Was just watching a bit of the horribly staged version of La Sonnambula. Thank goodness for Juan Diego Florez and Natalie Dessay, because without their singing, the production would be unwatchable. So as I was watching with this dippy smile on my face whenever JDF sang, I was reminded that one of my friends is out tonight seeing the encore/reshowing or whatever of Barbiere in HD. So I sent her a text message asking if she loves it, because seriously how can she not, with that cast? And there on the screen were all the previous text messages we've exchanged - one during intermission at Lucretia, then a whole bunch before, during intermission and exactly one after Firebrand. Only 1 after because if you recall from my post about it, I was first on the phone with Banawoman and then I called my texting friend.
Let me back up for a moment. Watching La Sonnambula tonight reminded me of how much fun I had going to see the opera with my voice teacher - walking around, having dinner, loving and hating the opera and so on. She was, of course, blown away by JDF. Which reminds me - she still has some of my CDs! But anyway it was nice to remember all that because having Firebrand the very next day put my brain into overload, and knocked some of the fabulousness of the previous day down unnecessarily. Make sense? Yeah, not to me either.
And then yeah, Firebrand the next night - I mean, come ON - Juan Diego Florez one day , Nathan Gunn the next. And backstage. And those text messages with my friend - such an interesting progression of anticipation, reporting and then summarizing in as few words as possible.
Good thing there wasn't a third event that week or my brain would have oozed out my ears. But think how good I would have gotten at text messaging?
Showing posts with label La Sonnambula. Show all posts
Showing posts with label La Sonnambula. Show all posts
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Sunday, March 15, 2009
From Short Term to Long Term
Now that a few days have passed, I'm starting to remember the silly little things about Sonnambula and Firebrand, all unrelated to the performances themselves.
There's a fun website out there called Opera Tattler. The Tattler gives reviews of performances and then tattles on the audience's bad behavior. So in the spirit of OT, here's what I noticed.
La Sonnambula:
Firebrand of Florence:
There's a fun website out there called Opera Tattler. The Tattler gives reviews of performances and then tattles on the audience's bad behavior. So in the spirit of OT, here's what I noticed.
La Sonnambula:
- When Juan Diego Florez made his appearance, people applauded and then other people shushed them.
- Every time the action was incomprehensible you could hear people muttering.
- During intermission and afterward the talk was all about how stupid the production was.
- I did hear one cellophane candy wrapper being opened and folded during act 2.
- For the first sleepwalking scene, Natalie Dessay entered the stage from the audience. Up in the Balcony, we couldn't see her but we could hear rustling as everyone who could get a view turned in their seats. It was quite a sound.
- I could swear I smelled something burning for much of the performance. Got me wondering where the emergency exits were.
Firebrand of Florence:
- Each seat had a plaque glued on the back with the name of whoever donated enough money for them to, I suppose, afford the plaque. Before the performance began, two rows in front of me, someone sat in his seat and then there was this loud crashing sound. The entire seat back dedication plaque had fallen off. He picked it up and you could see him thinking, "Ok, now what do I do?"
- The man next to me on my left kept dozing off.
- The man next to me on my right hogged the armrest. I finally acknowledged that if I wanted to rest my arm, I'd have to come into contact with him.
- One of those men smelled like he got dressed from a pile of clothes. You know the smell I mean. I think it was the armrest guy, which made it even more unpleasant for me to actually come into contact with him when cramps I got from holding my arms in finally forced me to spread out and inch or two.
- Someone nearby must have had lots of beans and broccoli for dinner the night before. I hope I don't need to go into further detail about how I know that.
- People applauded when Victoria Clark entered.
- My Backstage Visit was much more intense than I let on in the post I wrote about it.
Friday, March 13, 2009
The Official Unofficial Review
Before I begin, I feel the need to mention my disclaimer: I do not do a professional musical review. I write about my experience, my perception, my impressions. If you are looking for a professional review that uses musical terms and so on, you are reading the wrong blog.
Ok, now that I've taken care of business...
Day 1:
I got to Penn Station at about 4:15 and met my friend at 4:30. We walked uptown, took a few photos
and then made our way to the restaurant. She had made a reservation at the same place I went to back in October before Lucia.We went around the corner from the place, found a little courtyard with benches and went in to change into our heels. I'm sure we weren't the first to do that there and we won't be the last. So we walk in and she jokes with the guys there that she was allowed out for the evening... everyone laughs, we sit. A minute later the maitre d' (I looked that up, that's how it's spelled) came over with two glasses of champagne, "To celebrate being let out for the evening." Nice, huh? So we ordered the 4 veggie, 3 seafood plate from the antipasto bar and of course I got those yummy tiny octopuses. Yum!!!! Tentacles, suckers and all. Perhaps this time the champagne affected my gross-food meter? But I'm sober now and salivating at the thought of those yummy tiny things. Ok moving on, I also ordered the special salad of the day which included caramelized pears and candied pecans. Or maybe it was walnuts. I don't even remember. It was like dessert with mixed greens. I also ordered a drink called a Pear Sidecar, your typical girltini drink with a caramelized pear in it and a cinnamon-coated rim. I should have taken a photo of it. Well now I have an excuse to go back and order it again. During the meal the maitre d' came around again with a tray of freshly-baked chocolate chip cookies and he was giving a cookie to each diner. When I say tray, I mean, from the oven, and he was using a spatula. It was odd, sort of, but fabulous. The cookie was scrumptious. Then we hobbled our way across the street and into the Met. Up, up, up the stairs, all the way to the top.
I wrote about the show here. There's really not much more to say. The singing was superb. Sound flows out of Juan Diego Florez like shimmering liquid, like honey. It is unbelievable really, that a person can produce the sounds he produces, yet he does it. He sounded better than I have ever heard him before - in any recording, any live performance, anywhere. He was amazing. Natalie Dessay is like a bird. The setting was confusing and stupid. At points the sound was a little muddy - I wonder if the seat location had anything to do with it? Anyway, I should have saved my money and gotten a score desk ticket.
Afterwards we joined the press of bodies jamming down the stairs and out the door. My friend and I parted, I hopped in a taxi and made my way across town to the apartment of another friend.
Next day my other friend and I hung around, wandered around, hung around some more. We popped in and out of shops and I got this adorable hat - I'll have to post a photo. We hadn't seen each other for like 20 years but we fell immediately back into that easy friendship and conversation as if it had merely been a few weeks. You know... the performances, the fashion, the backstage adventures... they were all fun... but hanging with my friend was really the best part of the weekend. I'm just realizing that now and I am such a dork that I'm actually getting weepy as I type this. Damn hormones. She happens to be pregnant so some of those hormones probably wafted over and entered my bloodstream. Not to make me pregnant (that's not how it works kids) but enough to make me weepy.
Ok... so we hit ourselves with pretty sticks and hopped on the bus to go back across town to Lincoln Center. At Alice Tully Hall there's a new little cafe. We met a fellow blogger there and had a nice little dinner before the performance. My friend didn't have a ticket so she went home and my other dinner companion and I went in. It's really pretty in the theater. I wasn't about to whip out my camera and take a photo, so I whipped out my phone instead and did this self-portrait before the performance. Ok, I'll admit, I wanted to see just how frizzy my hair was at this point. It was Frizzy.
You can see the paneling on the walls - it was really pretty. At some point these black curtain things rolled down over the side walls.
