceress out to prevent the army from their goal of capturing Zion. She's a soprano and there are 6 tenors!! The performance opened with a dancer suspended from a ribbon and spinning down to the stage. It was beautiful. She looked about 10 but I learned later that she's actually 25. She was Armida's niece and she represented love. Armida also had a sprite or spirit who represented vengeance. Onto the plot - the army is burying their guy-in-charge when Armida shows up and pretends to be a princess in distress. She begs the general (John Osborn) to give her ten soldiers to help her regain her kingdom. She charms the army and everyone falls for it except for the general himself, but he goes against his instinct and agrees to help her because everyone else wants to. The men then promote Rinaldo (Lawrence Brownlee) as their new captain. Of course Rinaldo and Armida have met before when she saved him, they fell in love and then he had to leave. Somehow her uncle holds some sort of grudge against him. The mean spirit or sprite "infects" the soldiers and then this other guy who thought that he himself should have been chosen to lead gets all huffy and acts like a big bad loser. He's busy badmouthing Rinaldo, who overhears and fights the dude for his own honor. Of course he kills him, then the general comes back and is all mad, and then I'm not quite sure what happens except that Rinaldo is charmed by Armida and they run off.

Act two is a reenactment of the story in ballet, presented to Rinaldo and Armida as entertainment. These demons come out and create a beautiful palace and garden, then these nymphs come out and in the ballet they all seduce the dancer Rinaldo. I have never been so close to professional ballet dancers. These men jump 5 feet into the air and land silently. They are all muscle. It was amazing. The women were great too. The demons and the nymphs included the chorus as well as dancers. The demons were in these wacky costumes with horns and tails. I took one blurry photo of them during the curtain call, using one hand and no flash, so it's hard to see, but you get the idea:




That guy to the left wearing what looks like knee pads had a very form-fitting costume. As in, I think everyone in the room was looking at his ... manliness. It was outlined in great detail. Had to avert my eyes to keep from staring. I'm sure I wasn't the only one. He was I think the main demon or devil from the underworld. The dancers interacted with him a lot - they carried him around, and he climbed on them to sing, so his outlined bits were displayed prominently. Not like me to go on and on about some guy's privates but there they were, pretty much in everyone's face!!

So anyway during the dance there's a part where they tempt Rinaldo with fruit, and then the nymph dancers are teasing the dancer Rinaldo and playing a sort of monkey-in-the-middle with him, throwing the fruit back and forth over him while he tries in vain to catch it. At some point the dancer is replaced with the real Rinaldo. There is a gorgeous love-duet in there somewhere. You see the little girl in red in that blurry photo? That's the 25 year old dancer. Anyway back to the opera...

Scene three, two of the soldiers (and the final two tenors) find their way into the enchanted forest and find Rinaldo. They help him realize that he has been charmed by magic and lead him back to battle, bravery, courage and so on. Armida tries in vain to keep him there with her. Then the demon/vengeance spirit and the love spirit battle (via ballet of course) around her and the bad spirit wins. Armida vows that she will seek vengeance and the curtain drops.

The music was full of Rossini's coloratura runs and vocal gymnastics. It was really really pretty.

John Osborn was absolutely awesome. Rossini coloratura is his friend. It seems to come effortlessly for him. The singing, the acting, etc - he was the character and the music flowed out of him.

Lawrence Brownlee has the most unbelievable voice. Except of course I was there so I do believe it. Like John, the coloratura just flows out. It was like beauty flowing out over the audience.

One of the other tenors stood out for me too, it was one of the two soldiers who saved Rinaldo in Act 3, but I don't remember who it was. It was hard to keep track of who was who.

Renee Fleming was Armida. She is so beautiful. She didn't really sing out in the first two acts. Her voice was very pretty but I was like, what's the big deal? Until the third act, when she SANG. And then I was like, Oh, I get it now. At first I was star-struck that I was seeing her, but she was such a good actor that I got totally into it and forgot it was her. If that makes sense. I guess that's the point!

After the performance I wanted to hang out but even more I wanted to get back to my boys - over 24 hours away from them and my arms ached to hug Alex! All the moms out there will understand what I mean!! So I trekked down to Penn Station (remind me NEVER to do that in my little boots again, ever!!) and hopped on the express train to get home to my boys.

