tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38815392150775965072024-02-07T15:43:32.272-05:00Unexpected SongBelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08940075924322732507noreply@blogger.comBlogger85125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3881539215077596507.post-41554678978490000632014-07-24T20:16:00.001-06:002014-07-24T20:16:16.142-06:00Here and Back Again in NYC - Day 10 (part 1) - Werther <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Hey you
all! Ah I just finished reading my Fifty Shades trilogy and I must say I really
liked what I read! I'm feeling very book orphaned now that I finished and since the movie trailer (HOLY SHIT IT'S SO HOT, click <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SfZWFDs0LxA" target="_blank">here </a>if you dare and watch it) came out today you won't be surprised if I start reading the series all over again soon. There are some parts that are over sweetened but the story
is involving and the sex is real great! My AMAZING voice coach gave me a book
called Fifty Shades of Mr. Darcy for my birthday which is a crossover of Fifty
Shades of Gray and Pride and Prejudice, it’s a satire and I cannot wait to
start reading it tonight! I also downloaded the first season of Mad Man which
I’m excited to start watching!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Remember
there was one day missing from my New York City adventures? Here it goes then!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">It is
always like this, when we near the end of a trip like this we start wanting to
do a gazzilion things all at the same time. That is why mum and I were up extra
early that morning and after our breakfast, we hit the streets. We went to
several stores buying all in our way (Brazilians are very much like that, we
have no sense of proportion). We went to this trendy sunglasses store, ah, the
name escapes me, ah, I know! Sunglass Hut (or something) on Fifth Avenue. Don’t
worry I wasn’t about to throw a couple of hundred dollars into sunglasses, I
mean, I got mine at Forever 21 for like $10 and they are great! We were actually
there because my cousin’s sunglasses broke and my uncle asked us to take them there to get them fixed. And I can say without a shadow of a doubt that that
was the very worst service I ever got in a store. I would hop from attendant to
attendant trying to get someone to help me and they would either ignore me or
just try and shove to another attendant. My patience was coming to an end
because I had a ticket to see Werther at 1 and the hour was nearing. Bottom
line, we didn’t get anything solved and that store is the worst, I’m serious,
the worst! <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">that's my mommy, ain't he the cutest?</span></i> </td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Well I got
in a cab and rushed to the Met. Man, why am I ALWAYS rushing to that
godforsaken place? Why can’t I just be early for once? I always arrive at the
nick of time! Anyway, I did get there a good 15 minutes prior to curtain and I
thought I might try my luck yet again with the student ticket thing since my
seat pretty much sucked balls. And I think I’m starting to understand this
whole thing, it depends ENTIRELY upon the good will of the person in the booth.
Because as soon as I saw the sour face of the attendant I knew I wouldn’t be
getting shit. Well, I had a ticket, a $30 Family Circle side ticket, but a
ticket nonetheless, in a bit I was in!</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">As I headed
towards my seat, which was oddly near to the stage but far too high I started
regretting the decision of buying this ticket. It was the nearest seat to the
stage up in the family circle so I actually had to lean forward a lot to see
the stage. I also had to make a choice, to either read the surtitles or watch
the opera, I could not do both. Anyway, I was just happy to be there so sod it!
A very cool couple sat next to me and we chatted for a little bit before it
began.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEituk0mdUbj-SttO8YqhJDXdEq4kS-SXYZBSR66vd3__f6xAFXGjkEUBTaVfCgkRlx-E6PreKoyLY9980WJ-jjLPssWaVkj_LnnKapEebZhc6IHkpmMw85g7OLJ68HGhvXHGhD62spS10k/s1600/1798464_10152064961002713_1887143739_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEituk0mdUbj-SttO8YqhJDXdEq4kS-SXYZBSR66vd3__f6xAFXGjkEUBTaVfCgkRlx-E6PreKoyLY9980WJ-jjLPssWaVkj_LnnKapEebZhc6IHkpmMw85g7OLJ68HGhvXHGhD62spS10k/s1600/1798464_10152064961002713_1887143739_n.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>THE fabulous view!</i></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Oh dude,
Werther, it’s Massenet, only one of my favorite composers, my favorite French composer,
I was in the clouds as soon as those first notes rang. Again, I loved the story
telling in the beginning and the good thing about this seat was that I could
actually see facial expressions! I could see them extremely well! The back of
the stage was blocked to me but in the front part, not a single facial
expression was missed. So it was really like watching a whole new thing, I
already had a very good notion of how the production worked but now I could
actually see all their faces twist and twitch!</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Kudos yet
again to those kids playing Charlotte’s siblings, they were simply incredible.
Such sincere, playful and truthful acting you would think they were not acting
at all! This makes me wish I could have seen my good friend Melanie perform in
the children’s chorus. But anyway it was really great to be able to actually
see with my own eyes the first time Werther sets his eyes on Charlotte. And
we’re talking Jonas Kaufmann here so you people know that he absolutely rocked
the singing and the acting part of Werther. I feel so lucky that I was able to
actually see this amazing production live, twice! I’ll never tire of saying
that because I’m truly humbled and extremely grateful that I was lucky enough
to be there.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">As the plot
moves along I’m able to see the ball scene upclose which was such a lovely
amazing surprise to me and quickly became one of my favorite scenes from this
production. Even though it’s like 3 minutes long, it’s extremely romantic and
gives me goose pups. Because when they arrive at the garden after the ball they
are already smitten with each other. But to have that ball scene you get to see
their firsts, like the first dance, the first time they look in each others
eyes, their first conversation alone, it’s inspired. Gosh I’m getting way too
overly excited about this. Sorry guys, you people have to remember I’m a
hopeless romantic even though I put on the ice queen façade. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">You cannot
help but fall for Jonas’ Werther, now I could see the amount of adoration his
eyes carry for Charlotte. Although I felt again that Koch was a tad cold to MY
taste. As everyone knows I’m a bit too fiery sometimes and expect characters to
match that warmth. I did purchase the original Goethe “Die Leiden des jungen
Werther” last Sunday. I was lucky enough to find it in a local bookstore here
in my hometown and I was a sight to see squirming like an idiot because of my
discovery and buying it regardless of the fact that I cannot read German. I
find it it’s always good to have the origins and the originals of my favorite
works (although my Pushin’s Eugene Onegin is in English but Russian is a step
too far, right?). Anyhow back to Koch’s (Charlotte’s) coldness, maybe I found
it frustrating because it contrasted SO much with Kaufmann’s (Werther’s) ardor.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">The garden scene
was so great and it was real wonderful to see the facial expressions! One day
I’ll have enough money to get myself on a seat in which I can see the facial
expressions, sit up straight, read the surtitles and have full view of the
stage. Or at least be relevant enough to be given such a seat! <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">As act one
finishes the couple next to me is cuddling and exchanging loving words and I’m
surprised that I don’t feel the annoyance I normally do in this kind of
situation. I felt actually really happy for them, they were very nice and
looked very cute together. Maybe it was the opera. And in that little interval
I find out that the lady is actually Brazilian, what are the freaking odds??<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Act two of
Werther, not my favorite part of the day. I started getting very irritated with
Charlotte’s coldness and lack of compassion for this dude who was crawling at
her feet! Sophie’s aria however was LOVELY. I’m so dead serious when I say that
Lisette has one of the most beautiful voices I’ve ever heard! Geez, what a
gift, and paired with such great acting as well as the fact that she is SUPER
sweet she just totally wins me over.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">I had such
an amazing time at intermission. I was joined by my good, good opera buddies
Harry and Kim and we talked about opera all the way and it was awesome. Gosh, I
LOVE it that I have them and we can discuss stuff at the same level without me
having to explain stuff. We can just talk and exchange so much in such a small
period of time! Anyways, as per usual intermission flew by and we were back for
DRAMA, DRAMA, DRAMA!</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Act three
of Werther, my favorite act! I must admit that Sophie Koch purred her soul out
in this, she was INCREDIBLE. She has such a beautiful full, rich, velvety voice
that fills the Met and melts your insides. It’s very contrasting with her
portrayal of cold Charlotte. Although in this act she was much more emotional,
kind of desperate because she thought Werther was going to kill himself. Her
sister arrives and she finishes us off with “Va laisse couler me larmes” and I
know that’s only the beginning of angst festival but the poor woman next to me
does not as she weeps and weeps. The whole opera became even sadder because of
her reaction to it, she cried most of the time. And I totally do not judge
her, the first time I saw this I also cried the entire final acts. Sophie
leaves and DAM, DAM, DAM, DAAAAM, Werther arrives.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">I was so
grateful that they remained mostly downstage for this act because then I could
see the angst filled expressions of both of them. It was so FREAKING intense I
was almost throwing myself off that seat in order to get a better view! At the
end of that too impossibly good for words “Pourquoi me réveiller” that opera
house almost came apart. I love this part because this aria prepares you for
the passionate, desperate part when for brief moments Charlotte gives in. No
need to say he’s all over her, and just a fun fact, they TOTALLY toned it down
for the HD. They were so all over each other when I saw it, just like the kiss
at the end of Eugene Onegin, they REALLY had it going ‘off camera’.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Then act
four was the most frustrating thing that EVER happened to me. Why? Because I
could see naught! That little square that was Werther’s room was far to upstage
plus the structure blocked my view from above! Meaning I did not see anything
really of this whole part. Very, very sad. I could hear it though and that was
pretty awesome. And I could also see the lady who was sitting next to me fall
apart. She was full on SOBBING, it was so sad, I felt really bad for her. But I
also did shed a tear for our Werther.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2zIGED5tVFkmL02jlfd7xvoL2Iq-zlerdlYE2aU3EFiRCz5zIvwcJ6jycnXIKNdB8Vsqyc9Pd48Z7OVxpvNckbZrZbl7jI4sJ3spb25pepeCjGkK4eKYWTUbaPoW432qD3-rq9t4u_ho/s1600/1922301_10152064521652713_129835587_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2zIGED5tVFkmL02jlfd7xvoL2Iq-zlerdlYE2aU3EFiRCz5zIvwcJ6jycnXIKNdB8Vsqyc9Pd48Z7OVxpvNckbZrZbl7jI4sJ3spb25pepeCjGkK4eKYWTUbaPoW432qD3-rq9t4u_ho/s1600/1922301_10152064521652713_129835587_n.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">bows from my crappy seat</span></i></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">At bows the
audience was wild and the whole cast was just in awe of the whole response. I
sat there talking to the lady for quite a while after the curtain fell and she
was telling me how she knew opera could be sad but not SO sad. Then I met Kim
and we headed down to the stage door so she could get her stuff signed.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBAfakvn-WUiYm9ox6h_uzPifoRHOD992AwU2Rb-qOGrhRiiGtiC-Vpu42u9N1GwSq2eGLGbdea1Z7eUPrXjQctUBpZFdDdIg27VSlTaMbol7E0_RAvQpDtN2oepKVAw1FlwIXKPASm3U/s1600/1901948_10152063030232713_280533975_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBAfakvn-WUiYm9ox6h_uzPifoRHOD992AwU2Rb-qOGrhRiiGtiC-Vpu42u9N1GwSq2eGLGbdea1Z7eUPrXjQctUBpZFdDdIg27VSlTaMbol7E0_RAvQpDtN2oepKVAw1FlwIXKPASm3U/s1600/1901948_10152063030232713_280533975_n.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>Harry, Kim and me after the opera</i></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">DUDE, that
stage door was PACKED! I’m talking about 60 people making loads of noise and
pushing and pushing. I was really very shocked, I had never seen the stage door
like this before. I made a silent prayer thanking my Scots friend Mike for
making me wait for 2 hours in the freezing cold at opening night because there
was no way I could have exchanged 3 words with Jonas Kaufmann in this crazy gathering.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">When Jonas
came out loads of people clapped and I just stayed behind waiting for Kim as she
ventured to try and get a pic and autograph (she succeeded btw). I felt really bad for Jonas
actually, he had to scream several times “I swear I will sign everything and
take pictures but please STOP PUSHING!” that is really fucked up. Some people
have no respect.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2qpCrHG8_VR3M6s8iujyCDvYFnPvGcgByzldiKfoTFOZRtjoBD-SZTL0YAYMGZEE4j31SMuXsK0ODwqC_lo7H_ZIjkFGRxh7bKzNPTBQkhYkfL2zZmh6zHUCcuBSncXcRDwqhBurlYxo/s1600/crowd.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2qpCrHG8_VR3M6s8iujyCDvYFnPvGcgByzldiKfoTFOZRtjoBD-SZTL0YAYMGZEE4j31SMuXsK0ODwqC_lo7H_ZIjkFGRxh7bKzNPTBQkhYkfL2zZmh6zHUCcuBSncXcRDwqhBurlYxo/s1600/crowd.jpg" height="242" width="400" /></span></i></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I got this pic from Lisette's twitter but it really does not do justice to what happened, here people are actually giving her room to breathe, something Jonas did not get</span></i></td></tr>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">After the
crowd cleared I was tempted to go talk to him but decided against it at the
end.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br />
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">I’m gonna
stop here because I really wanna post this today and if I went on and told you
about Fledermaus I wouldn’t be able to. I’ll post last day in NYC part 2 soon!
Thanks for reading and cheers!</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
Belahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08940075924322732507noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3881539215077596507.post-25115619330647743132014-07-08T21:04:00.002-06:002014-07-08T21:04:33.852-06:00Exciting Concerts to Come!<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Hello
there world! Was that stadium turned into a slaughter house or what? But I don't really wanna talk about it because quite frankly I don't give a shit about football. I didn't even watch any of the games! I have no patience to watch those games, I feel I could be doing something much more productive with my time. </span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Anyways this last Thursday was my birthday and I can safely say that I was
able to do everything I love and be with all the people that I love. I had a
fabulous voice lesson with my fabulous teacher. Sang Mozart who is one of my
favorite composers. Went to the book store and bought the other 2 books from
the Fifty Shades trilogy (holy shit it’s so good!). Had a great lunch with a
complete stranger who turned out to be super nice. Then I went to the MAC store
because I got a free makeup for my birthday. It was kinda terrifying during the
process of the make up because at some point I did think I was gonna look
ridiculous but once it was finished it looked AMAZING! I'll post a picture bellow.Then I went to a nearby
Starbucks to start reading Fifty Shades Darker (I got the pretty hard cover one
because they had run out of paperbacks). And can you actually believe that the
guy who sat next to me all smiles and nice manners actually scolded at me when
he saw the title of my book. Fucking jerk. Then I went to my aunt’s house where
we had popcorn, salame, cheese and chips while we drank Lemoncello and then red
wine and laughed and chatted and laughed some more. My friend Caio was to pick
me up but he was late because Prince Harry was visiting the building he works
in, how awesome is that, hun? When I got into his car I was extremely tipsy and
holding a bag of popcorn which I handed to him, a gift from my aunt. I got to
meet his new boyfriend who is really nice and very friendly and since traffic was
chaotic we had a lot of time to chat. I arrived at the bar I had told my
friends to meet me in 45 minutes late, they were all already there though. Then
I drank several mojitos and had a blast of a good time! We even read bits of
Fifty Shades Darker out loud for some laughs. Thankfully the book is in English
so the amount of people who actually had the capacity of understanding what we
were laughing at was small. Bottom line, GREAT BIRTHDAY.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJURQdrO_JyCTfVL1p1Q5DrSzpHTCFJ_4fbi_jO6mcfBG_HHaK2e5ZWZhcXrDdSJAKTKp8Ric64M7LavD6SREn6Lxn-PmholcsYqmqRu-_29YE-cKDwsAGc2DpnJFlk8C9fNJAux_2jew/s1600/10514814_780785298610183_289697080_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJURQdrO_JyCTfVL1p1Q5DrSzpHTCFJ_4fbi_jO6mcfBG_HHaK2e5ZWZhcXrDdSJAKTKp8Ric64M7LavD6SREn6Lxn-PmholcsYqmqRu-_29YE-cKDwsAGc2DpnJFlk8C9fNJAux_2jew/s1600/10514814_780785298610183_289697080_n.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">that's me in the cool make up and with my happy drink!</span></i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">I’m real
excited because even though Brazil lost, what a humiliating game, I’ve
started prepping today for the two most important concerts of my year in Brazil, so fuck
football. First in the beginning of next month we will receive the lovely
Natalie Dessay and her husband. And I know, I know I might have bad-mouthed her a little bit
here for walking out of opera as if they were a worn out pair unwanted
Louboutins. But that was over a year ago so sod it.</span></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu4-enZ7RzplvX49Urppl4uwHFJzL3jnGuDKahEHJENHfu3FyHXjXM5WZS0OfdVP0Vx04edm07r-OIsZJAOzbI4n-9kiBempJ6plDyoI0bDj7qfpIQr8W-3w-rsrv8bDBqUYXzPjyFbIM/s1600/PHOf2c312fe-2b82-11e3-b434-7e7a3f9df7fa-805x453.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu4-enZ7RzplvX49Urppl4uwHFJzL3jnGuDKahEHJENHfu3FyHXjXM5WZS0OfdVP0Vx04edm07r-OIsZJAOzbI4n-9kiBempJ6plDyoI0bDj7qfpIQr8W-3w-rsrv8bDBqUYXzPjyFbIM/s1600/PHOf2c312fe-2b82-11e3-b434-7e7a3f9df7fa-805x453.jpg" height="225" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">She’s
doing this lovely, lovely, lovely chanson repertoire and I couldn’t help with
cheer and giggle as I saw the great list of Faure chansons I adore listed out! The
other ones I must admit I do not know but that’s the great thing about YouTube
and that great little program I have in my pc that downloads audios from
Youtube. I have over a month to become acquainted with these songs so I can
fully appreciate them when Natalie sings them. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">I find that to most rewarding
because, for instance, even though I loved Jonas’ concert I didn’t know any of the songs he sang, not even one. And even though it was Jonas Kaufmann and he’s like
a God, I know I would have enjoyed myself much more had I known the music. Like
I enjoyed myself watching Gerry Finley sing Schubert’s <i>Winterreisse.</i> Gosh I can
remember like it was yeterday how <i>Gute Nacht</i> just pierced my heart and literally
made me cry, he drew freaking tears from me. And I want that experience
repeated because I ADORE chanson with an almost scary force, they just speak to
me. I’m not a very lieder person but chansons just hit the right spot. It's taste I
guess, but they get to me, and to have an actual French person (and not just any
person, it’s freaking Natalie Dessay) sing them it’s really something, so I’m
super excited. I’m probably going on both days, haven’t decided yet but
probably going to both performances.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">And then
towards the end of next month one of the inspirations of my life nicest people
I’ve ever met is coming back. Joyce, the coolest opera singer EVER! I got the
news that she was scheduled to sing in São Paulo in August of this year a little
bit before going to NYC in October of last year and actually meeting her in
person. So I actually got to ask her about that engagement and she told me she
was super excited about coming back to Brazil and that the audience was simply
superb! But I must say I was expecting a repertoire of opera favorites for this
concert and when I saw it I was a bit shocked. Because I’m one of those
fans that knows basically everything she sings and then I felt at loss looking
through the rep and recognizing very few pieces. </span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwpZt4Db0A2pcCc8vlysqyC8XiPtExJfCqCoNHrjuAnfYK2mICszeGXFkRnDjhtRrEKnvhlWtGNXDqXTT6p16bUJoWOw7JIrHo4scVnZpdSDe0O0cF9PeIyihYwJqxjRYOhP1QhbNuUdg/s1600/IMG_4910.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwpZt4Db0A2pcCc8vlysqyC8XiPtExJfCqCoNHrjuAnfYK2mICszeGXFkRnDjhtRrEKnvhlWtGNXDqXTT6p16bUJoWOw7JIrHo4scVnZpdSDe0O0cF9PeIyihYwJqxjRYOhP1QhbNuUdg/s1600/IMG_4910.jpg" height="640" width="426" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Joyce being her awesome self!</span></i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">But no worries, I have already
downloaded every single one of the songs, including one by Villa Lobos that I
simply loved from an opera called Magdalena “”. </span></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">It’s quite cool, this version bellow is sung by a great Brazilian mezzo soprano called Luciana Bueno. I remember the
first time I saw her live on stage I was extremely shocked at how good she was,
that was because she was playing the first wife in the musical “The King and I”
and all of a sudden there’s this huge gorgeous operatic voice amongst the much
shier musical theater ones. She was DA BOMB in that musical. Funnily enough
this same musical was conducted by my own voice teacher who is all kinds of awesome
herself.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">But
anyways, back to the topic, Joyce’s concert which I’m super excited about plus
I’m taking ton of friends to see it and we will fangirl and it will be awesome.
From the stuff I do know she is doing only two Drama Queens arias, <i>“Piangero la
sorte mia”</i> which I one of my personal favorites so there’s a big YAY for that
and <i>“Morte col fiero aspetto”</i> which is also one of my favorites. But I would
just <b>DIIIIIE </b>(and this is the seventeen year old ´die´) if he sang <i>Madre
Diletta</i>, it’s my favorite track from the whole CD and it turns me into a puddle
of feels. Stuff that I didn’t know includes Haydn’s Ariadne of Naxos (I
downloaded a version with Vesselina Kasarova posted by my good friend Mike,
thanks hon!) and some Santoliquido (had no idea of his existence until today)
canzonettas. But I’m still hopeful for operatic encores, SEVERAL, pretty please!! If I can
expeculate, what I would love to hear as encores. Some Rossini awesomeness like
<i>“Tanti Affetti”</i>, <i>“Una Voce Poco Fa”</i> and <i>“Non Piu Mesta”</i>. Also some Baroque
bliss she does so well, like <i>“Ombra mai Fu”</i> or <i>“Lasciami piangere”</i>. Or Mozart,
what I wouldn’t give for <i>“Ecco il Punto oooh Vitelia/ Non piu di fiori”</i> or even
a simple <i>“Deh Viene non tardar”</i>. If she sang in French I would quite possibly
<b>DIE </b>(that seventeen year old DIE again), like <i>“Je suis gris”</i> or ANY aria from
<i>Cendrillon </i>(like THAT’s gonna happen).<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Anyhow
I’m excited and since I’m SUPER UBER nice I’m posting here the repertoires both
are doing f<strike>ollowed by links of the pieces in my favorite versions for us all to
get acquainted. </strike> My computer i kind of fucked up right now so I'll post the links when I can.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Natalie's and Laurent's Repertoire</b></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Gabriel
Faure </i><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Puisqu'Ici
Bas Toute Ame (V. Hugo)</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Clair de
Lune (letra P. Verlaine)<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Après un
Rêve (R. Bussine) <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Mandoline
(P. Verlaine)<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Les
berceaux (S. Prudhomme)<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Prison (P.
Verlaine)<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Fleur jetée
(A. Silvestre)<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Pleurs d'Or
(A.V. Samain)<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Henri
Duparc</i><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Invitation
au Voyage (C. Baudelaire)</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Au Pays où se Fait la Guerre (T. Gautier)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Soupir (S. Prudhomme)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">La Vague et la Cloche (F. Coppée)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">La Fuite (T. Gautier) <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Francis Poulenc</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Colloque (P. Valéry)</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Calligrammes (7 poèmes de G. Apollinaire)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">L'espionne<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Mutation<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Vers le sud<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Il pleut<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">La grâce exilée<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Aussi bien que les cigales<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Voyage: Adieu amour nuage qui fuit<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Fiançailles pour Rire (6 poèmes de L. de Vilmorin) <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Leo Delibes</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Les Trois Oiseaux (F. Coppée)</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Charles-Marie
Widor</i><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Nocturne
(A. Dorchain)</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">
</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Qu'un Songe
au Ciel m'Enlève (V. Hugo)</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Joyce’s Repertoire</b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">HAYDN - Arianna a Naxos<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">SANTOLIQUIDO <i>I canti della Sera</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">1. L’assiolo canta<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">2. Alba di luna sul bosco<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">3. Tristezza crepuscolare<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">4. L’incontro<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">ROSSINI <i>Beltà crudele</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">La Danza<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">HASSE/HANDEL <i>"Drama Queens”</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Morte col fiero aspetto (Antonio e Cleopatra)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Piangerò (Giulio Cesare)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">AMERICAN
SONGS<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Beautiful Dreamer (Canção de Stephen Foster / Arr. David Krane)<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Lovely
Jimmie (Jerome Kern)<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Food
for Thought (Heitor Villa-Lobos de “Magdalena”)<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">ROSSINI Riedi al soglio (<i>Zelmira</i>)</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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Belahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08940075924322732507noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3881539215077596507.post-29335870775381239362014-07-01T11:18:00.002-06:002014-07-01T11:19:55.675-06:00As my book addiction continues...<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Hey there world! Aren’t we all loving all these updates? Ah,
I have so many news so let’s get to them. I don’t know if I mentioned but I did
get into the Vancouver Community College, YAY ME! Unfortunately I won’t be able
to go this year because of many reasons. But on a happy note I did start having
classes with my voice teacher again last week and so I feel very well looked
after. Gosh I had no idea of how much I missed her, she’s so much more than a
coach, she’s really one of the most precious friends I have, plus she has such
a wonderful soul. Anyway my voice sounds like crap because I haven’t vocalized
properly for the past months but it will heal in due time. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">My birthday is this Thursday and I’m actually going to spend
it in São Paulo because I have a voice lesson. I’m going to be 24 and wow,
suddenly I feel kinda old, twenty freaking four. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">This weekend I did an experiment and went on the famous ‘<i>balada</i>’,
that’s the dance clubs here in Brazil. It was nice, I guess. The music kinda irritated
me, you see you would have about 30 seconds of the tunes you know and love and sing
along to followed by 5 minutes of electronic nonsense. Hey, I’m a very open
minded person when it comes to music but that electronic crap is just fucking
dumb. How am I supposed to dance to something that doesn’t touch me? Mind you
that I did ingest alcohol so my senses were slightly off and still I could not
get into the vibe everyone else seemed to be so hooked on. I guess I’m just
picky, I know that there are some great (gay) ‘<i>baladas</i>’ which actually play normal
music, those awesome 90’s songs and pop songs that I really like so that’s
where I wanna go from now on. Plus I was a bit shocked at how the majority of the girls
were dressed. Some of them seriously looked like hookers, real time prostitutes
plus they were so young. I guess you are thinking I’m picky and old fashioned but
I myself was wearing a rather short dress but nothing compared to the extremely
high heels (which I find extremely stupid for one to wear at a dance club that has no place whatsoever for you to to sit), butt length mini dresses, shorts
and skirts, with the occasional crop top, I seriously felt like a nun. I’m
amazed that young women think that this is sexy, exposing SO much of their
bodies, I find it extremely vulgar. But anyways, I’m not going to solve the
problems of the world nonetheless the lack of self respect most young women in
that club have with this post. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">In other news I did overdo a little bit last week at the
book store buying the grand total of 9 new books. I know I have a disease, I’m
a shopaholic. So that’s what I want to dedicate this post of today for, to talk
about the 9 books I bought that I haven’t read yet (I did start reading one and
I’m already halfway through it, I’ll save the best for last)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">As my Agatha Christie obsession continues I cannot seem to
be able to walk into a place and not buy if not one of her books. When I went
to the supermarket for groceries last week I bought two. <b>The Pale Horse</b>, I do believe they used this story for the series <i>Marple</i> (which is a TV series for Miss
Marple the sweet old lady who solves mysteries better than any police detective)
but the original one does not involve my mother’s favorite bird watching old
lady. For this series (as well as Poirot) they do get some of the stories
Christie wrote that don’t involve Poirot or Marple and adapt it inserting
either of them. But as for the book it’s apparently set on a country side
village in England (aren’t they all?) where the vicar has been assassinated and
suddenly many people start getting sick. Intriguing hun? Plus it features one
of my favorite sidekicks, Ariadne Oliver who is a detective stories novelist
always in search of new inspiration. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5THFVtc-3svozfDPyTPIlzHZCczeCPfo2sm2iNUxkVKskBbB4SsLJK3Seb9tbG0k1pzb4epLPprd0DgTnmWtd2j79f_QTow1FkhhWPIPK6OhdsylJrIszBqG_RAYlaLOA_bXJWt6rf60/s1600/ORDEAL-BY-INNOCENCEAPB_jpg_232x500_q95.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5THFVtc-3svozfDPyTPIlzHZCczeCPfo2sm2iNUxkVKskBbB4SsLJK3Seb9tbG0k1pzb4epLPprd0DgTnmWtd2j79f_QTow1FkhhWPIPK6OhdsylJrIszBqG_RAYlaLOA_bXJWt6rf60/s1600/ORDEAL-BY-INNOCENCEAPB_jpg_232x500_q95.jpg" height="320" width="197" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjp1tUTOQOfAFRd67C7igBc1WL0u7ZMLW_xcwfZkGuA-sjSt07xajSTkhlopoSm9HLQs6m_PIQ6TS3ow725kmls_luok-kVLi0IPzwuv3pT8Tt7W6-SEqCKN-JS5SEGr8fVrvE-PML0vy4/s1600/towards-zero.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjp1tUTOQOfAFRd67C7igBc1WL0u7ZMLW_xcwfZkGuA-sjSt07xajSTkhlopoSm9HLQs6m_PIQ6TS3ow725kmls_luok-kVLi0IPzwuv3pT8Tt7W6-SEqCKN-JS5SEGr8fVrvE-PML0vy4/s1600/towards-zero.jpg" height="320" width="197" /></a></div>
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<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; text-align: justify;">Then I bought </span><b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small; text-align: justify;">Towards
Zero</b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; text-align: justify;">, mind you both of them are in Portuguese. I don’t really like reading
translations because normally they are very badly done but I find that whoever
translates Agatha Christie for Portuguese is a standing out exception. Just
like Pale Horse they also used this story for the series </span><i style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small; text-align: justify;">Marple </i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; text-align: justify;">but the
original does not feature her but a Scotland Yard detective named Battle.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5x3RJwMN-Hcxdu_l-M0kw0Q1Ax0vHsAuAJW5RKqpMrF7nPmwcrr3A2xuyjfex0C2oLJG3vyiwiSu_cd0oqB0kjRnWR_3UDkP8iVA5_8-9blEUptuBJzZLLBs_RkQVJAiJDuavyHeqFYM/s1600/images.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5x3RJwMN-Hcxdu_l-M0kw0Q1Ax0vHsAuAJW5RKqpMrF7nPmwcrr3A2xuyjfex0C2oLJG3vyiwiSu_cd0oqB0kjRnWR_3UDkP8iVA5_8-9blEUptuBJzZLLBs_RkQVJAiJDuavyHeqFYM/s1600/images.jpg" /></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">When I went to Livraria Cultura last Thursday with far too
much time in my hands I got another Christie book but this time in the original
language. My collection actually varies from Harper editions bought in the US
to 60’s and 70’s editions both in Portuguese and English that belonged to my
mother to the L&PM Pocket ones in Portuguese. <b>Ordeal by Innocence</b> was something I had been wanting to read for a
while. You see I had this friend who was crazy about Agatha Christie and after
he passed away his mom gave away his books to several friends and I picked out
a big hard covered one called<i> Agatha
Christie’s Secret Notebooks</i>. This is the sort of book that you have to be a
real big fan of Agatha Christie to read and it only makes sense if you are
familiar with all her stories which are MANY. So I had read every single one of
the books mentioned in the first chapter (before each chapter you have a list
of the books you must have read to truly understand it) but one, Ordeal by Innocence
so there you have it!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Christie aside let’s turn our attention to another lady
author I adore. I don’t know if I ever mentioned here but I do LOVE to cook!