Here is a pre-performance shot from my seat. I was in the 4th row, pretty much right in the middle.
It was a concert staging. There were three or four rows of chairs on the stage for the chorus and principals. Everyone had a looseleaf notebook of the music. Whoever was singing would move forward to the music stand and microphone. They were all formally dressed in tuxedos and gowns.
The performance was great. As you can see from the picture, there was a screen behind the singers, but they didn't go nuts with the pictures - it was subtle and often quite funny. It was obvious that the performers didn't know what was on the screen because when the audience laughed they'd peek behind.
The songs were your sort of catchy generic Broadway type songs with silly clever lyrics. The singing was fab. Nathan was great. In my opinion the woman who played Angela was the best. Her voice was angelic (no pun intended), a beautiful high soprano, clear as a bell, just a delight to listen to. Her name is Anna Christy. I do believe I would go out of my way to see a performance she is in. Everyone was great. The roles are all so silly and they all looked like they were having a blast. One singer played several different characters and just changed his hat each time. There was a narrator who didn't sing but had some great descriptive lines along the way. The whole thing was so well done. I'd never seen a performance in that format and I didn't know how I would like it, but it was just delightful.
Ok so the plot... I'll just copy it from here. Benvenuto Cellini, the great Florentine sculptor, is sentenced to hang, but he is pardoned when the duke realizes that he has not completed a previously commissioned sculpture. Freed, he is able to turn his attention to his favorite model (and object of his affections), Angela. The Duke also is interested in Angela. Thus, Cellini does his best to keep the Duke away from Angela. Meanwhile, he finds he has to keep himself away from the Duchess! At the end of the show, Cellini escapes yet another death sentence by fleeing to Paris.
Yes, your typical mayhem and madness, sneaking around and so on, with catchy tunes and silly lyrics.
I already wrote about the pre and post-show adventures here.
I'm still deciding if I should post the picture or not. Ah, what the heck. Half head and frizzy hair, here we go. For anyone who doubted, here's the photographic evidence that I was there. Proof. And poof - my hair, that is. Poof. So much for anti-frizz curl-enhancing products.
Ok, now that I've taken care of business...
Day 1:
I got to Penn Station at about 4:15 and met my friend at 4:30. We walked uptown, took a few photos
and then made our way to the restaurant. She had made a reservation at the same place I went to back in October before Lucia.We went around the corner from the place, found a little courtyard with benches and went in to change into our heels. I'm sure we weren't the first to do that there and we won't be the last. So we walk in and she jokes with the guys there that she was allowed out for the evening... everyone laughs, we sit. A minute later the maitre d' (I looked that up, that's how it's spelled) came over with two glasses of champagne, "To celebrate being let out for the evening." Nice, huh? So we ordered the 4 veggie, 3 seafood plate from the antipasto bar and of course I got those yummy tiny octopuses. Yum!!!! Tentacles, suckers and all. Perhaps this time the champagne affected my gross-food meter? But I'm sober now and salivating at the thought of those yummy tiny things. Ok moving on, I also ordered the special salad of the day which included caramelized pears and candied pecans. Or maybe it was walnuts. I don't even remember. It was like dessert with mixed greens. I also ordered a drink called a Pear Sidecar, your typical girltini drink with a caramelized pear in it and a cinnamon-coated rim. I should have taken a photo of it. Well now I have an excuse to go back and order it again. During the meal the maitre d' came around again with a tray of freshly-baked chocolate chip cookies and he was giving a cookie to each diner. When I say tray, I mean, from the oven, and he was using a spatula. It was odd, sort of, but fabulous. The cookie was scrumptious. Then we hobbled our way across the street and into the Met. Up, up, up the stairs, all the way to the top.
I wrote about the show here. There's really not much more to say. The singing was superb. Sound flows out of Juan Diego Florez like shimmering liquid, like honey. It is unbelievable really, that a person can produce the sounds he produces, yet he does it. He sounded better than I have ever heard him before - in any recording, any live performance, anywhere. He was amazing. Natalie Dessay is like a bird. The setting was confusing and stupid. At points the sound was a little muddy - I wonder if the seat location had anything to do with it? Anyway, I should have saved my money and gotten a score desk ticket.
Afterwards we joined the press of bodies jamming down the stairs and out the door. My friend and I parted, I hopped in a taxi and made my way across town to the apartment of another friend.
Next day my other friend and I hung around, wandered around, hung around some more. We popped in and out of shops and I got this adorable hat - I'll have to post a photo. We hadn't seen each other for like 20 years but we fell immediately back into that easy friendship and conversation as if it had merely been a few weeks. You know... the performances, the fashion, the backstage adventures... they were all fun... but hanging with my friend was really the best part of the weekend. I'm just realizing that now and I am such a dork that I'm actually getting weepy as I type this. Damn hormones. She happens to be pregnant so some of those hormones probably wafted over and entered my bloodstream. Not to make me pregnant (that's not how it works kids) but enough to make me weepy.
Ok... so we hit ourselves with pretty sticks and hopped on the bus to go back across town to Lincoln Center. At Alice Tully Hall there's a new little cafe. We met a fellow blogger there and had a nice little dinner before the performance. My friend didn't have a ticket so she went home and my other dinner companion and I went in. It's really pretty in the theater. I wasn't about to whip out my camera and take a photo, so I whipped out my phone instead and did this self-portrait before the performance. Ok, I'll admit, I wanted to see just how frizzy my hair was at this point. It was Frizzy.
You can see the paneling on the walls - it was really pretty. At some point these black curtain things rolled down over the side walls.
Here is a pre-performance shot from my seat. I was in the 4th row, pretty much right in the middle.
It was a concert staging. There were three or four rows of chairs on the stage for the chorus and principals. Everyone had a looseleaf notebook of the music. Whoever was singing would move forward to the music stand and microphone. They were all formally dressed in tuxedos and gowns.
The performance was great. As you can see from the picture, there was a screen behind the singers, but they didn't go nuts with the pictures - it was subtle and often quite funny. It was obvious that the performers didn't know what was on the screen because when the audience laughed they'd peek behind.
The songs were your sort of catchy generic Broadway type songs with silly clever lyrics. The singing was fab. Nathan was great. In my opinion the woman who played Angela was the best. Her voice was angelic (no pun intended), a beautiful high soprano, clear as a bell, just a delight to listen to. Her name is Anna Christy. I do believe I would go out of my way to see a performance she is in. Everyone was great. The roles are all so silly and they all looked like they were having a blast. One singer played several different characters and just changed his hat each time. There was a narrator who didn't sing but had some great descriptive lines along the way. The whole thing was so well done. I'd never seen a performance in that format and I didn't know how I would like it, but it was just delightful.
Ok so the plot... I'll just copy it from here. Benvenuto Cellini, the great Florentine sculptor, is sentenced to hang, but he is pardoned when the duke realizes that he has not completed a previously commissioned sculpture. Freed, he is able to turn his attention to his favorite model (and object of his affections), Angela. The Duke also is interested in Angela. Thus, Cellini does his best to keep the Duke away from Angela. Meanwhile, he finds he has to keep himself away from the Duchess! At the end of the show, Cellini escapes yet another death sentence by fleeing to Paris.
Yes, your typical mayhem and madness, sneaking around and so on, with catchy tunes and silly lyrics.
I already wrote about the pre and post-show adventures here.
