Links to Barbiere Videos

Looks like someone managed to burn a DVD of the PBS broadcast of Barbiere and they've been posting snippets on YouTube. Like this one: Una Voce Poco Fa and this.

I'm sure I already posted that I signed up for singing lessons. My voice teacher assures me that I'll be singing Una Voce very soon. At first I thought she was nuts, but then I realized that except for some of the individual singers' crazy improvisations, I actually can reach all the notes. So I guess anything's possible...

"It's Orgasmic!"

The other day I brought the Barbiere videotape to work and had Denise meet me in the little library where we have a tv/vcr combo thing. I popped in the tape and played Count Almaviva's final, outstanding, mind-blowing aria. I've seen it several times already and I'm still blown away every time. So we're both sitting there gaping at Juan D.F. on the tv and Denise utters, "It's orgasmic." That says it all!

On My Way, Part 2

Well I did it - I signed up for voice lessons with Alex's music teacher at Westminster Conservatory. I have a feeling I'm going to be insufferable to live with for the next several months!

On a related note, when I brought my earrings to the massage place, the owner had to run into a meeting and said she'd call me. I've left her one message since then... I'll be calling her again tomorrow.

Today I requested a bunch of Schubert "lieder" CDs from the library. Now if I only knew how to pronounce "lieder."

Yesterday was Alex's 3rd birthday. We were watching Barbiere and I asked him what the style of singing was. He said it was coloratura, then said that it was jumpy. Today we met Denise after work and he told her that coloratura has lots and lots of notes. It's fascinating to hear how a child describes things! Jumpy!

Operaholic

Hi, My name is Susan and I'm an operaholic. It started simply enough. I thought I could control it. I thought, sure, I can just listen to just one aria. But then I needed to hear another by the same singer, or a different version of the same aria by the same singer, and soon it spiraled out of my control and I needed to hear different singers performing it. This spread to entire operas. What version should I listen to, I wondered? I know, all of them! I just can't stop. I'm reading about operas, reading and listening to interviews with singers, directors, conductors, getting different versions from the library, reading librettos, comparing translations, reading reviews, reading the histories of different opera houses, learning about different composers... I just can't stop. And then there's YouTube. Need I say more?

So my latest particular obsession is a tenor named Juan Diego Florez. (Don't worry Nathan Gunn, you're still at the top of my list.) JDF doesn't have the looks and I have no idea about his physique as directors aren't as inclined to undress him as they are with NG. But that voice... to quote someone else's comment on a YouTube video, there are no words to describe such beauty. Will I ever get tired of listening to this? I would do anything this man asked me to do if he sang it to me. Anything. So Juan Diego, if you're out there, take notice. Yikes does that make me an opera groupie?

On My Way!

Whoo hoo! Massage Envy in Lawrenceville will be displaying some of my earrings for sale! Voice lessons and Metropolitan Opera, here I come! Denise already assumes I'm coming to Barber of Seville next spring when she goes with her class. One opera at a time! Let's raise the money for R&J first...

Earrings for Sale!

Thought I'd post pictures of some of my earrings, since they're helping me get to the opera and pay for singing lessons. (If I can stop buying beads on ebay, that is...)

Here they are:

This and That

Saw Barbiere again in the movies with Shannon. It was her first opera, I think. She really enjoyed it. How can you not? I was still blown away by Juan Diego Florez. The entire cast was excellent. I got home after 10 and had trouble sleeping. More evidence that opera is keeping me awake? The music was still going through my head when I woke up this morning.

Sold a 4 pairs of earrings at work this week for a total of $87. I have an appointment to show my earrings at the spa next week. I'm pretty sure she's going to take some of my earrings on consignment so hopefully not only will the opera be "financed," but so will my voice lessons.

The Opera Fund

So it begins. I'm going to see Romeo et Juliet on December 12 at the Met. Perhaps I already posted about it... I can't remember right now. It'll cost upwards of $200 for the ticket, transportation, food etc. In order to assuage any guilt I may have at spending $200 for one night's entertainment, I have established a mental "opera fund." I started with a weight-loss challenge with the moms' club. Six of us each paid $25. We weighed in every week for 8 weeks, gave each other tips for diet and exercise and generally supported one-another in our weight-loss endeavor. The person who lost the largest % of her body weight would win all the money. I knew I had an advantage because I started out smaller than all the other women in the challenge. I ended up losing 11 lbs in 8 weeks, which came to about 8% of my body weight, and I won the challenge! That $125 is a great chunk to start off with! Plus as an added bonus I'm back to my pre-pregnancy weight, although for some reason my pre-preg clothes don't all fit... which leads to my next opera-related expense: A new outfit to wear! So I'm going into high gear selling earrings. I'm going to a local spa next week to show them what I have. Hopefully they'll sell my earrings on consignment. I'm also selling off lots of vintage jewelry, beads and findings on Ebay. Once I reach $200 profit I'll close my mental account.

Tenors Make More Money!

Yes, yes, two posts in one day.