Today I listened to the Saturday Afternoon Broadcast of Magic Flute. It was great to hear it all again so soon after seeing it. At one point I put on the English version video and tried to match it up for Alex to see and hear. It worked pretty well for some parts, like when the three ladies find Tamino, but then I had to pause the video for the cut parts and was too much trouble and he got bored with it so I turned off the video.

Now my little spot on the shelf where I keep all my tickets is empty. It looks so sad, all empty. But I'm sure it won't be empty for long.

Sitting and Staring and Skirts with Heels

Spring weather is daydream weather! I've found myself sitting and staring a lot. Ok to be honest I did that all winter too. Let's face it, I do it all the time. I truly understand how my cat can sit on the couch, facing the back of the couch, eyes open, not moving. I'm so there.

Just now I was sitting and staring at the Operatic Anthology book I got several months ago - "Celebrated Arias Selected from Operas by Old and Modern Composers, Volume I, Soprano." I'm not familiar with most of the arias, although I've heard of most (but not all) of the operas. So I'm sitting here wondering, how do I know which, if any, of these would be appropriate for me to learn? Just an idle daydream, really. I keep flipping through it, imagining what the arias sound like. I could search on YouTube but that would require more effort.

Geez I sound depressed - sitting and staring, things taking too much effort...

Well perhaps a little Mozart will help!! Because I'm now going to announce that Thursday, the day after tomorrow, is the day I'll be seeing Die Zauberflote. Mozart!!! My plan is to wear the same outfit I wore for the Opera Project recital, you know, the one I kept stepping on and tripping over. At least I know the tags are off. Can't verify at the moment if the little plastic thing that holds the tags on is still there. I'm sure I'll forget to check until I feel something poking me during the overture.

Then the following day is the Armida final dress, if I figure out how to get the ticket that has been set aside for me. I have to check with weather but I think I'm going with the long, multi-colored skirt I wore to Carmen, Lucia and Grapes. I figure I was with different people for each of those so it's not like anyone will notice that I'm wearing the same skirt. Then a white lacy tank-top with a green blouse that matches the green in the skirt, and low-heeled brown boots. A fashion expert at Glamour actually gave me advice on what to wear - she recommended a day dress with heels, or slacks with a jacket and heels. I have neither of those outfits, so... a skirt and boots it is. But hey, at least the boots have a heel. Sort of.

Yeah, maybe it's time to go stare at the insides of my eyelids... Opera keeping me awake again and all that.

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.

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.

Incriminating the Neighbors

A good friend of mine, who happens to live across the street, is coming along to see Grapes of Wrath!!!! Yippee!!!

I know I mentioned that I got Very Good Seats, but I didn't mention exactly where. No, not Row A. or Row B. Or Row C either. Certainly not as far back as Row E, where the ticket prices increase dramatically. Not on the right side, not on the left, not on the aisle. Ok obviously I've been spending a little too much time with Alex and not enough time with other adults. But now you know where we're sitting, so if you go, look for us there.

So while the plan at the moment remains to go, watch, and leave, my friend may have other ideas or intentions, seeing as this will be her very first time seeing Mr. Gunn and, well, she's gotten an earful from me in great detail about all the various events I've attended. (grammar question: all the various? pondering that...)

Hahahahaha!!!!!!!!!!!! Ahem. Sorry.

Ok. Off I go. It's "Back To School" night, which means I get to pretend I'm in kindergarten and jam myself into a little chair to color a picture. Or something.

Today and Tomorrow: Aliens, Trains and Lawns

Tonight: Abduction. I hope they don't do the brain probe again. WAIT A SECOND! Not alien abduction. Wrong blog. No! It's Mozart's Abduction!
Fashion: The Florida outfit.

Tomorrow: I'll be either taking a train and sitting on a lawn, or playing with trains and sitting on a lawn.
Fashion: Skirt, t-shirt and flip-flops, either way.