Ah, it’s one of the utmost joys of my life, I love to go out to buy the ingredients,
selecting them one by one, making the dish all by myself while singing opera and then eating it and
most importantly feeding the ones I love. And one of my favorite modern novels
is in fact <i>Julie & Julia</i>, it
inspired the movie with Meryl Streep and Amy Adams. So in this spending spree I
was resolute in getting a recipe book. But the thing with recipe books is that
I can only get them in Portuguese because of the ingredients, many ingredients
in recipes from American books are simply not sold in Brazil so it becomes quite
frustrating.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWHqGZgohZUKNUYGxKOvpZZepljrtZ61WIY4jkuxdLM1IFMbpOJVUhA9FF_CJZFMpIhXMu103XFLTQ_xqEQpqwCOwNGLf48FGhZnoHvgcWiB_6QvR9t4x71BuKR-BtjfnOUaUi9oKuU2Q/s1600/page_4_thumb_large.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWHqGZgohZUKNUYGxKOvpZZepljrtZ61WIY4jkuxdLM1IFMbpOJVUhA9FF_CJZFMpIhXMu103XFLTQ_xqEQpqwCOwNGLf48FGhZnoHvgcWiB_6QvR9t4x71BuKR-BtjfnOUaUi9oKuU2Q/s1600/page_4_thumb_large.jpg" height="320" width="222" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFpRehC0JNnlqkOvAIHxmv5mx9mMMns_xZVpa7udtpVUC1DNEPma2ltZXa9ml-lxvndwWxDsLQ0oWScFr-yErae0gTdt6Va-8JjGWqRfrKmGihg2GW-DfCjVY2nR4oTGuSSN7O5ajmSIg/s1600/9780307474858.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFpRehC0JNnlqkOvAIHxmv5mx9mMMns_xZVpa7udtpVUC1DNEPma2ltZXa9ml-lxvndwWxDsLQ0oWScFr-yErae0gTdt6Va-8JjGWqRfrKmGihg2GW-DfCjVY2nR4oTGuSSN7O5ajmSIg/s1600/9780307474858.jpg" height="320" width="207" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">I actually had my mind set on buying Julia Child’s </span><i style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Mastering the Art of French Cooking</i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">
because it’s so iconic but the store did not have it. What they did have was a ‘sort
of’ translation of those two books called </span><b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">A
Arte Culinária de Julia Child</b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"> (which I roughly translate to Julia Child’s
Art of Cooking). I’ve decided that just like Julie I’ll be making every single
recipe in that book, already got the ingredients for the first soup in the
book.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7FpFG7LHlgWOEo9Nii6bXnRj90sVH-L5E2IOpVjdqi36L0tZIXfdR9z3DH4M6fRabjNeRWi9JpzOAf3tYInL7AmMDKnY8HnbkLAJZOvA7JBsgrj8Cnc9KwtSeqKsjNvi8DoDXXFwzXIY/s1600/The_great_gatsby_wordsworth.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7FpFG7LHlgWOEo9Nii6bXnRj90sVH-L5E2IOpVjdqi36L0tZIXfdR9z3DH4M6fRabjNeRWi9JpzOAf3tYInL7AmMDKnY8HnbkLAJZOvA7JBsgrj8Cnc9KwtSeqKsjNvi8DoDXXFwzXIY/s1600/The_great_gatsby_wordsworth.jpg" height="200" width="126" /></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">And then I spotted something that I have a very strong
feeling I only bought because it had a beautiful picture of Meryl Streep on the
cover in a French market all smiley faced and ‘<i>oh, it’s so good to live in
France’</i>. It’s called <b>Minha Vida na França</b>
(My Life in France) and it’s a memoires book written by Julia Child about her
life in France.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">I also got a very thin looking edition of <b>The Great Gatsby</b> because I haven’t seen
the movie and apparently everyone knows the story but me. I only bought the
thin version because all the others had very ugly covers and I so did not want
to own a book with Leonardo DiCaprio’s face on the cover. It’s bad enough that
I have a book that has Kristen Steward’s face on it and you all know what I’m talking
about.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Moving on toward the a more modern sort of literature but always sticking to female writers I bought the book that originated one of my favorite TV series, <b>Sex and the City</b> by Candace Bushnell. It’s so odd to think that when I was younger and first saw this show I was so sure I was just like Charlotte. But now I feel more inclined to agree with Samantha in most things, I wish I had her balls though, she is one self confident lady, but I do have her drive.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Then I got <b>Confessions of a Shopaholic</b> by Sophia Kinsella because let’s face it, story of my life, right? And I love the movie, it’s so lovely! Although I do know that the original story is actually set in London other than New York City.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlRPbLammheiBSmTp77SknRNe4W-RLSMdDNhI8YHAJSrLi_0A-phfITe_dHZVB4utHVtJisVUyjoU_UABeezNkWxjvc0JOYmRxnHzy-NoQ-cIyCFQWAPW0PyZBhGTgXbyHzepk2o1EYOU/s1600/confessions-of-a-shopaholic.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlRPbLammheiBSmTp77SknRNe4W-RLSMdDNhI8YHAJSrLi_0A-phfITe_dHZVB4utHVtJisVUyjoU_UABeezNkWxjvc0JOYmRxnHzy-NoQ-cIyCFQWAPW0PyZBhGTgXbyHzepk2o1EYOU/s1600/confessions-of-a-shopaholic.jpg" height="320" width="204" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdZfLA3h1GWXG2tLsIXz_m1Ixpk1LYLkH1mQbtbtI4azevDPWw-bPTYJrKt_q3oB-j1KPIbAaZcp8zvosNBlE6xvzhGQWEmW7D9DONIIAPa0MzamxpUPVjhIwQw03oXg06Wd3LP0TqtkY/s1600/sex-and-the-city.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdZfLA3h1GWXG2tLsIXz_m1Ixpk1LYLkH1mQbtbtI4azevDPWw-bPTYJrKt_q3oB-j1KPIbAaZcp8zvosNBlE6xvzhGQWEmW7D9DONIIAPa0MzamxpUPVjhIwQw03oXg06Wd3LP0TqtkY/s1600/sex-and-the-city.jpg" height="320" width="203" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">And last but most definitely not least book I got was </span><b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Fifty Shades of Gray</b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"> by E.L. James. I
have been hearing so much buzz about this book for such a long time that
curiosity finally won over after I read the first page. After I left the bookstore
I went to a close by Starbucks and started reading it, well, more like devouring
it. Very early on you can tell that the book is a page turner and as a matter
of fact quite amusing!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">For those of you who don’t know, Fifty Shades of Gray
actually started out as an adult fanfiction about Twilight. The author then got
inspired to write her own story based in both her fantasies and in the
fantasies of many, many women around the world. The book was a sellout
phenomenon, at one point it was selling one copy per second, per fucking second!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">It tells this story about a girl named Anastasia (I find
that name gorgeous) who is just graduating college. She’s rather insecure and
is the romantic Austen book and a cup of tea kind of girl. I find it
interesting how there is very little actual description of how she looks, she’s
a burnet, fair skinned, average body, messy haircut but that’s about it. I do
find that rather brilliant because that makes it SO easy for the reader to
imagine herself living through Anastasia. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5pQhPX7-8pCapUeTDbxmU4FMedqdTe2X4GNffiGKC6Y42hs0XqrWAzQWT3b-Yo4MwwkMo6y0RxxfuAcdQUd-Eza7D8O9N2670KQI1LJzDsP7bq_w1eiaS0YT8Af8V5gdxi_hIuT4caUU/s1600/Fifty-Shades-of-Grey.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5pQhPX7-8pCapUeTDbxmU4FMedqdTe2X4GNffiGKC6Y42hs0XqrWAzQWT3b-Yo4MwwkMo6y0RxxfuAcdQUd-Eza7D8O9N2670KQI1LJzDsP7bq_w1eiaS0YT8Af8V5gdxi_hIuT4caUU/s1600/Fifty-Shades-of-Grey.jpg" height="400" width="258" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">So she’s agreed to help out her flat mate who got sick and
can’t make it to interview this big shot company owner so she goes in her
place. Anastasia expects Christian Gray to be a 40 year old man but is socked when she comes face to
face with a young twenty something year old Greek God. Handsome, graceful, hot
as hell and completely full of himself. You would think she would act extremely
meek and shy around him but she actually makes quite bold remarks like “You
sound like a control freak” and “So you wanna possess things” <i>You are a control freak</i>.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">He’s intrigued by her and starts pursuing her, he asks her
out and she’s most of time like <i>“Is this even real? What the hell can he
possibly want with me?”</i>. As they get to know each other more and more and
liking each other more and more Christian decides to show Ana what he’s into
and how all his ‘relationships work’. He’s into BDSM which stands for
bondage/discipline, dominance/submission and sadism/masochism, so he likes to
tie up his partners and have his wicked way with them. But don’t worry because
it’s all consensual, that’s the fun for him to have the person want to be in
this situation, to make the person want to be in this situation.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Needless to say that Ana is mortified because she fell for
this guy and to make matters worse he wants her to sign this contract that
dictates how she has to live her life basically while she is his ‘submissive’. But,
the thing is, there is a catch, because Christian also starts falling for her
so he bends every single rule in his book to please her. Plus Ana has her
protestations in regards to many things in that contract and changes most of them
so we are really left with the sexy part and none of that real heavy stuff. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">I haven’t finished yet, have about 150 pages to go. Plus it’s
a trilogy so I plan on finishing it by Thursday so I can buy the other two then
when I go to São Paulo. I did not expect to like this book but I did, it’s fun,
it’s funny, it’s very believable in a sense that the heroin is of flesh and
blood and could be just anyone which I think is one of the main ingredients of
the success of the book. Yes, it does have rather detailed descriptions of
their sexual adventures but that doesn’t bother me not even a bit. I mean, I
have been reading fanfiction for the past 10 years so I’m more than used to
this kind of stuff. And something that delighted me was the fact that the
author is really one of those everyday people who writes great stuff for
fanfiction and all of the sudden she’s a published author selling millions of
books! I did also see a lot of writers scold her work and say it’s garbage and
it’s porn and I find that so silly and it's an extreme contradiction since everybody has sex,
so what’s the harm in writing about it? We’re in the 21</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 11px;">st</span><span style="font-size: x-small;"> century
for crying out loud!</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Well so far so good with 50 Shades of Gray, I love it that
the name comes of a line Christian says to her about him being 50 shades of
fucked up. As I said it’s a very funny book and very hot might I add, especially
since now I know that the guy playing Christian is Jamie Dornan, aka the
Huntsman from Once Upon a Time. </span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix0wc5S_xf7yufnPup62To38LRvP9LmaBKAj-23N8Pr9pzuVz5xSw9LoEUxmByN2-Mww1RHYgKdsKJz054zo6S0VOtznjHOGv03A311pmAXoK6eO6VTtf5srkrNVUueWUVhGRdclAG-H8/s1600/IMG_20140701_131946.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix0wc5S_xf7yufnPup62To38LRvP9LmaBKAj-23N8Pr9pzuVz5xSw9LoEUxmByN2-Mww1RHYgKdsKJz054zo6S0VOtznjHOGv03A311pmAXoK6eO6VTtf5srkrNVUueWUVhGRdclAG-H8/s1600/IMG_20140701_131946.jpg" height="312" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">there we have it, the collection! </span></i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">And so that's it! I think that for my next post I'll be retelling my last day in NYC from February that I haven't covered yet. Dang that was a fun day! Cheers all!</span></div>
Belahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08940075924322732507noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3881539215077596507.post-83513242084124261952014-06-25T14:24:00.003-06:002014-06-25T14:24:39.157-06:00The Ultimate Don Giovanni!<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Hey all! So how have you all been doing? I’m pretty
good, I'm great actually, I have lost so much weight it's insane! After I post this I'm actually going to take my new found hot bootie shopping because everything is sort of baggy and weird on me now. YAY!</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">But anyways, this post is actually about opera for
a change. You see a couple of months ago I went to the movie theater to watch the
Royal Opera House’s new production of Don Giovanni. This one was actually in my
home town, it wasn’t live (obviously) so they had 4 different times for the
opera, Saturday and Sunday at 11 in the morning, Monday at 3 in the afternoon
and Tuesday at 7 in the evening, not very good ones but I’ll take what I can
get.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">I went to the mall all by myself driving my bike.
As I’ve said sometimes here I do enjoy going to the opera alone. When you take
a friend there’s always that feeling of <i>“Oh my God I hope he likes it.” “Should
I explain this part?” “Did he understand that part?” “Is he bored?”</i> and also
the apologetic mode comes on automatically for me <i>“Don’t worry, the first act is just
about to end. Only 2 more arias and a quintet.” “The interviews are funny, the
singers are very nice, trust me.” </i>And if I go alone I can immerse myself in the
piece, sit back, relax and watch the whole opera in peace.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">But of course that didn’t happen right? I did go
alone but as for the uninterrupted bliss line of operatic experience, well, it
didn’t happen. But I’ll get to that in a second. So I get to the movie theater
and am faced with my first problem, the old people. And I don’t mean to be
rude, it’s just old people in Brazil and especially in this town are a special
breed of impolite and have an inflated sense of self. That’s because there are
some pretty stupid laws here that give older people the idea that they can cut
in line in front of everyone. According to law every establishment should have
an exclusive cashier for senior citizens, pregnant women and handicap people.
But the thing was, that cashier was closed and only one girl was selling the
tickets, so the old people simply made another line in front of the actual line
and cut in in front of absolutely everyone. And every single old person that
would show up would prompt their <i>derrières </i>right in front of me.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Anyhow I got to the cinema and they were playing
some trailers which made me kind of uncomfortable because there were only old
people in that movie theater and the trailers were filled with sex. It’s like
watching Game of Thrones with your parents. Trailers aside I really did like
what the Royal Opera House came up with for this evening. Because in my very
little experience, that was this one time I saw their new production of Les
Troyens at the movie theater, it wasn’t very dynamic, there’d just be the opera
and nothing playing during the intermissions. But this couldn’t have been more
different.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">They had this great montage with interviews with
all of the singers and showed the rehearsal process and how Kasper Holten, the
stage director, came up with the concept for this production. It was about 15
minutes long and it was really cool and very informative. Then we had our host
for the evening, none other than the legendary Bryn Terfel! And he was such a
great and charming host, as he filled everyone in with the story he also
absolutely and completely charmed me. But the overture starts and YAY, it’s
Mozart time!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Now I love Don Giovanni, it is hands down my
favorite Mozart opera. So I almost know the whole thing by heart and let me tell
you I was not disappointed at what I saw. The wonderful orchestra of the Royal
Opera House took us away from reality with that astounding overture and before
it was over the curtains went up. The set was very interesting, it was a
construction with some stairs and some doors with two stories, very simple, all
white but add to that some truly remarkable projections and you have magic.
During the overture some names started appearing of the walls and later we find
out that there were 2065 female names by the end of the overture projected on
stage.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">We see Leporello in front of a door on the second
floor and he sings his mini aria complaining how the boss always gets all the
fun and he, well, doesn’t. Leporello was played by Alex Esposito, I had never heard of
him before but he gave a fine performance, very funny and very hands on in making
this role physically believable. During his aria he took a chalk from his
pocket and started writing ‘Anna’ on the door and there was this perfectly
synchronized projection following his hand writing. VERY COOL. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Don Giovanni opens the door quite literally zipping
his pants up and Donna Anna follows him and she’s not the face of one who has
been bedded against her will. And you know what? I truly prefer productions
that portray Anna as a woman who was seduced and did have mind-blowing sex with
Don Giovanni and now wants a second round or something. They flirt and kiss and
this was turned into a very hot scene actually. The lady playing Anna, Malin Byström,
was absolutely spectacular! She had this gorgeous darkish soprano voice that I
would think was too heavy for Mozart but she proved me wrong and delivered
vocal heavens! Plus she looked gorgeous!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Taking the role of the Don by storm was my personal
favorite baritone for the job, Mariusz Kwiecien. Now you all know I’m a huge
fan of Mariusz, apart from being a top notch performer he is one of the
sweetest and nicest singers I’ve ever had the pleasure of meeting (and also one
of the most attractive ones). He is just so good as the Don! He was my first
Don Giovanni back in 2011 at the Met in HD. I do actually remember the first
time I went to NYC going to Lincoln Center and seeing a picture of Mariusz as
the Don and thinking <i>“Holy shit, this man is perfection”</i>. Anywho Anna’s dad
arrives and kinda ruins the party, she flees. Don Giovanni kills him but again,
I’ve seen so many endless versions of this opera all with different takes on
how the Don feels about killing the Commendatore. The one I like the most was
the one they actually used for this production, he kills the Commendatore but
not because he wants to but because he has to and does not feel so great about
it afterwards.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">After that we have that funny recit to break the
ice <i>“Leporello, ove sei?”</i> and the two men flee the scene of the crime. Then
Anna arrives with her fiancé, Don Ottavio, the guy looked like he was barely
30, which I find kind of risky when it comes to this role. I’ve seen time and
time again young tenors screeching this role thinking it’s right for them
because <i>“It’s Mozart!”</i>. I actually had a pretty enlightening conversation about
that with Gerry Finley (God bless his heart what a wonderful guy!) a couple of
months ago and he pointed out that even though it’s easy to read the music it
doesn’t mean that it’s easy to sing it. Well this guy looked young and VERY
nervous (you would be too if you were being streamed live to all over the world
from the stage of the ROH) but he managed to sound ok, although his nervousness
blocked the whole character thing and all I could see was a nervous tenor
singing the notes just right. But I’m not a very big fan of tenors as a rule so
I might be picking on him too much because he’s the only one in the production
for me to pick on.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Anna gave an absolute show during the duet, such a
beautiful voice! Her type of voice is one of my favorite kinds of female
voices, I cannot abide super light high sopranos (maybe just Diana Damrau, but
she’s a lyric coloratura, right?). Also when Anna comes back she’s sporting
this GORGEOUS black overdress that is, excuse the pun, to die for! Ottavio,
looked a bit lost and Anna completely torn between processing her feelings
towards her midnight stranger to acknowledging her father’s death.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFVK5Hwu2qPDGEXUkMxYhSBedO0yumaC3IbDy2g0ObSvccWvhRu4NaLo7SDygPISCM1lyKrGgCV9USVFszfyVdwF6oA6tY0DwzbppdFf6S8UU46cnchmBW9EWgyFK5AcearpEX0fDXf3M/s1600/%25C2%25A9BC20140129_DON_GIOVANNI-RO_57+GENS+AS+DONNA+ELVIRA%252C+KWIECIEN+AS+DON+GIOVANNI+%2528C%2529+COOPER.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFVK5Hwu2qPDGEXUkMxYhSBedO0yumaC3IbDy2g0ObSvccWvhRu4NaLo7SDygPISCM1lyKrGgCV9USVFszfyVdwF6oA6tY0DwzbppdFf6S8UU46cnchmBW9EWgyFK5AcearpEX0fDXf3M/s1600/%25C2%25A9BC20140129_DON_GIOVANNI-RO_57+GENS+AS+DONNA+ELVIRA%252C+KWIECIEN+AS+DON+GIOVANNI+%2528C%2529+COOPER.jpg" height="400" width="266" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">After that my favorite character in Don Giovanni
(and maybe one of my favorite characters in all opera) makes her first
appearance. Véronique Gens was playing Donna Elvira, she looked kind of beat up and wet
but since she was wearing a sort of rain coat I guess that’s what they were
going for. I had never seen this singer before this production and I gathered
she’s a mezzo since she was doing the mezzo version. Although her voice wasn’t
as powerful as Anna’s she did make up for it with her amazing acting. And again
this production read another character just the way I liked it, because some
might treat her as a recent conquest of Don Giovanni who is still smitten with
him but is able to overcome her feelings by act 2. This one is so not the case
and I love it. One of my favorite moments in the first act is when Elvira
realizes Giovanni is calling on her (</span><i style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">“Signorina”</i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">) and she promptly replies </span><i style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">“Don
Giovanni! Sei qui, mostro, fellon, nido d’inganni!”</i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"> and in normal productions
she would either throw something his way or just hit him. But as this Elvira
approached him with her insults it seemed as if his presence drugged her and
right after she finished her recit she grabbed him and kissed him. SO COOL! I
must confess I’m a fan of passionate stuff and passionate characters so there
you go.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">And as we all know she’s so taken with him to trust
him again and off he goes away from her. Then we have one of my favorite arias
that I actually know by heart and by the way by this point I was
mouthing/singing softly along to everything. Damn I love this opera! The little
book aria is just so hilarious and I love the way every singer who plays
Leporello has their own special way of delivering it. Like Luca Pisaroni who is
one of the best Leporellos ever has a very personal way of playing this
character that is just so amazing. He’s already said that it is one of his
favorite roles (if not THE favorite), he was also my first Leporello back in
2011. But Esposito did a fantastic job and I laughed as he stressed new things and
used and abused of his acting chest to bring Leporello to life.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">The couple sitting next to me would not stop
talking, they were talking about the opera but still it was SO IRRITATING and
their comments were SO ridiculous. At this point they were arguing that they
thought Leporello was a part of Don Giovanni’s imagination, his conscious. They
were basically saying that the Don was Pinocchio and that Leporello was Jiminy
Cricket. Plus they saw that I was mouthing along so they started trying to
guess the next lines based on the subtitles which was rather pathetic since A-
that translation REALLY sucked and B- they clearly did not speak Italian, at
all.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Anyway after they leave we are brought to Zerlina’s
and Masetto’s wedding. Zerlina was played by Elisabeth Watts and Masetto by Dawid Kimberg and they
looked so adorable together. Zerlina was much shorter than him but she had
feisty air and Masetto was one of those big guys that really can't hurt a fly, kind of Ron Weasley, they looked so cute together.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Did I mention that the stage actually spins? And
it’s so amazing how much change they can inflict by simply spinning and
changing the lights. The Don spots the party and instantly has his eye set on
the girl in the white dress, I think he must think it amusing to seduce a girl
out of her engagement on the day of her wedding. Bet he has a special list for
those, as well as for nuns. It’s cheerful party and as soon as Zerlina spots
the Don she’s intrigued, I mean, who wouldn’t be with a guy that attractive
undressing you with his eyes, especially when you have an over seized Ron
Weasley for a fiancé.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Anyways, Don Giovanni invites everyone over to his
place for a super duper party just so he can be alone with her Zerlina, you
gotta give the guy credit for not measuring expenses in order to bang her. Of
course Masetto won’t leave quietly and I think it’s so Amadeus Mozart the bit
when he says<i> “Faccia il nostro cavaliere cavaliera ancora te”</i>, like he will
ride you like a horse. Wow, ok, slow down cowgirl. Sorry about that, I just
love the sexual connotations in this opera and they are so ALL over the place!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Then we have that recit followed by <i>“La ci darem la
mano”</i> which was one of the first duets I ever sang (said every single female
opera singer in the world). I love this duet and it can be done in so many ways
and I have to say that again they brought out the exact take on it that I liked.
Zerlina is not stupid and gullible, she knows what’s going on and the prospect
of being married to a nobleman beats the love and care of peasant Ron Weasley,
it just does. The duet was filled with soft touches and promises in part A but
as soon as Zerlina cries “<i>Andiam</i>” it escalates real, real quickly and by the
end he’s already lifting up her skirts.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">And it would have totally happened if Donna Elvira
hadn’t walked into them and started calling him names like a crazy person. I
love it how the Don is not the least affected by her outburst and promptly
makes up an excuse as to why she’s making such accusations that A- seem
plausible and B- make Zerlina fell great about herself. What a freaking player,
hun? And I know I’m getting a little bit out of production here but the last
one they did with Joyce as Donna Elvira when she says <i>“Io sono a tempo di salvar
questa misera, innocente dal tuo barbaro artiglio”</i> I just loved the way she said
‘misera’ and ‘innocente’ and the way she looks at Zerlina because she kind of
spat it as if saying that Zerlina was everything but miserable and innocent.
Gotta love Joyce!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Another small song I really like is <i>“Fuggi il traditor”</i>, Gens did pretty well and I particularly liked her coloratura they
were very well treated. She leaves like the mad woman she is but is sure to
take Zerlina along with her. The Don is starting to get uneasy about not being
able to finish the deal with the peasant bride but his focus in quickly drawn
to the couple Ottavio and Anna. Now this whole scene was done in the most
interesting way, while Ottavio wasn’t looking the Don made sure he would hit on
and flirt as much as he could with the very willing Anna. Very cool because
Ottavio is so darn slow and boring in this production anyway. Well, he is slow
and boring in most productions anyways.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">After they’ve had their trio and the Don gives Anna
one last hot kiss on her knuckles and departs. Now for her <i>"Don'Ottavio, son morta"</i> Donna Anna has a real interesting moment because only a moment ago she was
quite willingly melting under Don Giovanni’s touch and all of the sudden she’s
conflicted for the first time. She gives into her more lustful feeling leaving
Ottavio with a <i>‘I pity you look’</i> while he wails away one of the most irritating
songs ever.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">I know, it’s Mozart, and I know its Don Giovanni
aka my favorite Mozart opera, BUT, MA, <i>"Dalla sua pace"</i> irritates me thoroughly. Maybe
it’s because since it’s a Mozart aria many tenors from my school thought it was
ok for them to try and screech it and that kind of traumatized me. Maybe Mozart
wrote this aria like this to really mess up with the tenor because it’s a very
difficult piece. </span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">I say this because it wouldn’t be the first time that Wolfie
did that, you know that great aria called Come Scoglio from Cosi Fan Tutte?
Well, Wolfie wasn’t a big fan of the soprano who played Fiordiligi and he knew she had a habit of
rising her head up for high notes and lowering it down for the low notes.
