To see, or not to see. That's not even a question.

The Washington National Opera is presenting its final performance of the 2009/10 season. I very enthusiastically present the Top Ten Reasons to get thee to the KC for Ambroise Thomas’ Hamlet:

10) The entrance of the chorus and its genius placement in the opening scene is stunning. The voices literally surround you.

9) Despite the wobble, Sam Ramey still has a stage presence to be reckoned with. The wobble seems to fit in with the characterization of Claudius that it becomes unnoticeable after a bit.

8) This is one of the few (maybe even the only) operas featuring a saxophone. In addition, the orchestra as a whole sounded in tip-top shape. Major shout out to the horns and brass section for some excellent work.

7) The women’s costumes are beautiful and fit well into the stage concept. I loved the black overcoat over bright red dress that Gertrude wore at Ophelie’s gravesite

6) It’s Shakespeare + French grand opera. That to me is a winning combination.

5) American baritone Michael Chioldi is damn good looking as Hamlet. Bonus points: he’s not a whiny tenor. Triple extra bonus points for a solid interpretation.

4) The confrontation scene between Hamlet and Gertrude is intense stagecraft at its best. Both characters give such emotional depth with solid vocal drama. It’s probably one of the most intense scenes I’ve experienced since Act III Scene II from the Met’s Otello in 2008, which says a lot because that scene in Otello is my favorite operatic scene ever!

3) Betsy Bishop sings the hell out of Gertrude! That’s all you need to know about that. Except for this point - if it weren’t for the mad scene, Bishop would’ve been the star of the show for me.

2) Elizabeth Futral is crazy good in Ophelie’s mad scene, which, without giving anything away, is staged brilliantly!

And the number one reason to see Washington National Opera’s production of Thomas’ Hamlet (drum roll please……)

1) Setting aside my bias for Ariadne and discounting Gotterdammerung, which wasn’t technically a fully staged production, Hamlet is the most vocally and stylistically exciting production WNO has staged since last season’s Peter Grimes. The production is smart, edgy, fresh, fierce, enthralling and intense! Enough adjectives for you? The entire cast was vocally and dramatically excellent and thoroughly involved in the forward movement of the drama.

If you’re in DC, get over to the Kennedy Center to see this opera. Despite earlier casting woes, WNO has pulled together a solid group of singers. Don’t ask yourself “to see or not to see.” Do yourself a favor and just go. You might see me back for a round two viewing.

www.dc-opera.org for ticket info
Photos courtesy K. Cooper for WNO

Best of intentions blah blah blah

I give this excuse so many times. "I really did have the best of intentions to post about what's been going on, but I've been soooooo busy....."

It's true, but that's no excuse. I just need to make the time and get you all up to speed. Here are a few tidbits to entice you for now and hold you over:

I went to NYC the 1st of August and saw probably one of the best plays in my life with two of the best performances given by two equally powerful and strong women. I'm going back this weekend to watch the final show of Mary Stuart.

I'm embarking on a do-it-myself project mosaic-ing (is that a word?) a coffee table. It's been a journey and I don't think I'll actually mosaic it after all.

I start an internship tomorrow. I get to promote opera! I mean, I've already unofficially been doing that since I became a fan of opera, but now I get to do it for reals! Ahhhh. I'm so jazzed! Er make that, I'm so opera'ed!!! Just to set the record straight, it's an internship, not a job.

Julie/Julia is probably one of the best feel-good, make-you-happy movies I've seen in a really long time.

Mel is off on her 11 month mission trip all across the world. DC just got a little less awesome.

La Boheme at Wolf Trap with Jackie was super awesome. I didn't expect to hear singing that good. I mean, we're talking good!

Plans are in the works for a trip to NYC over Labor Day for a little US Open action.

I really do hope to be able to expand upon some of these tomorrow evening.

No Words

Renee sang. I listened. It was Ah-MAZING!!

Too much excitement to process tonight.

A semi-huge freak out!

I live in DC.
I enjoy opera.
I love Renee Fleming (duh!).
Renee Fleming is coming to DC in November to sing an opera.

How perfect is that? Just a few metro stops from my house is Renee Fleming instead of a 3 hour train ride to New York. I want tickets in a really bad way.