More Thoughts About Lucretia

More details and thoughts about Rape of Lucretia have popped into my head. One I wrote as a comment/reply in the original post. I forgot to mention that there were a few scenes where the Female Chorus' actions mirrored those of the women. She was there on stage, singing about what they were doing, doing it right behind and next to them. They didn't see her of course. It was nice, very graceful, kind of showed that the F.C. is telling her own version of the story and the characters will therefore do what she says. Like she is in control by virtue of being the narrator? But at the same time the M&F Chorus were not in control, because they tried to prevent the rape but couldn't. This is all popping into my head as I type it so I haven't had a chance to really analyze it.

Another observation that should have been blazingly obvious at the time but wasn't until I was rethinking it today was, that rape scene - he's wearing a harness. He ties her up with the bridle. He rapes her from behind as if he's riding a horse... remember the whole whores/horse thing... I don't know why I didn't realize it at the time. Wait yes I do - I was too upset. Now it seems so obvious. And I'm still upset - I actually turned my head and averted my eyes as I wrote these last few lines.

I think this is one reason (besides sheer laziness) I don't like to do a lot of research before seeing an opera that I've never seen before. I have no preconceived notions about what anything is supposed to symbolize here - I'm going purely on that collegiate and graduate school training of how to analyze writing, poetry and other forms of art. And it's fun. I'm having these "aha!" moments as I think back over the performance. I imagine that some of the scenes are described in the libretto in detail while others are the director's creations. Doesn't matter to me - I mentioned in my last post that at least one other audience member questioned if the production was in line with what Britten intended. Perhaps this is naive of me, but... does that really matter? Once you write something, people are going to put their own spin on it, their own interpretation, based on their own experiences. You lose control. It applies to something as innocuous as this blog, or as heavily studied as the Bible. So really, is it valid to criticize something like an opera production by asking if it's what the composer had in mind? Unless the composer left explicit instructions, or is still alive, there's really no way to know. And surely any artist, writer or composer is aware that an audience may not know their intentions. And in this case I suppose the "audience" is the director. So how would a composer/author/artist feel about the fact that people are studying his or her work after they've been long gone. "Wait! That's not what I meant!" or, "Wow! That's not what I mean, but I like it!" or, "STOP!!!!!" To me, it doesn't matter. You put something out there, it's not yours anymore.

So this post has gone off on a tangent I didn't expect! Ah the joys of trains of thought.

I am still recovering from the performance. I'm still upset about the rape scene. I'm still blown away by the rape scene and all the rest of it. I'm upset, blown away and filled, as Banawoman said in her comment on the review post, with moments of joy about seeing it and experiencing the beauty of the performance. And of course seeing Nathan Gunn in it - vastly different from Papageno, Figaro, Zurga and the others he's made so popular... or have they made him popular?

Now I'm lapsing into post-performance blues. I've been waiting for this performance for almost a year. Banawoman and I planned to meet this weekend about 5 or 6 months ago, possibly more. The weekend was everything I thought it would be and more. So now what? It's time to plan the next few adventures. Who's in?

Intensity! 'Rape of Lucretia' Review

Wow. Where to begin.

Rape of Lucretia was SO INTENSE. To say it was fabulous doesn't capture the fabulous intensity of the performance.

After seeing it, I poked about online for reviews. I found that people were not committing as to whether or not they liked it, but they had criticisms, such as, the production didn't portray what Britten had in mind, or, Nathan Gunn is too nice to play Tarquinius. Like here. (BTW, readers, scroll to the bottom of that post - the author claims to be composing a new opera that Mr. Gunn will be in? Don't know who the author is or how reliable a source the message board is, but there you have it.) For my part, well, I don't know what Britten had in mind, I never saw another production of the opera, and what does someone being nice have to do with his ability to act? All these reviews were so full of background information about other productions of the opera that at first I felt a little intimidated, like, who am I to go and analyze this complex opera that I've seen only once and haven't heavily researched? Then the other voice in my head said, "Who are you? You are someone who saw an incredibly intense opera performance. Just write about your experience." Sometimes that other voice makes sense... so here I am.

First of all, it was totally cool to hang out with Banawoman. We had a fabulous dinner at Estia before the show. Grilled octopus... FAB FAB FAB! I think I should try to have octopus before every opera I attend. There's a lofty goal. I also had this fabulous drink that was garnished with an edible orchid.



So of course I ate it.

At the theater we ran into someone we know from online. I didn't ask for permission to identify him here on the blog so I won't. But it was really great to meet this person, he was totally charming and adorable and he was sitting directly in front of me.