That’s why he wrote phrases like <i>"Far che cangi affetto il cor"</i> like this: Far (in middle voice) che (one octave up) can (goes down again) gi (goes up again) affe (down) tto (up) il cor (normal). Just to see her
make a fool of herself, and people still ask me why I love Mozart! The guy writes something to fuck up with someone and it still sounds like a goddamn master
piece! Mozart is DA man!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Anyways, that’s why I find that A - Dalla sua Pace was
created to haunt and torment tenors. This tenor in particular as I’ve said
before appeared to sweat a lot and was very nervous. Adding to the fact that
Ottavio is a total idiot and in this song you can hear how absolutely blind
Ottavio is. Although that depends on the production, in this one he looks like
a complete fool. And if I'm being totally honest here I don’t think this guy
was old enough to be playing this character. There I’ve said it.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">After that we go back to the Don who is kind of
annoyed by the fact that he hasn’t gotten laid in the past… 8 maybe 12 hours. I
do love this little exchange Leporello and the Don have of telling each other
the news of what’s happened. They really did seem like best buddies in this
production which I find quite good. They get each other and the Don knows that
if he wants to get laid he’ll have to throw a party or something. Lucky for him
there’s already one happening in his estate as he speaks! This next aria
(commonly known as the Champagne Aria) is one of my personal favorites and many
people’s favorite I guess. They did this AMAZING effect where the Don is standing in a doorway and the projections start appearing and spinning, it was
quite impressive to see in the movie theater and I can only imagine it was even
more striking in the opera house. Luckily, there’s a video!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/CUOWb40LIuw?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">After they leave we meet up with the soon to be
married couple Masetto and Zerlina. And here she’s trying to apologize because
she almost ditched him for a sexier, healthier and wittier dude. In this
production Masetto is also kind of daft, a little slow and Zerlina who is quick
and witty takes complete advantage of that to seduce him during her aria Batti,
batti o bel Masetto. Although it’s a lovely tune I’ve grown quite tired of it
because I’ve been singing it for what it seems like forever but what I think
ruins it for me is the fact EVERY SINGLE SOPRANO IN THE PLANET sings this aria.
<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">When she finishes the aria it’s all good until they
hear the Don’s voice and she kind of freaks. He’s having the so talked about
party! Interestingly enough in this scene in which the Don is supposed to make
Zerlina feel ashamed she actually turns the tables around and trick him. I found
that most refreshing for when the dance music starts and people start to dance
Zerlina takes the Don up stairs. Then our good (slightly boring) trio of
Avengers appears all masked up, Donna Anna, Donna Elvira and Don Ottavio, they
plan to crash the party and expose the Don for what he truly is. They sing
about it for about 5 minutes and I must confess that’s not one of the opera’s
high lights for me. Leporello spots the trio of masquerades and invites them
in, they come in and everything is running as the Don wants. Leporello is
distracting Masetto, 99% of the party is drunk and Zerlina is heading upstairs
with him with a malicious smile on her face. When she starts to take her
clothes off the Don does believe he’s won the lottery until she cries <i>“Gente,
aiuto! Aiuto, gente!”</i> and the Don is like <i>“WTF?”</i> and flees. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">The boring trio takes this opportunity to reveal
their true identity and starts throwing insults all over the place directed at
the Don. But he is too clever and quickly grabs Leporello saying he was the one
who was trying to have his way with Zerlina. At this point everyone is singing
insults to the Don saying his mask has finally come off ,<i>traditore</i>, <i>scellerato
</i>amongst other names are used and seeing that there’s no way out the Don flees.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">End of act one. I didn’t comment more about the
couple sitting a few chairs from me who insisted in talking throughout the
whole thing but let me just make it clear that they wouldn’t shut it for a
minute. People in the movie theater were quite mad. But anyhow, at intermission
we had this wonderful interview with Kasper Holten and even more wonderful
because Bryn was conducting it. It was really a shame that this wasn’t live
because live stuff does give me butterflies in my stomach knowing that it’s
happening at that moment but I guess I should be thankful that it had reached
me somehow in Brazil, nonetheless in my home town.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">The interview was again very fun and lighthearted.
I do LOVE Kasper’s work and especially when he’s given the opportunity to work
in a piece he truly LOVES like last year with Eugene Onegin that he did a
masterpiece and now with Don Giovanni. You can see that the guy knows the piece
inside out and has been thinking about each of those characters for years and
now he’s given the chance to show his view and his take on the Don Juan
masterpiece.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">They took some questions from twitter and since
it’s been almost two months I don’t really remember them. But I do remember one
directed to Bryn asking if he would be tempted to play the Don if he did this
production and he said “No”. But not because of the production but because he
never felt he was the right person to play this role, he felt much more
comfortable playing Leporello. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Well act two and I find myself another seat away
from the talkative couple. But as soon as they start their chitchat this man
turns around and raves at them to shut the fuck up. It was so glorious! I loved
that man! Even though I heard him say, <i>“Oh, I don’t know. I like this opera but
I like operas that have more orchestra like La Traviata. This one has barely
any orchestra”</i> and <i>“Oh yes, Anna Netrebko and Elina Garanca are both from
Russia”</i>. I always say that if you don’t know stuff don’t say anything, you will
sound STUPID. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span lang="EN-US">Anyhow, this first part of the second act is one of
my favorites! So the Don is now having to persuade Leporello to stick around but
Leporello won’t have any of it. The Don then offers him some money and
Leporello is quickly back to his side. But he does plead to the Don to <i>“Purché
lasciam le donne” </i>(So long as we leave the women alone) and the Don’s response
is one of my favorite line in the whole opera <i>“Lasciar le donne! Pazzo! Lasciar
le donne! Sai ch’elle per me son necessarie più pan che mangio, più dell’aria
che spiro!”</i> (Leave the women? Idiot! Leave the women! Don’t you know they are
more necessary to me than the air that I breathe or the bread that I eat?) to
which Leporello replies <i>“E avete core d’ingannarle poi tutte?</i>” (And still you
deceive all of them?) and the Don simply says <i>“È tutto amore. </i></span><i>Chi a una sola è fedele verso l’altre è
crudele: io, che in me ento sì esteso sentiment, vo’ bene a tutte quante: le
donne poi, che calcolar non sanno, il mio buon natural chiamano inganno.”</i> <span lang="EN-US">(I do it
becaue I love them! Who is faithful to one is cruel to the others. I’m a man
whose heart is so large that I love all of them, Women simply don’t understand
me. They think that my natural generosity is some sort of deceit.) <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">And even though I laugh and go “son of a bitch”
every time I hear that recit, I also get it. He is the kind of person that
can’t really compromise to only one person and I get that because one of my
best friends is just like that. She grows bored of having the same person and
needs to constantly change, in today’s world that’s really ok, but back then
things were more complicated. And the Don had to lie in order to get what he
wanted, do you know how many girls he would have bedded if he’d been honest and said he only wanted to spend the night with them? A lot of women still but
certainly not 2065. I know I might sound like a horrible person defending Don
Giovanni but whatever, I don’t care!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuWO0oSi0qUfLq1vMzkBImks1zLGmXbNuUbPhtJP7Dp-ceSGSmK6i9Wymxj_n7koqxEbBTCguoh4N01tbH31tdaGIjDtMfHOMnEuDtJ-sC997gGXQLVOLXxaHmNRhdX6m0UztEOE_yzCQ/s1600/12237033194_23568fe3c0_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuWO0oSi0qUfLq1vMzkBImks1zLGmXbNuUbPhtJP7Dp-ceSGSmK6i9Wymxj_n7koqxEbBTCguoh4N01tbH31tdaGIjDtMfHOMnEuDtJ-sC997gGXQLVOLXxaHmNRhdX6m0UztEOE_yzCQ/s1600/12237033194_23568fe3c0_b.jpg" height="400" width="266" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Anyways,
the Don now needs Leporello to pretend that he is in fact the Don to distract
Donna Elvira while the actual Don seduces her chamber maid. This trio is truly
hilarious, it consists in Leporello being out there dressed as the Don mouthing
what the Don is saying to Donna Elvira and her in the balcony having an inner
battle as to what to do, should I stay or should I go? I think the music
written for this is so gorgeous. The clash between Donna Elvira’s melancholy
doubts, the Don’s false declarations of affection and Leporello’s attempts to
restrain his laugher is truly the work of genius. Mozart, God bless his heart!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">One thing
that did disappoint me a little bit was the recit right after this trio when
Leporello pretends to be Don Giovanni to a very willing Donna Elvira. He hid
more than he hit on her and that frustrated the scene for me a little bit
because along with the trio it’s one of my favorite moments in the opera. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">After
Leporello and Donna Elvira leave the Don is alone by the balcony and starts to
serenade. Seriously, if a guy like that ever sang <i>“Deh viene alla finestra”</i> to
me I don’t even dare to think what I would do. It’s one of my favorite arias in
this opera, my favorite for the Don DEFINETLY. It’s smooth and it’s full of
promise and contained passion. And Mariusz is like utter perfection singing
this, he IS the Don. Charm and charm and charm and you’re lost! What was most
certainly unnecessary was that the chamber maid came down the stairs
while he sang to her and at the end of the aria she took all her clothes off
and was stark naked on stage. That did win some gasps from the audience and God
why make the lady take her clothes off? Just to show how persuasive Don
Giovanni can be? If she’s grabbed him and kissed him or made some sort of let’s
do it gesture it would have sent the same message. I don’t know, I think that
since this is set in Spain I just don’t see any Spanish woman doing that. Maybe
the Italians would do that but not Spanish women, they are very proud and far
too self-certain to have to resort to taking their clothes off to attract the
attention of a gentleman. Italians are more careless in that matter and I don’t
mean it in a bad way, what I mean is that Italians would have totally have been
carried by the heat of the moment and take their clothes off like that in front
of him on the street. But the Spanish women would have probably gestured for
him to come up and THEN taken her clothes off. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Anyways as
we all know the Don’s rondevu is cut short by the annoying Masetto and the naked
girl is kept in the corner covering herself with her own dress. Anyways, the Don
pretends to be Leporello and to be fighting for Masetto’s cause to kill the
Don. But the moment he turns around the Don beats him up and flees. Zerlina
finds her poor, poor, stupid fiancé and tell him he’ll make him feel better
with her magic medicine (aka I’ll let you touch my boobs and I’ll kiss you
wherever you want). Vedrai Carino is another lovely aria that I know back and
forth and am oh of tired of listening to because everyone thinks it’ alright to
sing it. But anyways…<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Then we go
back to Donna Elvira and Leporello who undoubtfully have been having their fun.
But Leporello is quite tired of her and is eager to be free of her affections.
This is one of those Mozart things that starts off as a duet, then another duet
and before you know it it’s a huge sextet with complicated lines for everyone
involved. And as more characters appear each one has a door and the projections
come in a way as if they are all walking in hallways, it’s really quite amazing.
You see as Leporello is trying to escape Masetto grabs hold of him and Donna
Elvira starts to plead in his defense. But the other members of the sextet are
not as forgiving and want “Don Giovanni” dead. Seeing no way out Leporello
reveals his true identity to everyone’s surprise and to Donna Elvira’s misery.
I do pity her, poor woman. Sometimes I’m even led to believe that she knew that
it wasn’t Don Giovanni all along but living a little fantasy for a bit is
better than sitting alone in her room. Well that really depends on the
production.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">After this
fun sextet everybody comes at Leporello with fifteen hundred stones accusing
him of doing the things the Don did as well as the other things the Don did discussed
as Leporello, quite a lot of stuff. But Leporello wouldn’t be working for a man
such as Don Giovanni if he wasn’t cunning and before you know it after uttering
some confusing excuses he flees like the wind. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Then we go
back to tenor terror. I’m sorry I might be sounding rather mean and the guy
wasn’t all that bad but I felt he was not ready for this kind of job. Not ready
for such a role in such a house in such circumstances. I’m not even gonna
comment on the aria, let’s just skip that because that’s also not my favorite
piece of music ever.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">After that
we do get some juicy singing from Donna Elvira and she did such a marvelous
job. This aria is absolutely heart breaking, a woman clearly so in love with a
man she knows will never feel the same for her. And still she loves him and seeks
him, it’s very sad and when translated into music absolutely gorgeous. This is definitely
one of those arias I would LOVE to sing. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">When Donna
Elvira leaves Leporello appears to meet Don Giovanni next to a cemetery. As
they tell each other what’s happened they can hear a sinister voice coming from
the graveyard. While Leporello wets his pants the Don is quite intrigued. In
this production they have a bust of the Commendatore as the vessel from which
he communicates with the Don in this scene. Even though Leporello is scared
half to death he does as his master commands and invites the Commendatore for
dinner in the behalf of his master. The Don isn’t half amused by all this and
actually throws the bust from the second floor it comes apart in a million
pieces on stage. </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"> </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwzp3crJUg4lUIPP-NgFQB4rQuaSQ_h-MQ5o8_R-5CSlMsKWdgIo8OGarSSWRqfMxU3CV6jQoY9PC5vOqvvNbyw89dSqiYtzQAG2ynq7ff0QewGgx-8Fg4MaXpu1BoWx5GrF6m6GwAehs/s1600/don-giovanni-009.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwzp3crJUg4lUIPP-NgFQB4rQuaSQ_h-MQ5o8_R-5CSlMsKWdgIo8OGarSSWRqfMxU3CV6jQoY9PC5vOqvvNbyw89dSqiYtzQAG2ynq7ff0QewGgx-8Fg4MaXpu1BoWx5GrF6m6GwAehs/s1600/don-giovanni-009.jpg" height="240" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">On the
original libretto the Don and Leporello leave so Donna Anna can come in and
deliver her big aria. But in this most intriguing production the Don stays
behind and watches the exchange between Anna and Ottavio. While Ottavio I trying
to persuade her to think about their engagement Anna is resolute in not thinking
in anything but her father’s death. But in this production it’s quite different
because even though she’s indeed thinking about her father she’s also still pondering
on her encounter with the Don. So after he shoos Ottavio away and starts singing
her aria the Don appears and yet again wants to draw her near to him. But it is
at this point that she realizes he is not what she needs, he is not what he
wants. He was necessary for her to open up her eyes to see that there’s so much
more out there and that she could make her choices herself. I find this one of
the best interpretations of this aria/moment and yet this is the first time I’ve
seen it used. And by the way, the singer was amazing. What a magnificent voice, she was simply DIVINE!
She got quite an ovation and well deserved!</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvbycVe4Bbv7Vb2MD9QictBebmuhTx8t9H5-UpenO6LqK4SK0a1rGb1Ffi6AadE1SV9M3Gs3vpmXJpqqXHR_TPnUARj5KIEOWHdKwdg6fyI_5LCQWUg1tP6Xx08LwCeFARvQdLS2Apth0/s1600/2.%25C2%25A9BC20140127_DON_GIOVANNI-RO_412-BYSTROM-AS-DONNA-ANNA-KWIECIEN-AS-DON-GIOVANNI-C-COOPER.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvbycVe4Bbv7Vb2MD9QictBebmuhTx8t9H5-UpenO6LqK4SK0a1rGb1Ffi6AadE1SV9M3Gs3vpmXJpqqXHR_TPnUARj5KIEOWHdKwdg6fyI_5LCQWUg1tP6Xx08LwCeFARvQdLS2Apth0/s1600/2.%25C2%25A9BC20140127_DON_GIOVANNI-RO_412-BYSTROM-AS-DONNA-ANNA-KWIECIEN-AS-DON-GIOVANNI-C-COOPER.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Finally
last scene and we are back at the Don’s estate where he is dinning. We have
that whole scene where he eats and Leporello is starving and he boasts at all
life’s pleasures etc… Donna Elvira appears, she wants to give him another
chance, she’s so in love but he’s rude and kind of an ass to her. And again,
she can’t really change him because she feel for who he is, if he does change
he will not be the man she feel for therefor she is condemned to suffer. She
leaves just in time for the Commendatore to arrive. From the many, many
interpretations of this scene that I’ve seen this has to be one of the best. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">They don’t
even come face to face, the Don is on ground floor while the Commendatore is right
above him on the first floor. They have their exchange and Leporello pleads and
pleads for his master to stop. The idea of this was that in this end the Don
wouldn’t be sent to hell by a ginormous fireball but would go to his personal
version of hell, to be alone. As the scene proceeds all the projections of
names start to fade, Leporello leaves and even the Commendatore. At the end he
is in hell, he is alone, nothing around him but plain white from the stage. He
gets to his knees and cries out in the moment where he should be engulfed by
the fires of hell but nothing happens and he is alone. He looks at the audience
and you can see that this loneliness is worse than any other punishment for the
man who has broken the hearts of 2065 women. The End!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXP61V3UbbiBLK9VDENOiv-jYjCSHDYiryOnFi59HG_f30xhT5eR_BlD4bAH3thJ2g81O01FenAFR6UxminHhWEMdos3TvdN35mi6Uo_P94SipFZmmmzvD1LB-EZsBAspTvtnG0sdHCEQ/s1600/edaff78c-3d22-4e89-95ec-75ede0233b66-460x276.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXP61V3UbbiBLK9VDENOiv-jYjCSHDYiryOnFi59HG_f30xhT5eR_BlD4bAH3thJ2g81O01FenAFR6UxminHhWEMdos3TvdN35mi6Uo_P94SipFZmmmzvD1LB-EZsBAspTvtnG0sdHCEQ/s1600/edaff78c-3d22-4e89-95ec-75ede0233b66-460x276.jpeg" height="240" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Holy shit,
that was the very BEST production of Don Giovanni I’ve ever seen! So incredible,
the crowd went wild and I was delirious! It was really quite an experience. I
love the ROH, after the Met it’s my favorite Opera House. Wow, this post is SO
ENORMOUS! It took long enough to write I can tell you that. Well I’m gonna be
off now, thanks for reading! </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"> </span></div>
Belahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08940075924322732507noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3881539215077596507.post-2210847594370781112014-06-17T14:12:00.000-06:002014-06-17T14:12:25.573-06:009 things you might not know about opera<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Y’all know
that I’m crazy about opera and have been very lucky to have seen some pretty major
stuff. But sometimes we, both opera lovers and opera singers in the
making, forget that our world is kinda far from most people’s reality. Let me
explain myself a little better, since we are always in contact with people who
have some knowledge about the art form or work with it sometimes we assume that
people in general know things, but they don’t. And this is not a critique to
those people, not at all. Why am I saying this? Well over the last couple of years
I’ve successfully been turning my best friends into opera fans. And some of the
questions they’ve asked I sincerely thought were common knowledge, but they’re
not. So I decided to make a list of some of the main basic things I get asked
about opera a lot along with some fun videos to illustrate.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: x-small;">1- </span><span lang="EN-US" style="line-height: 115%;"><b>Opera
Singers do not use microphones when singing in an opera house</b></span><span lang="EN-US"><b>.</b><span style="font-size: x-small;"> That question I get asked a lot, I
remember I was chatting to a friend of a friend during the intermission of Don
Giovanni and he was finding it hard to believe that the singers weren’t using
microphones. So traditionally opera singers NEVER use microphones when
performing an opera in an opera house or doing a recital in an opera house or
in a concert hall. We are taught from a very early state that our most timid
sounds have to be heard by the deafest of old ladies sitting way in the back of
the house. Being heard without a microphone has a lot to do with the singer but
also a lot to do with the space he’s performing in. Most opera houses and
concert halls have been through meticulous acoustic treatment in order for the
sound of the voice or any instrument to travel to every seat in the house. But
of course there are exceptions, when doing outdoor concerts (like the famous
concerts the Three Tenors did) one must use a microphone. <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">This is a
video of one of the most famous opera singers nowadays, Anna Netrebko singing
in an outdoor concert using a microphone but then ditching it. It’s pretty
funny!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Another
case singers might use a microphone is when the opera house is doing a
recording or a live broadcast of the opera. But those microphones are used only
to get the sound and transmit it through the radio or the movie theaters, it’s
never used to enhance the size of the voice inside the opera house. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: x-small;">2 – </span><span lang="EN-US" style="line-height: 115%;"><b>There
are subtitles available in every opera house nowadays.</b></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: x-small;"> Many people come up to me and tell me they’d
like to go to the opera but they fear they’d be bored because they don’t
understand Italian/German/French. It came as an utter shock to me to realize
that so many people did not know that opera houses do have the translations of
the text available. Most houses have a thin screen way up above the stage where
you can see the translations to what’s being said on stage on the language of
the country you are in. The guys at the Metropolitan Opera House had a pretty
hard time implementing that kind of gadget because their musical director,
James Levine, simply said “Over my dead body there will be translations hanging
on my stage” (I’m paraphrasing it, I don’t remember the exact words he said).
So the Met invented an amazing translation system that is quite perfect for
highly cosmopolitan cities like New York. So every seat has a digital screen in
front of them, there you can choose whichever language you want for your
subtitles, English, German or Spanish, or the language the opera is in
(Italian, French, Russian and so on…). Or if you are a purist and don’t want
subtitles you don’t even have to worry about glancing sideways and catching a
glimpse of your neighbor’s subtitles because the screens are made for their
content only to be seen from certain angles. So even if your neighbor is using
his subtitles, you won’t be able to see them. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Another
cool insight about the Met’s subtitles is that there are actually two people
every single night who actually operate the subtitles system. So it’s not
automatic, it’s hand operated in case they slow down the tempo or pick it up
the subtitles will always accompany the opera to perfection! <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: x-small;">3. </span><span lang="EN-US" style="line-height: 115%;"><b>Opera
is not an unreachable art form fit only to the rich</b></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: x-small;">. I know most opera tickets can be pretty
expensive, but not all of them. The Metropolitan Opera for instance has an
amazing student ticket program that sells tickets to college students for
really cheap prices. Plus there is the amazing Family Circle at the Met where
prices vary from $40,00 to $2,00. Plus there are $10 rush tickets being sold at
the Met on week days 10 minutes before the performances and that also happens
at Carnegie Hall and I imagine happens in a lot of other houses. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Here in
Brazil students and senior citizens pay half the price of the ticket to any
opera performance or concert. And I gather there are many other opera houses who
have special sales for tickets. It might seem as if I’m highlighting the
Metropolitan Opera too much but that’s only because I have been there and know
a lot about this particular house.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: x-small;">4. </span><span lang="EN-US" style="line-height: 115%;"><b>There
can be as many stagings of the same opera as you can possibly imagine</b></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: x-small;">. Many people tend to think that
opera productions run about just like musicals such as The Lion King, there is
only one version of the staging and that’s the one that is done all over the
world. That couldn’t be farther from the truth. Both things couldn’t be more
different. First of all in opera you don’t have to buy the rights to the music
since the work becomes public domain after 100 years of the death of the author
(which is the case of most of the standard repertoire). In opera the stage
director can come up with whatever concept of costumes, when and where it is
going to be set, sets and even the singer’s interpretation as he wishes, the
sky is the limit. What cannot be changed under ANY circumstance is the music.
In opera you can’t change anything about the music, not even a single note, the
music is always the same, immortal. Same goes for the lyrics.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">There’s a
pretty funny story about a musical theater stage director who went to direct
his first opera at the Met last year. He was in a technical stage rehearsal
along with his creative team and the musical director and his team. And turned
out that there wasn’t enough instrumental music to cover his set change and so
he turned to the conductor and said “Just double the measures then” and there
was a silent gasp and dead silence as the entire Met Opera stared daggers at
him in horror. The opera in this case was Verdi’s Rigoletto one of the most
traditional pieces in the opera repertoire so you can’t just double the
measures. This production however was quite good, it was set in Las Vegas, take
a look at the video bellow. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">5. </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"><b>Some
girls play boys</b></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">. This
is another thing I thought in my imagination that was common knowledge, our
famous trouser roles. Trouser roles (or pants roles) is a term used to talk
about male roles that have been written for the female voice. Most of the time
mezzo sopranos sing this kind of role, they are usually young man and sometimes
very naïve but most of the time very true of heart (with the exception of Nero
of Rome I guess). These roles can also be taken by counter tenors, those are
guys who sing with a ladies’ voice. But what is really great about trouser
roles, apart from all the incredible musical effects that are brought to the
table, is the amazing ability of the female singers to convincingly play men
and make us forget for a while that they are actually women.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>These are all ladies playing guys, way above we have Sarah Connolly as Octavian in Strauss' Der Rosenkavalier, then Vesselina Kasarova as Sesto in Mozart's La Clemenza di Tito, the Joyce DiDonato as Cherubino in Mozart's Le Nozze di Figaro and finally Alice Coote as Nero in La Incoronazzione di Poppea </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">My little
sister is a cosplayer and she’s done her fair share of male cosplays. I showed
her these two clips bellow and she didn’t realize that they were women until I
told her. The clip bellow is of Sarah
Connolly as Giulio Cesare in Handel’s Giulio Cesare. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: x-small;">6. </span><span lang="EN-US" style="line-height: 115%;"><b>To
become an opera singer people have to study up to 10 years before hitting the
stage.</b></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: x-small;"> People have this
delusional notion that a singer has a natural gift and just sings their heart
out without much preparation. The natural gift thing is great if you are lucky
enough to have it, but in being an opera singer that counts as 5% of the
package. Opera singers need to be excellent musicians, after all we are dealing
with the greatest composers of all time, you simply cannot have a singer who
can’t read music or accompany a musical score. Learn languages, in opera the
pronunciation is paramount, sometimes if your pronunciation isn’t up to the
standards you can get fired. Opera singers also need to be outstanding actors
because they are, after all, acting on a stage just like in a play. And most
importantly a singer must practice, just like an athlete, every single day.
That’s why some people say that opera is the equivalent of the Olympics of
singing, because it’s hard and it’s so NOT about just having a pretty voice and
a God given gift.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: x-small;">There’s
this wonderful quote by Joan Sutherland that I think says it all </span><span lang="EN-US" style="line-height: 115%;"><i>“One is just given a talent, and it’s
one’s duty to make the most of it”.</i></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: x-small;"> Being an opera singer is real hard work all
the time, even after you start your career. Especially after you start your
career!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: x-small;">7. </span><span lang="EN-US" style="line-height: 115%;"><b>There
are operas being composed as we speak!</b> </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: x-small;">People seem to associate “opera” with “old” and
true, most of the operas being done nowadays are by composers like Puccini,
Verdi and Mozart who have left this world quite a while ago. But there are also
living breathing composers who are getting their works performed in big time
opera houses today. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">For
instance, we have the amazing “Dead Man Walking” by Jake Heggie which tells the
story of a nun who decides to become the confessor of a man on death row. You
think that name sounds familiar? It’s because it’s based on the true story of
sister Helen, who wrote a book about it and also had her story told in an
Academy Award winning movie back in the 90’s. Plus the music is so gorgeous,
Jake Heggie is a fantastic composer with the most gorgeous sense of singing
line that always keeps us on the edge of our seats. Here’s a little musical
treat from this opera.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Another
modern opera that has just last year had her North America debut is Nico
Muhly’s “Two Boys”. It’s also based on a true story that happened a little over
10 years ago. It’s an opera about the dangers of the internet chat rooms and
what can happen if you get sucked in. It’s a mystery story, sort of a detective
story about a 16 year old boy found in a crime scene soaked with blood of a 12
year old dead boy. As the opera unfolds you learn how the boy was utterly
manipulated by people at chat rooms to do something completely out of
character, like murder. It’s pretty cool. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: x-small;">8 – </span><span lang="EN-US" style="line-height: 115%;"><b>Forget
about stereotypes most professional opera singers are just like you and me</b></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: x-small;">. For me the two worst images that
are sold of an opera singer are that they are unhealthy overweight people that
just “park and bark” (stand and sing) and that they are arrogant and won’t give
anyone the time of day. Things have changed so much! There was a time when
singers were not required to look the part and sometimes not even to act so
much, all that was important was the sound. But nowadays with all the major
changes people have been through the public wants more. The sound still has to
be beautiful but they also want a Violetta (the heroin of La Traviata) who
looks like a courtesan who has pneumonia. As the world changes so does opera,
now we have High Definition cameras pointing at the faces of our singers being
transmitted live all across the globe, changes had to be made, and they were.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Take opera
singer Lisette Oropesa for instance, she’s a young soprano with a very
fantastic career who sings at the Met all the time. She’s also a runner, if I’m
not mistaken she runs every day. Once she sang the National Anthem at the
opening of a marathon and then ran it! <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnwyFEVDDIxivjBBgxv2cOkGTuWETU6E3BmPRz3_RL3-prGDiIR7aSZwyYfkeHfV8MDoM-CBNktURCFjfRJ7g4wedbQ9nnbB_UhwM8rkMq8_c3yoFnY4bjUzDkwLe3MIuqTO8FojYUFn0/s1600/10297893_10203131939446621_3756975642033892962_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnwyFEVDDIxivjBBgxv2cOkGTuWETU6E3BmPRz3_RL3-prGDiIR7aSZwyYfkeHfV8MDoM-CBNktURCFjfRJ7g4wedbQ9nnbB_UhwM8rkMq8_c3yoFnY4bjUzDkwLe3MIuqTO8FojYUFn0/s1600/10297893_10203131939446621_3756975642033892962_n.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This picture is a clear example of how amazing and receptive opera singers can be. It's a picture of one of the greatest opera singers nowadays, Joyce DiDonato, with a bunch of friends of mine who adore opera after her performance in La Cenerentola at the Met last month</span></i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">As for the singer’s
attitude, I’m not saying that all of the singers are nice. But in my experience
I’ve only had great things to say about the way opera singers have treated me.
