I've never met, seen, or heard any opera of Philip Glass, but apparently he determined the day I was born, gave me my first taste of high art, and made me the person I am today (an opera fanatic). Well... HOW? Well, since it's his birthday I'll tell you. =)
Like I said a while ago, my parents saw "The Voyage" the night before I was born. There I was, bouncing along to the bass line begging to be let out to (a) hear that music or (b) get out of that place as fast as possible! (I'd guess the first, considering my love of opera.) I was born the next day, 2 weeks early and eager to hear more of that opera!
← I was hardly anywhere in 1992... but I was THERE!!
And I knew which explorer it was about.
My history is about as good as my opera. =P
Happy Listening!!! =)
Thursday, January 31, 2008
The Voyage: Me and Philip Glass
JDF Swallows Fish Bone, World in Chaos
'Tis true. Juan Diego is cancelling ALL performances of the LOC "Barbiere" because of a throat infection caused by his swallowing a fishbone. Doctor's say he can't sing until mid-March at the EARLIEST. Conflicts with "Fille"??? We'll see. The article says it's still scheduled, so we'll have to wait it out. John Osborn is scheduled to replace JDF.
ATTENTION WORLD: WE HAVE FOUND NEMO. JUAN DIEGO FLOREZ SWALLOWED HIM.
Happy Swimming!!=) Oh, I mean- Happy Listening!!! =)
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
In case anyone is keeping any...
For the record... Marcello Giordani sounds a lot better in the house than he did on the broadcast last night. This is semi-delayed because I decided I would test out the recording feature on my Stiletto (amazing!), but Marcello really does sound- dare I say- strained at parts and in the house that's not the case. Maybe he's just ill for every broadcast? (Referring to last year's Boheme and other broadcasts last season) I still <3 him. <3333333
Happy Listening!! =)
PS. He's still going to sound amazing in the moviecast, which I shall be attending, so you better all be there.
Sunday, January 27, 2008
Still a Genius, Even After All These Years!!
It's difficult when you have a composer like Mozart to pick just a few "greatest hits" from his operas. Of course, I did my best...
What else but the Figaro finale? The beauty is beyond belief!!!
But you know... they're all like that!
Whether it's a call to revenge...
Or a singing bird...
We're all run mad by Mozart's unending genius!
Happy Listening!!!
Thursday, January 24, 2008
Sliced Bread No More!
The entire sliced bread thing went up in smoke today when the Metropolitan Opera announced that it will NOT be offering it's HD telecasts On-Demand 30 days after the live broadcast in movie theaters. Oh well, that's sad. Apparently the theater directors thought people wouldn't go to the movie theaters and just wait for the on-demand. All I have to say is, if that's the case, why are people still in the opera house when they can see the same opera for much cheaper in a movie theater? (Yes, thank you, we all know the answer.)
Happy Listening!! =)
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
God's Gift to Teenage Girls Everywhere, Heath Ledger, is Found Dead in NYC at the Age of 28
Despite my very classy and dignified exterior...*cough*... I'm still a screaming, googly-eyed teenager who falls for the dreamy heart throb now and again... and again and again. I was still extremely stunned and taken aback when I heard this afternoon that the extremely talented and very dreamy actor Heath Ledger was dead. He died so young and with so many accomplishments. He could really have turned out to be one of the great actors of our generation if he had had a little bit more of a chance.
To teenage girls everywhere, he IS "Ten Things I Hate About You", one of the quintessential teen flicks. I love that movie, it's really cute. He is probably best known for his role in "Brokeback Mountain" the extremely controversial 2005 movie.
RIP Heath! We'll miss you!
Monday, January 21, 2008
BirthdayDesk 2
Possibly the greatest living tenor, if not then definitely the greatest tenor still performing (since September 6th, anyway), celebrates his *muffled number* birthday today!!!
I was beyond excited that he was going to conduct "Romeo et Juliette" and that I was going to go see it. He had been my favorite (and, well, still is!) since the very beginning and finally I was going to see him LIVE, IN PERSON! So I got to the Met shaking like a leaf and when the lights went down I knew I was going to lose it. Oh my gosh, he walked up to the podium and I couldn't stop, shaking, crying, laughing, and clapping all at the same time! It was crazy! Of course, I calmed down just before the applause stopped and anyone noticed. It's weird how great singers, or great people in general, can have that effect on you...