Ok so the opera itself.

My ticket was in row D. Fourth row, right? Nope. Second row. Eep! Right in the middle, too, directly behind the conductor. But he didn't block my view of the stage because the orchestra pit really was a pit. Before it began I stood up and took a pic with my phone so I could show you all the view and the stark sparseness of it all. (Is that redundant?) This isn't directly in front of my seat. Some people were standing there and I wasn't about to ask them to move so I could sneak a photo, so I moved over a few seats to the right.



There was a platform on the stage, set perpendicular to the lines of the stage, and upstage really was up. It doesn't come across in the photo but it looked very steep, like you could easily slide off into the pit. And as you can see, most of the (small) orchestra was underneath the stage. There was a little camera aimed at the conductor for the video feed for any offstage singing that goes on where the singers can't see him. I no doubt showed up in the video feed as I was right behind the conductor. I've watched that feed myself from backstage while supering and you can clearly see the people directly behind the conductor.

So the opera is told by the male and female chorus - chorus is a confusing term as just one person played each role. Bill Burden was the Male Chorus. The Male Chorus is a preacher who relates what takes place in Christian terms. It's hard to explain. But he told the story about Tarquinias. The Female Chorus, Karen Jesse, was dressed in capris and a sweater - as if that's what she put on that morning. She told Lucretia's tale. Throughout the opera the two of them gave each other these weird looks, mostly like she was glaring at him. I thought it would be resolved in the end but it wasn't, as far as I could tell.

The house lights were still lit and people were chatting when the Male Chorus came on stage and sat down. If you look at that picture... the space to the left of the platform gets bigger, as you can imagine. Not that big, but big enough for a little desk and chair, and I think a filing cabinet. That's generally where he stayed. Not always, but mostly. So he was there, looking at what I assume was a bible, and then the house lights went down and the orchestra began. There was no overture really. He started singing pretty much right away, setting the story. And here's the story:

The Etruscans ruled Rome. They loved beauty but also loved to kill. So they made all this beautiful art but were also ruthless. Tarquinias was the son of the emperor, in other words, the prince. His two generals, Junius and Collatinus, were Roman. As The Male Chorus introduces them, they come on stage. Tarquinius is carrying a horse's bridle and is wearing this horse armor thing over his upper arm. (Scroll to the bottom of this page to see it) While they were out at soldiering about, (drinking in camp) they sent a scout to town to see what the wives were up to. So they were reading letters that they got from the Male Chorus. It was interesting to have the M & F Choruses narrate in the present but also interact with the characters. It was cool. I didn't expect it. The characters didn't acknowledge the Chorus but they got props from them. Ok so the letters listed what the wives were up to. Junius' wife Patricia was found "getting a massage." Right. Collatinus' wife, Lucretia, was found at home with her maids. Now, back then the chastity of the wives was directly related to the status of the husband. So Junius is all upset that his wife was found cheating on him, and goes off about how all women are whores. It doesn't help that they've all been drinking and that Tarquinias is totally making fun of Junius over this. Who said Mr Gunn is too nice to play this role? My reaction to Tarquinias' behavior was, "What a jerk." Actually, Mr. Gunn's "Mr. Nice-Guy" reputation was no where to be found during the entire performance. So anyway Junius is like, all women are whores, and Tarquinias replies that no, not all, for Lucretia is chaste. They get into a fight, hurling insults and brandishing knives, and Collatinus breaks it up. The two guys point out to Tarquinias that he really can have no opinion on the matter given that he's single and the women he sleeps with are willing whores. That strikes some kind of chord in him and he becomes almost obsessed with Lucretia. She is a challenge. He gets a swatch of cloth from the Female Chorus and inhales it with pleasure. He seriously is rubbing this thing all over his face and through his hands, thinking about Lucretia. It's kind of creepy. Here's that shot from the newspaper article I linked to in an earlier post.



