Song of the Evening Star

Like a portent of death, twilight shrouds the earth
And envelops the valley in its sable robe;
The soul, that yearns for those heights,
Dreads to take its dark and awful flight.

There you shine, o fairest of the stars,
And shed your gentle light from afar;
Your friendly beam penetrates the twilight gloom
And points the way out from the valley.

O my fair evening star,
I always gladly greeted thee:
From a heart that never betrayed its faith,
Greet her when she passes,
When she soars above this earthly valley
To become a blessed angel in Heaven

Richard Wagner - "O du mein holder Abendstern" from Tannhauser

I shed a tear, which is no surpise considering the emotional roller coaster I've been on the last few weeks so just about anything sad or sentimental or poignant has me weeping. But isn't the text just lovely? And just listen to the orchestration. Astounding that someone as hefty (vocally and physically) as Bryn Terfel can bring such a delicate balance to it. I might like to play this at my funeral.

Lett's see DC (and NY): My Little Town Blues are Melting Away

I brought my Mom back to DC with me after Christmas. We spent a few days gallivanting around the Nation's Capital before a quick trip to the Big Apple. I coaxed Mom into writing up her experience, and what you will get is a six part mini-series of the Mother Fish Out of Water. And let me tell you what, she was out of water! At some point along the series, I'll add my own brief recap of the events – you know two sides to every story. Part five of my Mom's six part mini-series of her trip to Washington, DC and NYC continues with our trip to New York City for speed sightseeing and an opera at the Met. This small town Mom has come a long way!

Ouch! My feet hurt! It didn't seem the blister pads wee doing their job. Rejuvenated by a shower and coffee, I prepared for the primary goal of my visit. The night before, I condensed into my backpack everything presumably necessary for a frenetic sight-seeing trip to New York City with a side of opera at the Met. We ate breakfast, added last night's left-overs and apples to our backpacks, and departed the warm house. Chelsea carried a compact umbrella and entrusted me with the community umbrella. It was very cold but not so bad once we got moving. We rode the Metro to where we would catch a bus for our ride to New York. We settled in, my anticipation growing. I probably should have tried to nap, but who knows if or when I will ever do something like this again? I watched the landscape looking for landmarks and place names I would recognize. It was so cool to see this for myself, to have my own perspective.

Chelsea and I ran through a list of sites to see, trying to prioritize for our time constraints. I knew we wouldn’t be able to see very many places. Top of the list was the Harley Davidson store to obtain the requisite souvenir t-shirt for John. Chelsea located one and upon arriving at Penn Station, we disembarked the bus and located a subway station where we could catch a train to whisk us to said HD shop. Chelsea's proficiency with the subway system and self-confidence put me somewhat at ease, though flashes in my mind of The Out of Towners occasionally gave me pause. We made it to the Harley shop and purchased shirts for John and me (not matching, though).

Needing to refuel and warm up, we found a Starbucks. We got hot drinks to have with the left-over quesadilla and apples. The quesadilla is still yummy. After eating, we shouldered our backpacks and headed back out into the masses of people. It was New Year's Day, for Pete's sake! Why weren't they all at home watching the Rose Parade? A few blocks later, I realized I left the umbrella at Starbucks. Since it was a community umbrella to begin with, it was serving its purpose. The next person to find it would hopefully pass on their good fortune of having been blessed with an umbrella.

We rode the subway back to the Time's Square area. We were to meet Sam (a college roommate of Chelsea's) and her mom, Daryl, there to make our way to our hotel. Chelsea and I wandered around. I liked the Target ads based on the Twelve Days of Christmas. The streets seemed pretty free of trash and confetti from the night before. I can't even imagine being among the crowd that amasses in Time Square for New Year's Eve. I was pretty overwhelmed by the hugeness of it all – the tall buildings, the number of people, and the busy-ness of everything. Sam and Daryl met us after doing some shopping. We walked to the hotel and checked in. We had a few minutes to rest, and then changed for dinner and the opera. My clothes didn't appear too wrinkled after being stuffed in the backpack all day. I wanted to make a good impression on Renee, after all! Biggest challenge? Putting on real shoes with my blisters! Thank goodness they were flats and we didn't have much walking tonight.