So my new opera buddy and I have been planning out our opera season for 08/09. We have two options: a full season subscription of seven operas (I can live without seeing three of them) or a mini-subscription. Mini-subscription all the way! But the people at the KC are geniuses and block off all of RF's peformances unless we get a minimum of five operas. Okay, fine whatever. Sign me up. So opera buddy waits on the phone for a really long time to sign us up for the mini-sub. Like ten hours later (maybe 45 minutes) she makes it through only to be told that renewing mini-subers can only place their orders at this time and new comers have to wait until a future unnamed date.

Excuse me?!!!! You don't understand. I HAVE to see RF in Lucrezia Borgia!!! I've missed too much already to miss this. So Lord only knows how many tickets are left to the four peformances in November and please remember that RF is kind of a super big deal and I'm a really big fan! REALLY BIG!!!

So now I wait. Impatiently. If I miss Renee, then I'm going postal on someone. Ah, breath Chelsea... There's alway Thais in December...

/end semi-huge freak out.

With that out of my system, I hope to get caught up on the last two exciting weeks of my life. Stay tuned. I'll definitely let you know when I get my Renee tickets. Because it's when, not if.

To see, or not to see? I stopped asking the question.

I live about two blocks away from the Folger Shakespeare Library. I walk past it to and from work everyday. There has been a banner above the theatre entrance announcing the run of Macbeth. For whatever reason, Macbeth has been my favorite of Shakespeare’s tragedies and I thought it would be cool to see it. A review appeared in Roll Call, a hill rag that we get at work, raving the awesomeness of this production. Teller, the magician from the famous Penn and Teller duo was a co-conceiver and designer and the magic designer for this production. The run was completely sold out from the onset and it was extended an extra week even before it began back in February. If you didn’t have tickets from the get go, the only way to get in was standing room. So pretty much, this was the play to be seeing.

I told myself so many times that I would find a friend to see it and wait in line for tickets. I’d done it before on a much larger scale (see “Standing in line because we’re awesome” or “Root, root, root for the home team”) and it’s Macbeth! And Teller! And it’s two blocks from my house! But I never went. But I always wanted to.

The last week of the run finally came. I decided I was going to go. And here’s how it needed to work out. Usually the performance was at 7:00 or 7:30 and the box office opened an hour before to purchase the standing room tickets. People lined up at least a half hour prior to that. There isn’t a show on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday were booked for receptions and Wednesday soon went that way as well. Friday I was planning on heading to Quantico to visit Sam and the godson (more on that later) which left only Sunday. I got back into town around 1:30 and decided I was going. That’s it, I’m doing it. So I did.

I left my house right before 5:00 to and sat on the marble staircase – number 4 in line. I chatted with the others for a few minutes, but it was mostly just awkward silence. I wanted to listen to my music, but I thought that would be rude in case someone actually did want to talk. The box office opened, I got my ticket, and I went home. I would be in standing room so I wasn’t going to stand around needlessly for an hour when I could go home and grab a quick dinner and sit for a moment.

The theatre was pretty awesome. It’s all old looking with huge wood pillars and plush red seats. It’s a small, very quaint theatre and the view was pretty good.

I don’t think the reviews did it justice. Don't get me wrong, the reviews for it were awesome, but it was even better than that. Macbeth was pretty much Ah-MAZING!!! It was non-stop action from the start. The set was awesome, the choreography so realistic, the magical elements extraordinary and the acting exquisite. It was so dark, and truly realistic. You couldn’t help but cringe or look away when someone was being stabbed.

Since the theatre is pretty small, the actors utilize every bit of it, including the aisle ways. I don’t remember the character, but he was like a drunken idiot who passed on some info to Macbeth’s people. Anywho, he totally interacted with the crowd. Asked us some knock, knock jokes. I know you’re asking how that fits into Macbeth, but believe me, it works. It continued from there, and let’s just say it ended with one of the ladies in the audience rubbing his bum. Now aren’t you wishing you were there?!!