I'm still deciding if I should post the picture or not. Ah, what the heck. Half head and frizzy hair, here we go. For anyone who doubted, here's the photographic evidence that I was there. Proof. And poof - my hair, that is. Poof. So much for anti-frizz curl-enhancing products.
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Sonnambula Report!
Look! I have an unexpected opportunity to use a computer so of course I immediately logged on to post about last night.
Ahhhh.... Juan Diego Florez.... Ahhhhh..... Natalie Dessay.... not so ahhh for the staging. Stupid was the word that came to mind.
The music, the singing... ahhh the singing. Perfect. Beyond perfect. Words cannot describe how wonderful they were.
The staging... well... first of all, there everyone was in their street clothes. It was hard to tell what the heck was going on. If I didn't know that it was about an opera company putting on an opera I don't think I would have understood it. And then the words didn't match the action. I mean, they're singing about how Anina is beautiful and innocent and sweet and everyone loves her, but she enters like a snobby diva, handing her stuff off to anyone standing by. I'm sort of pressed for time at the mo and can't give this post the full attention it deserves, but I wanted to touch on that "words not matching the action" thing. A lot of it just didn't make sense. It makes no sense to say that someone shouldn't travel by horse in the dark b/c the way is steep, when the setting is obviously in the middle of a modern city. The main characters were obviously young, like teenagers, yet the "opera singer" characters were adults, so their behavior didn't make sense. More on the Total Day Experience later.
Because... TONIGHT!!!! Tonight. Firebrand of Florence. I can't even even think. My hair is too frizzy. Seriously. It's very frizzy. I'm not pleased about the Frizz. The Firefrizz of Frizzence. I will have to work magic with Product between now and 5.
Ahhhhh brain melting.
Ahhhh.... Juan Diego Florez.... Ahhhhh..... Natalie Dessay.... not so ahhh for the staging. Stupid was the word that came to mind.
The music, the singing... ahhh the singing. Perfect. Beyond perfect. Words cannot describe how wonderful they were.
The staging... well... first of all, there everyone was in their street clothes. It was hard to tell what the heck was going on. If I didn't know that it was about an opera company putting on an opera I don't think I would have understood it. And then the words didn't match the action. I mean, they're singing about how Anina is beautiful and innocent and sweet and everyone loves her, but she enters like a snobby diva, handing her stuff off to anyone standing by. I'm sort of pressed for time at the mo and can't give this post the full attention it deserves, but I wanted to touch on that "words not matching the action" thing. A lot of it just didn't make sense. It makes no sense to say that someone shouldn't travel by horse in the dark b/c the way is steep, when the setting is obviously in the middle of a modern city. The main characters were obviously young, like teenagers, yet the "opera singer" characters were adults, so their behavior didn't make sense. More on the Total Day Experience later.
Because... TONIGHT!!!! Tonight. Firebrand of Florence. I can't even even think. My hair is too frizzy. Seriously. It's very frizzy. I'm not pleased about the Frizz. The Firefrizz of Frizzence. I will have to work magic with Product between now and 5.
Ahhhhh brain melting.
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
A Change of Fashion
After all those posts about the brown outfit, the brown shoes, the brown jewelry, I suddenly realized that wearing black on Wednesday and brown on Thursday means schlepping not only the clothing but the shoes, purse and jewelry with me to the Met and then schlepping the black outfit, shoes and purse to Alice Tully. My practical brain finally woke up and said, "Duh! Just bring a different shirt and wear the same skirt!" I did allude to this in yesterday's post. So... now I can return the slightly painful shoes and leave the extra purse and brown clothes at home. I'm pretty sure my skirt will survive the day well enough to wear again on Friday, and if not, my friend with whom I am staying has graciously offered to loan me something from her wardrobe. So now I just have to decide on the necklaces. I have a purple thing just like the brown one here. Tonight I can add some baubles, maybe a dangling bead, and also shorten the chain, and voila, instant necklace.
The mere idea of lightening my load has taken a weight off my shoulders. (Sorry, I couldn't resist. Don't tell the pun police.)
And now, a burst of excitement for seeing Juan Diego Florez and Natalie Dessay! TOMORROW!!! At the Met!!! All dressed up, fancy fancy!!! I know it'll be great in spite of the meta-aspect. Perhaps the initial reactions were due to the unexpected nature of the setting? Either way, I always have an enchanting evening when I go to the Met, and I'm sure tomorrow will be no exception.
And then... Nathan Gunn the day AFTER tomorrow!! That still seems like ages from now because of all I'm doing between now and then.
I'll surely post again tonight with photos of the black ensemble and jewelry.
The mere idea of lightening my load has taken a weight off my shoulders. (Sorry, I couldn't resist. Don't tell the pun police.)
And now, a burst of excitement for seeing Juan Diego Florez and Natalie Dessay! TOMORROW!!! At the Met!!! All dressed up, fancy fancy!!! I know it'll be great in spite of the meta-aspect. Perhaps the initial reactions were due to the unexpected nature of the setting? Either way, I always have an enchanting evening when I go to the Met, and I'm sure tomorrow will be no exception.
And then... Nathan Gunn the day AFTER tomorrow!! That still seems like ages from now because of all I'm doing between now and then.
I'll surely post again tonight with photos of the black ensemble and jewelry.
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
It's Far Too Meta For Me
Oh dear. The reviews are coming in for the Met's production of La Sonnambula and it's not good.
During one of the intermissions of the HD broadcast of Lucia, Natalie Dessay, the host, spoke a little bit about the setting of the production of La Sonnambula. Instead of the standard, "this is where it takes place," type of thing, like most operas, the director went all meta on us. Apparently it's now a modern setting of an opera company putting on a production of La Sonnambula. Opera about an opera. The play's the thing... ? Meta-opera. I got this not-quite-sinking feeling about it but more of an, "Oh no, why why why?" and then, "Well at least it's still Juan Diego Florez and Natalie Dessay..."
I've been trying to avoid reading the reviews but I admit I have glanced at them. So far, so bad. So bad that the audience actually booed the director during curtain calls on opening night. So bad that now I'm busy calculating how much this night is going to cost me with ticket, transportation, food and fatigue (for of course I need to be fresh and alert for the following evening).
Call me boring, call me closed-minded... but I like an opera setting or story to be what the composer intended. Now, I'm not opposed to changing the time or location. Magic Flute during World War 1? Go for it. Cosi fan tutti with a bunch of hippies in the 60s? Why not? But don't change it to remove the sense of fantasy, the suspension of belief, that we have when we to go an opera that was originally written as its own story. We all know that we're sitting in an opera house watching performers. Why add that to the story? To prove how clever you are?
And for today's unrelated note, the shoes have not yet arrived. The "free overnight shipping" doesn't apply to clearance items. They should be here Friday so I'll post the fashion potentials for next week over the weekend.
During one of the intermissions of the HD broadcast of Lucia, Natalie Dessay, the host, spoke a little bit about the setting of the production of La Sonnambula. Instead of the standard, "this is where it takes place," type of thing, like most operas, the director went all meta on us. Apparently it's now a modern setting of an opera company putting on a production of La Sonnambula. Opera about an opera. The play's the thing... ? Meta-opera. I got this not-quite-sinking feeling about it but more of an, "Oh no, why why why?" and then, "Well at least it's still Juan Diego Florez and Natalie Dessay..."