We found a little restaurant close to the hotel. I had an open-faced roast beef sandwich with spinach and Boursin cheese. Delicious. Bundled against the cold we walked a block or so to catch a cab to take us to the Metropolitan Opera. We climbed into the cab (not the Cash Cab) and were on our way. Though outwardly calm, I was getting very excited. Never, in all my day-dreaming, have I imagined doing anything like this. I think I need to expand the boundaries of my day-dreams.

Side story-Exactly 50 years ago my mom and her sister took a trip to New York City. They both left young families (5 kids for my mom, 3 kids for my aunt) in the charge of our Dads and various grandparents. Mom and Aunt Patty rode the train from Winslow, AZ to Battle Creek, MI, to meet their cousin Carolyn. They then rode the train to New York for a few days of sight-seeing. My mom's memories of what they saw are pretty vague, but she knows they had a good time. Heck, any amount of time away from that many kids is a good time!

Sam and Chelsea

Daryl and Susan

We arrived at the Met with me in total awe. The building is so beautiful and grand. We went inside and were met with even more splendor. The chandeliers in the expansive lobby were spectacular. It was hard to take it all in. We located our level and were directed to our seats. Chelsea showed me how the streaming translation worked on the back of the seat in front of me. I was nervous about liking the performance. I didn't want to disappoint her. After a few minutes the lights dimmed and a hush settled throughout the theatre. The music started, the curtain rose and we were underway. Though a little distracting to keep looking down at the seat for the translation, I was able to follow the performance with very little trouble.

Quickly, it seemed, Act I ended. I made it through not wanting to run from the theatre with my ears covered. A short intermission and we returned to our seats, ready for Act II. (HAHAHA that’s funny – the Met has never been known for short intermissions, but I suppose the excitement of it all made it seem to Mom that it was a quick intermission.) This portion dragged a little for me, but I didn't fall asleep. Again, I was surprised at how quickly the time passed. Another intermission and we wandered to the gift shop. Chelsea, Sam and I were admiring some ornaments made from chandeliers retired from the opera house. They were made of Swarovski crystals and so, so sparkly. One would make a fabulous addition to any Christmas tree. Sadly, they were definitely out of my price range. Back to our seats and Act III. This portion was quick-paced, funny and bitter-sweet. Before I knew it, the performance was over. Pretty amazing.

Chelsea's friend, Sarah, arranged a back-stage pass for us to meet Renee Fleming after the opera. Thank you, Sarah! We made our way downstairs, through hallways and corridors to finally arrive at the dressing rooms. We joined others waiting in line. Our turn came at last. Chelsea introduced us all. We expressed our appreciation for a stellar performance and she agreed to a picture with us. I was so honored to meet her. She seems most gracious and appreciative of her fans. She has a very powerful voice for such a petite person. I totally enjoyed the performance even though I'm not as passionate about it as Chelsea. It's a very impressive art form and I do appreciate that. We meandered back through the hallways and found our way outside. A short walk and we were able to hail a cab to take us back to the hotel. Rats – still not the Cash Cab. We arrived at our hotel and our previous plans for a nightcap quickly dissolved as exhaustion kicked in. Well, for me anyway. I think the others may have deferred to me. Hey, it was a long day. (I think we were all happy to hit those comfy beds at the Marriott.)

~ Susan

Renee Fleming, Chelsea, Daryl, Susan, Sam
I love how my mom and Renee color coordinated – they’re just cool like that.

Mom's first opera at the Met was Richard Strauss' der Rosenkavalier, an almost five-hour marathon of music, starring Renee Fleming as the Marschalin and Susan Graham as Octavian.

