Opera was never something I was interested in. Actually, I didn't like it at all, at least what I had seen on television. The singing was funny and sounded like screeching to me, and it was also done in another incomprehensible language. When I was younger, I thought it was for stuffy, old, rich people. It was also an activity I could hardly afford.
Then I started relearning the piano, and my teacher introduced me to the Sonatas of Mozart. I thought his music and genius was intriguing, so I started reading books about his life. Then one day as I was walking by the Opera House on my way home from singing at the Cathedral, I noticed a bill board advertising Don Giovanni, one of Mozart's operas. It also intrigued me that he wrote operas and I knew from my readings that he liked Opera Buffa--comedies. I was curious, so I called for tickets, only to find out they were sold out. My only chance to hear it was to get "Standing Room Only" tickets. Early the next morning I went to the Opera House early in the a.m. and was the fifth in line. It was almost like waiting in line all night to buy rock concert tickets. We all sat on the floor chatting until the box office opened. I proudly secured my $10.00 ticket and returned that evening to wait in another line in the same order that we bought our tickets. I felt very special when the usher let us in early and we scoped out our spots in the back of the Orchestra Section. I stood for three hours in pain and didn't quite understand the plot, but I was hooked.
Next, my husband and I went to Opera at A.T.&T. Park on a warm, balmy evening to see "Lucia di Lammermoor" on the big screen under a beautiful full moon. It was enchanting. They had a promotion to receive a discount on another ticket to an opera production, so I took advantage of the low price to see another Mozart opera--"The Magic Flute." Since that time four years ago, I've been seeing a few operas each year.
This year I was talked into buy four tickets and told I shouldn't miss the renowned soprano Renee Fleming in "Lucrezia Borgia." I totally forgot the date of "Lucrezia Borgia" and missed seeing the opera in my expensive Orchestra section seat, but they nicely gave me a "standing room only" ticket for the last performance. I jokingly told everyone I paid $230.00 to stand and watch the opera. I enjoyed all of them, including the free ticket for the rehearsal of Don Giovanni, but I especially enjoyed seeing "Carmen" on the night before Thanksgiving.
I'm not very knowledgeable about the nuances of opera, and the plot can easily be found on websites, but I can describe how I felt and reacted to "Carmen". I have wanted to see it since I heard the music, maybe because it has a "Spanish" flavor.
According to the Opera magazine "Encore", Carmen is one of the most-recognized operas due to the music. I went to the preconcert talk, where Marcia Greene described the theme music and how it appears several times in different tempos and sounds--sometimes loud, sometimes soft, fast and slow. I tried to listen for the theme, which was supposed to occur before Carmen's entry, but I was too busy watching the performers, reading the script and listening to the singing.
The stage settings were of a stone-looking wall, which changed shape for each location. The street scene in the beginning was so lively with children scampering about being mischievous, proper nuns strolling by, and men watching the women. The music made the scene very energized as we waited the arrival of "Carmen." I wasn't disappointed when she entered flirting with the men and singing her very familiar aria.
I felt chills in my whole body when "Anita Rachvelishvili" sang as Carmen. I also liked the soprano, Sara Gartland, portraying Micaela, a sweet, pretty, very balanced young woman. I can't understand how Don Jose could go for the narcisstic, manipulating but addicting gypsy. But that's opera.
I really thought this opera was awesome--I was spellbound and felt involved in the story, and when the arias were sung emotion welled up inside of me. That's how I know the performance was good. And it wasn't just the main characters that enthralled me. I was very impressed with the professionalism of the children from the Boys and Girls choruses and I loved the adult chorus--who had to act besides sing. It was really a very wonderous production of sights, sounds, and story.
I really hope to follow up with a recording on my I-phone so I can listen to the music again. I guess I've turned into one of those "stuffy, old, rich, people,' but I can't be too stuffy if the opera made me sing and dance all the way home and for two days afterward. I guess I've changed my mind about opera.
Saturday, November 26, 2011
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
Surfing event
Ocean Beach was an amazing site today. The weather was sunny and balmy with clear skies and a slight breeze. I had decided yesterday when I read the morning newspaper that I should check out the surfing event that is supposed to be occurring in our very own city. It seemed so unusual to me that a world-wide surfing contest would be here. Our beach is often filled with surfers testing the waves, but never have I heard of a competition right under my nose.
Yesterday in the late afternoon I walked down to the highway by the beach and headed North to the site of the event. Sure enough--there was a huge tent on the beach and lots of young people streaming home before sunset on bikes, on foot, on skateboards. There was also a lot of automobile traffic headed south from Land's End--maybe checking out the site.
