Getting There Part 1 of 2

Thursday
(I wrote this on the train so the tense in this post reflects the action as it happened.)

This was a big weekend for me. I had purchased the opera tickets before I even secured my plane tickets to move out to DC. When I found out I was moving, I made up my mind that I was going to see Renee Fleming come hell or high water, regardless of the cost, and even if I had to go it alone. I called up my friend Sam (she was a roommate my sophomore year and a maker of good times) to tell her I was moving and planning a trip to New York. I told her my plans and said I was going to the opera regardless and if she wanted to join me that would be awesome. She said yes so I purchased two tickets in the Orchestra section, row X, seats 26 and 28. Pretty decent, I think. When I got to my new home in DC, the tickets were already waiting for me. Those people at the Met clearly don’t mess around.

This was all back in January, so it’s pretty much been the waiting game since. But the time has come. I spent last Monday schlepping through the mall to find something to wear. I nixed the idea of a dress. For starters, I wanted to be comfortable, and secondly, Lord only knows what the weather is going to be like. I don’t want to freeze my cheeks off and be miserable. So I found some fancy duds, found some pretty shoes, and I should be able to clean up pretty nicely.

I purchased my train ticket last week. I went back and forth on this. Didn’t know if I should go to Sam’s in CN first the night before or meet her in NY on Friday. I finally decided to go Thursday night and come back home on Sunday night. When I first started thinking out the travel itinerary, it was beginning to look like Planes, Trains, and Automobiles, but I settled for just the train.

As February 22nd approached, the anticipation was just eating away at me and this last week was so hard to get through. First of all, Renee Fleming is AWESOME! But I hadn’t seen Sam since the summer of ’06 so I’m pretty jazzed to spend the whole weekend with her.

Now I’m on the train – a five hour trek from DC to New Haven. I clearly was not paying attention when I chose my windowless seat. I’ve been on trains five times: four were on the Grand Canyon train from Williams and one was a twenty minute commuter train to the airport in Baltimore. So far, this has been a pleasant experience. No major turbulence. It does seem pretty safe and a lot less terrifying than a plane if you have issues with flying (I don’t). Really, when was the last time you’ve seen a train fall from the sky? My point exactly. The train is definitely not what I expected. I had pictured the individual rooms with beds that pull down, tiny bathrooms, and a crowded diner cart ala North by Northwest or Murder on the Orient Express.

I’m really looking forward to the opera tomorrow. It’s Verdi’s Otello, and from my understanding, it was either the last or second to last opera he wrote. It’s a pretty hefty opera in terms of what is demanded from the singers, and I won’t even pretend that I know what I’m talking about, but consider this: Placido Domingo has owned the roll of Otello for 20 years. Other tenors have tried but come up short to the standards set by Domingo. There’s mixed reviews for Johan Botha, and since I’m not musically trained, it probably won’t take much to impress me.

Now Renee Fleming, on the other hand, is a whole nother story. The last time she sang Desdemona at the Met was thirteen years ago and she sang the role just a few weeks after giving birth – a pretty remarkable fete in and of itself, but she totally rocked that performance, which makes it even that much more amazing. The critics are commenting on all the technical aspects relating to where her voice is and have just said that this role is well suited for the voice she’s bringing to the table these days. She’s in her prime, not only singing, but also acting phenomenally.

There is just something enchanting about Renee Fleming’s voice, almost heaven-like. There’s such a depth and feeling to her sound. I’ve listened to other accomplished singers, but hers is the one voice that completely appeals to me.

I think I’ve chosen a good opera with exceptional talent for my first operatic experience. Plus, it’s at the Met – the opera house of all opera houses. I cannot even convey in any knowable way how excited I am for this. I’ve checked my purse a million times to verify that I did in fact put the tickets in there. My worst fear was leaving the tickets behind while I take off on a train for Connecticut. But I do have them. I just checked to make sure.

So a five-hour train drive – I’ve got plenty of time to just babble on. There’s this lady that got on the train in DC and the first question she asked was, “When do we get to a point when I can smoke?” Amazing! She must have been jonesing for a cig pretty bad because she was the first person off the train when we got to New York.

I should be to New Haven soon and I can’t wait to see Sam. This should be good times for sure!