Almost all of them were truly interested in what I had to say and I actually
got to talk a lot to them. They are flesh and bone people who, if they are not
too tired or late, love to hear feedback so fresh out of the performance.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">9 – </span><b>You can
experience operas from all over the world with one click</b><span style="font-size: x-small;">. Many opera houses
like the Royal Opera House in London and the Metropolitan Opera are streaming
live their operas at the movie theaters. Other opera houses like Glyndebourne
and the Vienna State Opera stream their opera online, and those streams are
most of the time completely free of charge.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">There are
also SEVERAL radio transmissions from operas from all over the world. I
remember I was quite happy to have been able to hear Cendrillon from Barcelona
in the beginning of this year through the radio station website. And also to
hear my utmost favorite Tosca (Sondra Radvanovsky) sing the role live through
the radio several times during Christmas time.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Opera
houses all over the world have been making an extra effort to reach out to
people by joining social networks such as Facebook, twitter, Youtube and even
Tumblr. For instance the Met did a cocktail competition for the opening of the
2012/2013 season through Facebook. You had to make up a cocktail and the most
voted would get first rate tickets to see L’Elisir D’Amore. And the Royal Opera
House just did a stage director’s diaries series with their artistic director
Kasper Holten about their new Don Giovanni production, it’s got 11 or so videos
of Kasper filmed throughout the process of rehearsals until opening night.
Another great thing the ROH did just about a year ago was have an entire day
being streamed live online of everything that happens at the opera house, stage
rehearsals, master classes, scene rehearsals, orchestra rehearsals, classes,
the works!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibMrDPTEStX02icOxAHUypO6AN2KM4G2WGprDmZq5Uv2Ykb4BXYQx32tfPVxo-2DO2DCiLU4YCO3XDhk8ouqAj7jdmCLwfSRNpolspYyd-_nkGG4PZK9XsR0dc5MZS3rCrWUlQTdha9F4/s1600/12071919156_909ded83dc_z.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibMrDPTEStX02icOxAHUypO6AN2KM4G2WGprDmZq5Uv2Ykb4BXYQx32tfPVxo-2DO2DCiLU4YCO3XDhk8ouqAj7jdmCLwfSRNpolspYyd-_nkGG4PZK9XsR0dc5MZS3rCrWUlQTdha9F4/s1600/12071919156_909ded83dc_z.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">rehearsals of ROH's Don Giovanni</span></i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">You see? We’re
not so different you and me! So give opera a chance, I’m sure you’ll love it!</span></div>
<br />
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Cheers
people!</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
Belahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08940075924322732507noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3881539215077596507.post-92053114129169488042014-05-29T16:15:00.000-06:002014-05-29T16:15:12.165-06:00Get to Know Me Uncomfortably Well<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Shame on my person! Guys, I'm sorry! It's ridiculous because I've written like 3 different posts and wasn't able to finish not even one of them! Well this is gonna be another fun 'who am I' kind of post. I got the idea from Tumblr place where I've been spending far too much time in but it was very fun answering the questions. Enjoy! ;)</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; line-height: 115%;">1. What is your middle name? Zogaib</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">2. How old are you? 23<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">3. What is your birthday? 03/07/1990<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">4. What is your zodiac sign? Cancer<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">5. What is your favorite color? Red<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">6. What is your lucky number? 7<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">7. Do you have any pets? Nop<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">8. Where are you from? Brazil<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">9. How tall are you? 1,70cm<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">10. What shoe size are you? 8 and a half<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">11. How many pairs of shoes do you own? About 30, maybe 40<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">12. Favorite authors? Jane Austen, Agatha Christie and William Shakespeare
(I love me some British literature)<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">13. What talents do you have? I’m a pretty good singer haha<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">14. Are you psychic in any way? I don’t see or hear anything but I do
feel chills all of a sudden<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">15. Favorite song? IMPOSSIBLE<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">16. Favorite movie? Love Actually<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">17. Who would be your ideal partner? Probably someone as intense as me
but with a soft, sweet side<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">18. Do you want children? Sure<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">19. Do you want a church wedding? Not really, I wouldn’t mind but it’s
not really necessary<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">20. Are you religious? I do believe in God and love him very much but I’m
not a church person<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">21. Have you ever been to the hospital? Yes…<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">22. Have you ever gotten in trouble with the law? Not that I can recall,
no not really haha<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">23. Have you ever met any celebrities? I’ve met a bunch of opera singer
celebrities<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">24. Baths or showers? Depends on my mood<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">25. What color socks are you wearing? None at all, I’m wearing Cinderella
flip flops<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">26. Have you ever been famous? No, I don’t think so…<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">27. Would you like to be a big celebrity? Not really<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">28. What type of music do you like? I like good and well executed music<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">29. Have you ever been skinny dipping? No but that’s definitely on my
bucket list!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">30. How many pillows do you sleep with? Just one<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">31. What position do you usually sleep in? On my back but I do toss and
turn A LOT during the night<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">32. How big is your house? Quite big<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">33. What do you typically have for breakfast? A HUGE mug of coffee, an
one egg omelet with mushrooms and some healthy cereal with milk or yogurt<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">34. Have you ever fired a gun? No but I would love to try sometime<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">35. Have you ever tried archery? Same answer as above<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">36. Favorite clean word? Butterfly<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">37. Favorite swear word? Shit<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">38. What's the longest you've ever gone without sleep? About 30, 35 hours
I think<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">39. Do you have any scars? Yes, one on my back thanks to a butcher doctor
who removed a spot there and fucked the place up and one on my right knee for
when my dog scared me half to death and I feel <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">40. Have you ever had a secret admirer? Not that I know of, my sister has
a collection of those though <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">41. Are you a good liar? Yes, yes I am<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">42. Are you a good judge of character? Most of the times<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">43. Can you do any other accents other than your own? Yes, in Portuguese
it’s kind of hard but I do have a very good American Accent and a very
convincing British accent for English<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">44. Do you have a strong accent? In Portuguese no, but it really depends
to whom I’m talking to when it comes to English<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">45. What is your favorite accent? Probably British<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">46. What is your personality type? Strong, friendly, sincere, funny,
direct and bold<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">47. What is your most expensive piece of clothing? This gorgeous dress I
got for a wedding, it’s an absolute dream in light blue<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">48. Can you curl your tongue? Yeap<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">49. Are you an innie or an outie? I sincerely do not know what that is<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">50. Left or right handed? Right<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">51. Are you scared of spiders? Nop<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">52. Favorite food? Food<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">53. Favorite foreign food? Sushi<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">54. Are you a clean or messy person? Clean most of the time<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">55. Most used phrase? Probably “Oh my God!”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">56. Last book you’ve read? I just finished reading the sweetest book
called “The Jane Austen Book Club” by Karen Joy Fowler<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">57. How long does it take for you to get ready? About an hour<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">58. Do you have much of an ego? I do have one don’t really care about it
though<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">59. Do you suck or bite lollipops? Suck<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">60. Do you talk to yourself? A LOT<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">61. Do you sing to yourself? ALL THE TIME<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">62. Are you a good singer? Hell yeah, if I may say so myself <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">63. Biggest Fear? End up doing something I don’t love<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">64. Are you a gossip? Kind of<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">65. Best dramatic movie you've seen? King’s Speech is absolutely
incredible <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">66. Do you like long or short hair? Long<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">67. Can you name all 50 states of America? No, I can barely name the 24
of my own country! haha<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">68. Favorite school subject? History and Math<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">69. Extrovert or Introvert? Extrovert<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">70. Have you ever been scuba diving? No but that’s another thing I would
love to do<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">71. What makes you nervous? Not being in control<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">72. Are you scared of the dark? I used to be until a good 5 years ago
before I started living alone, now I’m not <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">73. Do you correct people when they make mistakes? Sometimes, depends on
the person<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">74. Are you ticklish? Not at all<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">75. Have you ever started a rumor? Not that I can remember, probably no<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">76. Have you ever been in a position of authority? Yes and it’s fun<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">77. Have you ever drank underage? Yes, who hasn’t?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">78. Have you ever done drugs? No<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">79. Who was your first real crush? A boy from my class when I was 12<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">80. How many piercings do you have? I have my ears pierced but that’s it<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">81. Can you roll your Rs? Of course I can, I’m an opera student for
Christ sakes!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">82. How fast can you type? Rather fast<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">83. How fast can you run? Rather fast<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">84. What color is your hair? Black<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">85. What color are your eyes? Dark brown<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">86. What are you allergic to? Nothing that I know of<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">87. Do you keep a journal? I used to when I was in school but now I only
have a blog<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">88. What do your parents do? My dad is a retired army general and my mum
administrates a company<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">89. Do you like your age? Sure<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">90. What makes you angry? Stupidity<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">91. Do you like your own name? Yes, it’s lovely<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">92. Have you already thought of baby names, and if so what are they? I’ve
always loved the name Emma<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">93. Do you want a boy or a girl for a child? It doesn’t really matter<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">94. What are your strengths? I’m determined, optimistic, hard working and
fun<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">95. What are your weaknesses? I’m scared to take chances<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">96. How did you get your name? It was my uncle’s ex girlfriend’s name, my
mum really liked her and she absolutely loved the name<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">97. Were your ancestors royalty? No…<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">98. What are you currently reading? Apart from an embarrassing number of
fanfictions that are updated with no haste at all, I’m just finished today
reading “The Jane Austen Book Club”. I’m also reading Rick Riordan’s “The
Serpent’s Shadow” (that’s the third and last in the Kane Chronicles collection)
and George R. R. Martin’s “Clash of Kings” (that’s the second on the Game of
Thrones collection) AND Agatha Christie’s “The Labors of Hercules”. I’m
thoroughly incapable of reading one book at a time. I also have a very good
translation of Pushkin’s Eugene Onegin in my bedside table when I feel poetic.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">99. Color of your bedspread? Green<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">100. Color of your room? Redish pink<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">101. Kissed a girl? Yes<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">102. Kissed a boy? Yes<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">103. Had sex in public? I don’t think so<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">104. What does your URL mean? Just my name and my blog’s Unexpected Song
is the name of a beautiful ALW song for a musical called Song and Dance<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">105. Five things I could find in your bedroom: an alarming number of
books, loads of pictures, far too many scarves, a cup of coffee, many things
organized according to color<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">106. Reason you joined tumblr? Pretty things<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">107. Do you have any nicknames? Isa or Bela<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">108. Do you like bubble bath? I like it but I don’t have many <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">109. Kissed in the rain? Yes!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">110. Dyed your hair? Never<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">111. Soup or salad? Depends on the weather<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">112. Vegetable or meat? Meat<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">113. Go out drinking? Yes please<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">114. Smoke cigarettes? Not a chance<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">115. Smoke weed? No, no, no<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">116. Do any hard drugs? Never<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">117. Have you had sex today? Unfortunately no<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">118. Have you ever fallen asleep in someone’s arms? Oh yes!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">119. The relationship between you and the person you last texted? She’s
one of my oldest and most amazing friends<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">120. Has anyone ever told you you have pretty eyes? Yes<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">121. Skipped doing homework to play a video game? All the time<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">122. Tried to commit suicide? No<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">123. The last time you felt broken? When I got rejected from a Master
college program<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">124. Had to lie to EVERYONE about how you felt? When I got rejected from
college<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">125. Do you have a Boyfriend/Girlfriend? No<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">126. A place that makes you feel peaceful? The beach when the sun is
setting or in the evening<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">127. First thing you notice in a guy/girl? Face/smile<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">128. Do you sing in the shower? Every single day<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">129. Do you dance in the car? Depends on whose car I’m in<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">130. Where were you yesterday? Doctor’s, home, donating books in the
afternoon then went to the gym at night<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">131. A place that makes you feel excited? The Metropolitan Opera<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">132. Last time you got a portrait taken by a photographer? I seriously do
not remember<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">133. Do you think musicals are cheesy? NOT AT ALL<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">134. Is Christmas stressful? Not for me, I love it<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">135. Favorite type of fruit pie? Apple and blueberry<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">136. Occupations you wanted to be when you were a kid? Archeologist<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">137. Do you believe in ghosts? Yes<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">138. Ever have a Deja-vu feeling? Oh yeah<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">139. Take a vitamin daily? No<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">140. Wear slippers? Flips flops, I do live in Brazil, it’s pretty hot
here<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">141. Wear a bath robe? No, again Brazil is pretty hot<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">142. What do you wear to bed? Old T-shirts and short pajama shorts<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">143. Do you want to get married? Sure<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">144. A place that scares you?
Dentist!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">145. How many relationships have you had? One<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">146. How can I win your heart? By not asking me that or irritating me<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">147. What makes a great relationship? Partnership and understanding and
good sexual chemistry <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">148. Shy OR open? Open<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">149. What’s your favorite quote? “I am what I am, I am my own special
creation” from La Cage Aux Folles<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">150. Get the closest book next to you, open it to page 42, what’s the
first line on that page? “Benedick: I have the toothache Don Pedro: Draw it.
Benedick: Hang it!” Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">151. Caring OR non-restricting of you? I don’t understand, I would like
for the person to care about me but NEVER to restrict me <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">152. Straight edge OR non-straight edge? I really don’t understand this
question<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">153. Piercings OR no piercings? It doesn’t matter<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">154. Tattoos OR no tattoos? It also doesn’t matter<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">155. Quiet stay-at-home type OR party type? Depends on the day but mostly
just stay at home<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">156. Who was the last person you held hands with? My good friend Peter<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">157. Are you outgoing or shy? Outgoing<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">158. Who are you looking forward
to seeing? The friends I just spent the weekend with<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">159. Are you easy to get along
with? That solemnly depends on the other people’s attitude<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">160. If you were drunk would the
person you like take care of you? Absolutely<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">161. What kind of people are you attracted to? Physically the guy would
have to be bigger than me, not very into thin people. Someone smart, intense
but with a caring side<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">162. Do you think you’ll be in a
relationship two months from now? I really don’t know, probably not<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">163. Who from the opposite gender is on your mind? It’s embarrassing;
it’s a fictional character hahaha<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">164. Does talking about sex make you uncomfortable? Not at all<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">165. Who was the last person you had a deep conversation with? One of my
besties, Paula<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">166. What does the most recent text that you sent say? Bel, tell Mrs
Borges that we have safely embarked the bus!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">167. What are your 5 favorite songs right now? Batter my heart from an
opera called Doctor Atomic sung by Gerald Finley; Downtown the version Glee did
a couple of weeks ago; the whole Morro ma prima in grazia/Eri tu duets and
solos sequence from Verdi’s Un ballo in Maschera sung by Dmitri Hvorostovsky
and Sondra Radvanovsky; Let it go from Disney's Frozen the Idina Menzel
version; La Rondine's Bevo Al Tuo Fresco Sorriso sung by Renée Fleming and
Jonas Kaufamnn <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">168. Do you like it when people play with your hair? Yes, I love it
actually!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">169. Do you believe in luck and miracles? I believe in fate and destiny
and that you reap what you sow<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">170. What good thing happened this summer? I got my minor degree in
music!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">171. Would you kiss the last person you kissed again? Probably not<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">172. Do you think there is life on other planets? Yes<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">173. Do you still talk to your first crush? We did talk like 4 years ago
but it's been too long since he's been my crush<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">174. Do you like bubble baths? Sure<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">175. Do you like your neighbors? Sure<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">176. What are your bad habits? Being too rude sometimes, trying to do a
billion things at the same time<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">177. Where would you like to travel? Spain, Egypt and Greece<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">178. Do you have trust issues? I don’t know, probably not<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">179. Favorite part of your daily
routine? Having a long breakfast and biking to wherever<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">180. What part of your body are you most uncomfortable with? My double
chin because there is no piece of clothing I can wear to hide it<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">181. What do you do when you wake up? Think that I really just wanna
sleep more<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">182. Do you wish your skin was lighter or darker? It's alright the way it
is, but if I had to choose I guess a tad lighter<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">183. Who are you most comfortable around? My sister<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">184. Have any of your ex’s told you they regret breaking up? Nop<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">185. Last time you got really drunk? A couple of weeks ago that was<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">186. Is your hair long enough for a pony tail? Quite enough<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">187. Which celebrities would you have a threesome with? The idea of a
threesome doesn't really appeal to me, but I would totally have sex with Hugh
Jackman and Sean Maguire any given day<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">188. Spell your name with your chin.kxz bdf,.df<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">189. Do you play sports? What sports? I suck at sports, I do a lot of
biking and spinning though and work out<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">190. Would you rather live without TV or music? TV<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">191. Have you ever liked someone and never told them? Yes<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">192. What do you say during awkward silences? I would probably just start
laughing<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">193. Do you believe everyone deserves a second chance? Absolutely<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">194. If you are being extremely quiet what does it mean? Probably just
day dreaming or up to no good<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">195. Do you smile at strangers? Sometimes<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">196. Trip to outer space or bottom of the ocean? Bottom of the ocean<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">197. What makes you get out of bed in the morning? My alarm clock<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">198. What are you paranoid about? My body hair, I hate it<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">199. Have you ever been high? No<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">200. Have you ever been drunk? Oh yes<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">201. Have you done anything recently that you hope nobody finds out
about? Not that I can recall<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">202. What was the color of the last hoodie you wore? I don't wear those<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">203. Ever wished you were someone else? Yes<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">204. One thing you wish you could change about yourself? Less
self-conscious and less body hair<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">205. Favorite makeup brand? Lancome and MAC completely tied <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">206. Favorite store? Forever 21<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">207. Favorite item of jewelry? A pair of real pearl earrings my gran gave
me and my Evil Queen necklace <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">208. Last thing you ate? Cuscus, chicken and shellfish<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">209. First thing you ate this morning? COFFEE<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">210. Ever won a competition? For what? Yes, the ESU public speaking
competition in Brazil, even got to go to London for free because of it!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">211. Been suspended/expelled? For what? Got suspended for hitting a girl,
another for putting glue and paint on another girl’s chair, It was pretty funny
though<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">212. Been arrested? For what? Never<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">213. Ever been in love? I think so<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">214. Tell us the story of your first kiss? Gosh, it was horrible! I was
12 and my girlfriends where both hooking up with twin brothers and they wanted
me to kiss their friend just because. We went to the internal fire escape and
as soon as he kissed me I was bolting for the door running for my life, it was
awful!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">215. Are you hungry right now? Na<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">216. Facebook or Twitter? Can’t possibly pick!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">217. Twitter or Tumblr? Not playing this game!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">218. Are you watching tv right now? No<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">219. Names of your bestfriends? Daniela, Luis, Paula and Caio<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">220. What color are your towels? Orange, pink, yellow, I’m pretty sure I
have every color<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">221. Do you sleep with stuffed animals? Not anymore<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">222. How many stuffed animals do you think you have? I used to have
LOADS, I gave most of them away but still there are about 30 that remain with
me<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">223. Favorite animal? Cat probably<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">224. What color is your underwear? BLACK<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">225. Chocolate or Vanilla? Chocolate<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">226. Favorite ice cream flavor? Lemon<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">227. What color shirt are you wearing? I’m wearing a plaid black and
white dress<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">228. What color pants? I’m wearing a dress<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">229. Favorite tv show? Once Upon a Time<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">230. Mean Girls or Mean Girls 2? Are you kidding me? Mean Girls!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">231. Mean Girls or 21 Jump Street? MEAN GIRLS<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">232. Favorite character from Mean Girls? Regina George <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">233. Favorite character from Finding Nemo? Dory<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">234. First person you talked to today? My mum<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">235. Last person you talked to today? My dad<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">236. Name a person you love? My sister<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">237. Is there anyone you want to punch in the face right now? There’s
always someone I want to punch in the face hahaha<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">238. In a fight with someone? No<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">239. How many sweatpants do you have? None whatsoever<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">240. How many sweaters/hoodies do you have? Not even one<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">241. Last movie you watched? Miss Pettigrew lives for a day<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">242. Favorite actress? Emma Thompson, Lana Parrilla and Meryl Streep<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">243. Favorite actor? Alan Rickman and Colin Firth<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">244. Do you tan a lot? Only when I go on trips with my friends and we go to
the beach or to the pool<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">245. Have any flowers around? Yes, a couple of light orange carnations I
bought on Sunday<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">246. How are you feeling? Fine<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">247. Do you regret anything from your past? Who doesn’t?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">248. Can you spell well? Not really<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">249. Do you miss anyone from your past? Yeah<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">250. Ever been to a bonfire party? YES!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">251. Ever broken someone’s heart? No<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">252. Have you ever been on a horse? Yes, I love to ride horses!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">253. What should you be doing? I’ve done everything I was supposed to do
today<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">254. Is something irritating you right now? No<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">255. Have you ever liked someone so much it hurt? I believe so<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">256. Something stupid you did this week? Accidentally drop my phone in
the toilet<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">257. Who was the last person you cried in front of? My sister<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">258. What was your childhood nickname? Isa<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">259. Have you ever been out of your province/state? Yes<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">260. Do you play the Wii? Rarely<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">261. Are you listening to music right now? Yes<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">262. Do you like chicken noodle soup? Sure<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">263. Do you like Chinese food? Yes<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">264. Favorite book? Tough call but I’ll have to say the Harry Potter
series because it changed my life<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">265. Are you mean? I can be thoroughly<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">266. Is cheating ever okay? I think there are times when it’s necessary<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">267. Can you keep white shoes clean? Yeah<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">268. Do you believe in love at first sight? I believe in lust and
physical attraction at first sight<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">269. Do you believe in true love? Yes!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">270. Are you currently bored? Not at all<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">271. What makes you happy? Doing things I love and being with people I
love<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">272. Would you change your name? I don’t think so<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">273. Do you like subway? I actually do, although the subway in NYC is so
awfully confusing<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">274. Your bestfriend of the opposite sex likes you, what do you do?
That’s impossible, one is gay and the other is in a very stable relationship<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">275. Favorite lyrics right now? It might sound silly but I can’t stop
listening to The One that Got Away by Katy Perry, especially the chorus that goes
like “In another life, I would be your girl. We’d keep all our promises. Be us
against the world. In another life, I would make you stay. O I don’t have to
say you were the one that got away”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">276. Can you count to one million? I can, but why on earth would I do
that?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">277. Dumbest lie you ever told? It will only take a minute<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">278. Do you sleep with your doors open or closed? Closed, windows wide
open though<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">279. Curly or Straight hair? Curly<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">280. Brunette or Blonde? Brunette<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">281. Summer or Winter? Spring<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">282. Night or Day? Night<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">283. Favorite month? December<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">284. Are you a vegetarian? Not a chance!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">285. Dark, milk or white chocolate? Dark<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">286. Tea or Coffee? COFFEE<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">287. Was today a good day? It has been so far<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">288. Mars or Snickers? What?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">289. Favorite drink? Margarita<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">290. Favorite Singers? Ouch, difficult, so many! I’ll try and be brief.
Joyce DiDonato, Jonas Kaufmann, Sondra Radvanovky, Renée Fleming, Simon
Keenlyside, Placido Domingo, Alice Coote.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">291. Favorite movie genre? Romantic comedies<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">292. Dream job? Singing Tosca at the Met<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">293. 5 things you can’t live without. My friends, coffee, my MAC Russian
Red lipstick, internet, music<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">294. Characters that have marked you? Hermione Granger, Queen Cercei,
Regina Mills and Blair Waldorf<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">295. Something you do everyday rain or shine? Personal hygiene and work
out<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">296. Ideal pet? An owl so I could see about the whole “where the hell is
my Hogwarts letter” issue <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">297. Cool pop icons? Pink, Lady Gaga, Ellen, Adam Lambert, Darren Criss
and Chris Colfer<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">298. Favorite Musicals? Company, Wicked, Priscilla the Queen of the
Desert, Curtains, The Drowsy Chaperone, Jane Eyre, Into the Woods, La Cage Aux
Folles, Passion, <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">299. Favorite Operas? Tosca, La Rondine, Don Giovanni, Il Trovatore,
Eugene Onegin, Manon, Werther, Adriana Lecouvreur, Cendrillon, Le Nozze di
Figaro, Giulio Cesare, Le Comte Ory, <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">300. Favorite Disney movies? Beauty and the Beast, Hercules and Frozen</span><span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJzUvC1d9Y_gH5wT970c3wdKrSuAYz4PPJucA0OcP0aVuhoDyd-qbxrTk4B_FwEektKTlKG4N7ePj41vIEUMofKe51mW-pIO-cBQR-37e3B-oBsXMNKabesf6_wTWcykfwNVWuvciTcXs/s1600/10256419_10152222889918922_3398728877227790658_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJzUvC1d9Y_gH5wT970c3wdKrSuAYz4PPJucA0OcP0aVuhoDyd-qbxrTk4B_FwEektKTlKG4N7ePj41vIEUMofKe51mW-pIO-cBQR-37e3B-oBsXMNKabesf6_wTWcykfwNVWuvciTcXs/s1600/10256419_10152222889918922_3398728877227790658_n.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">That was a fun day! This was the sweater I was wearing for Prince Igor</span></i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #444444; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; line-height: 115%;">I'll be back kids! ;)</span></div>
Belahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08940075924322732507noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3881539215077596507.post-4636643559795954682014-04-30T15:34:00.000-06:002014-04-30T15:34:05.338-06:00The Dream Book Club!<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Hey world!