Today, I wanted to see for myself up close what was happening. At 2:00 I had an urgency to leave my house, so I dropped what I was doing, picked up my cell phone, a few dollars, my cap, and sunglasses and headed out the door towards to the beach. At first I walked on the promenade path, but when I reached Noriega Street, I decided to cross the highway and walk on the beach. I paused a moment on the sanddune to look at the sparkling ocean view and then I decided to venture down the steep sandy hill, stepping very carefully so my shoes wouldn't fill with sand. When I reached the bottom, I went right to the edge of the water where the incoming tide makes the ground harder and easier to walk on. I walked slowly, not knowing what to expect when my destination was reached. It was such a beautiful day to just watch the seagulls soaring in the sky and the little plovers walking briskly and then stopping to eat a morsel they found. I stopped to pick up a shell and examined it for perfection, since it's difficult to find a whole shell due to the churning water breaking them. People with dogs passed me by going south and other people walked briskly North, in the direction I was headed.
Finally I saw the tent up ahead and a throng of people standing close to the water's edge. Other people were sitting in chairs further away. There were also a few huge cameras set up in the sand pointed out towards the surf. I stopped and asked people questions--some kind of silly, but I was looking for information. One young man explained that there were two buoys and a boat out in the ocean and between them is where the surfers were coming in. I looked in that direction and I saw a huge wave and a little figure on a surf board emerging from under the crest. He righted himself, disappeared as the wave came crashing down, and then appeared again upright and came gliding into shore. I heard the crowd give a resounding ovation. The man next to me said, "I think that was 'Slater.' I think he just won his 11th World Championship." I remember reading something in the newspaper, but had no idea I would actually see the event.
Next a young woman with a little girl playing in the sand talked to me. She said that they were going to give "Slater" an award after the current heats. So I walked up to the tent area where people were gathering in front of a stage. I was close enough to see a man in an orange shirt emerge from the curtain amid cheers from the crowd. A man with a microphone talked to the gathering and gave Kelly Slater a huge trophy, which he accepted graciously. He spoke a few words but seemed a bit tongue tied. Later on the evening news he was able to talk a little more to a newscaster. I tried to get a photo with my new I-phone, but unfortunately I was too far away for the camera. What was amazing is that I was able to see him myself with my "new" eyes, after my cataract surgery last week.
I was so happy that on this awesomely beautiful, warm tropical-like autumn day I was able to be present at this historic event. Today made up for the long, dismal summer of depressing fog.
The surfing will continue on until Nov. 12, but I'm not sure how long the weather will hold up. Supposedly, rain is forecast for Friday and the weekend. But that's the way it is here in "my fair city by the Bay."
Yesterday in the late afternoon I walked down to the highway by the beach and headed North to the site of the event. Sure enough--there was a huge tent on the beach and lots of young people streaming home before sunset on bikes, on foot, on skateboards. There was also a lot of automobile traffic headed south from Land's End--maybe checking out the site.
Today, I wanted to see for myself up close what was happening. At 2:00 I had an urgency to leave my house, so I dropped what I was doing, picked up my cell phone, a few dollars, my cap, and sunglasses and headed out the door towards to the beach. At first I walked on the promenade path, but when I reached Noriega Street, I decided to cross the highway and walk on the beach. I paused a moment on the sanddune to look at the sparkling ocean view and then I decided to venture down the steep sandy hill, stepping very carefully so my shoes wouldn't fill with sand. When I reached the bottom, I went right to the edge of the water where the incoming tide makes the ground harder and easier to walk on. I walked slowly, not knowing what to expect when my destination was reached. It was such a beautiful day to just watch the seagulls soaring in the sky and the little plovers walking briskly and then stopping to eat a morsel they found. I stopped to pick up a shell and examined it for perfection, since it's difficult to find a whole shell due to the churning water breaking them. People with dogs passed me by going south and other people walked briskly North, in the direction I was headed.
Finally I saw the tent up ahead and a throng of people standing close to the water's edge. Other people were sitting in chairs further away. There were also a few huge cameras set up in the sand pointed out towards the surf. I stopped and asked people questions--some kind of silly, but I was looking for information. One young man explained that there were two buoys and a boat out in the ocean and between them is where the surfers were coming in. I looked in that direction and I saw a huge wave and a little figure on a surf board emerging from under the crest. He righted himself, disappeared as the wave came crashing down, and then appeared again upright and came gliding into shore. I heard the crowd give a resounding ovation. The man next to me said, "I think that was 'Slater.' I think he just won his 11th World Championship." I remember reading something in the newspaper, but had no idea I would actually see the event.
Next a young woman with a little girl playing in the sand talked to me. She said that they were going to give "Slater" an award after the current heats. So I walked up to the tent area where people were gathering in front of a stage. I was close enough to see a man in an orange shirt emerge from the curtain amid cheers from the crowd. A man with a microphone talked to the gathering and gave Kelly Slater a huge trophy, which he accepted graciously. He spoke a few words but seemed a bit tongue tied. Later on the evening news he was able to talk a little more to a newscaster. I tried to get a photo with my new I-phone, but unfortunately I was too far away for the camera. What was amazing is that I was able to see him myself with my "new" eyes, after my cataract surgery last week.
I was so happy that on this awesomely beautiful, warm tropical-like autumn day I was able to be present at this historic event. Today made up for the long, dismal summer of depressing fog.
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