YAYYYYY PLACIDO DOMINGO!
Happy Listening!! =)
P.S. If you've been wondering what I've been doing while I've been neglecting this blog... This and this, too, are how I've been wasting- er, I mean, spending- my time.
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
Marilyn Horne Gets a Birthday Present!!!
Marilyn Horne's birthday present shown here. Well, if you don't want to read it here's the main part... "Now declared free of pancreatic cancer two years after diagnosis..." *DING!*
Happy Birthday to you!
Happy Birthday to you!
Happy Birthday dear best-mezzo-ever-and-official-opera-legendddd!
Happy Birthday to you!
(no exaggerations!)
Happy Listening!! =)
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
I'm Rather Shocked...
...And utterly saddened to say that tenor Sergei Larin died late Sunday. He was 51.
I had never realized, like many others, that he was ill and even though I had not heard about him in a while I did not think it was anything so serious! My first, and sadly only, exposure to Maestro Larin, was from the movie "The Turandot Project" that bit me with the opera bug. He was one of the Calaf's in the Forbidden City production and I have to say left quite an impression on me! I searched for information on him, but gave up after finding very little (or finding that he wasn't singing at the Met any time soon).
Another opera singer gone, another we shall miss. Let's hope none of this continues!
RIP Sergei Larin
Friends and Performers Remember Jerry Hadley Through Music
A concert tribute to the late tenor Jerry Hadley, featuring international opera artists and friends Elizabeth Futral, Frederica von Stade , Richard Leech, Thomas Hampson, Samuel Ramey, and other special guests will be presented on Friday, January 25, 2008 , in the Foellinger Great Hall of the Krannert Center for the Performing Arts at 7:30 p.m. in Urbana , Illinois.
The concert is a joint production of the University of Illinois School of Music, Hadley's alma mater, and the Krannert Center for the Performing Arts, where the singer made his debut in the UI Opera production of Mozart's The Magic Flute in 1974. An exhibit covering the tenor's 32-year career will also be on display in the center lobby the evening of the concert. This performance will be broadcast live on 98.7 WFMT Chicago and streaming live at www.WFMT.com at 7:30 p.m. on January 25. In addition, there will be a 30-minute special feature (7-7:30pm) to precede the concert as well as an intermission feature. Conceived by Jerold Siena, professor of voice, and co-directed by Jerold Siena and Eduardo Diazmuñoz, the January 25th evening will include songs and arias, ranging from musical theater to Verdi; Maestro Eduardo Diazmuñoz, director of the UI Opera Program, will conduct. The culmination of the concert celebration of the singer's life in music will be a joint performance by the UI Chamber Choir, Oratorio Choir, and Concert Choir , directed by Fred Stoltzfus; the UI Symphony Orchestra, and special guest artists in a grand finale presentation of “Let Our Garden Grow” from Bernstein's Candide .
“It is a fitting tribute to the life and career of Jerry Hadley that so many of the world's most famous singers will join us here at the University of Illinois where Jerry sang as a student several of the roles that made him famous,” Siena said in an interview in November. “Hadley was one of our own and truly one of the finest singing actors on the operatic stage. This concert will be a tribute to his artistry in both sight and sound.” Tickets to the Jerry Hadley Memorial Concert are free and are available through the Krannert Center Box Office beginning at 10 a.m. on January 4, 2008 (limit of four tickets, per patron, per day).
Sunday, January 13, 2008
BirthdayDesk?
Wednesday, January 9, 2008
No one here is surprised that Alagna + ANOTHER Alagna= train wreck
Il Teatro Communale di Bologna decided "Hey, let's let Roberto Alagna's brother direct a production Roberto is in!"
Audience decides, let's boo them both again and again and again.
On both those links you can hear clips of the broadcast as well of the entire broadcasts. The clips, of course, highlight the applause...or the lack there of.
I wonder what Mrs. Alagna (I wonder if she has any engagements there soon, because they shouldn't expect her to show up after this!) will have to say about that...
Happy Listening!! =)
Sunday, January 6, 2008
Thursday, January 3, 2008
"Amici Forever" on Met Opera Sirius Radio...
...just before Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau and just after Madama Butterfly.
World
Has
Officially
Come
To
An
End
=O
Happy New Year! =)
Slightly belated, but I couldn't think of a deep, thought-provoking post like so many other bloggers I know of, so I just gave up.
Happy New Year!