I've been trying to avoid reading the reviews but I admit I have glanced at them. So far, so bad. So bad that the audience actually booed the director during curtain calls on opening night. So bad that now I'm busy calculating how much this night is going to cost me with ticket, transportation, food and fatigue (for of course I need to be fresh and alert for the following evening).
Call me boring, call me closed-minded... but I like an opera setting or story to be what the composer intended. Now, I'm not opposed to changing the time or location. Magic Flute during World War 1? Go for it. Cosi fan tutti with a bunch of hippies in the 60s? Why not? But don't change it to remove the sense of fantasy, the suspension of belief, that we have when we to go an opera that was originally written as its own story. We all know that we're sitting in an opera house watching performers. Why add that to the story? To prove how clever you are?
And for today's unrelated note, the shoes have not yet arrived. The "free overnight shipping" doesn't apply to clearance items. They should be here Friday so I'll post the fashion potentials for next week over the weekend.
Sunday, March 1, 2009
Moving On, Moving Back, Working It, What to Wear?
At least it's snowing. And schools are closed tomorrow. I guess I am sort of glad I'm not out driving in this.
But moving on...
Next adventure: March 11. La Sonnambula at the Met. What to wear????? I'll have to try a few things on and post pictures.
Thanks to Facebook, the site with which I have a love-hate relationship, but in this case it's love, I've hooked up with an old friend from the 80s who lived and still lives in NYC, and she graciously offered her couch to me for the night of the 11th! So we'll get to catch up and since she's home with a little one, we'll have all day to hang out and reminisce about the good old days when we walked barefoot through the snow to school, uphill both ways... ok, no. But we did do lots of fun stuff... we went to see INXS in the front row at the Beacon in NYC, and another time we saw them at some small bar in New Jersey when we were 18 and the drinking age was 21. Since we couldn't get in the bar, the guys in the band brought us in the stage door with them and into the bar from there. Another time we saw Siouxsie and the Banshees with free standing room tickets, then went to, was it the Peppermint Lounge to see I think it was The Fleshtones, yeah, so we saw someone somewhere... anyway a fight broke out and the crowd surged and I got stepped on, down the side of my leg, totally tearing my tights and scraping a layer of skin off. Shh don't tell my mother! One year on New Year's Eve we hung out with The Eurogliders, like, in their hotel (no, nothing like that, but don't tell my mom) before they went off to play the MTV New Year's Eve Ball and we went home to watch it on TV. We had many more adventures but you get the idea. Getting backstage is not a new hobby of mine. Ha! That sounds so... I don't know... rude. I don't mean for it to be. It's just fun.
Which ends my aside and leads me to the next evening - Firebrand of Florence. Alice Tully Hall. Nathan Gunn. Backstage? Possibly. You know, just to say hi, get a new picture of course. So anyway, re: the backstage thing, I'm putting my people on it. Love how that sounds. My people. As if. I don't have "people." But I do have friends who have, shall we say connections. And I am, shall we say, working on it, because we all know by know that I know how to work it. Or at least I pretend, which is just as good. So anything think he'll remember me from last year? Nah. Well, maybe. I guess if I do make it backstage I'll find out. Still have to figure out what to wear.
And the post referenced in that particular link up there reminds me -and now I'm not pretending - how freakin' crazy is this - John Osborn is currently performing in Barbiere in Dresden while at the same time rehearsing Lucia in Brussels. Like, every other day, almost. The man must have a TON of frequent flier miles and no blank pages in his passport. So if I had any doubt before, this confirms it: Opera singers are NUTS! Oh and of course he's wowing them everywhere he goes. You go Johnny O!
But moving on...
Next adventure: March 11. La Sonnambula at the Met. What to wear????? I'll have to try a few things on and post pictures.
Thanks to Facebook, the site with which I have a love-hate relationship, but in this case it's love, I've hooked up with an old friend from the 80s who lived and still lives in NYC, and she graciously offered her couch to me for the night of the 11th! So we'll get to catch up and since she's home with a little one, we'll have all day to hang out and reminisce about the good old days when we walked barefoot through the snow to school, uphill both ways... ok, no. But we did do lots of fun stuff... we went to see INXS in the front row at the Beacon in NYC, and another time we saw them at some small bar in New Jersey when we were 18 and the drinking age was 21. Since we couldn't get in the bar, the guys in the band brought us in the stage door with them and into the bar from there. Another time we saw Siouxsie and the Banshees with free standing room tickets, then went to, was it the Peppermint Lounge to see I think it was The Fleshtones, yeah, so we saw someone somewhere... anyway a fight broke out and the crowd surged and I got stepped on, down the side of my leg, totally tearing my tights and scraping a layer of skin off. Shh don't tell my mother! One year on New Year's Eve we hung out with The Eurogliders, like, in their hotel (no, nothing like that, but don't tell my mom) before they went off to play the MTV New Year's Eve Ball and we went home to watch it on TV. We had many more adventures but you get the idea. Getting backstage is not a new hobby of mine. Ha! That sounds so... I don't know... rude. I don't mean for it to be. It's just fun.
Which ends my aside and leads me to the next evening - Firebrand of Florence. Alice Tully Hall. Nathan Gunn. Backstage? Possibly. You know, just to say hi, get a new picture of course. So anyway, re: the backstage thing, I'm putting my people on it. Love how that sounds. My people. As if. I don't have "people." But I do have friends who have, shall we say connections. And I am, shall we say, working on it, because we all know by know that I know how to work it. Or at least I pretend, which is just as good. So anything think he'll remember me from last year? Nah. Well, maybe. I guess if I do make it backstage I'll find out. Still have to figure out what to wear.
And the post referenced in that particular link up there reminds me -and now I'm not pretending - how freakin' crazy is this - John Osborn is currently performing in Barbiere in Dresden while at the same time rehearsing Lucia in Brussels. Like, every other day, almost. The man must have a TON of frequent flier miles and no blank pages in his passport. So if I had any doubt before, this confirms it: Opera singers are NUTS! Oh and of course he's wowing them everywhere he goes. You go Johnny O!
Friday, January 16, 2009
Obvious Side-Effects
I usually (ok, always) check my email with my morning coffee. Today I had a subscription update from YouTube, and in the abbreviated blurb that comes with each video in the email, I saw "Osborn" and "Tapia." Interesting, I thought. Then I went to work, where YouTube is blocked. (there are ways around that but that's for another post.) Then I forgot!!! Bad me. Then I was thinking about John Osborn for some reason and I suddenly remembered. The "Tapia" listed there actually isn't his wife - it's a guy! It's obviously an audience recording, but in spite of that the quality is pretty good. The person who uploaded it is obviously a Dessay fan, hence the title of this post. So anyway, here it is:
Cool, huh? I can't wait to see this in March!
Bellini
LA SONNAMBULA
Amina...........Natalie Dessay
Elvino..........John Osborn
Rodolfo.........Eric Owens
Teresa..........Claire Larcher
Lisa............Marie Devellereau
Alessio.........Alberto Tapia
Un notario......Giulano Bernardi
Hans Graf, conductor
Opéra National de Bordeaux
July 1999
LA SONNAMBULA
Amina...........Natalie Dessay
Elvino..........John Osborn
Rodolfo.........Eric Owens
Teresa..........Claire Larcher
Lisa............Marie Devellereau
Alessio.........Alberto Tapia
Un notario......Giulano Bernardi
Hans Graf, conductor
Opéra National de Bordeaux
July 1999
Cool, huh? I can't wait to see this in March!