Saturday we went to a street fair in Princeton. All sorts of organizations were there, including the New Jersey Opera Theater. They had a trunk full of costumes for the kids to try on and get photographed. We were talking to one of the women and of course Alex clammed up and would talk, so I told her that he wants to be an opera singer and how he's drawn to the baritone parts. She leaned in and said in a conspiratorial stage-whisper, "Be a tenor- tenors make more money!"

A Burning Desire

Have I mentioned that Alex's music teacher is a former professional opera singer? That's not exactly relevant except that this is a blog about opera... of course she's thrilled by Alex's career aspirations. Anyway last week I wasn't feeling well so Jim brought Alex to music class. It's the first time I've missed a class since he started, except for when we went to Florida. She informed Jim that she'll be giving private singing lessons at Westminster next semester and she thinks I should sign up because she can tell that I've got "the desire to sing burning inside me," or something like that. She said it again to me this past week. So is she a mind reader or what? I asked her how she could tell and she said she just can. Hm. I've wanted to take singing lessons all my life. I know full well that I have no opera potential, no matter what fantasies I might harbor... I have a decent voice and can carry a tune, but I want to improve my range, ie, become more of a soprano. I even mentioned my (burning) desire to Denise a few weeks ago and she gave me some advice about finding a teacher. It was just funny that Alex's teacher said that, because she's right! So now I have to decide... a trip to the Met to see Romeo and Juliet, or a semester or two of voice lessons? Or... do both, and then have rice and beans, no new clothes and no eating out for, well, the rest of my life? That sounds OK to me!

Recitals, Barbers and Romeo

So it's been a while but I'm back. We did attend the recital on the 15th. It was good! And amazingly, Alex sat and watched for the entire first half. He had great fun applauding after each singer too.

The Met is having an encore broadcast of Barber of Seville. I posted to the mom's group to see if anyone would like to have a "Mom's Night Out" and got one taker- Shannon. So in May we'll be off to the movies!

Denise will be teaching an opera class about Romeo and Juliet this fall at the Princeton Adult School. To culminate the class they go see the opera at the Met. She's going to include me in the emails so I can join them if I want. I'll start saving my pennies now! Finally a chance not only to go to the Met with friends, but also to see Nathan Gunn live! Oh yeah and Anna Netrebko (probably spelled wrong...). Then two days later I'll see it again in the movie broadcast.

Post Office Recital

Yesterday as we went into the post office Alex began to sing Papageno's Birdcatcher Aria. There were a few people inside but of course no one was talking. His voice echoed throughout the room. One woman who had been preparing something to mail got in line behind us. She recognized what he was singing and asked him if he could do "Queen of the Night." He just launched right into it! It was pretty cool. So of course I asked him what he wants to be when he grows up (see video in prior post). She asked him what other operas he likes. I had to prompt him but he said he likes Figaro in Barber of Seville because "...he's a baritone." Too bad he can't decide now what voice he'll have later. Not that I expect him to become an opera singer, but I'll certainly encourage whatever interest he shows!

Sunday we're going to this:

Come see NJ Opera's Young Artists perform in a free concert this Sunday, April 15 at 3pmVoorhees Zimmerli Art Museum in New Brunswick. These young singers will perform beloved opera favorites such as "Una Voce poco fa" from The Barber of SevilleDon Giovanni (Mozart) and the "Card Trio" from Carmen (Bizet). They will also perform opera rarities such as "O Lisbonoa, alfin ti moro" from Don Sebastiano (Donizetti) and "Sibilar gli angui d'Aletto" from Rinaldo (Handel).

The concert is free with $3 admission to the Zimmerli Museum (waived for Rutgers students and staff and for museum members).

Or as Alex calls it, People Singing in the Museum.

Now if only they would contact me to be a super in one of their upcoming shows!

Now that I know how...

Here's another Alex - Opera video:

The "Imitation" Video

Ok, here it is:

Imitation

So cool... Alex has really begun to imitate the opera we listen to. Of course Magic Flute... of course Papageno... I have to get a video up here somehow of him totally imitating Papageno's countdown when he's hoping Papagena will show up. "How 'bout I count from one to three..."
He imitates Nathan Gunn's intonation perfectly, the way he's all hopeful on "one," singsong on "two" and sad and downtrodden on "three." He imitates the sound but does his own "acting" or whatever you'd call it- he looks around like he's looking for her in between "two" and "three." It's great! He's learning more and more of the words in both English and German.

We've been watching the Barber DVD a little. He likes the scene where the musicians are asking to get paid and thanking the Count and saying what a great guy he is, getting louder and louder, while the Count keeps saying, "Basta, basta!" Enough, enough! Be quiet! I quite like it too!

More Barber

Not yet... but Denise has a DVD from I-don't-know-when and she loaned it to Jean. Jean finished watching it and loaned it to me yesterday. I forgot I had it until today, then Alex kept getting out of bed after we put him to bed for the night, so long story short I haven't watched it yet. Now I'm shooting for tomorrow.

And while I'm on the subject, I still need to get my hair trimmed.

An Interesting Observation ("ear"servation?)