Junius tells him that Lucretia is a whore just like the rest of him. Tarquinius insists that no she's not, she's beautiful and she's chaste and he can prove it. Junius says something like, "You wouldn't dare," but at that point Tarquinias is so obsessed all he can think about is seducing her. He's the prince, right, so he's used to getting what he wants when he wants it. Totally self-centered and all that. He is so excited to get to her that he grabs his horse and just goes without properly saddling her up. At this point I must point out, in case you haven't noticed, that we've been hearing the words "whores" and "horse" a lot. Go ahead, say them out loud. And then, there's Tarquinias, sleeping around and carrying that bridal with him like a security blanket everywhere he goes.

Now he's SO EAGER to get to Rome - the Male Chorus is singing about how he whips the horse and goes as fast as possible. Meanwhile Tarquinius has come out of that door with a leather strap around him - it's attached to something backstage. It lets him out across the stage and then he's leaning and straining against it. Like, if the strap broke he would have gone sprawling right into the Male Chorus, who was right in front of him. You could really see the desire, the lust and the obsession in his face, in his body - he wanted to be there and he wanted to be there NOW. I think I was digging my fingernails into my palms just knowing that he was on his way to rape her.

Next we see Lucretia in her home with her nursemaid Bianca and her maid Lucia. The Female Chorus narrates here. They are at the spinning wheels and Lucretia (Tamara Mumford) sings about how she misses her husband, and how unfair it is that men teach women about passion and then leave. Then there's this whole strange (too long?) bit about how women must fold linen... to me it symbolized that women keep the home, hold it together, while the men are out fighting. Like, it doesn't seem important - what's the big deal about folding linen? But it's the home, and without a woman, there'd be no home. She comes across one of her husband's shirts and she holds it to her breast with such affection, you could really see how much she loved and missed him. Tamara Mumford was excellent. Beautiful, rich voice, so expressive, and so beautiful all in white.

Ok so then Tarquinius bangs on the door and asks for lodging because his horse is lame. This confuses and upsets Lucretia - modesty dictates that he not be there, but hospitality dictates that she must give him lodging. There is a fabulous, fabulous scene where the three women are bidding him goodnight. Lucretia is very firm. The nursemaid Bianca, sung by (have to look it up) is wonderfully rude "in that polite way that servants can be rude" sings the Female Chorus. The other maid, Lucia, wonderfully played by Rinnat Moriah, was all flirty and excited to have the prince in the house. It was wonderful the way they were all singing the same words but were all sending very different messages. So finally they finish their goodnights and go to bed.

Then...Intermission.

Intermission? How? What? You mean, stand up, go out into the lobby, go into a bright bathroom, converse with people, when meanwhile you know that Lucretia is about to get raped? How can there be intermission?

Next act opens to this:



Again, a view from my seat, so you can see the orchestra pit as well as the slanted stage. And a bed. Lucretia's bed, surrounded by a curtain. The house lights went down and there were these lights from the balcony sweeping the audience. Then we see the two maids, one on each side, each with one of the men. I think it was Collatinus to my left and Junius to my right. Banawoman thought Collatinus was to the right and Tarquinius was to the left. I don't think T. was up there at all, because it wouldn't have made sense. They had flashlights and held them up to their chins as they sang, kind of like they were telling ghost stories around a campfire. I don't remember the exact words but basically it was a chant like, "Down with Etruscan, Hooray for the Romans..." It was creepy and tense and you could see Lucretia on the bed and you knew she was going to be raped... Ohmygod it was awful. I mean that in a good way. The tension was incredible. And it got worse.

Tarquinius enters and basically laughs at an "impotent" bust of Collatinus, which was actually the singer standing behind a pedestal, goes past the sleeping nursemaid and up to the bed. The Male Chorus describes him like a panther as he stalks around the bed. The Female Chorus is on stage urging Lucretia to wake up. The Male Chorus is there telling Tarquinius to stop. He leans in to kiss her through the gauze. She's still asleep and thinks it's Collatinus so she responds and puts her arm around him, but then she wakes up and is horrified. She's pushing back at the curtain and he's trying to get in, he's like, "You have lust, don't deny it," and she keeps singing, "I deny it, I deny it..." it's just awful. Then... he gets mad. *shudder* He grabs the curtains and just YANKS them away to the floor. Ohmygod it was awful and I'm getting weepy again writing about it. He gets on top of her and tries to kiss her, she pushes him off. I forget which one of them picked the bed up onto its side - I think she did but I'm not sure. So the bed is now up on its edge, mattress facing the audience. My heart is pounding as I write this. I didn't want to watch yet I couldn't stop watching. He grabs the horse bridle (remember, he carries it everywhere) and ties her hands with it, then he drags her over behind the bed and rapes her from behind. You could see the upper half of their bodies. You can see her sort of lurch forward in shock... He's crying out in ecstasy, "Lucretia! Lucretia!" and meanwhile there is such a look of pain and horror on her face - it was so difficult to witness. And remember I was in the 2nd row so I was witnessing this from like 15 feet away. I'm getting all upset typing it. I'm crying now as I was crying last night watching. After that heart-wrenching scene he pushes her to the ground behind the bed and you can see his boots sticking out from behind, so you know he's not done with her. It was just... awful... Then he drags the bed off stage, and she must have been inside it because she wasn't on stage after that. Was he dragging her back to his chamber? Was that it, or did he rape her all night long? It's unbearable to think about.