What did I say? Here I am, posting again! I’ve been having a pretty good and
busy week and although it’s only Wednesday it kind of feels like Friday because
tomorrow is a holiday here in Brazil. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">We just had
one for Easter last week and we got Friday and Monday off so I was able to go
on a trip with my best friends. I had a wonderful time, we went to this seaside
town called Maresias that very differently from my own seaside hometown is
basically a tourist town. That’s great because almost everything about the town
is about making your stay as pleasant and comfortable as possible. My friend’s
parents have a beautiful house there and that’s where all of us (16 people)
stayed. We had a MAGICAL bonfire at the beach, my friend Paula brought her
guitar and we sang the night away while eating all the kinds of fruit you can
possibly imagine. The moon came out at exactly 9 in the evening and since we
were only relying on firelight we could see all of it and all the stars in all
their majesty, it was one of the most beautiful things I EVER saw. We also went
to the beach, rode on the “banana boat” (fucking awesome), and went to the swimming
pool where they had a water slide that we simply dominated. The children there
were upset but do I look like I care about their feelings? <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Well, I’m
writing this post because I wanted to update the blog more often and not only
with opera stuff and not only with gigantic posts. I just finished reading the
most endearing book and I wanted to talk about it a little bit.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">The book has
nothing to do with opera but it has everything to do with two of my great
passions, romance and reading. It’s called “<i>The
Jane Austen Book Club” </i>by Karen Joy Fowler and I read the whole thing in 5 days. I’m not a very
healthy reader, if I really like the book and am truly intrigued by the plot
and the characters I devour it! The bad part about it is that, just like a really
intense and passionate fling you might have, it ends only too quickly. I ended
reading it today while I was doing my physical therapy. I get very nervous and
agitated while doing activities that don’t engage my mind, like squeezing a
ball 15 times for 10 seconds, so I always try and do something else while
engaging in these stupid activities (you should have seen me yesterday cutting
tape pieces for my dad and trying to read at the same time). <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Anyways I
ended reading it in the middle of my shock session and I felt like crying! I’m
such an emotional idiot but I kind of grew attached to the characters and kind
of wanted to continue to get an inside scoop to their personal lives. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilHeK6mL0521Pi_sWR8gUuXGKsaQHZ0_jK5CU7f69PRc2Y9vaRf2tGg9wN9lpuIbRSD8mMwQYjms2UmduFDKVRlXjPHOJCawUDJ3uMUiNdJ6gBSB7pRZZ2w0d4uq3UszPgAo9RUL9LJQM/s1600/6a010536b33b69970b017c3656d58d970b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilHeK6mL0521Pi_sWR8gUuXGKsaQHZ0_jK5CU7f69PRc2Y9vaRf2tGg9wN9lpuIbRSD8mMwQYjms2UmduFDKVRlXjPHOJCawUDJ3uMUiNdJ6gBSB7pRZZ2w0d4uq3UszPgAo9RUL9LJQM/s1600/6a010536b33b69970b017c3656d58d970b.jpg" height="320" width="200" /></a><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">The plot is
rather simple, Jocelyn decides to start a book club only to discuss the six
novels written by Jane Austen. Jocelyn is almost 50 and unmarried, she brews
dogs and has them do those dog competitions things and is a control freak and I
suspect also a cleaning freak too. She invites to join her in her book club
plans her very best friend since they were both 10, Sylvia. They are the same
age but Sylvia is married with three children who are all grown up and have
lives of their own. Just recently Sylvia’s husband, Daniel, asked for a divorce
after almost 30 years that they had been together. Also joining the group we
have a slightly older friend of Jocelyn's called Bernadette who has been married
countless times and counts herself quite happy. Pruddie is the youngest, about
28, she’s happily married and teaches French for high schoolers. Allegra, who
is a bit older than Pruddie, was only invited because she’s Sylvia’s daughter
and quite frankly she was the character I least liked of all the main
characters. And last but most certainly not least Jocelyn invited a lovely
gentleman named Grigg to join them in the hope that he could set him up with Sylvia. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Six people,
six books and six meetings. It’s funny because nothing astronomical happens
during that specific time but the narrative (for each chapter it falls into one
of these main characters) does loads of time leaps and narrates the lives of
all of them. That was what made the book so goddamn addictive. I felt specially
drawn to Jocelyn’s and Sylvia’s stories when they were younger and also Grigg’s
back story. It’s a very feminine book because it pounders so much on the
thoughts of 5 women and one man who was raised in a house that contained 4
females. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Contrary to
what you might expect they don’t pounder upon Jane Austen all the time. It is brought
up in healthy dosages but in no way it’s a rewrite of Jane Austen. It’s like a book
illustrating the women whose lives Jane Austen has touched with her writing,
real women with real problems. And also it’s about happiness, the pursuit of
it, the realization of it and the loss of it. And if you haven’t read all of
the six Jane Austen books or none of them it really doesn’t matter, they really
serve as a background for their conversations and the plotline. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">I came to
an odd realization reading this book. I became quite upset about the whole
divorce situation with Sylvia, especially after reading her story with her
husband and I felt really bad for her, he left her. But there’s something quite
odd underneath that, because, this is quite weird to explain but I’ll try. Her
husband’s name is Daniel and I don’t know, I’ve always had a weird thing about
that name. I’ve met my fair share of Daniels, I’ve already had a big crush on
one, idolized another even picked it out from a very early age to be my child’s
name. And I always seem to sympathize with every single Daniel I meet or even
characters with that name, so I just couldn’t hate him. I was rooting for him
to come back to Sylvia more than I was rooting for Allegra to be all right when
she feel and was sent to the hospital. And also even though this Daniel from
this book is about 50 the mental picture I had of him looked like Noah Bean (here’s
a <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0063800/" target="_blank">picture</a>), his name was Daniel in the two things I ever saw him in, and you
just can’t hate that face!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Anyways,
yeah, I’m weird like that I guess but it’s a great book. They made a movie out
of it but I haven’t seen it yet. So that’s it for today! I’ll see you guys soon,
I’m taking my little sis to the movies tonight! Peace!</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
Belahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08940075924322732507noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3881539215077596507.post-11953958424981791582014-04-27T22:14:00.000-06:002014-04-27T22:14:00.664-06:00Here and Back Again in NYC - Day 9 - Prince Igor<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Hey guys!
Wow that last post was liberating! But it was also posted almost 2, 3 weeks ago!
I can’t believe I haven’t posted in such a long time! Shame on me! <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">I came to a
very odd realization today, I didn’t go to any of the Live in HD this season!
Shame on me indeed! But in my defense I did go to the actual Met more than 12
times this season. And it’s so odd that most of the things I saw were in the HD
program so I didn’t miss much. Plus there isn’t a movie theater in my town that
shows the HD broadcasts, I have to make a rather long, boring and expensive
trip to get to one. I might go to La Cenerentola though, it’s Joyce after all,
and I do almost anything for Joyce.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">But I’m
sure you all are curious to know about my days in NYC, still have about 2 days
to cover so let’s go!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">So Friday
the 21<sup>st</sup> of February. We set aside this day to go to New Jersey. I
know what you might be thinking; why on earth would you leave NYC to go to New
Jersey? One simple word my friends: shopping. You see in New Jersey they have
this great outlet mall called Jersey Gardens where stuff is just real cheap.
Plus taxes are way smaller in Jersey, plus if you are foreign you get a special
discount book or you don’t even have to pay the taxes at all. Bottom line, I
might love NYC and opera and everything, but I also LOVE to shop. It’s a
refined art and if you are very experienced and good in it, you’ll never look
bad. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">It was a
pretty chilly day, it even snowed a little bit and thank God we were basically
indoors all day. Well during our stay in New Jersey we shopped and shopped some
more and ended up having to carry quite a lot of bags. I got this REALLY cute
sweater at Forever 21 for like $7 that I liked so much that I changed into it. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Around 4 we
picked up some salads and lattes at Starbucks and headed off to get into the
bus to go back to the city. We already knew there’d be loads of traffic to get
into the city. Unfortunately we could only get into a bus at 5 and I started to
worry. You see I had planned to watch Prince Igor and I hadn’t gotten a ticket
yet and I just couldn’t forgive myself if I didn’t get to watch it. I was
hopeful that I would make it to Lincoln Center in time until like 10 minutes to
7 and we were still inside the tunnel. We got to Port Authority at about 7:05,
we grabbed something to eat and headed out to grab a taxi. Lucky for us that
there was a taxi right outside and I didn’t even think, I gave a positive sign
to the driver, he gave me the thumbs up and I got in. My mom followed in and as
soon as we were moving she turned to me and said <i>“You do realize that there was a huge line to get a taxi, right?”.</i>
Apparently while I was flying inside the taxi the taxi organizing lady screamed
at my mom <i>“Were you even in line?”</i>
and the BLESSED guy who was the next in line for a cab said <i>“Yes, yes they were!”.</i> What a blessed
human being! <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Anyways, I
ended up going to Lincoln Center anyways to try my luck and watch half of the
opera. What happened next I can only call destiny, luck and I don’t even know
what. First it was so interesting to be in the house outside the auditorium
while an opera was going on. I didn’t know that the opera was streamed live
with subtitles in the TVs outside the auditorium and you could hear the voices
and the music vibrating in the place, it was insane. I went to the ticket booth
and asked the lady if I could still get tickets for that performance. She just
looked at me and said <i>“You do realize that the performance has already began,
right?”</i> I told her I did and I didn’t really care, I really wanted to watch
this opera anyways. She warmed up to me, I don’t know, she asked me if I was a
student, I said yes and she proceeded to sell me a student ticket for $37,00,
in the orchestra, center, SIXTH ROW! YES! I looked up the price of this seat
and it costs $370,00! The actual price was 10 times more expensive than what I
paid for. Quite literally, you don’t have to be a math genius to do work that out. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Anyways, I
went in feeling like the luckiest cookie in the jar! Thankfully there was a 20
minute prologue before the first act. So I waited for about 10 minutes outside
the auditorium doors chatting to a very nice usher. It was so insane how you
could hear the singers so well with those heavy doors closed, it was quite
amazing. Clapping happened and that was our cue. The usher rushed inside with
me and I felt like we were in mission impossible or something, we moved swiftly
as I prayed that I would disrupt as people as little as possible.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">How can I
describe my seat, I have two words for you, FUCKING AWESOME! Seriously, it’s
one of those seats that you never think you’ll sit in, it was very near to the
stage, center, glorious and all kinds of awesome, THANK YOU STUDENT TICKETNESS!</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-GcSxmWKRu4cbQ-qc0LVtmKq24vF-9rumo50F80qc1G0hwDHfQHBid9KF3VRGmrQt723V_DOhVwl2YzGphFmIFqcG6v0q0Q1Ok1iaKSS9b5SBapgwMV8axUZu266TiEmhKmHlX7xIpXI/s1600/1619403_10152060915207713_497549195_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-GcSxmWKRu4cbQ-qc0LVtmKq24vF-9rumo50F80qc1G0hwDHfQHBid9KF3VRGmrQt723V_DOhVwl2YzGphFmIFqcG6v0q0Q1Ok1iaKSS9b5SBapgwMV8axUZu266TiEmhKmHlX7xIpXI/s1600/1619403_10152060915207713_497549195_n.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>view from THE seat</i></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Anyways, on
to the opera, so when I got there there was a sort of video going on of war and
of Ildar’s gorgeous person being projected in that huge stage the Met has. I
must admit I hadn’t read the story so I was really confused. But the story is
Prince Igor goes to war and he loses. That prologue was him saying farewell to
his city, Putivl, and wife, the projections were the war part and the first act
was his life being a war prisoner of the Cumans. I’m going to write about what
I remember, because reading the plot in Wikipedia made me very confused, so I’m
just gonna tell you guys what I saw and what I made of it.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">So after that
entire intro we see that the stage is absolutely and completely covered with
beautiful red flowers, I was so looking forward for that! Blue, blue sky
contrasting with those gorgeous blood red flowers on a raked stage. Some
flowers started to move and we realized that Prince Igor was actually lying on
the floor. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">It’s been
almost 2 months and I seriously do not remember the order of events, so forgive
me if I make any mistakes. Anita Rashvelishvili sang the role of Konchakovna who
was the daughter of the Khan Konchak who was the leader who imprisoned Prince
Igor. She had this absolutely gorgeous aria and she looked so absolutely
amazing and sounded like a freaking goddess! Apparently her character and
Igor’s son Vladimir fall for each other and it’s really sweet. It was kind of
odd because as she sang Igor was watching her with almost an earning gaze. Oh
yes friends, I got ALL THE FACIAL EXPRESSIONS, could not be happier really!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Then Ildar
sang his first aria and oh my God the feels! It is one of the most beautiful
arias I’ve ever heard. It’s in his CD of Russian bass arias and it’s just heart
wrenching! For this aria we had his son, the Khan’s daughter and his wife on
stage trying to tend to him. His wife obviously was fruit of his imagination but
the care and devotion she had with him only helped to make the scene more
memorable. And excuse me, but Ildar has an INCREDIBLE voice, really big and
round and everything you would expect from a Russian bass and more!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Then his
son came up and sang another beautiful aria of his own. It’s so odd, I had
never heard or seen this opera before but the music got me completely hooked. It
was just so gorgeous and the singers were SO good! They all had beautiful
voices that seemed to dance in my ears! After Vladimir’s aria the actual Khan
Konchack showed up with his total basso aria telling Igor that he wasn’t a
prisoner, that he could enjoy the place as much as he wanted, he was just a
guest that wasn’t allowed to leave. Stefan Kocan, who played the Khan, was
amazing and I had already seen him do the Sacristan in Aida and Sparafucile in
Rigoletto. He had this dense and long really low note at the end of his aria
that I truly believed he was going to hold forever!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">But then
came the moment we were all waiting for. The Polonaise Dances. This was
actually a way the Khan found to try and seduce Igor to stay there coy and just
sit back and relax while the Khan’s army invaded Russia.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">First big,
wonderful surprise was the location of the monumental chorus of 108 singers.
They sang from the audience in the side Parterre and Dress Circle seats, boys
on the audience’s right and girls on the left. Since I was sitting in the
orchestra all that gorgeous sound just poured down on me like a miraculous rain
of beauty. I was more to the right so when the man sang it was really loud and
wonderful and I seriously did not know which way to look. On stage dancers
started appearing and dancing to the music while a bewildered Igor
watched. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">This was
the only music that I already knew from the opera so to see it performed in such
a monumental way was truly amazing! The music kept building up and the dancers
hopping like gazelles in heat and my heart skipping a beat at all that
awesomeness. I felt so blessed I even thanked God right in the middle of the
dances for this wonderful opportunity. This was truly one of those things that
you take forever in your heart. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Anyways,
after the dances Igor is kind of inclined for a second to give in and just join
the party but instead he manages to run away to his country and that’s where
act 1 leaves us.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Now, I was
in a very delicate situation. You see, I looked like shit. I was wearing a SEVEN
DOLLAR sweater from Forever 21, thick black tights with embroiled white snowflakes,
my tired black snow boots and a hair so dirty I made a side braid that was kind
of falling apart already. And as I looked around and saw all those people impeccably
dressed with their tuxedos, suits, furs and jewels I freaking started to panic.
At first I wasn’t really worried about how I looked because I thought I gonna
get a seat at the Family circle or something and things up there are much more
relaxed. But I was sitting in a very expensive area and everyone around me seemed
to have brought in their ‘A’ game outfits to the opera house.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">So I
quickly made my way to the restroom located bellow the orchestra area to see
what I could do about my far from fancy look. I redid my braid and put on a
pretty French bonnet stylishly, then I redid my make up with the stuff I had in
hand in my makeup bag. Put on my statement red lipstick and took off my glasses
and my head looked extremely Met appropriate. Sadly it was attached to a body
who was unfortunately wearing clothes fit for a quick run to the supermarket.
Also all I could think of was running into the person who takes the pictures for
“last night at the Met”, which is this great tumblr page where they post all
the great and stylish looks of the Met patrons, and getting a dirty look or
something. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">I know I
sound silly talking like this, after all I was so lucky to get that seat and I
was having such a wonderful time. But I’m proud to say that I'm fashion forward
kind of person and I care about how I look especially at the Met which I one of
my favorite places in the whole entire world! Anyways, I remembered that Kate
Spade had this collection done with the same polka dot pattern as my sweater.
So I just told myself that I had spent $300 on that sweater on Kate Spade and
that was an ironic look for the opera that young people wear nowadays. I got
out of that restroom with a new found confidence and was able to continue my
evening in peace. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Enough
about fashion though. Second act came along and I was pretty excited and happy
that I hadn’t read the synopsis because I wanted the piece to tell me the story.
Anyways, as I’ve said before it’s been a while since that day so forgive me if
I retell things in the wrong order. The first thing I remember in act 2 was
Igor’s wife’s (Yaroslavna) aria. Oksana Dyka was so incredible, I never heard
her before and she stole my heart. She has this luscious and velvety soprano
voice that is absolutely huge and fills that auditorium effortlessly. All the
arias are lengthy in this opera but you don’t even feel it pass you by. Maybe
it’s because I can’t understand a word in Russian and have no idea if they are
repeating always the same thing or not. But I think it’s because the music is
so interesting and it really keeps you on the edge of your seat. Yaroslavna is
singing about how much she misses her husband and how much she wants him back,
having not had news of him in a long time. You totally root for the couple when
you hear her miserable pleas and I’m the kind of romantic person that pictures
that their reunion is gonna be so passionate. Maybe I should slow down with the
fanfiction.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Anyways after
her aria her maid tells her that there are some convent ladies who wanted to talk
to her and on they come to plead for their friend who has been kidnapped. The
thing is, the person who kidnapped the young nun was Yaroslavna’s brother who
was kind of in charge of protecting the city. But she can’t go against her
brother and he’s not the most honorable guy you’ll ever meet. He actually has
this evil plan (stop with the Once Upon a Time references!) to send away his sister
and take over the city as the new fresh prince (of Bel Air, sorry, I will stop)!</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">He has this
huge feast with all of the guys from the chorus department and it’s a pretty
fun scene. They laugh, they eat, they’re having a swell time really, they get
really drunk and I could spot some hot guys with half their shirts on that
weren’t singing, God bless whoever cast the extras! I really enjoyed this scene
of the party, it was so energetic and they danced, it really was a lot of fun
to watch. And some people might say, <i>“Ah, he’s the bad guy, this scene isn’t
supposed to be endearing”</i> but I seriously don’t give a rat’s ass, it was a
funny scene only made funnier when the stupid nuns broke in.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">I’m sorry
if I sound rude, but you gotta be really stupid to crash a party with
approximately 100 men in order to claim your kidnapped friend back. Needless to
say the guys have a huge laugh on their account and quite honestly so did I.
They started threatening to touch the nuns and some of the guys even kissed
them and I’m sorry if that makes me an awful person, but I thought it was
pretty funny. Thank God I didn’t laugh out loud though because I don’t think
that was the general feeling in the audience. </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"> </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">So as Galitsky
I getting ready to rumble they hear the news of Igor’s failure in the battle
field. There is a huge uproar and everyone, from the chorus, soloists and extras
seem to be on stage and suddenly Galitsky is dead. Then they proceed to be
attacked and as the stage shows the indoors of the castle the scenery quite
literally falls apart. It was so incredible, everybody took cover in the sides
of the set and the whole middle crumbled down with incredible explosions! SO
AMAZING! Really incredible effects and I was right in front, I could see that
if someone had remained on that stage they would have been seriously
injured. Just awesome. End of second act!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Anyways
during intermission I decided to roam along that area down the stairs from the
orchestra level seats. That one where there are a million photographs of all
the cool singers. I could spot many of my favorites, if not all of them really.
They have this BEAUTIFUL painting of Renée Fleming as Rusalka that I would like
to have in my living room. And another even cooler of Placido Domingo as Otello
that would look super hanging above a fireplace.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">This
intermission was pretty quick and I was actually dying to know what was gonna
happen next. You see the thing about opera plots for me is the following, there’s
only one time that you are gonna see that opera for the first time. The other
times it might be wonderful too but you’ll already know the story. And I always
like for the theater, the actual thing to tell me story, I find it extremely
pointless to read the plot ahead. I remember I was listening to the Met
premiere of Two Boys last year and I had the score with me so I was following
it plus it was sung in a very clear English so I could understand every word
they were saying. There was only one intermission but in it the commentators
from the radio proceeded to spoil the whole story and tell the end in less than
a minute! I was so MAD, the ending is so fucking good. It felt as if I was
reading a REALLY good Agatha Christie book and someone came up to me and told
me who the killer was before I finished it. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">I’m sorry
guys, I just finished watching the last Once Upon a Time episode and I’m kind
of emotional, that show does that to me. Anyways, third act comes along and we are
brought back to the palace but now it is all in ruins and everybody is basically
miserable. Igor appears, he has succeeded in running away but is very upset about
the whole ‘his town is in ruins’ thing and is afraid to reveal himself. There’s
a very cool sort of flashback in which the lights change and we see Igor’s son
telling him he’s not tagging along because he’d rather stay in captivity with
his hot girlfriend. They change back and two guys who were on Galitsky’s side
spot Igor and summon everyone to tell them he’s back in order to redeem
themselves. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Igor has a
pretty romantic and sweet moment with his wife which was brief but I loved it.
And then he turns defeated to his people and says that he feels all this is his
fault and that they all have to work together in order to rebuild the city. I
think its so great that after that he starts to clean up and everybody follows
suit and that’s how the opera ends.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">After the
opera ended I headed to the stage door because I needed to take a picture and
speak to Ildar. But I must confess that this time was the most awkward I’ve
ever felt there. The reason? It’s very simple, I was the only one there. Not
even the freaks were there! And about a million people came out of that stage
door and I was truly feeling very uncomfortable. After about half an hour I
heard the crazy white haired bag lady’s voice and I was like <i>“I refuse to stand
out here with that deranged woman!</i>”, so I went inside. I knew she couldn’t come
inside because she had been banned so I felt a lot safer and warm by the
payphone. It took him a little while longer but it was totally worth it, for
when Ildar appeared he was in the company of none other than Barbara Fritolli!</span> </div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Here are some awesome pics I took at curtain call </i></span></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; text-align: justify;">Yes! And it
took all the courage that I could muster to go up to them and say </span><i style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small; text-align: justify;">“Hey, do you
guys have a second?”</i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; text-align: justify;"> because they were quite resolute on heading towards the
door. But as soon as I said I was such a huge fan of both of them they took
their time to talk and Ildar signed my copy of his CD with my name on it. I
actually ended up talking more to Barbara because I told her that that last
production she did of Don Giovanni at the Met was the first opera I ever saw
and it made me fall in love with opera. She was so thrilled and also SO NICE. He
actually asked me what I had thought about the production and I was so
speechless I said </span><i style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small; text-align: justify;">“Well at the time I thought it was great because it was the
first one I’d ever seen and the singers and the music were so good”</i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; text-align: justify;"> and turned
to me and said with that awesome Italian accent </span><i style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small; text-align: justify;">“There are much better
productions than this”</i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; text-align: justify;"> and I told her that indeed I had seen better productions since
but that she had always remained my favorite Donna Elvira. She was very touched and
we took pictures and I also got to tell Ildar how AMAZING he was in this opera
and how I admired him. They are THE sweetest couple you know, as I was telling
Ildar how incredible he was Barbara was like </span><i style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small; text-align: justify;">“Wasn’t he? Wasn’t he great?”</i><br />
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i><br /></i></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i><br /></i></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">And let me
tell you something else girls, when he pulled me towards his side to take the
picture I almost fainted. He is so attractive! He’s my type, big, strong, Russian,
deep voice and a friendly smile. It was great! After that I went back to the
hotel completely dazzled, what a performance!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">And now I
should go! I’m so sorry I took such a long time to update! I’ll try to not let
it happen again! Cheers people!</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Sometimes
we feel like we’re going in circles with this training. Almost always doing
very similar exercises every single day and sometimes we just throw our hands
to the sky and ask: WHY? Why do I have to study SO much every single day? Well,
of course we know the answer, it almost comes out automatically for us opera
students. We have to study a lot everyday because of the muscle memory, to strengthen
our instrument because it’s not something you can learn overnight.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">But one
thing is to just know that and always keep in on the back of your mind for that
eventual nudge whenever you are feeling blue. Another thing is to actually experience
some result of all that work.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Let me
start from the beginning, shall we? As you guys remember I made a very special
trip all the way to the United States to audition of the Hartt School in
Connecticut for a Master program in singing. I went there, I sang and a month
later I received the sad news that I hadn’t been accepted. That hit me pretty
darn hard. I’m a particularly dramatic person I must confess that I involuntarily
I put myself in situations that if I don’t get what I was aiming to get I feel
like it's the end of the world. That’s mostly because Hartt was the only school that
I auditioned for and not getting in meant having to spend another year in
Brazil. And don’t get me wrong I love my country but we do have absolutely
rotten politics that make the career of classical musicians very difficult and
most of the time nonexistent here. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">So in order
to continue my education I need to move to another country. And I must confess
that I never felt like I belonged here in this country anyway, ever since I was
a little girl I’ve wanted to live elsewhere. So going back to the story, after
I found out I had been rejected I was pretty much devastated. For about 2 weeks
I didn’t tell a soul (only my sister and my teacher actually) because I didn’t
really want to accept that I wasn’t going to school this coming September. But
something quite unexpected helped me out of my blueness, a very misunderstood
lady named Regina. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Although
she’s about 10 years older than me we are very similar, both overly dramatic
women in search of something that we really don't know what it is exactly but it's quite difficult and scary to get. I guess one of
the things I mostly have in common with her is the fact that I’m scared to
DEATH to take a leap of faith, to take a chance because it can bring me immense
joy but it can also break my heart. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">But ever
since March, when she came back, I’m finding her choices and her posture quite inspiring.
She had been travelling the path of becoming less self obsessed and more caring
of others and that made me pause to look around. I looked around and I saw my
mother overloaded with work and stressed, my sister trying to juggle college
and her job and my dad having all the house responsibilities to himself. And
there I was complaining and doing compulsive shopping. I then decided to change
and to help all of them, I took responsibility for all of the food related
things in my house and I also started running arrons for my mother and sister (one
that involved buying fabric that imitated rabbit fur, sister is a cosplayer,
what can I say?). That already made me feel a lot better. And since I run these
arrons in my bike I’ve also lost about 7 kgs!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">And it is
at these moments when you are living one day at a time that extraordinary
things happen. One day I was watching the extras of one of my Once Upon a Time DVDs
and as they were talking about sets and locations they mentioned a place that
made everything click. Canada. And then a huge flash back hit me and I
remembered an email a student exchange program lady had sent me about a music
program in Canada. I went back to my inbox to check it out, two years fulltime
intensive program at the Vancouver Community College. I didn’t think twice, I
called the lady (very, very nice lady named Claudia) and started my
application. All the deadlines for applying for September had already been
reached but she managed to squeeze me in. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Luckily for
me I had my entire paper work ready because of the other college applications.
But there was one thing they asked that I did not have, a video of me singing. Sure
I have some great audios but no videos and the school told me to send them a
DVD of me doing everything I could do music wise by this Friday, I mean it had
to arrive in Canada this very Friday. That was this last Monday evening, Claudia
told me that I had to bring her the DVD by Tuesday at midday so they could send
it. After talking to her I called my piano teacher and arranged for her to play
for me the next day then called my best friend so he could film it for me. It
took me three hours to sleep that day.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Woke up the
next day got all pretty and out of the house I went to actually buy DVDs
because I didn’t have any. Back to my house I recorded my audios on a DVD just
in case I was too late with the videos. I grabbed my bike around 10 and flew to
the Student Exchange office to give them the final paper work and the DVD. Then
I biked my way to my teacher’s house and me and my friend were punctually there
at 11. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">I recorded
in record time. I vocalized and recorded 5 songs in 35 minutes. How the hell
did I do that? Well, I gotta blame it on the work I did all those countless
afternoons at college, vocalizing and singing and studying until that insufferable man would kick me out of the classroom. I was very flabbergasted I must
confess, I would sing the songs without a trace of a doubt as if I was just
speaking. Plus they came out so well even though I hadn’t studied and vocalized
properly for a little bit more than a month. The muscles and my body and my
breathing just knew what to do in every different situation and it just felt marvelous!
<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">So I guess
all that hard work did pay off after all. I recorded the DVD and took it to the
agency just in time for them to send it up to Canada. Now all I have to do is
wait.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">I don’t
want to rave too such about this because past experiences have shown me that
hoping for something to much can totally crush you if you don’t get it. But at
the end of the day all this was a very positive experience. Because I was
finally able to do something quite wonderful, which was to love opera and love
to sing but it is not who I am and if someday I don’t feel that spark anymore I
can just walk away without regret. That is something Joyce said in one of her
many wonderful videos but I never understood. For me back then opera was all I
needed and all that could make me happy. But once you have it taken away from
you you can either crumble or look at the world as a white canvas and think, <i>“I can do anything I want”</i>. And let me
tell you something, that sensation I pretty fantastic! Because before all this
I was quite focused (to not say obsessed) in opera and my career and training
and studying. Which is all so great, but now I look back and see that I made
some personal sacrifices because of that that I truly regret. Yes, I’m talking
about not taking a romantic chance with someone at college because I thought he
would distract me from my studies and ruin my career. So I really do feel I did
need that big bucket of ice water that is a college rejection letter to just stop
and look around me. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">I know that
speaking like this I sound as if I’m giving up, but I’m really not. I’m still
studying but also doing so many other things! I started taking better care of
myself, taking the time to choose clothes that flattered my body, exercising,
going out with my friends and actually finding other interests I might have. I
quite recently found that I’m pretty good at making headbands and stuff for you
to wear in your hair, I’ve been having quite a lot of fun braiding ribbons and
chains and whatever I could find together to make the cutest hair wear pieces. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQk6qa8FgdPdS2kAsZhIDT90peIxZA4pkoQd0zYThAzf09Yjn35xOyPhSjwY4HDI9sOVHf346F3a2FXgJENwgbIgU-T9Ml1gUu93jC4fDyg5kjB1hOqzEuQj4EvMn49hQO6pNVfQg0JEM/s1600/tumblr_n3dwnnPtIF1st19e2o1_500.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQk6qa8FgdPdS2kAsZhIDT90peIxZA4pkoQd0zYThAzf09Yjn35xOyPhSjwY4HDI9sOVHf346F3a2FXgJENwgbIgU-T9Ml1gUu93jC4fDyg5kjB1hOqzEuQj4EvMn49hQO6pNVfQg0JEM/s1600/tumblr_n3dwnnPtIF1st19e2o1_500.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Regina</span></i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">So never
fret, I’ve never been happier! This was just a little something I wanted to get
off my chest. I just would like to leave a very big thank you to Lana, without
her incredible artistry I would still be down in the dumps. You rock, I'm proud to be one of your Regals! Cheers
everyone!</span></div>
Belahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08940075924322732507noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3881539215077596507.post-13163406232413043402014-04-06T15:23:00.000-05:002014-04-06T15:23:23.048-05:00The 2014/2015 Metropolitan Opera Season (part 2)<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Hey guys! I
really hoped that I had finished this sooner but this week has been crazy!