Taking Stock (and exposing my inner nerd)

***Warning*** ***My opera nerdiness is about to be exposed. You have been warned. ***

When I started going to operas almost two years ago, I began to keep a list of the operas I had seen. Since my outings to live performances were pretty infrequent but trips to my library's opera dvd/cd collection were not, I decided to keep track of all the operas I listened to as well. In order to make the cut, I had to have listened or watched the opera in its entirety (exception made for Puccini's Il Trittico, which is a series of three smaller operas). Today I decided to transfer my opera tracker from paper to excel spreadsheet. Here's what I have discovered:

• I have watched (live or dvd) or listened (cd or radio) to 52 different operas by 24 different composers.
• The composers that show up the most on my list are Verdi (8), Puccini (5 1/3*), Strauss (5), Massanet (5) and Wagner (3).
• I have been to 55 live performances of 26 different operas - nine of those were the Met's Live in HD simulcasts.
• Clearly I am a repeat offender when it comes to live performances - I see/hear something I like, I go back for more. Four seems to be the magic number. I've seen Donizetti's Lucrezia Borgia, Rossini's Barber of Seville, and Massanet's Thais four times each, and Strauss' der Rosenkavlier three times. But Strauss' Ariadne auf Naxos takes the cake with a whopping eight viewings** in a span of about four weeks.
• Adding the multiple live performances to audio and video recordings, it seems that Verdi is my go-to guy. He has 20 hits with Otello receiving six and La Traviata receiving five.
• Strauss clocks in at 17 with Ariadne at nine and der Rosenkavalier at five.
• Surprise, surprise! Renee Fleming is my diva of choice appearing on my tracker 40 times.
• The next closest competitor is my recent find, Swedish soprano Iréne Theorin, making 14 appearances live and recorded.
• Placido Domingo shows up 13 times both as conductor and tenor.
• The language breakdown: Italian-21, French-11, German-10, English-7, Russian-2, Czech-1

Final thoughts: Kurt Weill's Threepenny Opera seems to be the most obscure on my list and I'm surprised I don't have more Mozart on there. I would like to explore more Russian and Czech opera. I had attended a recital in the fall that featured some wonderful music from Russlan and Ludmilla and War and Peace (both Russian) that sounded really awesome. I'd also like to give Katya Kabanova and The Makropoulos Affair (both Czech) a shot. Don't ask me to monetarily add it all up. I probably could have purchased a new car by now. And in case you were wondering, Verdi's Otello was my first in house live opera.

* 1/3 = Suor Angelica from Puccini's three mini opera series Il Trittico
** I can't believe I just admitted out loud to seeing Ariadne eight times. I feel like I need support group or something.

Gott Wagner?

I'm coming out of blogger hiatus for a quick post. I should be packing for my flight to California that leaves in 5 hours and catching some sleep, but I'm on too much of a high to focus on that.

This evening I spent five glorious hours at the opera house. I know what you're thinking, "who puts five hours at the opera house and glorious in the same sentence?" I do...after hearing Washington National Opera's concert performance of Richard Wagner's Götterdämmerung. The concertized opera featured Swedish soprano Iréne Theorin as Brünnhilde (whom I mildly have a girl crush on, but that's a story for another day), American tenor Jon Fredric West as Siegfried, Israeli bass-baritone Gidon Saks as Hagen, and American baritone Gordon Hawkins (sporting a cam-walker boot and cane) as Alberich. They were all STELLAR! as was the orchestra led by Philippe Auguin.

This was my first foray into Wagner. A couple months ago, I would have told you it would take me years before I even considered listening to one of his operas. They're long, intense, and if the music doesn't hit you right, it can seem too harsh to really enjoy. But things just fell into place and I actually was excited to attend the performance. Obviously for me the main draw was Theorin. I'm normally not drawn to dramatic or heavier voices, but something just clicked for me while I've watched her performances in Strauss' Ariadne auf Naxos. It was a voice I wanted to hear more of, and since I had seen Ariadne seven times, I needed something different. And Wagner was my only option. I also had a chance to speak to one of WNO's stage managers who had grown up listening to the Ring. It was something that she totally "got" and I don't know how she did it, but she was able to convey that to me in a way that really piqued my interest.

Aside from knowing the basic synopsis, I really had no idea what to expect, but I did know that Götterdämmerung was the conclusion of Wagner's four part Der Ring des Nibelungen, an epic saga very similar to Tolkien's Lord of the Rings. So here's the gist, Brünnhilde and Siegfried are married, and as a token of his love, Siegfried has given the powerful ring to Brünnhilde. Well Hagen wants that ring. So he crafts a plan to have Gutrune slip Siegfried a potion that will make him fall in love with her. Then Siegfried will woo Brünnhilde on behalf of Gunther and Hagen will then try and snag the ring. As in most cases, things don't go as planned. For one, Brünnhilde is a feisty and skeptical broad and doesn't buy in to the whole thing. Words are exchanged and Siegfried is eventually killed by Hagen. Brünnhilde finds out that Siegfried was given a potion and realizes that he really did love her. So she gets the ring back and jumps into Siegfried's funeral pyre with her magical flying horse. They are reunited in death, the ring is given back to the Rhinemaidens and all is good. End scene!