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
An Apple-Orange Week
Apples. Oranges. I like them both. And I'm going to get a taste of both, so to speak, on consecutive days!
March 11 - La Sonnambula at the Met. Apples! I mean, Juan Diego Florez!!!
March 12- The Firebrand of Florence at Alice Tulley Hall. Oranges! I mean, Nathan Gunn! Row G, Seat 117. I understand that as part of the contract he is not allowed to enter the building wearing a shirt. In fact, I might just put the word naked here in the blog so it comes up on the next few "nathan gunn naked" google searches.
So I didn't get to see them perform together, but this isn't too shabby. Now I can give each my undivided attention.
Hm. I wonder if I can get backstage.
So. Any readers out there in NYC have a couch I can crash on for one or possibly two nights? Anyone else out there going to either of these?
March 11 - La Sonnambula at the Met. Apples! I mean, Juan Diego Florez!!!
March 12- The Firebrand of Florence at Alice Tulley Hall. Oranges! I mean, Nathan Gunn! Row G, Seat 117. I understand that as part of the contract he is not allowed to enter the building wearing a shirt. In fact, I might just put the word naked here in the blog so it comes up on the next few "nathan gunn naked" google searches.
So I didn't get to see them perform together, but this isn't too shabby. Now I can give each my undivided attention.
Hm. I wonder if I can get backstage.
So. Any readers out there in NYC have a couch I can crash on for one or possibly two nights? Anyone else out there going to either of these?
Saturday, September 13, 2008
Tickets In, Tickets Out, Tickets In Again
So just for fun I went to StubHub to see how much people were asking for La Sonnambula tickets for March 24. Go ahead, click the link (to open in a new window, of course) and take a look-see. I'll wait.
.
.(hmmm hmmm hmmm la la la)
.
Over $300 for Family Circle seats? Are people insane???? The only date I found Dress Circle tickets for, they're asking $330 per ticket! One row back from my seats. My jaw dropped open and stayed on the floor for a quite some time as I processed the information.
So next I trolled through Craigslist for NYC, just to see if anyone was selling opera tickets, and if so, how much they were asking there. Never thought I'd find someone wanting to purchase tickets for it! So I popped that person an email with this photo
(Note how I smeared out the barcode just in case... of what, I'm not sure.)
and offered to sell them for $175 each. I was going to ask $150 but I figured they might come back lower, ya know? Well, they came back and said yes! I just made and extra $150 that I never planned on. That pretty much pays for my two Met operas this season, which means no guilt over the Philadelphia ones. Of course now I'm like, dang, I should have asked for $200! But I'm not out to make a profit - it's nice, but honestly I'm excited that someone out there wanted to see Juan Diego Florez and now they can!
Next step: Call the babysitter and see if he's free any of the nights Italian Girl in Algiers is on in Philly and then purchase the $72 tickets. Ha ha with taxes and fees it comes to $155.
The Craigslist guy and I "finalize" the deal on Monday, so I guess I shouldn't jump up and down just yet. Ok, maybe just a little.
Ah well, all because my friend said no to the overnight. Thanks, friend.
.
.(hmmm hmmm hmmm la la la)
.
Over $300 for Family Circle seats? Are people insane???? The only date I found Dress Circle tickets for, they're asking $330 per ticket! One row back from my seats. My jaw dropped open and stayed on the floor for a quite some time as I processed the information.
So next I trolled through Craigslist for NYC, just to see if anyone was selling opera tickets, and if so, how much they were asking there. Never thought I'd find someone wanting to purchase tickets for it! So I popped that person an email with this photo
(Note how I smeared out the barcode just in case... of what, I'm not sure.)
and offered to sell them for $175 each. I was going to ask $150 but I figured they might come back lower, ya know? Well, they came back and said yes! I just made and extra $150 that I never planned on. That pretty much pays for my two Met operas this season, which means no guilt over the Philadelphia ones. Of course now I'm like, dang, I should have asked for $200! But I'm not out to make a profit - it's nice, but honestly I'm excited that someone out there wanted to see Juan Diego Florez and now they can!
Next step: Call the babysitter and see if he's free any of the nights Italian Girl in Algiers is on in Philly and then purchase the $72 tickets. Ha ha with taxes and fees it comes to $155.
The Craigslist guy and I "finalize" the deal on Monday, so I guess I shouldn't jump up and down just yet. Ok, maybe just a little.
Ah well, all because my friend said no to the overnight. Thanks, friend.
Friday, September 12, 2008
Dilemma Deleted, Collection Commenced
After getting an embarrassing rejection from my friend who watched Alex last April, ( HIRE BABYSITTER!) (YEAH I WOULD IF I KNEW ONE), I searched through all the dates for La Sonnambula at the Met and finally found what I'd consider acceptable tickets, two seats together, for Wed, March 11 in my "regular" place, the good ole balcony. This time it's Row B, Seats 116 and 118, right in the center. AND the tickets are just $65 each plus all the taxes and fees. So before finalizing the purchase I checked with Husband and my opera companion to confirm the date was good. So I now have two sets of tickets for La Sonnambula. I seem to have a habit of collecting opera tickets for performances Juan Diego Florez is in. I'm thinking I should buy HD movie tickets for it too, like I did for La Fille last year. Maybe that'll open up a couple of Matinee tickets in the balcony for me.
So, dear readers, would any of you like to purchase the original tickets? The info is:
La Sonnambula
Conductor: Evelino Pidò
Amina: Natalie Dessay
Elvino: Juan Diego Flórez
Rodolfo: Michele Pertusi
Tues March 24, 2009
8:00 PM
Dress Circle, Row C, Seats 26 and 28. *(Or maybe 24 and 26, I forget)
I paid $217 for both tickets. Any takers out there?
So, dear readers, would any of you like to purchase the original tickets? The info is:
La Sonnambula
Conductor: Evelino Pidò
Amina: Natalie Dessay
Elvino: Juan Diego Flórez
Rodolfo: Michele Pertusi
Tues March 24, 2009
8:00 PM
Dress Circle, Row C, Seats 26 and 28. *(Or maybe 24 and 26, I forget)
I paid $217 for both tickets. Any takers out there?
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
The Las Vegas Dilemma
Just when you thought it was safe to go in the water...
So hooray I have my tickets for La Sonnambula at the Met for Tuesday, March 24. Yes we've established that in at least one if not more prior posts. Right.
Now, Husband is an Academic and as an Academic is an active member in the Association pertinent to his field. The Association has an annual conference at which Husband often presents an academic paper. This year, if you recall, Husband was away in Boston for such an event when I went to see Nathan and Julie Gunn at Zankel Hall. That was mid-April.
Well. In 2009 the conference is in Las Vegas. I've never been, and truthfully the idea of all that... that... stuff out there in the middle of the dessert, all revolving around money, makes me a little queasy. On the other hand, as a purely sociological experience, (ok and for the food), I wouldn't turn down a trip there. So last year when Husband learned that the next conference would be in Las Vegas, we talked about Alex and me joining him.
So what's my point? Because there is one. Oh yeah. Guess when the conference is in 2009? Go ahead, guess. April again? Oh no. Not April. Guess again. That's right. It's in March. March 22 - 28. Yep.