I really can’t put into words how exciting and awesome this production was. I’m just so glad I finally made my way over to see it. Here’s a link to a review for a brief interview with Teller: http://www.folger.edu/pr_preview.cfm?prid=212&is_archived=0

Rigoletto at the Kennedy Center (3/27)

Torrey knows a friend – I use the word ‘knows’ loosely because he can’t remember who the person is or how he knows them – who works at the Kennedy Center. The friend works specifically for the Washington National Opera as the Manager of External Relations. Once politics is out of my system, it is my dream to utilize my public relations degree and work for an opera company/house doing PR in some shape or form. So this person is already cool in my book. This friend invited him and a guest to an event that was being headlined by a former secretary of Veteran’s Affairs. After that, guests were invited to stick around and watch the dress rehearsal of Verdi’s Rigoletto starring Joseph Calleja. I’m still unsure what the event was for/about and why it was at the Kennedy Center. But I love opera and veterans so I’m not complaining.

We arrive late because Torrey couldn’t get off work, but that gave me some time to switch out of jeans and into more respectable attire so I didn’t complain. We get to the KC and make it up to the event. Torrey’s first question to me is “where is the bar?” He's got his priorities in order. :) We step into the room where the event was taking place and some dude was speaking about the KC and how cool opera is and how these are exciting times. Then, he mentions Placido Domingo. Even if you don’t love opera, you should know who Placido Domingo is. Geeze! He’s one of the three tenors! Come on people! :) So I hear Domingo’s name (he’s the general director of the WNO) and my eyes start darting across the room in search of the famous tenor. Could this be? Him? Here? Is he going to speak? No way! Well, just no. I got my hopes up. But the ex-secretary of the VA got up and spoke.

About fifteen minutes into the speech, Torrey leans in and says, “Gee, I love listening to myself speak as much as anyone else, but this is ridiculous.” We stepped outside so he could smoke a cig and then headed back in to grab a quick cocktail and dinner roll, picked up our tickets, and headed to the opera hall.

This was only my second live opera, the first being Otello at the Met with my fave Renee Fleming, so I was looking forward to the evening. I had heard good things about Rigoletto, but didn’t have time to familiarize myself with the plot or music. But it’s Verdi and I love Verdi who also composed Otello and another favorite La Traviata. The KC opera house was a lot smaller than the Met, but I think it added intimacy and closeness to the performance.

Here’s the gist of the opera as posted on the WNO’s website: “As the libertine Duke of Mantua’s jaded jester, Rigoletto is known for sparing no one his biting and often vicious sarcasm. But when courtiers abduct Rigoletto’s beloved daughter, Gilda, for the Duke’s enjoyment, a curse and misdirected revenge bring tragedy and are Rigoletto’s undoing.” So the courtiers thought that Gilda was Rig’s ‘lady friend’ and not daughter. Rigoletto hired some dude to off the Duke out of revenge. Gilda doesn’t want the Duke to die, so dressed as a man, she takes the place of the Duke and is stabbed and eventually dies in the arms of her dad. Rediculous? Yes. Melodramatic? Of course! Amazingly awesome? You bet!!

The opera was Ah-MAZING! Joseph Calleja is pretty darn hot and sang extremely well as the Duke. Andrea Silverstrelli was the dude hired to kill the Duke. I was totally captivated by this Italian bass. It was a very interesting and unique voice with so much power behind it. I was also pleasantly surprised because I had heard two of the songs and never knew they came from this opera – “Caro Nome” and “La Donna e mobile” (many of you have probably heard La donna e mobile before – google it). The sets were huge, but conveyed well the various locals.

The performance was a dress rehearsal and it was fully staged and the singers were fully costumed. The only major thing that might be different in a dress rehearsal as opposed to the real deal is that some of the singers might choose to cover. This just means that they don’t sing full voiced to save up for the opening night. In some instances, the orchestration might overpower the singer making them a little more difficult to hear. I think I only picked up on this a few times, mostly from the soprano who sang Gilda, and I think Rigoletto and the Duke. But I’m no expert so who really knows?

Well, my second opera experience was most enjoyable. The small crowd, including myself thoroughly enjoyed it. I think Torrey had a good time too. He left the house whistling the tune for La Donna and was mesmerized by the enormity and awesomeness of the stage settings. Maybe I have a convert who can join me at future productions. Handel’s Tamerlano is up next with Placido Domingo.

A double dose of Jesus

There aren't many people who I'll get out of bed for before six o'clock. Jesus is one of the few.

We decided that sunrise services on the Lincoln Memorial would be pretty awesome, so despite the ghastly hour, the roommates plus two stumbled out of the apartment at 5:30 to claim our seats at the feet of Lincoln. We were pretty early, but it was amazing how many people came for the event. The choir was amazing, the service was great, and the view was spectacular. Totally worth getting out of bed at 5:00 for. I'll just let the pictures do the talking.

