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.

My Fantasy

OK, don't get all excited about the title. It's not THAT kind of fantasy. Not to say that I don't have bizarre opera-related fantasies, but that's for another forum.

No, no, no. The fantasy to which I'm referring has to do with... the opera. Wow, big surprise! But wait, didn't I just say... but this one isn't bizarre. At least not like that. No, I got the schedule book and ticket order form from the Met today. I went through and picked out which subscriptions I'd love to buy. Technically I could afford a 6 or 7 show weekday subscription up up up in the Family Circle, but then factoring in the train fare, food (and of course the new clothes I'd have to buy!) etc, it's just out of my range. And we're only talking about 1 ticket per show, so I'd be going alone. Alone to the opera yet again? No, because it's just my fantasy. So while we're fantasizing, how about the $12,000 8 person box for New Years Eve, including a cast dance and dinner after the show? The show, which happens to be Romeo and Juliet - Don't need to mention what baritone has a part, do I? While we're still in fantasy land... no no no. Reality keeps butting in! "Remember the last time you mingled with an opera cast after a show?" it points out. "You weren't even interested in meeting the performers, but you couldn't help but notice that most of the people there seemed to know them personally - all that hugging and kissing going on. So do you think you'd ever get near... anyone... at an event at the Met?" OK, Reality, get outta my way! You're ruining my fantasy. OK, 8 seats. Who would I invite? I can barely find 1 person to go with me, how would I find 7??? Although for an event like this perhaps people's schedules would clear. And of course, there's the matter of staying awake that late. So the show ends, the dinner dance begins. What am I wearing? Luckily this particular fantasy includes one of those all-expense paid makeovers, including an appropriate dress with all the accessories, and hey, why not, a massage that afternoon.

OK, back to Reality. There is a matinee of Romeo and Juliet on our wedding anniversary but Jim was reluctant. I'm sure that if it were a homebrew festival or an XTC concert we'd already have the tickets... Another option is the $20 orchestra tickets that are sold starting 2 hours before the performance, Monday through Thursdays. There are only 200 per show. I wonder what time people start lining up?

So it looks like my Met opera attendance will be at the movies only this coming season, barring a financial windfall or other miraculous event. Luckily the NJ Opera Theater is about half the price and only 20 minutes away. And if I get to be a super in an upcoming show, now how cool would that be? If only... no, it'll never happen so I won't even write it.

Expanding horizons

Warning: Post about Alex follows. My plan was to avoid posting about him here but since I have nothing to report for today and it is opera related, I broke from my plan. So...

I really have to figure out a way to interest Alex in other operas besides Magic Flute. He likes specific arias and instrumentals from a few others, but he still asks to listen to and/or watch MF every single day, several times a day. Today on YouTube I found the Bugs Bunny Barber of Seville episode so we watched that. It'll probably get removed for copyright infringement soon so I'm glad we got to see it. But that's not the same, obviously! Maybe this Saturday's broadcast will be on PBS in a few weeks and I can tape it. Or maybe I'll ask Amy to Tivo and burn it for me.

At least he's watching more than just Papageno. I got him hooked on the performance prep stuff they show during the overture, then he likes Tamino fleeing from the serpent, so that's cool. He also likes the first Queen of the Night aria, or as he puts it, "The song where she sings really high." He gets upset when Monostatos is onscreen, although he's ok with the German version, so it must be the costume and makeup. I got him to watch the scene where Papageno and Pamina sing together after enchanting the slaves with the bells. Then we had to watch it like 5 times in a row. I wish the English version had their other duet. He'll also watch anything with the 3 boys. Makes sense, they're more his size!

So the other opera pieces he likes (and bear with me as I don't know how to spell everything):

The overtures to Barber of Seville and Marriage of Figaro
Champagne aria from Don Giovanni
Largo al Factotum from Barber (the "Hey, Figaro" song)
Non Piu Andrai from Marriage of Figaro (the "castle song" because the english version we have has the word castle in it)
Toreador Song from Carmen
Habanera from Carmen (sometimes we'll sing, "no no no, no no no no...")
Instrumental- Carmen Suite - (one part of that is " The Big Song")
Donna e Mobile from Rigoletto (Beethoven's Wig version too of course!)

And then non-opera, classical music:

Rondo Alla Turca, or as he calls it, The Piano Song - Mozart
Eine Kleine Nachtmusik - Mozart
Surprise Symphony- Haydn
Different parts of the Nutcracker -Tchaikovsky
1812 Overture - Tchaikovsky
Peter and the Wolf

There are many others that have numbers only so I don't remember what they're called, and since we're often in the car I can't sit there reading the CD case. But he does have his code names for the pieces, or else he'll sing a bit of it, to let me know what he wants to hear. He used to sing bits of what he wanted to hear before he could talk.


Ok, on to another unrelated (sort of) topic.

I'll probably edit this all out tomorrow. But now it's truly bedtime.

Edited on 3/22: As predicted, I took it out. :)

Things are looking up!

Whew! I found a "date" for the opera-movies this Saturday. I was in a meeting at work and talk turned away from work as it often does, so I mentioned my extra ticket and asked if anyone wanted to come with me. I would have been happy to go with any of the people in the room. Jean jumped right in, almost interrupting me, to say she wants to go! She was very excited. She's the one who recommended Westminster Conservatory's early childhood music program to me for Alex. Her son went there. This year he's graduating from The American Boy Choir School and has scholarships to several private prep schools in the area because of his singing abilities. Wow!

So anyway, Saturday should be fun.

Alone to the opera again!

Ok, not the opera, exactly, but the Met's next HD live broadcast in the movies. It's Rossini's Barber of Seville, this Saturday at 1:30. Jim and I were going to go, and Paul would've watched Alex, but then Alex got invited to Logan's birthday party, and Jim has to go to a memorial service at 2 that day, so once again I'm on my own. Lin can't go. Denise can't go. Liss can't go. Amy wouldn't want to go so I won't even ask her. Anna can't go, obviously! (She's Logan's mom!) And since the entire mom's club is invited to Logan's party, none of them would be able to go. So which is more pathetic, that I keep getting stuck with opera tickets and no "date," or that no one is available or interested in going?

The Language Instinct

Yes, I lifted the title of today's post from the Steven Pinker book.

So I wonder what concept Alex has of language. He'll be 3 in June. He asks to hear different parts of Magic Flute in German and then in English. He sometimes asks for the "vogelfanger" song. He knows that some operas are sung in Italian. He even sings a little of "Non Piu Andrai" in Italian. Today we listened to part of the Saturday Afternoon Broadcast of Faust, which was in French. He knows about Spanish from Sesame Street. He knows that his cousins speak Russian and English. I've explained to him that people speak different languages in various parts of the world. But can he really understand the concept? Sometimes for fun I'll ask him where or how he learned to talk, and what language he speaks. He just ignores me. So either it's such an obvious question that he won't grace it with an answer, or else he has no idea what I'm talking about so he just ignores me. Sometimes I think it's the former...