So the music. It really is intense, but in a good way. It's hard not to get swept up in it. The music tells a story and it's so very visual. I don't know if that makes sense, but it really paints a picture. Different themes (or lietmotifs) are used for the different characters, and it's really cool to be able to recognize that and pick out the lietmotifs that go with the characters. Wagner was certainly a genius when it came to composing. And maestro Auguin had a great command of WNO's orchestra. I normally can't tell the difference between good and great, but these guys were on their game tonight.

Oh and the singers!!! They have this beautiful music dripping with such dramatic intensity from start to finish and they just sing the holy hell out of it. There were some areas that lulled in comparison to others, but I was just so captivated by what these artists were giving me. The entire cast gave a great performance. Standouts were Gidon as Hagen and Gordon as Alberich. I also enjoyed Bernadette Flaitz as Gutrune (though she looks a little tense on stage)and Betsy Bishop as Waltraute (girl can strut in her fabulous red gown!).

And Iréne!!! My God the woman can belt! I thought she was great in Ariadne, but she totally kicks ass as Brünnhilde. She has such command of the role and she completely lets loose on those notes. She's loud, but in control. It's never an abrasive or unattractive sound - just a really loud, powerful, intense quality. She was absolutely beautiful in a black sparkly dress. One of my friends that I saw the show with commented that it looked a little like armor in the sense that it glistened and had a silvery-ness to it. But boy was she sparkly! Her character basically gets the last hurrah in the opera (and the Cycle for that matter). Called the Immolation Scene, Iréne stood solo on stage in front of a cloudy gray backdrop, a spotlight shining on her, and basically takes charge of things. She orders the pyre for Siegfried's funeral, tells the Rheinmaidens what to do with the ring, and just sets everything right. Iréne's interpretation of the Immolation scene was intense. Since she's the only one on stage, you're obviously going to be drawn to her. But she has such a magnetizing stage presence that it becomes a very intent focus. I wish you could all experience what I did! She pulled me in and by the time she was calling for peace from the gods, the tears had begun to well up. The music and the singing, it was just so impassioned. I have never heard a voice quite like that before - I sat in my chair trembling with tears streaming down my face. I completely connected with Wagner's opera and Theorin's performance (and I'm tearing up right now just thinking about it). After Theorin finished the Immolation scene, she stood completely still as the orchestra played out and the curtain finally came down.

The audience response was none that I have ever heard in an opera house before. Fans of Wagner know their stuff, and they know when something is good and when something is spectacular. I am not exaggerating - the crowd popped to their feet as soon as the curtain went down. Iréne came out, and she was showered with cheers and applause - honestly, the longest solo bow I've ever experienced, and it was completely well deserved. The rest of the cast each got their due, and the entire company was bathed in lavish applause. This is totally what opera is about and why I'm in love with the art form. It's a performance like this, when the artists give their absolute all and everyone is just on, that makes for those memorable evening that just sticks with you. It's why I come back. It's why I sit for five hours in a dark opera house, so that I can be moved to tears. It's why I'll be going back next Sunday for round two.

I must say that the "production" also worked. This wasn't just a stand and sing concert performance. The gray backdrop added an appropriate mood to the atmosphere and the artists interacted with each other instead of just standing still. It didn't matter to me that this wasn't an actual staged opera. The drama was there in the singing. I think it also allowed the artists to really focus on the music and not be hindered by any staging or costumes.

So that was my first Wagner experience. I'm pretty sure I'm hooked.

You think about the events that get you from one place to the other, and how it can be one performance or one voice that brings you to the next. If I had never heard Iréne sing, I think it would have taken me much longer to realize the beauty of Wagner and really understand its awesomeness. So I guess this is my "thank you" to Iréne. And if you're in DC on November 15th, go see Götterdämmerung! It's awesome! And Iréne Theorin is balls to the wall Ah-MAZING!!!