So there goes Las Vegas for me. La Sonnambula is pretty much sold out unless I'm willing to peer around a pillar to watch from a spot very close to the ceiling of the Met near other desperate fans who waited too long to get tickets and were willing to risk whiplash and eye strain just to be in the same very large room as their favorite singers, and as appealing as all that sounds, I think I'd rather sit in a seat with my own sense of personal space. (**The previous sentence gets an award for being the longest sentence ever here on the blog.**) And we're talking Juan Diego Florez and Natalie Dessay. Again. And Bellini. But... Husband is going to Vegas... his airfare is paid for... as is his room... and now I'll need to find someone to watch Alex and pickings are getting slimmer and slimmer on that front. So.
Do I try to get tickets for another night and go with Husband to LV? Or do I try to find a babysitter and stay home?
Let's think about this. Taking a 4 year old to Las Vegas... They must have family-oriented things there. I don't think we'd plunk him down in front of a slot machine with a roll of nickles, although I bet he'd like that for about 5 minutes. Hey, that's 2 minutes longer than he usually sits still. Hmm... ok, no. So the casinos would be out. Doing anything after 8 or 9 at the latest would be out due to bedtime. So the ideal situation would be, get tickets for a different night, find someone to watch Alex for the week and go alone with Husband to LV. As if.
Well, I suppose that if you have to have complications in life, they might as well be this kind - annoying and inconvenient but not unpleasant.
And now, as usual, I have a totally unrelated note. However, I can't comment on it at all. This totally unrelated note is unrelated to the other thing I couldn't comment on a few posts back. But to be annoyingly cryptic, I will say that I have made some indirect communication in a direction to make a small change in something that in no way at all affects my life, or anyone else's, for that matter, except in an amusing and perhaps charming way.
Voice lessons resume on Thursday. What a relief. Here's hoping I can reproduce the sound I've been working on since my vocal revelation last month.
ps Spell Check wants to change "Sonnambula" to "snowmobile."
So hooray I have my tickets for La Sonnambula at the Met for Tuesday, March 24. Yes we've established that in at least one if not more prior posts. Right.
Now, Husband is an Academic and as an Academic is an active member in the Association pertinent to his field. The Association has an annual conference at which Husband often presents an academic paper. This year, if you recall, Husband was away in Boston for such an event when I went to see Nathan and Julie Gunn at Zankel Hall. That was mid-April.
Well. In 2009 the conference is in Las Vegas. I've never been, and truthfully the idea of all that... that... stuff out there in the middle of the dessert, all revolving around money, makes me a little queasy. On the other hand, as a purely sociological experience, (ok and for the food), I wouldn't turn down a trip there. So last year when Husband learned that the next conference would be in Las Vegas, we talked about Alex and me joining him.
So what's my point? Because there is one. Oh yeah. Guess when the conference is in 2009? Go ahead, guess. April again? Oh no. Not April. Guess again. That's right. It's in March. March 22 - 28. Yep.
So there goes Las Vegas for me. La Sonnambula is pretty much sold out unless I'm willing to peer around a pillar to watch from a spot very close to the ceiling of the Met near other desperate fans who waited too long to get tickets and were willing to risk whiplash and eye strain just to be in the same very large room as their favorite singers, and as appealing as all that sounds, I think I'd rather sit in a seat with my own sense of personal space. (**The previous sentence gets an award for being the longest sentence ever here on the blog.**) And we're talking Juan Diego Florez and Natalie Dessay. Again. And Bellini. But... Husband is going to Vegas... his airfare is paid for... as is his room... and now I'll need to find someone to watch Alex and pickings are getting slimmer and slimmer on that front. So.
Do I try to get tickets for another night and go with Husband to LV? Or do I try to find a babysitter and stay home?
Let's think about this. Taking a 4 year old to Las Vegas... They must have family-oriented things there. I don't think we'd plunk him down in front of a slot machine with a roll of nickles, although I bet he'd like that for about 5 minutes. Hey, that's 2 minutes longer than he usually sits still. Hmm... ok, no. So the casinos would be out. Doing anything after 8 or 9 at the latest would be out due to bedtime. So the ideal situation would be, get tickets for a different night, find someone to watch Alex for the week and go alone with Husband to LV. As if.
Well, I suppose that if you have to have complications in life, they might as well be this kind - annoying and inconvenient but not unpleasant.
And now, as usual, I have a totally unrelated note. However, I can't comment on it at all. This totally unrelated note is unrelated to the other thing I couldn't comment on a few posts back. But to be annoyingly cryptic, I will say that I have made some indirect communication in a direction to make a small change in something that in no way at all affects my life, or anyone else's, for that matter, except in an amusing and perhaps charming way.
Voice lessons resume on Thursday. What a relief. Here's hoping I can reproduce the sound I've been working on since my vocal revelation last month.
ps Spell Check wants to change "Sonnambula" to "snowmobile."
Friday, August 22, 2008
Ticketed
The tickets for the live HD transmissions from the Met went on sale today. I bought a pair of tickets for two performances - Lucia with Anna Netrebko in Feb and La Cenerentola in May. That spreads my opera out quite nicely:
Oct 22- Lucia at the Met - Diana Damrau!!!
Feb 2 (I think)- Lucia in the movies - Anna Netrebko!!!
Feb - Die Fledermaus, either as a super or else as a paying customer
March 24 - La Sonnambula at the Met - Juan Diego Florez!!! Natalie Dessay!!!(AAAHHHH!!!!!!! Can't wait!!!)
May 9 - La Cenerentola in the movies - Larry Brownlee - Sorry, I mean, Lawrence. I don't know him so I can't call him Larry. (well not yet, ha ha)
Now... what to do... what to do... The Gunnster is starring in The Rape of Lucretia with the Opera Company of Philadelphia. It's in a tiny theater. Tickets are available now for subscribers. So I could pay $75 to subscribe and then $95 for a ticket... or... I could wait until December when they go on sale for the Rest of Us. The theater is so small that all the seats are probably pretty good, but... 3rd or 4th row sure would be nice. On the other hand, do I want to see an opera that involves a rape and the ensuing emotional breakdown of the victim? And do I want to pay an extra $75 to guarantee that discomfort? Yeap. I think I'll wait until December, when I will then kick myself for not shelling out the extra money to get a ticket now.
Dayum, why is opera so friggin' expensive?
Ok. It's Friday. Cat pic time.
OHMYGOD what happened to the cat????
Ok that is so not a cat. It's my friend's dog Bear!! Bear-Bear, what are you doing in my house????
Let's try again:
Oct 22- Lucia at the Met - Diana Damrau!!!
Feb 2 (I think)- Lucia in the movies - Anna Netrebko!!!
Feb - Die Fledermaus, either as a super or else as a paying customer
March 24 - La Sonnambula at the Met - Juan Diego Florez!!! Natalie Dessay!!!(AAAHHHH!!!!!!! Can't wait!!!)
May 9 - La Cenerentola in the movies - Larry Brownlee - Sorry, I mean, Lawrence. I don't know him so I can't call him Larry. (well not yet, ha ha)
Now... what to do... what to do... The Gunnster is starring in The Rape of Lucretia with the Opera Company of Philadelphia. It's in a tiny theater. Tickets are available now for subscribers. So I could pay $75 to subscribe and then $95 for a ticket... or... I could wait until December when they go on sale for the Rest of Us. The theater is so small that all the seats are probably pretty good, but... 3rd or 4th row sure would be nice. On the other hand, do I want to see an opera that involves a rape and the ensuing emotional breakdown of the victim? And do I want to pay an extra $75 to guarantee that discomfort? Yeap. I think I'll wait until December, when I will then kick myself for not shelling out the extra money to get a ticket now.