As an almost inappropriate aside here, the costume - he was in a sleeveless undershirt (a "beater?") with this harness around his chest that showed off all his muscles. And he was still wearing that horse thing on his arm. But those arm muscles - I couldn't stop looking at his friggin' muscles. So every now and then part of my mind would leak out of the story and into reality and think, "Look at his arms! WOW!" and then, "OMG he's raping her, stop it, this is awful." I was attracted and repulsed at the same time. And I wonder if that wasn't the goal, in a sense. There was this vague sense of the erotic under all the violence. I'm not really describing it right - because there's nothing erotic or attractive about rape - but the way he played the character... argh I don't have the words to describe. I wanted to stop looking but I couldn't stop looking. Meanwhile the M&F chorus are off to the side, visibly upset. I think the Female Chorus really was crying.

So I'm sure I wasn't alone in being totally horrified, even though we knew the rape was inevitable... and then the next scene - done on purpose, of course - the juxtaposition of the maids happily gathering flowers the next morning in a pit they revealed under a panel in the flooring. Lucretia staggers out and the nursemaid figures out what happened pretty quickly. Lucretia is singing about her shame... shame... shame... thinking of herself as a whore... crumbles a red rose...the acting was superb but at this point I felt the libretto moved too quickly, like time sped up. She sends a messenger, the nursemaid tells the young maid not to, but it's too late... Collatinus comes in, she confesses, he assures her that she is still chaste because she was not there in spirit... she's like, it doesn't matter... I can't live with the shame... she grabs a knife... falls onto it into the flower pit and dies. The M&F Chorus end the story with a "What have we learned" and they related it to Christianity as rose petals shower the stage. Then suddenly it was over. I was exhausted. It was so intense and so wonderful and so awful (in a good way) that I was just exhausted.



The music was haunting. It was weird and beautiful and strange and wonderful. The singing was superb. Everyone in the cast - what fabulous actors. I was seriously blown away by the entire production. And contrary to the "experts," Mr. All-American-Nice Guy Gunn swaggered around that stage and convinced me that he was a selfish, self-absorbed jerk used to getting what he wants. It can't be easy to play that part, but he didn't just pull it off - he owned the role. That rape scene - Ohmygod. Horrifying. Tarquinias in ecstasy and Lucretia in agony ... I swear there was a collective gasp from the audience as we realized what was happening.

I'm sure I left out lots of good stuff. I told Banawoman that she will have to post a comment with her thoughts/impressions/stuff I forgot or misinterpreted so no doubt we'll get that from her within the week.

After the performance we walked around the neighborhood a bit to sort of unwind ourselves. So no, to those of you who were wondering, there was no in-person Gunn-encounter. Not to say we didn't sort of keep an eye out in our wanderings, because of course we did, but we weren't out prowling. We finally made our way to the hotel, stopping at a convenience store on the way for ice cream and cracker jacks to help us recover.

Today, in between torrential downpours, we wandered down to Independence Hall, saw the Liberty Bell, went to an exhibition about Charles Darwin and saw another about Benjamin Franklin. Look! The glass armonica!



We also went to Reading Terminal Market and of course tried to move some Very Big Rocks.



Ahhh another fufilling operatic adventure!!! And I survived without any Embarrassing Encounters! (sort of wistful about that, go figure...)