Going to job interviews, doing a billion things for my mum, seeing about Summer
Programs (I got into the Opera Live in NYC Program), ending the bedroom
makeover, successfully selling unwanted stuff online and also seeing about
maybe going to Vancouver to study has totally taken up my whole week! But it’s
been a blast really, it was a great week without a dull moment in it.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">I’ve also
sort of created some living rules for me now because since I’m a lot at home
and working from the computer I tend to get very distracted. First rule was
cutting all bread, sweets, sodas and fried stuff from my diet. I thought that
it would be so awful but it actually wasn’t and I’m feeling a lot better. Then
not stuffing myself with food, because what usually happened to me was I would
put a lot of stuff in my plate because I was afraid to not have enough food to
satiate myself. And then I would push the extra food in because I feel bad about
leaving food on the plate. So now I eat in small portions and if I’m still
hungry I grab a tad more. And another
thing was not eating under any circumstance carbs at night. I’ve been doing this
for the last 3 weeks and have lost about 6 kgs, which is a lot.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Plus I can
only read fanfiction at night. That rule helps a lot with my productivity
during the days I stay home. Since I’ve decided to sell some stuff I don’t want
any more I’ve been at home and in front of the computer a lot. It’s this great
deal and I’ve already sold three things in the last couple of days, a belt, a bag and a
pair of shoes.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">But let's go back to the subject in question here, opera! Here are 6 more operas coming next season at the Met!</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">That
Egyptian love story that never gets old</span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">I don’t
even need to say more, right? </span><b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Aida</b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">
has got to be one of my favorite operas and this production is probably the
best I’ve ever seen. It features the Met’s entire chorus plus a couple hundred
extras and dancers and horses and the whole shebang! Apart from the fact that
we are talking </span><b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Verdi</b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"> here and most
importantly we are talking about one of the most beautiful music ever written.
It’s amazing how the tunes from Aida just stay with you, I remember when I
first saw it that I simply could not stop hearing those tunes in my head!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Even though
this is without a trace of a doubt an Italian opera it actually opened in Cairo
back in 1871. I believe that the Khedivial Opera House commissioned this from Verdi,
don’t remember though. Well the story is as old as time, the typical Verdian
love triangle. Aida is an Ethiopian slave serving in Egypt, more specifically
serving the Pharaoh’s daughter Amneris. Both ladies are head over heels in love
with the captain Radames, who technically is hot stuff but normally what you
see is over weight on stage (frustrating, much? Yes!). Anywho, Radames has a
secret affair with Aida and they are both SO in love. But the thing is, like
every good Slytherin (yes, I have HP house sorted opera characters, Radames
goes to Gryffindor, Aida Hufflepuff and Amneris Slytherin, the hat never lies!)
Amneris senses there’s something going on between Radames and Aida and will do
everything she can to humiliate Aida and to get Radames to herself. Amneris is
the <i>BEST</i> character in this opera.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">So, to take
on the difficult role of Aida the Met got 3 amazing and very different
sopranos. First up is <b>Liudmyla
Monastyrska</b> who you guys might remember as the Aida from the last HD
broadcast of this opera. She is young but oh so incredible, her Aida is full of
feeling and her voice is a jewel. I also saw her playing Lady Macbeth a couple
of years ago for the ROH, fantastic! Next up is <b>Latonia Moore</b> who has played this role many, many times and does a
terrific job. Last but certainly not least the Ukrainian <b>Oksana Dyka</b> and let me tell you, this woman’s voice is an absolute
DREAM! I was fortunate enough to see her in Prince Igor live in February and
she blew that Metropolitan roof up! I would LOVE to see her as Aida!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">But the
dream casting does not stop there, for Amneris we have two absolute opera
jewels! First up my personal favorite Amneris of all time, </span><b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Olga Borodina</b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"> who plays this role like no one else. She is absolute
poison, absolutely passionate and her voice is like melting dark, dark
chocolate. And I was particularly pleased because I had heard statements of
hers saying that now that she’d turned 50 she wanted to slow down her career to be
with her family. I’m just happy she didn’t drop the Met completely, a trip to
Saint Petersburg is quite impossible for me right now. And also the double
threat soprano/mezzo soprano </span><b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Violeta
Urmana</b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"> who plays both the role of Aida AND Amneris, who cool is that, hun?</span></div>
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<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; text-align: justify;">Sharing our
‘hero’s’ shoes will be </span><b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small; text-align: justify;">Marcello Giordani</b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; text-align: justify;">
and </span><b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small; text-align: justify;">Marco Berti</b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; text-align: justify;"> who both have a vast
experience with Verdi and his difficult and taxing tenor roles. At the pit we
have two of my favorite conductor’s, </span><b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small; text-align: justify;">Marco
Armiliato</b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; text-align: justify;"> and </span><b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small; text-align: justify;">Placido Domingo</b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; text-align: justify;">
(the coolest person ever).</span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Out of so
many cast possibilities the one I’d like to see would be
Dyka/Borodina/Berti/Domingo but no can do. I can have almost that cast with
Urmana instead of Borodina in April of next year.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Posts related to this; <a href="http://unexpected-song.blogspot.com.br/2013/12/un-ballo-in-maschera-at-met.html" target="_blank">Un Ballo in Maschera at the Met</a>; <a href="http://unexpected-song.blogspot.com.br/2013/08/a-love-letter-to-anmeris.html" target="_blank">A Love Letter to Amneris</a>; <a href="http://unexpected-song.blogspot.com.br/2013/02/ratpack-rigoletto.html" target="_blank">Ratpack Rigoletto</a></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">A Lady
Macbeth from Russia</span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">I know what
you might think, but </span><b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Lady Macbeth of
Mtsensk</b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"> has nothing to do with Shakespeare’s Macbeth. It’s a Russian opera
written by </span><b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Shostakovich</b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"> that
premiered in the 1930’s based on the novel </span><i style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Lady
Macbeth of Mtsensk District</i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"> by Nikolai Leskov. Before this season’s
announcement I had never heard of this opera, I have only seen one Shostakovich
opera in my live, the Nose (which fortunately was live), which I really liked.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">As I read
the plot of this opera I couldn’t help but think that it was one of the most
dynamic and passionate and cool plots of opera I’d ever read. This is what happens,
Katerina is unhappily married to this guy Zinovy and his dad is pretty much a
pain in the ass because he blames her for not having any heirs (but apparently
it’s not really her fault, her husband isn’t really into her so, I have a
slight feeling he might be gay). Katerina’s maid tells her about this guy
Sergei who is a womanizer. When Katerina goes on to confront him and tell him
women are just as good as men they end up getting into an actual physical fight
which results in Sergei throwing himself on top of her. He does that only in
time for her annoying father in law to see the scene and become suspicious
about her loyalty to his son. At night Sergei goes to her room to ‘ask for a
book’ but then proceeds to seduce her and they end up having hot sex. Her
father in law (thinking that he’s all so smart) locks her in her room not
knowing that Sergei is in there and they resume to basically having sex all
night long. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">And this is
just the first act! There are like 4 acts in which the story TRULY unfolds and
loads and loads of things happen! As Katerina we have the amazing <b>Eva Maria Westbroek</b>. She is so
incredible, she has played cool Wagnerian roles like Sieglinde and majestic roles
like Didon in Berlioz’s Les Troyes and also the operatic role of the infamous
Anna Nicole Smith. She has this smooth and gorgeous voice I wish I could hear
live someday. As her lover Sergei we have a tenor called <b>Brandon Jovanovich</b> of whom I had never heard of but just seeing
pictures of him I totally get it why it was easy for Sergei to seduce Katerina.
Hot stuff! <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">I really
wish I could see this! Not gonna be on HD though! Bummer, it's probably because it's very dark and heavy stuff.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Posts related to this; <a href="http://unexpected-song.blogspot.com.br/2013/10/day-6-nose.html" target="_blank">Trip to NYC - Day 6 - The Nose</a>; <a href="http://unexpected-song.blogspot.com.br/2013/09/anna-nicole.html" target="_blank">How Anna Nicole Smith Could Save Opera in the 21st Century</a></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">The barber
who sings more than works</span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">This is
such a blast of an opera! It’s probably my second favorite </span><b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Rossini</b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"> opera (Le Comte Ory is my utmost favorite) and I know that </span><b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Il Barbieri di Siviglia</b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"> has touched the
hearts of many people I know. It’s a wonderful comedy filled with catchy tunes and
smart jokes. The story was taken from the Beaumarchais trilogy, it’s how it all
started, part 1!</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">The story
is pretty simple, Rosina (Isabel Leonard) is a beautiful young lady who is kept
locked away at home most of the time by her guardian. He is an old, greasy man
who plans to marry her only to get his hands on her money. Enters the Count
(Lawrence Brownlee) who fell in love with her at first sight when spotting her at
her window. So he procures the help of Figaro (Christopher Maltman) so they can
fool Rosina’s guardian and get hitched. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">The Met’s
current production is by Barlet Sheer and it’s all right. No super amazing and
grand sets but very efficient and fun in telling the story. One thing I really
like in this production is Rosina’s second act dress which is to die for. But
I’m a sucker for fashion so…<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">As the
feisty Rosina we have the amazing American mezzo soprano <b>Isabel Leonard</b> who as I’ve said in some other posts is so amazing
and such a nice person. For the Count we have another American singer<b>, Lawrence Brownlee</b> who together with
Juan Diego Florez is taking the Rossini tenor roles by storm! He’s very, very
talented and has a very good comedic timing. For our Figaro we have <b>Christopher Maltman</b> who is another
amazing American singer. I had the privilege of seeing him in the very last
performance of Die Fledermaus in February and he was so incredible. Amazingly
funny and the music just seemed so natural and effortless it was really an
amazing performance.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Posts related to this; <a href="http://unexpected-song.blogspot.com.br/2013/03/la-cenerentola.html" target="_blank">La Cenerentola</a>; <a href="http://unexpected-song.blogspot.com.br/2013/03/opera-in-rehearsal.html" target="_blank">Opera in Rehearsal</a>; <a href="http://unexpected-song.blogspot.com.br/2013/03/fairytaleish-dress-rehearsal.html" target="_blank">Fairytaleish Dress Rehearsal</a></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">The
craziest song contest ever</span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">If have to
be honest I have to confess I don’t have much patience when it comes to </span><b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Wagner</b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">. It might be because his operas tend to last 4 hours or it
might be because I don’t understand a word they say. Either way I found myself
feeling very lazy to read the plot of </span><b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Die
Meitersinger von Nürnberg</b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">, but I did anyway. This is the longest Wagner
opera which is performed nowadays, it lasts approximately four hours and a half
and we are not counting intermission time. This opera I just like Capriccio and
L’Orfeo because it revolves around the creation and composing of music.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">So the
story is pretty crazy. There’s this knight named Walther who has no musical education
whatsoever and he falls head over heels in love with Eva. But Eva’s dad is kind
of delusional and says that she will marry the <i>Meistersinger</i> who wins the town’s song competition. So Walther
tries to pretend that he’s a worthy candidate to be a Meistersinger so he can enter
and win the competition and his beloved’s hand in marriage. But since he doesn’t
have any musical education he fails miserably and the Meistersingers people don’t
even let him finish his flaw filled song. From then on he’s gonna try and enter
that competition anyway he can plus having to worry about a pain in the ass
actual Meistersinger called Beckmesser who wants to win the competition. But he’s
gonna have the help of the ultimate Meistersinger Hans Sachs so hope isn’t all
lost.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">As the savior
of the day playing Hans Sachs we have <b>Johan
Reuter</b>, as the hopeless knight (although he can resemble many things but a
knight) is <b>Johan Botha</b>. As Eva we
have <b>Annette Dash</b> who I had only
heard singing Mozart and am quite curious to see how she will do with Wagner. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">It’ not
just any Verdi tragedy</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">I think
this is the most popular of <b>Verdi</b>’s operas, hence it’s included every other
season at the Met. If I’m going to be totally honest this is not my favorite
production of <b>La Traviata</b>. Yes, the red dress is fabulous but there’s not much
else to it. I think this kind of production is great to have at festivals or in
one season of a big repertoire house but not as a reoccurring production. So
every time you wanna watch La Traviata at the Met it’s this nude and empty
production. This is my opinion, I don’t think the production is bad it’s just
that for a house like the Met they should put up something beyond gorgeous for
Verdi’s most beloved opera. My first experience with La Traviata was through
this production and to be completely honest I didn’t understand half of it because
they leave far too much to your imagination. I guess I’m just traditional. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Anyways, La
Traviata tells the story of a courtesan named Violetta who was leading her life
loveless but filled with luxury and wealth only too well before Alfredo came along.
They fall in love and she decides to go and live with him in the countryside
like the happy loving couple that they are and gives up her job. But everything
is not sunshine and flowers, you see Alfredo does not have much money to afford
the life they lead and Violetta is secretly selling her things to make ends
meet. To make things worst Violetta receives the visit of Alfredo’s father who
asks her to end their relationship because his association with a person like
her is tarnishing the whole family name. And if they stay together nobody will
want to marry Alfredo’s sister. It’s pretty sad from then on.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">To play the
dream role of 90% of sopranos the Met has brought two Marinas. The first is <b>Marina Poplavskaya</b> who actually opened this production at the Met some seasons
ago. Again, I’m not a fan and her performance in this was actually filmed so
you guys can judge for yourselves. Plus, isn’t she a bit old to have waist long
hair? That hair is nothing special, don’t know why people make such a fuss
about it. (Oh my, is that venom on my lips or what?). Our other Violetta is
<b>Marina Rebeka</b>, now she was my first Donna Anna and she is just so good. She
played this Donna Anna in the Met’s live in HD broadcast of Don Giovanni back
in 2011.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">For our
love sick tenor we have the amazing <b>Stephen Costello</b> who is all sorts of
awesome. I can’t help but feel sad because his wife Ailyn Pérez isn’t playing
Violetta, she has played the part a billion times and oh so well plus they have
insane chemistry on stage. Sharing the Alfredo duties with Stephen is <b>Francesco
Demuro</b>. And last but not least papa Germont will be played by <b>Ludovic Tézier</b>
aka the Severus Snape of opera (for that amongst other reasons I have sort of a
crush on him). But he’s such a great singer, the very last thing I saw with him in was that Lucia I saw in a live stream back in July, he was playing Arturo, Lucia’s evil brother and he rocked it! (that’s
when he got his HP nickname by the way).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Posts related to this; <a href="http://unexpected-song.blogspot.com.br/2013/07/lucia-gives-me-chills.html" target="_blank">Lucia gives me the chills!</a>; <a href="http://unexpected-song.blogspot.com.br/2013/08/annick-massis-tons-of-talent-and.html" target="_blank">Annick Massis, tons of talent and sweetness</a></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Holiday
Candy Crush!</span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">For the holiday
presentation the Met is getting its huge chefs heads out of storage for an all
English production of <b>Humperdinck</b>'s <b>Hansel und Gretel</b>. So the holiday presentations work
something like this; they normally take a comedy or a happy ending opera,
translate the whole thing to accessible English and do a rather unnecessary
cutting session to the piece. I really like the idea of making something more accessible to a broader public but I find it thoroughly unnecessary to
make cuts, if the piece is good it will grab people’s attention. But that’s
just my opinion.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">The Met has
a great, fun and somewhat family friendly (the witch does have a freezer full
of children hanging by hooks that you can actually see that’s a bit disturbing)
production of Hansel and Gretel’s tale. It always makes me hungry because
they get to eat all sorts of sweets at the second act but then again most
things make me hungry. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">The story
pretty much follows the original tale. Hansel and Gretel are brother and sister
and their family is extremely poor. They have to do many chores around the
house to help out their parents but all they want to do is play. During a bed
jumping session they break the only milk jar in the house, their parents are
furious and send them to the woods to pick up berries so they’ll have something
to eat. They end up losing their way in the woods and as it gets dark start
seeing what truly happens when the sun goes down. All sorts of odd and magical
creatures appear in their dreams and when they wake up they happen upon a house
made entirely of candy, chocolate and cake. The rest we all know, don’t we?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">As Gretel
the Met has called back <b>Christine
Schafer</b> the soprano who actually originated this role in this production a few seasons
ago. As she is a very petite woman with a very pretty voice and incredible
acting skills she suits Gretel quite perfectly. As Hansel we have the mezzo
soprano <b>Christine Rice</b>. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Wow, that was time consuming but extremely satisfying! And I guess that's it for today guys. Today is Once Upon a Time day and I'm excited! I actually got a way to watch it live so it's pretty cool :) Peace everyone!</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
Belahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08940075924322732507noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3881539215077596507.post-83495415257323491552014-03-29T19:13:00.001-05:002014-03-29T19:18:11.444-05:00Here and Back Again in NYC - Day 8 - Jonas Kaufmann at Carnegie Hall<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Hey
everyone!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">So Day 8 of
my New York City journey was pretty cool. As always me and my mum spent our day
shopping and eating. We went to Eataly which is this huge Italian food place
that works as a market as well as a restaurant. We waited in line for about 40
minutes for a table at the pasta section and when it came to it the prices were
high and the portions were little. I was very disappointed although the pasta
was really good I left the restaurant hungry.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">But no
matter because Jamie texted me and before I knew it I was in Washington Square
Park meeting her and Mike! We had a lovely 30 minute chat and then she had to
leave. I walked with Mike to the subway station and said yet another heartfelt
goodbye. Then I rushed back to the Park where my mum was waiting for me. We got
a cab and it was dark before we knew it.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">We went
back to the hotel to get ready for Jonas Kaufmann’s big debut at Carnegie Hall with pianist </span></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Helmut Deutsch.</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Needless to say that we were late and running down the icy streets of NYC in
heels and holding extra hot lattes, I do love this life though! I did not, however, love having to go up ALL those stairs in heels and running because the
recital was just about to begin. We got to our seats in the balcony and they
were really steep and scary and there was barely any leg room which made us
extremely uncomfortable. I was pretty pumped about this recital but the people
were all so serious, it was very weird and my mum had THE GRUMPIEST man sitting
next to her.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>view from my seat</i></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">I didn’t
have much time to complain because in a moment there he was, my prince charming
in the flesh, Jonas Kaufmann! Although I have to admit I did not know any of
the songs he sang! There I’ve said it, it’s the truth and it’s better than just
pretending I know what I’m talking about because I don’t. I’m an opera fan and
I know a lot about opera and musicals and a little about Faure chanson for
feminine voices, but I do not know these lieder. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">But that
doesn’t mean I didn’t have a blast of a good time. Because Carnegie Hall does
give you the lyrics and the translations so you can follow, so at least I knew
what he was singing about. And come on, Jonas is one of the most captivating
performers I’ve ever seen, he can steal your heart away with one well placed
note. It was impossible for me not to have a wonderful time. Because seriously,
hearing him in a recording is already so great but there is nothing that can
compare to having that glorious sound waltz its way into your body and soul.
His voice is like dark butter melting, I don’t even know if that makes sense,
but it’s not like melting chocolate. Ah man, I’m letting my feelings get the
best of this post! Bottom line people, GO HEAR JONAS KAUFMANN LIVE! Go, just
go!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Well first
he did a selection of four songs from a Schumann cycle called <i>Zwölf Gedichte </i>(Twelve Poems, Op. 35).
They were <i>Lust der Sturmnacht </i>(The
Wild Night’s Joy); <i>Erstes Grün</i> (First
Green); <i>Wanderung</i> (Wandering); <i>Stille Tränen</i> (Silent Tears). These are
basically about what every good lied is about, nature and love and being in
love while outside. But what I liked is all the different colors he brought to
the table for each and every song he sang. He had a character for every single
one of them. You could feel almost everyone was hooked (I say almost everyone because
there’s always that old person who sleeps no matter how fantastic the event is)
and that was quite obvious at the end of the cycle.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Then he did
an entire Schumann cycle called <i>Dichterliebe
</i>(A Poet’s Love, Op. 48). They were all so lovely and Jonas has this ability
to just transport you to wherever he wants with his voice. It was quite
amazing. I say voice because I was quite far away I couldn’t really see him
very well but all he needed to do was open his mouth and the walls felt like
they were gonna crumble down. He had quite an ovation after that cycle was done
and came back two or three times to take a bow together with the pianist to
quite a thunderous ovation. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Time for intermission
and my mom wasn’t feeling well at all so she left. I didn’t even get out of my
seat, I just stayed there in awe of what I had just witnessed. And although I
really liked the first part, the second was SO MUCH BETTER!</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">I don’t
know if it was my taste or the fact that the audience just seemed to have
warmed up much more for the second half but it was incredible. First he sang a
Wagner song cycle called <i>Wesendonck Lieder</i> (Wesendonck Songs, Op. 91). And I
don’t know if I’m more accustomed to the Wagner language as opposed to the
Schumann one but I felt he sang those Wagner lieder much better. A very special highlight
to the second song called <i>Stehe still!</i> (Stand still!) because I folded the end
of its page in my program which means I probably really liked it. And now that
I come to think of it, it was quite powerful and I remember having my head in
the clouds. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">But my
favorite bit was without a doubt the Franz Liszt songs. He did change the order
of the songs for some mysterious reason but I wasn’t complaining. These 3 song
were all in Italian and had a much more operatic feel to them. I remember quite
clearly as he finished the first one it was SO GOOD that you could feel the
people ALMOST clapping and some people were so enticed that they actually
started screaming “BRAVO”. To that both Jonas and the entire audience laughed.
When he sang his second song it was just as beautiful and operatic and it had
one of those high tenor notes at the end that SERIOUSLY had ALL the human
beings who feel attracted to man sigh. I know I did, I sighed all through it
like my 13 year old self sighing at the sight of Legolas. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">The third and
final song from the </span><i style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Tre sonetti di
Petrarca</i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"> cycle was just the cherry on top of the most heart racing
performances I’d ever seen. People went NUTS when he finished! The clapping
just would not stop and it was heaven. It totally felt like finally all those
rules and conventions had crumbled down and he was just this great guy singing
to a bunch of happy, happy people. I must admit, I screamed my head out! And
specially because the lady sitting right in front of me had her hands over her
ears and was looking viciously at everybody who would scream (she should get to
know the grumpy guy who was sitting next to my mum, they are perfect for each
other). And you know me, I don’t like people trying to reprimand me, so I took
extra careful and powerful breaths so I could scream as loudly as I could
without hurting my voice 1- because Jonas totally deserved it and 2- because
she pissed me off. I would also clap really hard with my hands extra close to
her head, yeah, I can be mean too!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span lang="EN-US">Jonas was
over the moon and smiling and thanking everyone it was wonderful, but after he
came back for 3 bows it was time for our encores. I must say that one thing
that kinda disappointed me was the fact that he didn’t sing any operatic arias
in his encores, but you can never have it all. First he sang R. Strauss’ </span><i><span lang="EN-US" style="background: #EDEFF4; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;">Breit über mein Haupt
dein schwarzes Haar</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="background: #EDEFF4; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;"> and the moment he finished
was overwhelmed by applause and screaming and some WE LOVE YOU JONAS, which you
would like proper at Comic Con not Carnegie Hall but I just thought it was insanely
cool.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: #EDEFF4; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: #EDEFF4; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;">Then he proceeded to sing 3 more Strauss
songs <i>Heimliche Aufforderung</i></span>, <i>Freundliche Vision</i> and <i>Cäcilie</i>. And seriously, that was
so much fun, because during the applause Jonas and the pianist would come out
numerous times to take a bow and after the third encore we were really just
clapping and screaming and freaking out because we appreciated his work. But
then every time the pianist would come back holding sheet music I felt like
that building was gonna come down. People were hysterical, I am not kidding, it
was insane! I was hysterical too, it was just so amazing and he was so comfortable
there singing to us and the responses were so powerful, it was really
incredible. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #edeff4; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Before the last Strauss song, which
was the fourth encore, he addressed the audience and thanked everybody for that
wonderful warm welcome. During his speech people would start screaming and
someone screamed “THANK YOU JONAS” which resulted in more hysteria. I seriously
felt like I was in Comic Con when they do actor’s panel of a beloved TV show or
movie. Even Jonas was very surprised with this enthusiasm because as I wrote a
couple of posts ago the reception for Werther was really amazing and very loud
but this one was like twice even 3 times more noisy and warm.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="background: #EDEFF4; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: #EDEFF4; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;">He also said that he was singing so
many songs by Strauss in the encores because he really did not want to leave
him out of this program and that now we should stop celebrating so much Verdi
and Wagner for their centenary and bicentenary birthdays and turn to the
birthday boy of the year, Strauss. The audience laughed and then he proceeded
to sing one more song this time by Schumann called <i>Mondnacht</i></span>. This was already too good to be true, 5 encores? The
people were going insane and one very cool thing I noticed was that a very
small number of people left during the encores. Because normally we know how
this works, right? But everyone was so enticed and Jonas was so pumped it felt
like he was never gonna stop! <span style="color: #333333;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: #EDEFF4; color: #333333; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;">Finally he sang his
last encore Lehar’s </span><i><span lang="EN-US" style="background: #EDEFF4; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;">Gern hab ich die Frau’n geküßt</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="background: #EDEFF4; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;">. If you saw me you looking at him sing you would think 1 – this girl is
gonna fall from her seat right to her death because she’s leaning forward too much 2 – is she in love? I had my hands holding my chin and sighed all the time
feeling like the only person in the room and the luckiest person in the world.
Because even though the audience was making a lot of noise as soon as the pianist
started to play there would be literally dead silence. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #edeff4; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">When he was bowing for the last
encore he did a “that’s enough” hand sign and everyone laughed and clapped and
clapped and clapped! I don’t think I ever clapped and screamed so much in my
entire life! While gathering my stuff I got to meet a really cool guy who was
sitting right behind me who also happened to be a singer. We talked
enthusiastically about the concert until the people from Carnegie Hall kicked
us out and then we walked together on the street for a while chatting about
music and all sorts of thing. Then we headed our separate ways.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="background: #EDEFF4; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="background: #EDEFF4; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">But that’s one of the reasons why I
love NYC. The people there are just so COOL, all the people I’ve met at the
opera house were absolutely incredible, and they were truly really nice. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="background: #EDEFF4; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">I guess that’s it for today guys!