Dayum, why is opera so friggin' expensive?
Ok. It's Friday. Cat pic time.
OHMYGOD what happened to the cat????
Ok that is so not a cat. It's my friend's dog Bear!! Bear-Bear, what are you doing in my house????
Let's try again:
Nope. They're not allowed on the table. Right.
Finally, I will end the post by embedding the video to which the comments here refer. Enjoy!
Finally, I will end the post by embedding the video to which the comments here refer. Enjoy!
Sunday, August 17, 2008
Waiting 2 Hours to Spend $200
Something's not right if I have to wait almost two hours to give $200 to a theater in exchange for two, yes two, tickets to a performance. Yet that's exactly what happened to me today. Husband joked that I was trying to get tickets to a rock concert.
Single tickets for the Met's 2008-2009 season went on sale today at noon. I was poised at the computer at 11:59, ready to click through and be done by 12:10. HA! I clicked through right away and decided to try for a few different days just to see what seats I'd get. Well the only way to do that is to put the tickets in your online shopping cart. Suddenly I had tickets for 6 different performances of the same opera, totaling over $1000, in my cart. So then I had to remove the ones I didn't want. But do they have boxes where you can check off several lines and take care of this in one click? Oh no. Each ticket has to be removed individually. So here's the catch:
The tickets are held for about 12 minutes.
The server was so busy that it was taking about 10 minutes to click through one link.
So by the time I got rid of the tickets I didn't want, the tickets I did want had been released from the cart. So I did it again, but this time I chose only 1 night. Great, got the seats I was going for. Got through to the transaction page. Clicked. Waited... waited... finally ... OOPS I had forgotten to check off "mail them to me" so I had to do that and then click again. Finally got to the next page... so far so good. Entered my credit card info. Hit submit. Oops! Sorry! Too much time had elapsed, the tickets had been released.
Meanwhile, in between opening a multitude of browser windows and PDF documents of the various seating levels, I'd also been trying to call. And trying. And getting a busy signal, or even more disappointing, a recording: "This party is not accepting additional calls at this time." How many incoming calls have to get busy signals before the phone company refuses to send your call that far? I couldn't even get to the place where the busy signals live! After getting and losing the online tickets two more times due to the slowness of the server, I gave up and went outside. Ok that's not entirely true. I mean, I did go outside, but I brought the phone with me. And suddenly... I got through! The recording said there was a 10-20 minute wait. Well I was waiting. No way was I going to keep losing my online tickets because their server couldn't keep up with the demand now that I had a chance to talk to a human. Of course I went back to the computer to try again while I was on hold, and I did manage to once again get the very same tickets I had tried to purchase several times already. Then a real live person came on the line!! She said that they have the exact same ticket finding program as what we have online, and that calling can't get me better tickets (which we know isn't true, see here for details) but I wasn't going to argue - I just wanted the two tickets I'd been trying repeatedly to buy. Of course, she couldn't get them for me because... they were in my shopping cart online! So she told me to click "remove" and at that moment she'd try again to see if she could get those seats. It worked! We chatted a little (no wonder I had trouble getting through, if the phone people were chatting with all the callers) and she said that she also has the time limit on the tickets, so we did the transaction. Hooray!
So... my voice teacher and I are going to see La Sonnambula on Tuesday, March 24 at 8pm, Dress Circle, Row C, seats... um... I think 24 and 26 or else 26 and 28. There's no email transaction and I was so excited to finally be getting the tickets that I didn't write it down. The tickets were $100 each plus the various fees and taxes.
Whoo hoo! I'm seeing Juan Diego Florez and Natalie Dessay again!
Single tickets for the Met's 2008-2009 season went on sale today at noon. I was poised at the computer at 11:59, ready to click through and be done by 12:10. HA! I clicked through right away and decided to try for a few different days just to see what seats I'd get. Well the only way to do that is to put the tickets in your online shopping cart. Suddenly I had tickets for 6 different performances of the same opera, totaling over $1000, in my cart. So then I had to remove the ones I didn't want. But do they have boxes where you can check off several lines and take care of this in one click? Oh no. Each ticket has to be removed individually. So here's the catch:
The tickets are held for about 12 minutes.
The server was so busy that it was taking about 10 minutes to click through one link.
So by the time I got rid of the tickets I didn't want, the tickets I did want had been released from the cart. So I did it again, but this time I chose only 1 night. Great, got the seats I was going for. Got through to the transaction page. Clicked. Waited... waited... finally ... OOPS I had forgotten to check off "mail them to me" so I had to do that and then click again. Finally got to the next page... so far so good. Entered my credit card info. Hit submit. Oops! Sorry! Too much time had elapsed, the tickets had been released.
Meanwhile, in between opening a multitude of browser windows and PDF documents of the various seating levels, I'd also been trying to call. And trying. And getting a busy signal, or even more disappointing, a recording: "This party is not accepting additional calls at this time." How many incoming calls have to get busy signals before the phone company refuses to send your call that far? I couldn't even get to the place where the busy signals live! After getting and losing the online tickets two more times due to the slowness of the server, I gave up and went outside. Ok that's not entirely true. I mean, I did go outside, but I brought the phone with me. And suddenly... I got through! The recording said there was a 10-20 minute wait. Well I was waiting. No way was I going to keep losing my online tickets because their server couldn't keep up with the demand now that I had a chance to talk to a human. Of course I went back to the computer to try again while I was on hold, and I did manage to once again get the very same tickets I had tried to purchase several times already. Then a real live person came on the line!! She said that they have the exact same ticket finding program as what we have online, and that calling can't get me better tickets (which we know isn't true, see here for details) but I wasn't going to argue - I just wanted the two tickets I'd been trying repeatedly to buy. Of course, she couldn't get them for me because... they were in my shopping cart online! So she told me to click "remove" and at that moment she'd try again to see if she could get those seats. It worked! We chatted a little (no wonder I had trouble getting through, if the phone people were chatting with all the callers) and she said that she also has the time limit on the tickets, so we did the transaction. Hooray!
So... my voice teacher and I are going to see La Sonnambula on Tuesday, March 24 at 8pm, Dress Circle, Row C, seats... um... I think 24 and 26 or else 26 and 28. There's no email transaction and I was so excited to finally be getting the tickets that I didn't write it down. The tickets were $100 each plus the various fees and taxes.
Whoo hoo! I'm seeing Juan Diego Florez and Natalie Dessay again!
Thursday, June 5, 2008
The Older, The Louder
The studio class was tonight. What fun! The anon poster on my other entry was right - everyone was so supportive and nice. Of course I had more in common with the parents...
The students were ages 12, 13, 17, 18 and me, 41. One of the mothers was younger than me. All the parents thought I was a college student.
We drew numbers for the order and I got to go first. That was fine with me, I was going to volunteer to anyway.
So here I am explaining my character, her background, her motivation, her feelings and so on. Interestingly, I was also the only one who described the character without using that "upspeak" questiony voice. Obviously I've had a lot more practice speaking in public - and not just because of my advanced age - I was a teacher before I had Alex. Explain something to a group of people? No problem.
And here I am singing. Do I look like I'm so distraught that I want to die? Um... that's in the music, it's not how I felt about my performance.