Iréne Theorin (as Ariadne) and Me!

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.

And we're done!

The final curtain has come down on my last opera for the 2008/2009 season. Oh and what a season it has been! Renee...Placido...Dmitri...Patricia...Nessun Dorma...The Meditation...Song to the Moon...Di Provenza...The Met...The Kennedy Center...Thais (four times)...Lucrezia Borgia (three times w/ Renee, once w/ Sondra)...Il Trovatore...Peter Grimes! (twice)... What memories! So many great memories. And all the good friends along the way. Can't wait to do it all again!

And oh my gosh LEONTYNE PRICE! How could I ever forget???

Death Becomes Them

One evening back in October, I filed out of the orchestra section of the Kennedy Center Opera House into the foyer. Bizet’s The Pearl Fishers had just come to a happy (for the young lovers)/unhappy (for the dead king) ending. As I walked past a small group, I heard an older woman get right down to the heart of opera. “Wasn’t that a great ending!?” she asked. “You know, it’s not a good opera unless there’s a (dead) body.”

Although I’ve seen good operas not featuring a corpse, I can’t fault this lady for being near accurate. Her little observation got me thinking, “I wonder how many people have died in all the operas I’ve seen.” The answer is quite a lot and the causes range from poison to consumption and from grief to gunfire, all with great drama and great music in tow.

So with my newfound fascination with operatic morbidity, I have now decided to give a death count with my report of the operas I’ve seen.

Quick example, Verdi’s Otello
Desdemona (R. Fleming) – strangled by Otello
Roderigo (R. Naldi) – killed in a sword fight by Cassio
Otello (J. Botha) – stabbed, suicide
Death count – 3

Otello was awesome!

*End example*

The Banner that started it all

Some things are just meant to be. But every once in a while, it takes a sign from up above to get you moving on something. This is that sign, er well banner:

Woah! Wait! Who's that there in the bottom left hand corner? Could it be RENEE FLEMING?!! As a matter of fact, it is.

Last summer - July to be precise - I was in DC for a little vaca. Michelle, Sean, Lauren and I went to the Kennedy Center to see Shear Madness. Upon exiting the Kennedy Center, I noticed this banner ruffling in the breeze and it sent me a-pondering. "Hmmmm," I thought, "maybe I could see Renee Fleming in concert. Note to self, see when she's touring." So as soon as I got back to Arizona, I checked Renee's concert schedule, and the rest is history. I saw her in Denver on September 30th, and when I moved to DC in the winter, I saw her portrayal of Desdemona in the Met's Otello on February 22nd. And now I'm going to Massachusettes this weekend to see her in a concert performance of Eugene Onegin. Plus Lucrezia Borgia in November at the KC and hopefully Thais and Rusalka at the Met in 09.

So were it not for this banner, I probably wouldn't have seen the Denver concert. Which means I more than likely wouldn't have known to check the Met's schedule for Otello. Not seeing Otello probably would have kept me from meeting my new opera buddy Leah. So thank God for little (and big) signs (or banners)!

For the record, this picture was taken July 29th, Mel's birthday, and our little excursion to the KC for the Lion King. More on that for sure!

Opera Awesomeness

It’s no secret that I’m a big opera fan. A few weeks back, Mel traveled to Austria for a museum and library conference with her boss (more on Mel’s boss in a future post). Mel is such a good friend/roommate and always tries to bring us back little mementos from her destinations.

Guess what she got me? Oh, it’s too good for words so just watch:



Oh yeah, that’s marionette opera!!! But Salzburg takes marionette opera super seriously, so the dvd I have is a much higher staged quality. Plus it’s got a super star singing cast including Leontyne Price and Joan Sutherland.

If that’s not awesome enough for you, then check out Lego opera. Uh huh, Lego opera.



Enjoy the awesomeness that opera has to offer.

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.

I'm going to Boston!

I just purchased two tickets to see Renee Fleming in Eugene Onegin out in Burkeshire. WooHoo!! I'm so excited! So I'm headed up to Boston on August 1st and staying with Megan for the weekend. She's coming with me to see it! I haven't seen her since she moved out East a year ago so this should be good times for sure. And it's Renee Fleming so YAY!