Hope you enjoyed this post and please leave a comment telling me what you
think! Cheers!</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="background: #EDEFF4; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="background: #EDEFF4; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">PS; All these beautiful up close pictures were taken by my friend Felipe Cunha, thanks honey!</span></span></div>
Belahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08940075924322732507noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3881539215077596507.post-40031080880506825442014-03-23T19:07:00.001-05:002014-03-23T19:07:41.460-05:00Here and Back Again in NYC - Day 7 - Wicked and Pippin<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Hey world! So you guys might have noticed something different about the blog. Yeap I changed it up. I never had changed the layout or anything like that so I felt it was time for a change, let me know if you guys liked it in the comments! </span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Over the past few days I’ve been a busy bee. I don’t know if
I mentioned this here but I moved back to my parents place in Santos. It was
the logical thing to do since I finished college in São Paulo and didn’t have
anything there that tied me up to the city itself. And even if I got a part-time job there all my
salary would go to paying rent. So I’m back in my beach cave. I had to bring
all of my stuff from São Paulo to Santos and that’s a work in progress but most
of my bedroom and bathroom stuff is already here. So I decided to do a little
makeover on my bedroom, I cleaned up a lot of unnecessary stuff and donated a
bunch of things I don’t use anymore. Plus I bought some shelves to make my live
easier and my room less crowded. I’m planning on making a post about that soon.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">But let’s go back in time a month to my fabulous 7<sup>th</sup> day
in NYC. I remember that it rained all day and so we thought that there wouldn’t
be a soul who would want to stand in line for musical tickets at TKTS. We were
wrong. Regardless of the rain the line went on and on, we could do nothing but
join in and hope that when we got to the booth there would still be tickets for
Pippin. You see some of my friends told me it was a fantastic show and their
performance at the Tonys last year was quite remarkable. And so we stood in
line, in the rain for about 45 minutes but were able to get nice seats at half
the price for that matinee performance.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">As we were starving and wet we just went across the street to Oliver Garden for lunch. We
did strike a conversation with a French guy who was like Prince Charming
material when it came to his looks and also very, very nice. I did tell him
that I had just seen a wonderful French opera the night before called Werther
but that didn’t seem to ring a bell to him. No one is perfect, right?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">At almost two we said our goodbyes and headed off to the theater for
<b>Pippin</b>. I felt like me and my mum were the only people in that theater that
were watching this show for the first time, that sensation only grew as the
show began. I’m still in awe how the whole dynamic of musical theater audiences
and manners are SO different from opera. I think I’ve already said this in my
Cinderella post but the overture works as a shut up mechanism and also at the
end of the musical after everyone has had their rushed bows they keep on
playing and people just leave and always a handful of people stay behind and
acknowledge that there are real life people playing. Anyways, this hasn’t
started very well hun?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn1xIAz8plHKIYecmBbdz0_VRapXp5T7JzJr4i_7D3ufEOCBLkL8eOe1HvXDjLjAuUzg_g6rRoP7Zowl1yzM_gbCyVPP0DvBwnA_m3pU27mUusvTR1cAk7Cdl1yRYnVfgv_y5uY1ioQ_4/s1600/1900138_10152056258617713_496072383_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn1xIAz8plHKIYecmBbdz0_VRapXp5T7JzJr4i_7D3ufEOCBLkL8eOe1HvXDjLjAuUzg_g6rRoP7Zowl1yzM_gbCyVPP0DvBwnA_m3pU27mUusvTR1cAk7Cdl1yRYnVfgv_y5uY1ioQ_4/s1600/1900138_10152056258617713_496072383_n.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">View from our Pippin seats</span></i></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">The musical was fun, but it felt more like a night at the circus than a
musical. From what I’ve heard this is an old musical but I seriously found it
very difficult to find a tune that lingered. If I’m going to be totally honest
here the music wasn’t all that interesting, at least in my opinion. And, come
on, I’m a musician, if the music isn’t relevant what am I to do?</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Let me tell you guys the story, it’s very weird and I don’t know if I
got it right. So there’s this lady who owns a theater company or circus
company, I don’t know, and they are performing the life of Pippin. But it’s
weird because the performance takes place as he lives, and the boy playing
Pippin is actually Pippin, or something. Anyways, she tells him he’s bound for
greatness and being son of the king and heir to the throne that’s not really
hard to believe. And so Pippin goes on and tries to do many things but he fails
miserably. The numbers were really amazing, the performers were so good, they
could twist and turn their bodies in ways I did not know were humanly possible.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">One great feature of this show was the narrator, circus company owner or whatever who was played by <b>Patina Miller</b>. Now Patina has a beautiful singing voice and I had seen her live before doing Sister Act, the musical which was so fantastic. She got a Tony award for this role in Pippin last year and no wonder since she works the trapeze while singing and it's just amazing!</span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1W5BYQ_8gfSTBdDcb_sT7GXXYwqclm4V6Ex8re2twOo2P4wYItHqaejF6MfYMHth8Lf3nUThub2dCtLTjpPME6H1KqWZuUdm7vPh6QBZABccaS0rTdYpX6aS_yFimgcRqcacJ7Y-yJ3g/s1600/-Pippin-actor-Patina-Mill-010.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1W5BYQ_8gfSTBdDcb_sT7GXXYwqclm4V6Ex8re2twOo2P4wYItHqaejF6MfYMHth8Lf3nUThub2dCtLTjpPME6H1KqWZuUdm7vPh6QBZABccaS0rTdYpX6aS_yFimgcRqcacJ7Y-yJ3g/s1600/-Pippin-actor-Patina-Mill-010.jpg" height="240" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">But the thing was, it felt 70% of the time like a circus act. Like I was
in the circus watching contortionists and people balance themselves in
unfriendly objects and to be completely honest I am not a fan of the circus.
Now before you run away and never come back because you think I have no soul
because I don’t like the circus, hear me out. I don’t like it for a very simple
reason, it makes me nervous! I feel nervous for the people doing their acts
knowing that sometimes they don’t have safety nets and that they could be
jumping to their deaths and that’s not an idea of a good time for me. So as
much as I was impressed by all they could do I was also freaked out.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">One incredible highlight was the grandmother, now, she was INCREDIBLE.
Because then you had a 65 year old lady doing trapeze stuff with a hot, hot,
hot guy and going like <i>‘yeah, I sail this ship!’</i>. That was awesome!
Kudos for <b>Andrea Martin</b> who originated this role in this production and
surprise, surprise, got a Tony for it last year. She is AWESOME. She did some
operetta you know. She played the Old Lady in Candide some good old years ago.
You might know her from the movie <i>My Big Fat Greek Wedding</i> (I LOVE THIS MOVIE,
one of my favorites), she played aunt Voula. She was the aunt, Toula’s dad’s sister,
she wore shoulder pads, she’s fab!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Well, the musical was ok I guess, if you like big spectacles with
complicated dance routines and unimaginable moves this is definitely for you.
But as for the story, I am still trying to figure it out. And I find that there
isn’t a real message, it’s all smoke and mirrors.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">My mum didn’t like the musical at all. She was thoroughly disappointed
so I decided to take her to see something I knew she loved, <b>Wicked</b>. We went to
the Wicked theater and I texted Mike and proceeded to buy 3 hot seats for THE
coolest, most awesome show on Broadway! I had some great tomato soup nearby the
theater with my mum and then waited outside for Mike. He was late, but I think
the funniest thing about us going in was that the usher who was zapping the
tickets told me I couldn’t go inside with my coffee. So I did something quite
alarming, I seriously drank the whole thing in one go right in front of them
and even I was a little impressed that I could process so much caffeine at such
short notice. I’m proud of me for that.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">We went in and took our seats and before we knew it overture hit us.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">View from my wicked seat!</span></i></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Ok, I really love Wicked so this might extend itself a lot, it’s one
of my favorite musicals. Sometimes I feel like such a baby, as soon as it
started and that flying monkey appeared I was feeling the tears coming. Since
I’m feeling generous about talking about musicals that rock I’m gonna go a lot
deeper on this one.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">So Wicked is the untold story of the Wizard of Oz’s Wicked Witch of the
West, <u>Elphaba</u>. The first scene is actually just after the bucket of water has
been thrown on the Witch and she melted and the people rejoiced. So <u>Glinda</u>, the
good, appears to confirm the facts and we have our first song <i>“No one
mourns the wicked”</i>. I think the only thing I did not like about this was
the fact that the girl playing Glinda was trying to imitate Kristen Chenoweth’s
voice. We all know how Kristen sounds and bless her heart for her instrument
and yes, she did originate Glinda but trying to sound like her made the girl
sound squeaky and awful! When she started to sing me and Mike just looked at
each other instantly like <i>“Oh no!”</i> .<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1pe7t-dKN3ygkBILdN8qFYnd-bRviwl-INEka6PL4AAZYXWQKp9ziLH43Z1r5w2E6GMKqJJ_Qqb7Ugik3RYkQMSrt_L5Seho79KOQOuvC9uU72NbeRE-RuMSjl2Te0m5vwM4wji4SdUY/s1600/wicked-g10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1pe7t-dKN3ygkBILdN8qFYnd-bRviwl-INEka6PL4AAZYXWQKp9ziLH43Z1r5w2E6GMKqJJ_Qqb7Ugik3RYkQMSrt_L5Seho79KOQOuvC9uU72NbeRE-RuMSjl2Te0m5vwM4wji4SdUY/s1600/wicked-g10.jpg" height="400" width="298" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>Kristen Chenoweth in 2003 as Glinda</i></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">One of the people asks Glinda if it’s true that she was the Wicked
Witch’s friend. Glinda is a little taken aback by that and we flashback to the
time they were in college together. One thing that was pretty awesome about
this performance was that when Glinda showed up there was a huge ovation for
her and when Elphaba showed also, the house felt like it was coming down. And
people proceeded to cheer A LOT after songs, during songs when they would do
some nice vocal line. It just felt great to have that freedom, it can feel kind
of constricted in the opera house with all the rules and the etiquette.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Well we flash back and Elphaba walks in and huge ovation right
there. But her fellow classmates don’t think she’s as awesome as we know she is
and nobody really likes her because she’s green and has a little bit of an
attitude. Her father actually only sent her there to take care of her handicap sister, <u>Nessa</u>, who is a perfectly normal color. The father is not a real fan of Elphie (what a
jerk) and dotes on his other daughter openly. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">As for Galinda she’s a very spoiled young woman who always gets what she
wants. And now she wants to do a witchcraft seminar with the headmistress of
the school, Madam Morrible. Things get tangled and Elphaba gets assigned to share a room with Galinda
and as they protest Elphie gets nervous and does some magic. The headmistress
is impressed and tells Elphaba she will teach her privately and take other
students plus giving a ring to the Wizard of Oz about her.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKBJRbhfgnNiag0nHzYGnnibsdAq28Ly5tQkR66f9G9y_Z-ws3M_0lR5V5WiLfTNbPxfJMbbSimnIMUsJxjjzI6LJ_bBwCminWRjebIJwDDsFpkv9o_JS1Ds5i7RAzFh8pQUfTzmehKiQ/s1600/stage_0511_04a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKBJRbhfgnNiag0nHzYGnnibsdAq28Ly5tQkR66f9G9y_Z-ws3M_0lR5V5WiLfTNbPxfJMbbSimnIMUsJxjjzI6LJ_bBwCminWRjebIJwDDsFpkv9o_JS1Ds5i7RAzFh8pQUfTzmehKiQ/s1600/stage_0511_04a.jpg" height="400" width="267" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe-e9sn3RAo9JAl7e8S9qifBYftaYooYE7C0LANt8RbFAhuGKlEHIRNmNxbTFCX_KjbThtB_KUNfGDI3tgnKzXLNzVL3xEnJXzGDfuF2f7G4ae-BymuN-_Ly2WuS8yNQwsR07Cvic6n4U/s1600/stage_0508_06.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe-e9sn3RAo9JAl7e8S9qifBYftaYooYE7C0LANt8RbFAhuGKlEHIRNmNxbTFCX_KjbThtB_KUNfGDI3tgnKzXLNzVL3xEnJXzGDfuF2f7G4ae-BymuN-_Ly2WuS8yNQwsR07Cvic6n4U/s1600/stage_0508_06.jpg" height="400" width="266" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Shoshana Bean as Elphaba in the left and Megan Hilty as Glinda in the right </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Elphaba then proceeds to sing one of the coolest songs in the whole
musical </span><i style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">The Wizard and I</i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">. The girl
who was playing Elphaba wasn’t the principal and not even the first replacement
and she rocked! I mean, she was SO good and it amazing! She had very good
technique which allowed her to play with the song and really feel it and it was
really quite incredible.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2XzLXIlqF8W_kWDosuZfldz-9WlW9pus0-1fXT6AfI4bx4OK2Vr8exQeqX7OaHoVzmkhO8Z2HPcJ7HrSs9zaBdcKF8a94kp8_o6K5GvwhyphenhyphenEiSjO8ONFqbiqtxKmvvEW-GXri9r08eC78/s1600/wicked-shiz8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2XzLXIlqF8W_kWDosuZfldz-9WlW9pus0-1fXT6AfI4bx4OK2Vr8exQeqX7OaHoVzmkhO8Z2HPcJ7HrSs9zaBdcKF8a94kp8_o6K5GvwhyphenhyphenEiSjO8ONFqbiqtxKmvvEW-GXri9r08eC78/s1600/wicked-shiz8.jpg" height="267" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>Idina Menzel as Elphaba, she originated this role</i></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">As life proceeded in school Elphaba wasn’t popular at all but found friendship
with her history teacher who also happened to be a goat! In Oz animals were
just like people, they talk and are sometimes even more intelligent than
humans. But the professor warned her that something odd was happening and that
he’d been hearing rumors of animals not being allowed to live out their lives
as they always had and who had forgotten how to speak!</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">A new guy arrives in the university named <u>Fiyero</u> and he’s the perfect
personification of a charming bad boy, killer looks and lack of sense of responsibility.
He sings about how we should all dance through life and not think of our
problems and only have a good time (<i>Dancing through life</i>). Galinda and Fiyero come to the conclusion
they were made for each other. When a munchkin named <u>Boq</u> tries to ask her out
Galinda tells him how the guy who asked Elphaba’s sister out would be her hero
he hurries to do just that.</span></span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">So everyone is going to this big party and Galinda being the self-centered
person that she is gives Elphaba a pointy black hat telling her it’s the latest
fashion. But just as Elphaba arrives at
the party wearing the hat and everyone proceeds to laugh at her, the
headmistress goes up to Galinda and tells her she can be in the witchcraft
lessons because Elphaba insisted she also took them. Now Galinda is feeling
like the worst person in the face of the planet and Elphaba starts doing a
crazy dance all by herself while others watch and laugh. Galinda joins her in
dancing and before you know it everyone is dancing quite a beautiful
choreography and finally accepting Elphaba.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlfGqb9QufFWU8kkWEXHlflTTJTeQajwgKFJZTwitQj6EZkZ_6-T2iuvaqNhilqNixzvnuEF6JDxY1_SVmX-O3Y91_V7GYKoWxnDPmJYbYHPxoANOITPMr3LchHXrA85CTlJ6-43WhjJU/s1600/OgAAAA3wkXf8J-XXPA2werYXZz1PU1MjxWmNlF_FOki6Ej-xJOMOJvIgxO5DShyqoyVS8d4adueFEk7kXBsizl-R5fkAm1T1ULiQvtI1by975uB-jF9-m5sr5XER.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlfGqb9QufFWU8kkWEXHlflTTJTeQajwgKFJZTwitQj6EZkZ_6-T2iuvaqNhilqNixzvnuEF6JDxY1_SVmX-O3Y91_V7GYKoWxnDPmJYbYHPxoANOITPMr3LchHXrA85CTlJ6-43WhjJU/s1600/OgAAAA3wkXf8J-XXPA2werYXZz1PU1MjxWmNlF_FOki6Ej-xJOMOJvIgxO5DShyqoyVS8d4adueFEk7kXBsizl-R5fkAm1T1ULiQvtI1by975uB-jF9-m5sr5XER.jpg" height="221" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Galinda and Elphaba bond and Galinda tells her that she’s going to give
her a makeover and teach her how to popular in a very funny song of that said
name. Even though the girl was imitating Kristen it wasn’t all that bad because
she sounded real funny in the spoken bits and she did add her own personal touch
to the character which made her even funnier. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">After that things start to look up for Elphaba but one day they fire her
goat teacher, Dr. Dillamod and bring into the classroom a cage with a lion cub
preaching how good these things are for animals because then they will never
learn how to speak. Elphaba is enraged by this and uses her powers to make an
escape with the lion cub and Fiyero who helps her. There’s an awkward moment between
the two as they free the lion cub but Elphaba knows they can never be (<i>I’m not
that girl</i>).</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">The wizard wants to meet Elphaba so he invites her to go to the Emerald
City. Galinda isn’t really well because ever since that day with the lion cub
Fiyero has been different, as she herself says <i>“He’s been thinking!”</i> which apparently
isn’t a good thing. And he indeed seems changed somehow, concerned about their
goat professor. Galinda in an attempt to seem worried about the teacher states
that since the professor never could pronounce her name correctly she would
change her name to Glinda. (What? Yeah!)<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Elphaba invites Glinda to go to the Emerald City with her and off they
go! But when Elphaba finally gets to meet the Wizard harsh reality punches her
in the face. Because you see, she wanted to tell him of all the things people
had been doing to animals so he could stop it, but the thing was, he was
actually behind all that. Furthermore he possessed no magic whatsoever, that’s
why he was so interested in her, she had magic that could help him carry on his
plan to separate humans from animals.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">After learning all this Elphaba panics, grabs the spell book and runs
for the roof. Glinda follows her. Elphaba can’t work for the wizard after all
she’s heard and is resolute in running away and telling everyone the truth
about the wizard. But as soon as she’s out his door he announces that she stole
his spell book and that she’s a liar and wicked. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">That leaves Elphie with very little options but to run, she enchants a
broom for it to fly and asks Glinda if she would come with her. But Glinda
decides to stay behind and hold off the guards so Elphaba can escape and there’s
that moment that my eyes fill with tears and my mouth hangs open, when she freaking
flies. I know how the whole thing works, where the machine holds her and how the
effect is made but still it’s so freaking perfect that it does indeed seem as
if she’s flying and quite literally Defying Gravity. End of act one with
screams, tears and cheers!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0zFZvruVN8VHcqwent3OCMY2Cms9En4Ph-oSYMsHul-fVIVyFTeLHxPnNHoS6cRiPtHAdbTsDQKcHjCR4WeUs2SGxsWFFgIz3YbGK31EW-_5DZ2RXGhLFSIiiBtw0kUnmctzT8zk6cp4/s1600/the_broadway_musical_wicked-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0zFZvruVN8VHcqwent3OCMY2Cms9En4Ph-oSYMsHul-fVIVyFTeLHxPnNHoS6cRiPtHAdbTsDQKcHjCR4WeUs2SGxsWFFgIz3YbGK31EW-_5DZ2RXGhLFSIiiBtw0kUnmctzT8zk6cp4/s1600/the_broadway_musical_wicked-1.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">On to act two and it opens with one of my favorite songs, <i>Thank Goodness</i>. Some time has
passed and Glinda has been appointed to be Glinda, the good, kind of like a
cheerleader to spread joy and hope to the people of OZ, or something. And
Fiyero is now the captain of the Wizard’s guard and Elphaba is still in the
run. The people from Oz now believe all sorts of weird things about Elphaba,
like that she has a third eye, or that she can change her skin and even that
her soul in so impure pure water can melt her.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi21l0sI9vyBUF8oTIXZ2MZcfYyItj-aCX539gvWHjEpA6xBbaa5V-IYehSZGyz30W9TFmaLTytsccejb5UqPBvjFQgXJ0JY8d8tc_qN9YniBcUzHKsYYh762h-BDMDdERJqp_zKnqCVcc/s1600/5010419.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi21l0sI9vyBUF8oTIXZ2MZcfYyItj-aCX539gvWHjEpA6xBbaa5V-IYehSZGyz30W9TFmaLTytsccejb5UqPBvjFQgXJ0JY8d8tc_qN9YniBcUzHKsYYh762h-BDMDdERJqp_zKnqCVcc/s1600/5010419.jpg" height="400" width="358" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">While that happens we are brought to the estate of Elphaba’s family for
she goes there to ask aid from her sister. Her sister is not at all happy to
see her and confronts her, telling her that she never ever used her powers to
help her get out of her wheelchair. Elphaba is taken aback but puts a spell on
her sister’s diamond shoes and as they burn up and turn into ruby her sister
can finally walk. She calls on Boq and tells him now they can be happy together
because she can walk. But Boq is in love with Glinda and now that Nessa can
walk he can finally tell Glinda how he feels. Those news are not welcome to
Nessa who is so mad and so desperate to have Boq’s heart to herself that she
starts chanting something from Elphaba’s spell book and Boq starts tugging his
chest. Elphaba tries desperately to fix her sister’s mistake and after she’s
taken care of Boq she goes away. We can’t see Boq and as he wakes up and comes
out of his hiding place we see he’s become the Tin man, he has no heart. PRETTY
COOL!</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">So Elphaba heads off to the Wizard’s place to try and free the winged
monkeys she created by accident. The wizard finds her and tries to convince her
to come to his side and he almost succeeds. He calls on the guards and who
shows up but Fiyero who is absolutely stunned to see Elphaba and in a heartbeat
has his riffle pointed to the Wizard and is telling Elphaba to run. Glinda
arrives just to see this exchange and then Fiyero makes the decision to go with
Elphaba. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyEf43PK_JWwkZ70Apc5ENkxmpbE9ZLJsxceq4FTsgYaAcNM9mjHdmFOdnbYtSgchEfz-1KnUgmaptwm8RtLKq8ZmWElyCqhQ39czaPnZdveEf1H-Zvsw-gC7AHZ51IP6BKOTr8gp9Dbg/s1600/OgAAAPTtPgsz4lF3uVE8GtzRth2Q1a7sSTvK7Zw-fljoQbAmOeojlmQNKrWJjighj1AaZuLQBs3Dy67TDg6aTzNHQn8Am1T1UJJYD8HPtjpD9ntS1bynvyqmk_K5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyEf43PK_JWwkZ70Apc5ENkxmpbE9ZLJsxceq4FTsgYaAcNM9mjHdmFOdnbYtSgchEfz-1KnUgmaptwm8RtLKq8ZmWElyCqhQ39czaPnZdveEf1H-Zvsw-gC7AHZ51IP6BKOTr8gp9Dbg/s1600/OgAAAPTtPgsz4lF3uVE8GtzRth2Q1a7sSTvK7Zw-fljoQbAmOeojlmQNKrWJjighj1AaZuLQBs3Dy67TDg6aTzNHQn8Am1T1UJJYD8HPtjpD9ntS1bynvyqmk_K5.jpg" height="400" width="265" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Now it’ Glinda’s turn to sing <i>I’m not that girl</i>. Since she’s very upset
she tells the Wizard that to get to Elphaba he should make her believe that
something had happened to her sister. But the wizard knows that Elphaba is too
smart and a rumor won’t do and that’s why a house was dropped on Nessa, the
wicked witch of the East.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">But before that happened Fiyero and Elphaba are having a romantic and
fiery duet about how much they care for each other. It’s pretty hot. Elphaba
though senses there’s something wrong and rushes to where her sister was and
BAM, she’s been hit by a house.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgln0ch29_EFjifElO9eLOT7FtdB964xWSOhkkHuzHvGpS2hXGdhDNExLnBvn9PmrCdEcRSwlrEtoTzKlSZ9yeCUCIC-MljXMPzrXxRVk3u64y0q6G-3c8NqlSd3fdAoYTHgLmxsKThw-o/s1600/stage_0508_22.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgln0ch29_EFjifElO9eLOT7FtdB964xWSOhkkHuzHvGpS2hXGdhDNExLnBvn9PmrCdEcRSwlrEtoTzKlSZ9yeCUCIC-MljXMPzrXxRVk3u64y0q6G-3c8NqlSd3fdAoYTHgLmxsKThw-o/s1600/stage_0508_22.jpg" height="400" width="266" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Glinda is there paying her respects to Nessa and when Elphaba arrives they have an awesome catfight.
The guards seize Elphaba and just as they are about to take her away Fiyero
appears and holds Glinda as a hostage so Elphaba can escape. She does but he is
seized and condemned to die. As Elphaba gets to his abandoned castle she’s
trying to do any kind of magic to save him (<i>No good deed</i>). <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIWZWWZxc9DHRvRi6-0XITiPU1WbzfyPKzRkjH04B5QpRRSCE-MAm4dCF1ORwSKG1gGRQeI7ahFx5j1uqwAHpnrA9mPsN34PJ-vmIOQoduUv9nWpsUAT2uP75il1boWEiRD0YoHf2ed4U/s1600/wicked-b4defy2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIWZWWZxc9DHRvRi6-0XITiPU1WbzfyPKzRkjH04B5QpRRSCE-MAm4dCF1ORwSKG1gGRQeI7ahFx5j1uqwAHpnrA9mPsN34PJ-vmIOQoduUv9nWpsUAT2uP75il1boWEiRD0YoHf2ed4U/s1600/wicked-b4defy2.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">When Glinda arrives in her castle Elphaba is pretty much defeated and
doesn’t believe that even with all her power she can make a change for the
better. So she hands her spell book to Glinda and says <i>“Now it’s up to, for
both of us”</i> and they sing one of the most beautiful and tear producing duets in
musical theater history, <i>For Good</i>. It’s about friendship and it lasting forever,
I sing it with my sister and with my good, good friend Paula, I love them. Anyways,
I cried a lot.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4qFz3IbKO-lJYodC0T2G6Peq6avBJ-kRMIUEvR_s1RkjzoFuP588WtRaQcgm6T_8T9pcXlB10Q23pCQV3gxqX7oF5BCORal-CrRHNDdVcfEIdr4fHGoG7b8jXkmEVGu1M_lUteQqy5Ig/s1600/stage_0508_24.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4qFz3IbKO-lJYodC0T2G6Peq6avBJ-kRMIUEvR_s1RkjzoFuP588WtRaQcgm6T_8T9pcXlB10Q23pCQV3gxqX7oF5BCORal-CrRHNDdVcfEIdr4fHGoG7b8jXkmEVGu1M_lUteQqy5Ig/s1600/stage_0508_24.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">And then we see that iconic scene from The Wizard of Oz, the little girl
throwing a bucket of water on her and Elphaba melting through a sheet, so we
only shadows. When the sheet is drawn the only thing that’s left is Elphaba’s
black hat that Glinda gave her all that time ago. I’m crying just writing this, you can imagine how I was when I was actually
seeing this, hot mess. Glinda takes the hat and goes on her bubble and we come
back to the first scene of the musical.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Glinda then proceeds to send the wizard away because he wasn’t even from
the land of Oz, he’s from our world. He did spend the whole show drinking from
a green bottle when in distress and Glinda says she’s only seen another green
bottle like that with one other person, Elphaba. The bottle belonged to her
mother, and then we find out that Elphaba was actually the Wizard’s daughter
and the reason why she had such powers was because she was a child of both
worlds.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">As the cries of joy from the people diminish a scarecrow enters and hits
the floor 3 times and opens it up. He cries <i>“It worked!”.</i> Elphaba comes out
from the trap door and we then learn that her spell was able to save Fiyero
from execution but it had also transformed him into a scarecrow. And so they
head off to another world never turning back to Oz and their friend Glinda never
knowing that they were both alive. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Isn’t this like the best fanfiction ever written or what? The story of
this musical is based on a book by Gregory Maguire who based her story in the
Wizard of Oz movie and book, meaning, fanfiction.</span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHuzCPstcpEHBZ4_CiD7nlCsp08i7VqvJ0tOqA2phNC3g3VYq3pRLTJtHySBviAPIvoYm8ozrVRFAHPecgNNP1hHwXqIAPFuAplNcjck7Nza4UVeD3d5ALfBTWqD8Rnw2CCDrT2G3LZ1g/s1600/1962716_10152058009342713_1364235508_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHuzCPstcpEHBZ4_CiD7nlCsp08i7VqvJ0tOqA2phNC3g3VYq3pRLTJtHySBviAPIvoYm8ozrVRFAHPecgNNP1hHwXqIAPFuAplNcjck7Nza4UVeD3d5ALfBTWqD8Rnw2CCDrT2G3LZ1g/s1600/1962716_10152058009342713_1364235508_n.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>Mike and me after the show</i></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Well after the musical me and Mike went to the stage door because we
wanted to congratulate the lady playing Elphaba. But it was so weird. There
were a lot of people waiting out in the cold and some of the performers came
out and autographed their programs and took pictures. Then suddenly this lady
comes up to the line and says </span><i style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">“Those are
all the performers who will be coming out from this door tonight”</i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"> and
everybody leaves. Neither Elphaba nor Glinda came out to greet all those girls
who were standing in the cold, I thought that was preposterous. I mean,
seasoned stars from the Met, people who are so much bigger and older than these
ladies come out the stage door every time and greet their fans. And don’t start
me with <i>“They are tired” “It’s a tough show”</i> because 1- they wear microphones and
2 – Renée Fleming was also tired but she talked to everyone, signed everything
she was given and took pictures with everyone that asked.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Anyways, after that me and Mike headed to Greenwich Village to meet our
Russian friends of a late dinner or something. Getting there we happened to stumble
upon a drunk opera student and it was hilarious, he made us add him on facebook
right then. We met our friends in a diner and we just hanged out there, talked,
ate, it was really fun! But then Mike had to pack and my mum was already
freaking out so we left at about 1, 2 in the morning. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCgwixXMZB5hq4MgWzYtXVAEa2Y6YnJiirV4YHi11EV1I1E82xLy-YxS9BAoUCdLxE_yqngzAOLB6dySp0-0hMe6Pc3p1_nxZcmkS5nXo-QWKQntOdY359zRcm1TXn96iOFOX0iXmOssg/s1600/894051_10152058270472713_1037563823_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCgwixXMZB5hq4MgWzYtXVAEa2Y6YnJiirV4YHi11EV1I1E82xLy-YxS9BAoUCdLxE_yqngzAOLB6dySp0-0hMe6Pc3p1_nxZcmkS5nXo-QWKQntOdY359zRcm1TXn96iOFOX0iXmOssg/s1600/894051_10152058270472713_1037563823_o.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">aren't we adorable?</span></i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">On our way back uptown we met the nicest couple and talked to them for a
bit. Mike left and we had this big hug moment and I was so sad he was leaving!