The roomies plus two: Trey, Mel, Laura, Me, Tara, Sarah

Pretty much Ah-MAZING

We came home, made pancakes and chilled the rest of the day. Mel, Trey and I went to the National Cathedral around 5:00 for their Easter Services. The choir was seriously heaven on earth – literally brought tears to my eyes. The service was a bit liturgical for my tastes, but I certainly appreciated the tradition and awesomeness of what was being presented.

Quite a long day, but a double dose of Jesus is well worth it! Mel and I had planned on dying eggs, but we only got as far as boiling them. Maybe next year or some random day when we have egg-stra eggs. (haha I made a pun!)

Ladies and Gentlemen!

The moment you've all been waiting for! Well, probably only me. But after almost a month of waiting (wow! can't believe it's almost been a month), I have finally received....wait for it, wait for it....drum roll please......

My picture with super awesome and extremely Ah-MAZING American Soprano RENEE FLEMING!!!! (she's on the right:)

This was in the green room right after her Ah-MAZING and emotional performance in Otello. Renee (we're totally bff now. okay, not really, but I like to think so) was so gracious and super nice to Sam (CN Sam) and me. I probs freaked her out because I was super excited to meet and talk to her. I was totally shaking and I'm sure she felt my shakes when I took the pic with her. I hope to be able to meet her again. Gosh, I was just so awestruck when I met her I don't think my sentences were intelligible at all. She's super Ah-MAZING!!! And sooooooo nice.

I still don't believe that I actually met Renee Fleming. Don't believe it at all... Renee Fleming! Chelsea. The same room. Unbelievable......

A (glorious Renee-filled) Night At The Opera

I sat, eyes transfixed on the famous gold curtain that would soon reveal a masterpiece composed by Verdi. When the curtains were pulled back, what unfolded in front of me was three hours of love, deceit, betrayal, and death, which all add up to a most enjoyable evening.

Johan Botha was Otello, and a rather good one to my untrained ears. And then there was Renee Fleming. I needn’t go into detail on how much I respect this woman’s artistic talent or how much she just blows me away with that voice. When she stepped out onto the stage as Desdemona for the love duet “Giá nella notte densa” with Botha, I had to dab away the tears.

In the opera, Otello’s ensign Iago is upset that he is not the captain and he really just hates Otello. So he plants a seed of deceit and lies in Otello’s head in order to destroy him. He convinces Otello that Desdemona is having an affair with his captain Cassio. Iago so convinces Otello of Desdemona’s infidelity that he vows to strangle her in the bed where she committed her sins. After doing so, he learns that Desdemona was in fact faithful to him all along, so he stabs himself. Cue curtain.

Renee was Ah-MAZING! Johan was excellent. The dude who played Iago was good. The duets were sublime, the chorus and orchestra top notch. It was just a magnificent evening.

A performance is excellent when you don’t think of the person who is playing the character. When your heart breaks for Desdemona instead of thinking that Renee is doing a great job as Desdemona, that’s when you’ve got a great performance on your hands. I just felt so bad that this woman who is totally in love with her husband is praying to the Virgin Mary (Ave Maria) at the hour of her death. When she cries out, “Ah! Emilia, Emilia, addio!” at the end of The Willow Song, you know she knows she’s done for. Renee captured Desdemona so well. She absolutely broke my heart in the final act. I utterly loathed Iago. He just oozes evil, and whoever played him totally rocked the evilness. I was sitting there the whole time wishing that something would cause his demise so that the rest of the town could continue on in peace and harmony. But then, that doesn’t make for good operatic drama. Botha was good. He’s not the best at dramatically collapsing, but the man can sing.

What I love about Otello (aside from everything) is that it contains some of the most beautiful music ever. You’ve got the love duet in the first act, Iago’s evil Credo in Act II, and the heart wrenching Willow Song and Ave Maria in the final act. I’m also just totally blown away by the ensemble pieces in the third act. It amazes me how well the voices intertwine; yet you can still hear Renee Fleming cry out above everyone else.

There you have it. My first live opera experience starring Renee Fleming. Damn! she’s good!!!

But wait! There's more...