The Final Scene from the Met's 2007 production.

$$$ Cha-ching $$$

So with a pretty hefty tax return and the stimulus rebate that's headed my way, I've got some awesome opera prospects coming my way. Thais for sure - it's got to be my fave opera so I can't wait to see it staged. And of course it's starring none other than Renee Fleming. Maybe I can squeeze in her performance of Eugene Onegin at Tangelwood and if there's a chance of scoring a ticket for the Met's opening night gala, then I'm so there! Plus RF in Lucrezia Borgia, November at the KC! And even though it's a year away, Rusalka would be awesome too. And then whatever else comes along.

So exciting!!! Yay for tax returns. Now it'll just be forever and a day until I receive them...

Root, root, root for the home team!!!

Now that our tickets were secured, Mel and I just had to get to the ballpark, find our seats, grab a beer, and sit back while all the awesomeness of baseball unfolded before us. The people at the Nats stadium must have know we were coming because they rolled out the red carpet for us. There were tons of people and it was so exciting to be a part of the buzzing crowd.




Once we strolled across the red carpet, we stood in line with the masses and made it through the security check point. The people in line behind us definitely pre-gamed it because they were already toast. Whatever you gots to do to enjoy the game. The gal taking our ticket was super nice and seemed like she was pretty happy to be a part of the buzz.



We located our section and then made a b-line towards the concession stands. Mel wanted one of the commemorative cups. I wanted a beer. So we coupled our ideas and got beers in commemorative cups. It was a lot of beer.

We made our way to our seats. They were pretty high up, but we had a great view of the Navy Yard and the Anacostia River. We found several of our friends from our four hour wait in line, and the dude that was collecting signatures of everyone who stood in line was still at it. He had several pages completely full and was asking the ticket lady who worked for the stadium for her John Hancock. That guy was awesome. I failed to mention that I danced with him when we got our pic taken. He was funny!

The opening game at the new stadium was not without fanfare. The DC National Guard came out and unraveled these two ginormous American Flags. I felt a rush of patriotism overcome me.

As the flags were being unfurled, Denyce Grave, a famous opera singer from the DC area came out to sing the National Anthem. I'm a huge fan of hers because I remember all the performances she gave during several of the 9/11 services. Because of that, her voice is very comforting to me. Anyways, we all sang the National Anthem and yelled out a resounding "Play Ball!!" The president marched to the mound sporting a National's jacket. He threw the first pitch a little high, and from our positioning I couldn't tell you if it was straight over the strike zone or not. He quickly walked off waving. Mel and I almost had to do a double take and asked if it really happened because it was super fast.

Now it was time for the big game! If you want major details on the play-by-play, check ESPN or Andrew - he keeps track of that stuff. I can't even remember what the final score was. I just remember that the Nationals scored first and it was a pretty close game and the Nationals were ahead by one run.

Mel had a lot of work she was neglecting and wanted to leave somewhat early so she could go to work early on Monday. I at least wanted to hang tight until the 7th inning stretch. Mel went and got hotdogs and nachos that are required to make a live baseball game official. While she was gone, she missed the running of the Presidents. Abe, Jefferson, Washington, and Teddy squared off in a leg race from center field to home plate. Teddy went a little off course, the Giecko Caveman entered midway through, it was either Jefferson or Abe but one of those two totally face-planted it in the dirt. As fitting, Washington took first!

We started heading out at the bottom of the 7th. As we approached the ground level, Denyce Graves came back out to lead us all in a hearty rendition of “God Bless America” and “Take Me Out to the Ball Game.” She’s awesome. With her conclusion, Mel and I headed back home. A 12 hour day consumed with lines, baseball, crazy fans, politics, beer, opera, and hotdogs. Not a bad day at all.

But we did miss the final inning clincher. Apparently the Braves scored off a bad play by the Nats, and with two outs, bottom of the 9th, Ryan Zimmerman pops the ball out and scored a homerun giving the Nats their first win at the new stadium. Baseball in the nations Capitol – America at it’s most awesome!

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.

Boston anyone?