Sometimes I ask Alex, "Can you do that?" when we're listening to music, to see if he can hit the notes or add vibrato or whatever. He usually ignores me. The other day he was singing the Pa-Pa-Pa duet. He always sings both parts. So anyway he was playing and singing and he sounded exactly like Jennifer Aylmer when he sang, "...the greatest happiness is many." I mean EXACTLY! He imitated her voice and intonation. The line goes across her break, or whatever you call it, between high and middle range, and he repeated it perfectly. It was so cool!

The Doubtful Conversion

I have a close friend who claims to hate opera. All of it. She says she was "subjected" to it as a child, and that no child should be forced to hear it. I feel that it's impossible to hate an entire genre of music when the styles within the genre can vary greatly. She said that she and her husband just don't like it. I replied that there are many kinds, and that I like Mozart, especially the comedies. Her reply:

I might like Mozart. I just detest the Italian operas that my family loves. Torture to a child's ear, at least my ears.

I refrained from pointing out that Mozart wrote many Italian Operas. I also didn't mention the obvious - that I heard it constantly as a child and didn't feel tortured, and that Alex asks for it. I assume she was forced to hear those weird screechy Puccini operas. So I sent her a selection from Magic Flute, in German, of when Papageno and Pamina are sneaking out of the temple, and then Monostatos catches them, he plays the bells and the bad guys dance away. I explained the story and what was going on for each section of the music. Her reply:

I listened, I just hate opera style singing. I love Mozart's music, opera just isn't for me. I think the performers have amazing talent, I just don't like it.

Today she came to visit so I put on the English Magic Flute DVD. Alex "let" us watch the overture through the birdcatcher song, then we had to skip to the humming, then all the way to the end to what he calls "The Sad Part," when Papageno is looking for Papagena. She watched, sort of, but then Jim came in chatting about nothing and I had to tell him to leave - she was easily distracted from the screen. That really annoyed me for some reason. I get very focused when I watch and/or listen. I can't half-listen, even if I'm very familiar with it. Anyway, she agreed that this one opera was humorous and very melodious. I practically shouted, "Almost all of Mozart's operas are like this!" but I just said it calmly. For all I know she was saying it to shut me up stop me from playing more.

So I know I've read this in other places, but now I see it's true. You either get it or you don't. If you don't get it, you have no tolerance for it. And that's a damn shame because she's missing out on some beautiful and moving experiences.

She reminded me of a friend from high school who told me she hated the Beatles. How can you hate the Beatles? Their music is so varied. I can understand not liking some of their music, but how can you hate their entire body of work? That would mean that you'd hate a lot of the pop music that came after them, and she was a big music fan. I think she was just being contrary, because she liked to shock people. I mean, it's practically blasphemy to say you hate the Beatles! And being a huge Beatles fan myself, and your typically earnest "Dawson's Creek" type of teenager, I was appalled!

I'd rather be sleeping...another Alex-esque post.

Trying to get Alex to listen to anything other than Magic Flute is proving to be a challenge. I'm hoping that once PBS broadcasts Barber of Seville he'll be interested in that, although there's no character as kid-friendly as Papageno. I've been playing a couple of arias to prep him.

He does like some of the arias on this double CD, "The Greatest Mozart Show on Earth." He sometimes asks to hear the Champagne Aria from Don Giovanni. Today I printed out the lyrics and translation. All I can say is, it's a good thing Alex doesn't speak Italian (yet) and that it's sung so fast you can't really hear the words! But usually he wants Magic Flute. The other day I was humming a bit of when Papageno and Pamina are sneaking away and he said, "No mommy, it's shtila shtila shtila." (I'm fully aware that I spelled that wrong - I'm going for the pronunciation.) Anyway at first I didn't know what he was talking about, then we later listened and I realized he was quoting the German for the part I was humming. Zoinks!

On another note, last week I sent a package to the woman who sent me the MF DVD as a thank you. I sent two pairs of earrings, three cds and the lyrics to Beethoven's Wig. I sent it first class mail over a week ago and she still hasn't gotten it! It was supposed to take 2-3 days. Very frustrating. I'm going to send her a new one as soon as I get some blank cds.

Barber in the movies- WOW!

Saw Barbiere di Seviglia in the movies today.

I loved it!! The singing was phenomenal. The Count- Oh my god- he had one aria near the end that stopped the show. Rosina- beautiful! What a voice! Figaro was perfect- all confident and laid back. And how can I not mention the supers? I kept an eye out for them and I didn't have to look hard! Figaro's entrance was on the top of a carriage-like cart. There was a woman up there with him, and several were pushing the cart. They were all over him like a harem! I could so totally do that. (Especially with a different Figaro, not that there was anything wrong with the guy who played him, but I have a certain person in mind.) And since Alex is still nursing, I still have the uh, the ability to fill out the dress. There was one scene where a cabinet in the cart opened to reveal two women getting a bit friendly with each other! And Figaro was right in there like, "Check this out! This IS the life!" The whole thing was zany, as it should be. The performers all had such great rapport- it was just great. I probably won't be writing any letters to any of the cast members though.

The supers had a lot of stage time. I so want to do that!!!

I'll probably have more to write about the opera itself tomorrow, after I've slept on it.