So I sang through it once, then my teacher came up and said that by holding my arms up like that I was lifting the breath from down deep where it needed to be. She had me really press my hands towards the floor and WOW what a difference! Like, an immediate improvement. It was unbelievable. We went over a few other bits and bars of music and then I sang through it again. Well I tried to but the first time I dissolved into giggles and had to start over. And I know why - I could hear the improvement and sometimes I get so astonished that I'm able to produce a pretty sound that I just start laughing. But then I managed to sing it pretty well, I thought. (although not as well as I can do it home alone of course...) I wasn't as unhappy with my performance as I was after the eval. Everyone applauded, which was really nice. They all commented on the instant improvement.
After me, the kids sang. Their biggest obstacle is their lack of self-confidence and their concern with what others are thinking about them. That bled into their singing and caused them to be timid and flat. By flat I don't mean the notes, I mean the affect or demeanor. So with them after they sang their piece, the teacher worked on drawing more emotion of out them so they could better convey what the character was feeling. Two of the students did it pretty well - the 12 year old and the one boy who I think was 17. The 13 year old was tall and gorgeous with a beautiful figure that she was obviously ashamed of because, well, she's 13. She tended to slouch and was sooo quiet. Once she relaxed and stopped giggling she produced some really beautiful sounds. She has a lot of potential once she gets older. Afterwards I told her that I often giggle uncontrollably during lessons and sometimes have to raise the music stand so I don't see the teacher's face, just so she knows she's not the only one. The age/confidence factor definitely made a difference - I sang the loudest and I threw myself into the character. My teacher gave me advice on technique only, while she focused on meaning and emotion with everyone else.
Afterwards we had some snacks and then I had to make a choice: In one corner, the students sat together chatting... in the other, the parents. Of course I ended up with the parents. After everyone else left (they had homework!!!) I stayed behind to help clean up and chat with my teacher. We decided that we will go see La Sonnambula together at the Met next season so I'll be getting tickets when they go on sale to the public.
I have two lessons left, both make-up lessons. One is Saturday the 21st, the other is as of yet unscheduled. My homework is to translate that French aria the Evaluators recommended. I wonder where I put it...
Until then... Alex turns 4 tomorrow!!! And rehearsals for La Traviata start next week. I guess eventually someone will let me know when and where...
The students were ages 12, 13, 17, 18 and me, 41. One of the mothers was younger than me. All the parents thought I was a college student.
We drew numbers for the order and I got to go first. That was fine with me, I was going to volunteer to anyway.
So here I am explaining my character, her background, her motivation, her feelings and so on. Interestingly, I was also the only one who described the character without using that "upspeak" questiony voice. Obviously I've had a lot more practice speaking in public - and not just because of my advanced age - I was a teacher before I had Alex. Explain something to a group of people? No problem.
And here I am singing. Do I look like I'm so distraught that I want to die? Um... that's in the music, it's not how I felt about my performance.
So I sang through it once, then my teacher came up and said that by holding my arms up like that I was lifting the breath from down deep where it needed to be. She had me really press my hands towards the floor and WOW what a difference! Like, an immediate improvement. It was unbelievable. We went over a few other bits and bars of music and then I sang through it again. Well I tried to but the first time I dissolved into giggles and had to start over. And I know why - I could hear the improvement and sometimes I get so astonished that I'm able to produce a pretty sound that I just start laughing. But then I managed to sing it pretty well, I thought. (although not as well as I can do it home alone of course...) I wasn't as unhappy with my performance as I was after the eval. Everyone applauded, which was really nice. They all commented on the instant improvement.
After me, the kids sang. Their biggest obstacle is their lack of self-confidence and their concern with what others are thinking about them. That bled into their singing and caused them to be timid and flat. By flat I don't mean the notes, I mean the affect or demeanor. So with them after they sang their piece, the teacher worked on drawing more emotion of out them so they could better convey what the character was feeling. Two of the students did it pretty well - the 12 year old and the one boy who I think was 17. The 13 year old was tall and gorgeous with a beautiful figure that she was obviously ashamed of because, well, she's 13. She tended to slouch and was sooo quiet. Once she relaxed and stopped giggling she produced some really beautiful sounds. She has a lot of potential once she gets older. Afterwards I told her that I often giggle uncontrollably during lessons and sometimes have to raise the music stand so I don't see the teacher's face, just so she knows she's not the only one. The age/confidence factor definitely made a difference - I sang the loudest and I threw myself into the character. My teacher gave me advice on technique only, while she focused on meaning and emotion with everyone else.
Afterwards we had some snacks and then I had to make a choice: In one corner, the students sat together chatting... in the other, the parents. Of course I ended up with the parents. After everyone else left (they had homework!!!) I stayed behind to help clean up and chat with my teacher. We decided that we will go see La Sonnambula together at the Met next season so I'll be getting tickets when they go on sale to the public.
I have two lessons left, both make-up lessons. One is Saturday the 21st, the other is as of yet unscheduled. My homework is to translate that French aria the Evaluators recommended. I wonder where I put it...
Until then... Alex turns 4 tomorrow!!! And rehearsals for La Traviata start next week. I guess eventually someone will let me know when and where...
Friday, May 2, 2008
Where I'm Not
It's 7:35 Eastern Time. I'm home. I'm not sitting in Row DD, Orchestra Rear, listening to the orchestra tune up. That's happening right now. At this moment. As I type. I am here and they are all there. It's weird, but it's ok.
Still planning on La Sonnambula next season. Mentioned it to my voice teacher and she'd like to go too. So I might not be going alone!
Listened to an interview with JDF and Natalie Dessay. He mentioned that he'll be doing Pearl Fishers in the future. Hmm another potential pairing with the Gunnster as he often does the bari part. I wonder where... (checking my frequent flyer miles...)
Still planning on La Sonnambula next season. Mentioned it to my voice teacher and she'd like to go too. So I might not be going alone!
Listened to an interview with JDF and Natalie Dessay. He mentioned that he'll be doing Pearl Fishers in the future. Hmm another potential pairing with the Gunnster as he often does the bari part. I wonder where... (checking my frequent flyer miles...)
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Sad to let go...
...but happy not to travel 90 minutes each way to NYC, get home after 1am, considering that I will be getting up at 7, taking Alex to music class at 9 and then heading to a birthday party over 2 hours away... And now I can apply the money toward seeing La Sonnambula next season without guilt.
US $150.00
Auction ended early with Buy It Now.
Oh, did I mention I listed the Fri night ticket on Ebay?
US $150.00
Auction ended early with Buy It Now.
Oh, did I mention I listed the Fri night ticket on Ebay?
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
The Future
I just checked the upcoming Met schedule here: http://http://www.metmaniac.com/future.html and can now plan my future...
For 2008-2009, I'll be seeing La Sonnambula, with Natalie Dessay and Juan Diego Florez, possibly Don Giovanni, and whatever Denise "drags" me to with her class.
I think anyone going to that list can guess what else I'm planning on getting tickets for.
Nathan Gunn's not listed there but that doesn't mean he won't be in anything there next year. Just have to wait for the official schedule.
For 2008-2009, I'll be seeing La Sonnambula, with Natalie Dessay and Juan Diego Florez, possibly Don Giovanni, and whatever Denise "drags" me to with her class.
I think anyone going to that list can guess what else I'm planning on getting tickets for.
Nathan Gunn's not listed there but that doesn't mean he won't be in anything there next year. Just have to wait for the official schedule.
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