So I think I'm going to Boston the first weekend of August...to see Renee Fleming in Eugene Onegin. I checked her schedule today on a whim and noticed she'd be performing the opera in August. Don't know if anyone's coming with me, but I just made up my mind so that's pretty much that. Tickets are cheap - $18-27. If anyone wants to join me, let me know. I love to share the art of opera with anyone willing to be open minded and try something new.

I took Michelle to see the HD Broadcast of Romeo et Juliet back in December. I literally drug Max to the HD Broadcast of Macbeth in January, although he won't admit that he went to the opera. Sam (CN Sam) accompanied me to Otello last month. Now I'm trying to get Mel to come to something. She'll be a tough sell. As much as she dislikes my country music, I think she detests opera even more. Maybe Megan will come since it's in her backyard. And Lauren will be in New Hampshire this summer so that's always a possibility.

So yeah. Renee Fleming. Eugene Onegin. Boston. August 2. Me. Good times! Who's in?

P.S. She's really good in this. Here are two clips - the Letter Scene parts 1 and 2. How can you resist?

The Fantastic Life of an Opera Fan

Sometimes I don’t know how I get to do the things I do. But I do things, and I’m amazed at what I do get to do. On occasion, it just takes asking a question and a door opens so something cool happens. That’s how this story begins.

I read a blog. I asked the author a question. She answered with “it’s kind of short notice, but let me check.” A couple hours later, she responded back, “I’m your new best friend.” Truer words were never spoken. That simple.

Brace yourselves for this because it is super awesome. I saw Renee Fleming in Otello, and she was remarkable. She totally rocked the role of Desdemona, and I was there to hear it live. That alone is pretty cool and I would have been 100% content if the evening ended there, but it didn’t. After the famed golden curtain fell, and the last shouts of “Bravo! Brava!” and the applause faded away, Sam and I made our way to a corridor.

There stood a man with a piece of paper in his hands. On that paper was Sam’s name and my name. We were on THE list. So, said man with said paper asks who we’re here to see. “Renee Fleming.” “And your names?” “Chelsea and Sam.” “Okay, head on back around the corner. Another guy will ask you the same and direct you where to go.”

This is the part where I start to freak out. My name is actually on the list. And I’m on my way to see Renee Fleming. NO WAY! This is a prank. Somebody is toying with my emotions. So the second guy is up. He asks the same questions. I gave the same answers. This man says, “Go through that door and wait against the white wall to the left. Someone will come to direct you to the room.” We walk away, and the nerves kick in, and I medium freak out again. Not like freak out freak out, but oh-my-gosh-I-can’t-believe-this-is-happening freak out.

Someone shows us to a green room that was quite cozy with two couches, an oversized chair and an upright piano. Sam and I were scrunched in the corner. There were probably about 15-20 people in this small room. Sam and I chatted for a couple minutes, which really consisted of me saying, “I can’t believe this is happening,” and “She is my absolute favorite!”

Then, Renee appeared. Right in front of my face. Well, not right in front of my face. She came in the room from the door on the opposite side. I seriously almost started to cry when I saw her twenty feet in front of me. She made her way through the small crowd, stopping and talking with each individual, giving them her undivided attention as each one commented on her excellent performance. Being the nosy Nellie that I am, I of course listened in on the conversations. Some talked about the interview she conducted with fellow soprano Karita Mattila at last weeks HD transmission of Manon Lescaut. Renee said she was so surprised when Mattila did the splits on a whim. Some talked about her daughter, who sang in the children’s choir and made a cameo in Otello. One woman commented on the long, blonde wig she wore for the roll.

Finally, it was my turn to meet this unpretentious diva. What do I say? How do I say it without sounding like a psycho stalker? I think my brain just shut down and my mouth started talking. I introduced myself, said I was a huge fan, and that this was my first opera, then I asked if I could give her a hug. (I think I heard some old lady say, “Oh, how sweet.”) How much of a nerd am I?! So she gave me a hug and asked if I was an opera singer too. I sort of chuckled and said, “No, I’m actually in politics in DC.” To which she replied, “Well it’s certainly an exciting time to be in politics.” She asked Sam and me what we thought of the opera. We said it was amazing. Then Sam said I came all the way from DC to see her. This is where I had my stalker moment. I told her that when she comes to DC in November, I’m going to see her. [Really Chelsea? She probably doesn’t even know where she’s going to be performing next week and you’re reciting her concert schedule for the next five years. Way to not look like a loon!]

Anywho, Renee graciously signed our playbills and I was fortunate enough to get a picture with her. Then I gave her another hug, because I can, and Sam and I grabbed our coats, and left. I pretty much was on an opera high the rest of the night. I seriously could have died right then and there and would have been okay with that. Let me put this another way: I was more excited to meet Renee Fleming than I was to meet the President, which says a lot.

We walked (I skipped) to the nearest bar to get a drink and calm me down. When we got there, Sam realized she left her camera on the pay phone when she was putting her coat on. So we tried to pound our frozen margs and you all know what that means – brain freeze – and tried to navigate the maze of construction to find the stage door leading back to the pay phone. Thank God we found the camera. Otherwise my meeting with Renee would only be a mental picture.

Sam and I headed back to the Penn Station area to grab food/drinks to pass the time before our 1:50 am train back to New Haven. All-in-all, an evening not soon to be out done.

If it seems my affinity for Renee Fleming is excessive to a fault, it’s because there truly are not enough words to describe what is experienced when hearing her perform live. And the crazy thing is opera is performed without amplification (no mics). It takes a lot of power and a lot of hard work to get a voice to carry in a 4,000-seat house and still sound good. I only hope that I can intrigue you all enough to want to pick up one of Renee’s recordings and give it a listen. You’ll truly be blown away.

Thanks to my "new best friend" for adding to an already amazing evening and giving me an opportunity of a lifetime – a favor not soon forgotten. Thanks to Sam for sharing in my joy and adding to the awesomeness of the night. Thanks to Renee for pretty much being Ah-MAZING and not freaking out when I freaked out because I was meeting you. Thanks to the cab guy who got us there on time.

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...

Getting There part 2 of 2

Friday

I made it to New Haven. Sam looked fantastic! She has recovered remarkably from her accident – I couldn’t even tell. It was a joy to see her parents again. They are such amazing people and always make me feel apart of the family. We just took it easy on Friday and tried to figure out our game plan for the opera that night.

The weatherman predicted snow, and we certainly got snow. I would say maybe 6-8 inches, which totally put a little hitch in our plans for the day. I was so stressed about everything working out smoothly for the opera. With me, if anything can go wrong, everything WILL go wrong. It’s just a matter of time. The weather really put a crimp in my style, literally and figuratively. I just spent a fair amount of money on some cute black satin pumps that were going to compliment my outfit perfectly, but I am not going to traipse around the snow in two-inch heels. So I reluctantly wore my black cowboy boots. I cringe at this notion. It totally threw off my whole outfit. I guess the consolation was that my feet were warm, dry, and comfortable.

Sam and I decided to take the train from New Haven to New York after we realized that the train wouldn’t pick us up in Clinton. So her mom, Daryl, took us to New Haven where we barely made our train by like three minutes. We quickly grabbed a bite to eat before hailing a cab outside of Penn Station. At this point, we only have about 30 minutes to get to the Lincoln Center. I’ve never been, so I had no idea how long it was going to take for us to get there or how long we’d be standing in line once we arrived. And you must be there on time; otherwise you have to wait for a break in the music (normally between acts) before you’re let in. And I was NOT going to miss one second of Otello! I had waited so long and come so far to miss one single moment.

Sam and I made it with a few minutes to spare. In our haste, we entered the first doors we came to, which actually lead to the New York City Ballet. I suppose all the posters with ballerinas should have been the tip off. The famous fountain was blocked off, so I was disoriented, but we eventually made it to the Met.

With all of the worrying about the weather and making it on time, I missed the opportunity to really breathe in the experience. Fortunately, once we found our seats, I took a few deep breaths and began inhaling the enormity of the situation. It was actually a little overwhelming at first – in a good way. The Met is just so massive and the colors are so rich, plush red velvet with gold accents. And my Lord, the crystal chandeliers…amazing! Our seats were in the Orchestra section directly under the lip of the balcony. I unfortunately didn’t go to a center aisle to look at the whole theater, which would have probably blown me away.

But there we were. A twenty-something girl from Bullhead City and her best friend trying to take it all in….

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!