The couple was really moved by our exchange and then I found out that,
surprise, surprise, they were both opera singers! WHAT ARE THE ODDS?</span></div>
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<br />
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">And that’s basically it, that day was fun! Jut so you guys know the pictures from Wicked are from many different casts throughout the 10 years it's been on Broadway but I did put in more pictures of Shoshana Bean as Elphaba and Megan Hilty as Glinda because they are my favorites! </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">And now it' freaking Once Upon a Time time PLUS the comeback of the last season of Drop Dead Diva! Tonight is gonna be awesome! Peace everyone!</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Hiya everyone! Doing that 50 random facts about me post was
a lot of fun, thank you all for the responses!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">I don’t know why but awesome things always happen when I’m
about to embark a plane or am already in it. Like January of last year there
was a radio stream of Susan Graham’s and Renée Fleming’s recital at Carnegie
Hall and I was flying. Or when I was flying back to Brazil last October and
there was a fabulous Norma broadcast with Sondra. And just as I was embarking
the plane to go to NYC last month the 2014/2015 season of the Met was
announced. I was indeed a sight to see that day, making my way from the
terminal to the plane clutching my phone and reading cast lists as I almost
knocked several people with my carryon bag. Plus the fact that I was squealing
like an idiot every time I saw they were doing an opera I liked or that someone
I like was gonna be in this or that opera. Main point, there was a lot of
squealing and rejoicing. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Most of these operas I know and love and others I’m dying to
see so it’s gonna be a pretty fun season. My plan was to talk about all the 24
operas of the season in one post but it turns out I get overly excited writing
about stuff I really like so I’ll do the following: A four post series with my
thoughts on each of the operas from the new season of the Metropolitan Opera
and also a little helpful synopsis of each. So here come the first 6:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Opening the Season with Figaro!</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"> <i>New Production</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">YAY! YES, YES, YES! </span><b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Mozart
</b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">God, yes! First of all it’s high time they opened a season with the
incomparable Mozart (one of my favorite composers) and second who doesn’t love
a comedy? Not to mention that this is going to be a new production of </span><b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Le Nozze di Figaro</b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"> after quite a while
with the old one. How old is it? I’ve seen pictures of that production with
Bryn Terfel as Figaro that dated back to 1994, so 20 years at least. High time
they did something new, hun? And I most certainly cannot wait to see what they
will come up with.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Now Le Nozze di Figaro (The Marriage of Figaro) was composed
by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart back in 1786 and it may come as a shock to us but it
didn’t have a very warm welcome back then. It’s because Mozart was one of the
first composers to start to write operas about the everyday people as opposed
to writing about the Gods and myths. He wanted opera to be something that
everyone could enjoy, not only the aristocracy. The opera is based on a play by
<i><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">Beaumarchais</span></i><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;"> that is actually the second part of a trilogy, the first part is
called <i>Le Barbier de Séville</i>. Does that name remind you of anything?
Yes, Mozart’s opera was the continuation of the story of The Barber of Seville
that years later would also be transformed into a “hit” opera by Gioachino
Rossini.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">So the opera is set in the Count’s
(Peter Mattei) estate during the day of Figaro’s (Ildar Abdrazakov) wedding to
Susanna (Marlis Petersen). The thing is, the Count is kind of a jerk and cheats
on his wife constantly and has set his eyes on Susanna of all people. But
Figaro is an ingenious and smart guy and will do all he can to marry Susanna
regardless of the Count’s advances and schemes. In the middle of this hurricane
of a day we also have Cherubino (Isabel Leonard), a young man who is ready to
help Figaro but who also can’t control his hormones and falls for every lady he
sees, but is helplessly in love with the Countess (Marina Poplavskya). The
Countess was once a witty and happy gal but today being with a man who cheats
on her and don’t give her the time of day has become melancholic and miserable.
<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Now on to the cast, I’m so thrilled that our star of the
night is going to be <b>Ildar Abdrazakov</b>
because he’s such an incredible singer. I had the absolute pleasure of not only
seeing him in Prince Igor live but also of talking to him and as a person and
as a performer he is SUPER! I have never heard of his co-star <b>Marlis Petersen</b> who is playing Susanna
but I’m more than glad with the great picks with <b>Peter Mattei</b> as the Count and <b>Isabel
Leonard</b> as Cherubino. I’m not a big fan of <b>Marina Poplavskaya</b> so I’m not particularly excited about her
playing the Countess (my favorite character) for me her and Elina Garanca are
battling to the death for the crown of Ice Queen of Opera. (did I just say that
out loud?)</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoXojeEqTryd1_eF86NotZEg4b6SLkSwPbOKw-X_VTxQcAZepo9I_5iZFEuF3aY5xIqY5Xah5r-67KKgk3HJJIFCXLSsKujlcbzFyDr_TMrrI6S1jx0_vhxE55NB2o7sRSJW3n3AC8bvc/s1600/ildarmarlis.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoXojeEqTryd1_eF86NotZEg4b6SLkSwPbOKw-X_VTxQcAZepo9I_5iZFEuF3aY5xIqY5Xah5r-67KKgk3HJJIFCXLSsKujlcbzFyDr_TMrrI6S1jx0_vhxE55NB2o7sRSJW3n3AC8bvc/s1600/ildarmarlis.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>Ildar Abdrazakov (left) as King Henry in Donizetti's Anna Bolena and Marlis Petersen (right) as Susanna in Mozart's Le Nozze di Figaro</i></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEnW_277-DlodFMVqV52yYtEozBjOQxLBOZ0weEzvMJhANSRYwXs3vvC3YQzoDpb6bqW8OcIuu2SMMiHDVkPzMQXquMDwwEF864J73uf0KTX38hUDPfHSIqGDFcWpuRRaKw4ltqzt89mA/s1600/peterisabelmarina.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEnW_277-DlodFMVqV52yYtEozBjOQxLBOZ0weEzvMJhANSRYwXs3vvC3YQzoDpb6bqW8OcIuu2SMMiHDVkPzMQXquMDwwEF864J73uf0KTX38hUDPfHSIqGDFcWpuRRaKw4ltqzt89mA/s1600/peterisabelmarina.png" height="231" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>Peter Mattei (left) as Figaro in Rossini's Il Barbieri di Siviglia, Isabel Leonard (center) as Sesto in Mozart's La Clemenza di Tito and Marina Poplavskaya (right) as Elisabeth in Verdi's Don Carlo </i></span></td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">This is one of my favorite Mozart
operas and an absolute MUST for anybody interested in learning a little bit
more about opera and also a blast of a lot of fun! And if you can’t go to NYC
to see this beauty, don’t worry because it’s included in the Live in HD program
for the 2014/2015 season, YAY!</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Down to the Latin Quarter<span style="font-size: x-small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">La Boheme</span></b><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"> totally never gets old, I
particularly never tire of it. I think the Met made this season thinking of me
because they are doing so many things I love, ah well, thank you guys! <b>Puccini</b> is one of my favorite
composers, probably my favorite for Italian opera, I don’t know, Verdi is also
quite dear to me, depends on what I’m singing at the moment actually. Anyways
this is one of the most traditional and beloved productions of the Metropolitan
Opera by Franco Zeffirelli and it’s getting 15 performances this season. It’s
really like a dream of a production, very traditional and faithful to what you
might have seen back in Puccini’s day.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>second act of the Met's production of La Boheme</i></span></td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">La Boheme tells the love story of
a poor poet, Rodolfo, and an even poorer flower maker, Mimi, who live in the
Latin Quarter, a location in Paris that back in the beginning last century was
where impoverish people lived, especially artists. Their love is poisoned not
only by Mimi’s disease but also by Rodolfo’s incontrollable jealousy. Marcello,
a painter who lives with Rodolfo, is also living his own love dilemma, he’s in
love with the singer Musetta but she left him to be with a rich old man. The
couple goes back and forth during the whole opera and could be considered the
‘comic relief’. But La Boheme is not just the story, it’s also the exquisite
music and unforgettable melodies of Puccini that take us on a journey and
accompany us on our way home after we cried our eyes out at the end.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">The cast is superb! First of all
this opera will mark </span><b style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Angela Gheorghiu</b><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">’s
return to the Met after 3 seasons of absence (I think, I'm not sure, but I’m sure
about 3 seasons of her not doing anything at the Met). And people can say
whatever they want about her, that she’s crazy, an over the top diva, maybe she
is, I don’t know her, but what I know is that she is SUCH a great singer.
Especially when she sings Puccini and Mimi is one of her signature roles. It’s
one of the things that she does perfectly that many try to imitate (believe me
I’ve seen people try first hand) and can never accomplish. So that’s pretty
exciting. Also playing the role of Mimi we have </span><b style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Kristine Opolais</b><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"> who I heard sing a beautiful Magda in La Rondine at the Met back in January of last year so I'm sure she's going to do a wonderful job with Mimi and </span><b style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Ekaterina
Scherbachenko</b><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"> who I've never heard of. As Rodolfo the fabulous and so cool tenor </span><b style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Bryan Hymel</b><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"> will be sharing the job
with Mexican tenor </span><b style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Ramon Vargas</b><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">. I
do have a preference towards Bryan because he’s so young and so fresh and he
has the look and the voice of a youthful Rodolfo and I imagine he’s up to the
job to shake things up a bit when it comes to playing this part.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiupb8YHaggF997iGX3raVm9wvx-zePyjcDRjj0O2e0Vu8B-QVwUZIJTtLzwUkIkjs8xrlYSu3R3Ai4fg85JfOd8BFiN2Ji2i-BGup0r1ew5CRFSjPLngH1H6dffxZuxnlSjImkoZmCeoA/s1600/kristineangelaekaterina.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiupb8YHaggF997iGX3raVm9wvx-zePyjcDRjj0O2e0Vu8B-QVwUZIJTtLzwUkIkjs8xrlYSu3R3Ai4fg85JfOd8BFiN2Ji2i-BGup0r1ew5CRFSjPLngH1H6dffxZuxnlSjImkoZmCeoA/s1600/kristineangelaekaterina.png" height="215" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Kristine Opolais (left) as Magda in Puccini's La Rondine and Angela Gheorghiu (center) and Ekaterina Scherbachenko (right) as Mimi in Puccini's La Boheme</span></i></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmkTePy7U7mbGYq0ll8lnyImJh4EM4tnnDSFNO4gTBqpiwl_gwp9LBpZgDBgMFx_Y_CLrElKl4O2grru6fOP6Xh_nEmD0nIUr6m3-Db320vbRZU-X7Dqcwdr_2fLcRDUahBMKoBdH3fT8/s1600/ramonbryan.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmkTePy7U7mbGYq0ll8lnyImJh4EM4tnnDSFNO4gTBqpiwl_gwp9LBpZgDBgMFx_Y_CLrElKl4O2grru6fOP6Xh_nEmD0nIUr6m3-Db320vbRZU-X7Dqcwdr_2fLcRDUahBMKoBdH3fT8/s1600/ramonbryan.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>Ramon Vargas (left) as Don Ottavio in Mozart's Don Giovanni and Bryan Hymel (right) as Aeneas in Berlioz's Les Troyans</i></span></td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Macbeth, Macbeth, Macbeth!</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">I must admit I have never seen
this opera but I’m more than familiar with the Shakespeare play. I love it that
there are so many operas in the repertoire that tell stories written by
Shakespeare. This for me is one of the most dark and heavy of his works that
I’ve read, filled with death, greed, hunger for power and madness. The perfect
ingredients for an opera, especially <b>Verdi</b>
opera!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">I don’t know what line the opera
follows but the original story goes something like this: Macbeth (Zeljko Lucic)
just won a very important battle for his king, king Duncan, with his buddy
Banquo (René Pape). They are visited by 3 witches that tell them of a prophecy
that basically says that Macbeth is going to be king and that Banquo will
father a king but will never be one himself. So when Macbeth tells his half
crazed, power lust wife Lady Macbeth (Anna Netrebko) about this prophecy she
makes him kill king Duncan so he’ll be king by basically telling him he’s a
chicken he if doesn’t. And then all hell breaks loose and it’s a super bloody
story but it’s Shakespeare, meaning that it’s amazing regardless of the amount
of blood that is spilled!</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Now for the cast we have the
newbie for the role <b>Anna Netrebko</b> as
Lady Macbeth. She has finally given up on the roles that made her famous
(Adina, Juliette…) and moved on to a heavier repertoire (Tatiana, Leonora…) and
Lady Macbeth sure is heavy from who I’ve heard. But Anna is a very
incredible artist, I’m sure she’ll do great. <b>Zeljko Lucic</b> plays Macbeth and he is a performer who is more than
used to the heavy Verdian repertoire, his Rigoletto is fantastic and I’m sure
his Macbeth will be just as great. In this cast we also have <b>Joseph Calleja</b> as Malduff and <b>René Pape</b> as Banquo two performers I
really like and look forward to seeing singing this opera. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd2H9xyWcs_rSRTfJzbVIUroohEDxmbMCDjloqptVyJI4lTkpHeaMe23fMrF-akeJBFuAE6CjHvIHC-Dy5-d53Y2fMk4GkxZ5nH_J1Woo8UDK7Uv_QMnPvBPSJQS2bYqVJ4h1bfNclMJU/s1600/Portrait_081.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd2H9xyWcs_rSRTfJzbVIUroohEDxmbMCDjloqptVyJI4lTkpHeaMe23fMrF-akeJBFuAE6CjHvIHC-Dy5-d53Y2fMk4GkxZ5nH_J1Woo8UDK7Uv_QMnPvBPSJQS2bYqVJ4h1bfNclMJU/s1600/Portrait_081.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>Zeljko Lucic</i></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVUkaQ6J01fyuIx8-gAYh9RMu6aDGZravGwz-rdbDeeJLJHZTVYFBOSaPLXsuzk33mjs7oMoj-I4JoGffMTOYSmzhyphenhyphenerRYVK8ESCVfurhwinUPj9jC3FFKxpxIk-Axu11GALST6CKJKbw/s1600/annabryanrene.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVUkaQ6J01fyuIx8-gAYh9RMu6aDGZravGwz-rdbDeeJLJHZTVYFBOSaPLXsuzk33mjs7oMoj-I4JoGffMTOYSmzhyphenhyphenerRYVK8ESCVfurhwinUPj9jC3FFKxpxIk-Axu11GALST6CKJKbw/s1600/annabryanrene.png" height="195" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Anna Netrebko (left), Joseph Calleja (center) and Rene Pape (right)</span></i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">This is the opera that’s gonna open the Live in HD series on
October 11</span><sup style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">th</sup><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">, the peeps from the Met just had to open SOMETHING with
Anna Netrebko, right? If not the season, be it the HD series.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Tale as old as time</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Although I really like this repertoire I can’t help but feel
that they just put this together by choosing the top 20 of most famous operas
of all time. And <b>Bizet</b>’s <b>Carmen</b> is definitely in the top 10 and
it’s getting 16 performances this season. I have a very difficult history with
this opera because you see I had to endure a group of people rehearse this
piece for months on and to be totally honest they weren’t very good. So every
time I heard the songs I would remember that incessant screeching I had to
listen to almost every afternoon for 4 months and that just does something to
your brain. It took a great deal of different kinds of productions and casts
(good ones) to erase that memory, but now I’m pleased to announce I have been
cured for a while.</span></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivWrOQMESrh3k2Iu7QrMgnMZJTR9rRe2jaY7ajJQGA8UOH8jpDOwN82o-M3bG15_jnwPUivaXVFL_Y9KRCnFfrEseKFAhHb7EY9vCYE2kIfjsVtkvCyK-Js_aVRpEd0NqittE1QlOYTkI/s1600/articleLarge.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivWrOQMESrh3k2Iu7QrMgnMZJTR9rRe2jaY7ajJQGA8UOH8jpDOwN82o-M3bG15_jnwPUivaXVFL_Y9KRCnFfrEseKFAhHb7EY9vCYE2kIfjsVtkvCyK-Js_aVRpEd0NqittE1QlOYTkI/s1600/articleLarge.jpg" height="220" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">So Carmen is this feisty and hot headed gypsy that every guy
wants to have because she’s so sensual or something (sorry guys, I’m a soprano,
sopranos usually have this perception of Carmen, but that’s just because we can
never play her). But of course Carmen is the kind of girl who can have all guys
drooling over her but she wants the ONLY ONE who doesn’t seem impressed by her
seduction skills. That’s Don José who is a very goodie pants kind of guy and he
is also engaged to be married to his childhood sweetheart Micaela. But Carmen
won’t rest until he gives into her, which he eventually does but what she
wasn’t counting on was just how possessive he could become and ultimately
dangerous.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">As Carmen two very different mezzos have been cast and
neither of them is a stranger to this production. <b>Elina</b> <b>Garanca</b> was the
first Carmen to do this new production by Richard Eyre, she actually
substituted Angela Gheorghiu who, rumor has it, had this production made for
herself and her husband but latter felt this wasn’t right for her and quit. We
also have the AMAZING <b>Anita
Rachvelishvili</b> to portray the gypsy and let me tell you, this woman is SO
good! I saw her in Prince Igor and she was absolute perfection and I’ve also
seen her do Carmen in a La Scala production on DVD and she just has all that
warmth and lush colors in her voice and her body language and performance
that the later does not possess. As Don José we have <b>Aleksandrs Antonenko</b> he played the Foreign Prince to Renée Fleming's Rusalka a couple of years ago at the Met. We have <b>Roberto</b> <b>Alagna</b> who has
played this role about a billion times and was the tenor that opened this
production together with Garanca in 2009. And the ever so charming and perfect <b>Jonas Kaufmann</b> (but he’s only doing two
performances). From what I could find out <b>Ildar
Abdrazacov</b> is playing Escamilo in two performances and <b>Ailyn Peréz</b> is playing Micaela in 2015, both of them are very
exciting performers.</span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmquF8JUe72MdpWEMWCzXTb6ZNvo8iPxLUP7V0FyiM2eU0SNns04Z-PEZ9R_iKYh8Cn3090xfI1o1eji4nqWzpjJVeOM1A5SpRKEDqGhVbKPqhQ1FwWysErE3FnFHBhKpXl81Z4DI5GuM/s1600/elinaanita.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmquF8JUe72MdpWEMWCzXTb6ZNvo8iPxLUP7V0FyiM2eU0SNns04Z-PEZ9R_iKYh8Cn3090xfI1o1eji4nqWzpjJVeOM1A5SpRKEDqGhVbKPqhQ1FwWysErE3FnFHBhKpXl81Z4DI5GuM/s1600/elinaanita.png" height="203" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>Elina Garanca (left) and Anita Rachvelishvili (right) both as Carmen in Richard Eyre's production of Bizet's Carmen at the Metropolitan Opera</i></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjirvdRZ9xvsPk3HxC4jNPLd3g2TkJcm0o0KtLvve7l8who6mbxpEkRSPICTz4XhDURDSayl-fOPxDpCDqcAY6eEKQ15RQ0S51lzbeHDC7DjXXcXm2AYtX-xfA2LWXK-Pqh12eSe1WyBko/s1600/jonasrobertoalek.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjirvdRZ9xvsPk3HxC4jNPLd3g2TkJcm0o0KtLvve7l8who6mbxpEkRSPICTz4XhDURDSayl-fOPxDpCDqcAY6eEKQ15RQ0S51lzbeHDC7DjXXcXm2AYtX-xfA2LWXK-Pqh12eSe1WyBko/s1600/jonasrobertoalek.png" height="152" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Jonas Kaufmann (left) and Roberto Alagna (center) both as Don José in Richard Eyre's production of Carmen at the Met and Aleksandrs Antonenko (right) doing Puccini's Il Trittico</span></i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">This opera will also be featured in the Live in HD program
being transmitted on the 1</span><sup style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">st</sup><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"> of November with Anita Rachvelishvili
as Carmen, Aleksandrs Antonenko as Don José, Ildar Abdrazacov as Escamilo.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Keep the magic coming on that flute!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Yet another opera blockbuster, Wolfgang Amadeus <b>Mozart</b>’s enchanting <b>Die Zauberflöte</b> (The Magic Flute). This
production reminds me of a children’s storybook, it’s very colorful and filled
with crazy shaped costumes and exotic animals. But it does work great with this
particular opera and thank the Lord they are doing the whole thing in the
original language this time. Because if I’m not mistaken this was last season’s
Holiday Presentation in which they cut a lot of stuff and translate it to
English. I don’t have any problems with the translation if it helps reach out
to a broader audience, especially when it’s comedy but taking stuff off is
heresy to me and completely unnecessary.</span></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8Ukkiq-QT61Ld-a2f1KRrJI6aGtzjxjZDvXYitXFnnrTkhyphenhyphenYZHDN9Iutl_4GTluVqwPjCTD_r6YVJt5yKweolgpjQwkESw-HzJi01C9uSp2QS76kbkzO0zafirtJR35JVuryGVcN-VTA/s1600/FLUTE1-articleLarge.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8Ukkiq-QT61Ld-a2f1KRrJI6aGtzjxjZDvXYitXFnnrTkhyphenhyphenYZHDN9Iutl_4GTluVqwPjCTD_r6YVJt5yKweolgpjQwkESw-HzJi01C9uSp2QS76kbkzO0zafirtJR35JVuryGVcN-VTA/s1600/FLUTE1-articleLarge.jpg" height="210" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">In this opera we have our dashing tenor hero Prince Tamino (Toby
Spence) who sets off to rescue the Princess Pamina (Pretty Yende) from the
claws of the ‘evil’ Zarastro (René Pape) with the help of his comic relief side
kick Papagueno (Markus Werba). But nothing is what it seems and is Pamina
really being held against her will? Is Zaratro really the bad guy? Is Papagueno
just desperate to get laid? Is this one of the most sexist operas ever and
still we love it? Yeah, well, you can soon find out.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">There’s only one cast for this opera, we have <b>Toby Spence</b> as Prince Tamino and I’m
pretty sure he’ll do a great job, he has the Prince look and a beautiful voice.
<b>Pretty Yende,</b> who made her Met debut
suddenly January of last year stepping in after the soprano playing the
Countess in Le Comte Ory cancelled, plays Princess Pamina. I don’t know <b>Markus Werba</b>, who is playing Papagueno,
at all but as I’ve said in the Macbeth bit <b>René
Pape</b> is awesome and Zarastro is up his sleeve.</span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIF-1F7KeMxg2bJlGW_TPBbHgREOyZpHTJvmyqqdfGUi-aFqTpSIwILC2kV83x7rpT8hnWbvV46CLl8FYPBpLW7i-dIVNkTq-VtKZCWhAHPrFU5Pg0Jw5ggJudGU1E6N0Vg5nyQqBnEWY/s1600/magic.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIF-1F7KeMxg2bJlGW_TPBbHgREOyZpHTJvmyqqdfGUi-aFqTpSIwILC2kV83x7rpT8hnWbvV46CLl8FYPBpLW7i-dIVNkTq-VtKZCWhAHPrFU5Pg0Jw5ggJudGU1E6N0Vg5nyQqBnEWY/s1600/magic.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Toby Spence (top left) as Antonio in Ades' The Tempest, Pretty Yende (top right) as the Countess in Rossini's Le Comte Ory, Rene Pape (bottom left) as Zarastro in Mozart's Die Zauberflöte and Markus Werba (bottom right) as Figaro in Rossini's Il Barbieri di Siviglia</span></i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The Death of Klinghoffer<span style="font-size: x-small;"> <i>Met </i></span></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Premiere</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i><br /></i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Oddly enough this is the opera that got me most excited
amongst this group of 6. I guess I just love to see new things. So compared to
the other works this opera is very new although it was written 23 years ago by
still living composer John <b>Adams</b>.
Even though the work has a bit more than two decades it is still a
controversial opera that in some people’s minds ‘should never be performed’. I
myself have only seen Doctor Atomic by Adams and it is just absolutely
fantastic and the music is mind blowing! This will be the first time <b>The Death of Klinghoffer</b> is performed
at the Met which means we have another new production.</span></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3Dm_6ZW5MEyXQWChXOI51trO25W_lloCkT2hzIIbwi_4HBm2dYGCK4KL_soqdjtP9npGu1fHjpSY_dCt3ooW_a3QHsgIyD_dg0Zhx2jKgVid6E6zY3mFofnpLGpKv8Lg4hkKHAEEOzNc/s1600/Death-of-Klinghoffer-Scot-007.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3Dm_6ZW5MEyXQWChXOI51trO25W_lloCkT2hzIIbwi_4HBm2dYGCK4KL_soqdjtP9npGu1fHjpSY_dCt3ooW_a3QHsgIyD_dg0Zhx2jKgVid6E6zY3mFofnpLGpKv8Lg4hkKHAEEOzNc/s1600/Death-of-Klinghoffer-Scot-007.jpg" height="240" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Like some of other works by Adams (the creation of the
atomic bomb in Doctor Atomic and Nixon in China being about politics) this
opera deals with a very delicate and recent subject: terrorism. It tells the
true story of how a cruise ship was kidnapped in the Mediterranean by
terrorists and all the passengers made hostages and the death of Klinghoffer
who was killed during this high jacking. Something quite nice I’ve heard the
composer say is that he doesn’t want to end the problems of the world with his
works, but he wants to show the human side of both the victims and the
villains.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Staring in the leading role is the amazing Brazilian
baritone <b>Paulo Szot</b> and I couldn’t
be happier to always write about his wonderful performances and his victories
at the Met. He’s such a fantastic singer, brilliant performer and also a great
person.</span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjof99votkMPXqGgR5OxmTwHfLwILA-2pvWlGNMCK7sDWfH5xa767Ua2dWmIK3UgrHD4A88w2OCB2nURl5DjDvEcBKfYj06Z6UWRqO9htz_GYSOnhuabrgd7ddyieGZ-vJPgIZXLKEnCKM/s1600/v3qa9x.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjof99votkMPXqGgR5OxmTwHfLwILA-2pvWlGNMCK7sDWfH5xa767Ua2dWmIK3UgrHD4A88w2OCB2nURl5DjDvEcBKfYj06Z6UWRqO9htz_GYSOnhuabrgd7ddyieGZ-vJPgIZXLKEnCKM/s1600/v3qa9x.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Paulo Szot the night he won his Tony Award back in 2008</span></i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Sorry I don’t know much about this opera but now I’m very
curious to see how this will play out. And be happy because this opera is also
in the Live in HD program, it will be streamed live on the 15th of November</span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Well, I guess that’s it! I hope you guys liked the post and
next one shall be about my 7<sup>th</sup> day in NYC so stay tuned! Cheers and
peace everyone!</span></div>
Belahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08940075924322732507noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3881539215077596507.post-88977033264957232162014-03-17T22:06:00.000-05:002014-03-31T11:11:28.090-05:0050 Random Facts About Me<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Hello everyone! First and foremost I’d like to say THANK YOU
so much for all the wonderful responses of my last post. I was really very
moved by all your comments and messages, I do love this art form so much and
it’s a joy for me to share my thoughts and crazy ideas with you all!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">So I’m working on an awesome series of posts right now that
I will probably post next and don’t worry I will account for the other days in
NYC that were pretty awesome as well and full of opera. But now I’d like to
post something slightly more personal. This is actually a video tag that I saw
in my favorite fashion YT channel <a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/Evelinicutza" target="_blank">Evelina</a>. Yes, I subscribe to a fashion
channel and Evelina is real cool, she’s not like most of the fashion vlog girls
who have irritating voices and sound kinda dumb. No, she’s very sweet and has
the most amazing ideas and tips about sorts of things, plus she’s Russian and
speaks 4 languages, the girl is smart. But anyways, this is a thing where I write
down 50 random facts about myself and I thought I’d be fun for all of you to
get to know me a little better, so here we go! </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">1- I’m addicted to Sudoku</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">2- I hate going to the hairdresser, I do everything
one does at the hairdresser myself and my second mum cuts my hair</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; text-indent: -0.25in;">3- I did ballet and tap dancing for a while growing up but
was never real good at them</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">4- I love pictures and hanging pictures of me and
friends or of inspirational things all over my bedroom</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">5- I started my love for the performing arts
watching Les Miserables live at the age of 10</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">6- I’m a very optimistic person</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">7- I love designing and coming up with ideas for
costumes </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">and also choreographing dances </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; text-indent: -0.25in;">for the plays I’m doing (I’m usually responsible for those most of the
time)</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">8- I love to sing pop songs and musicals but the
more I study classical singing the more ridiculous I sound singing them. (You
should hear my “Let the storm rage on” from Let it Go, it’s pathetic)</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">9- I’m a very rational person even though I get
tears in my eyes from watching commercials</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">10- My favorite characters have a tendency of being the ‘evil’/dark ones like Snape (Harry
Potter), the Evil Queen (Once Upon a Time), Nico (Heroes of Olympus) and even
Amneris (Aida)</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">11- <!--[endif]-->I have a very difficult time letting go of
material things from the past (I still have my favorite Barbie dolls and
stuffed animals)</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">12- <!--[endif]-->I am a shameless bookworm, I love books and I
love to read</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">13- <!--[endif]-->I hate scary movies and will never watch them
because they really freak me out</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">14- <!--[endif]-->I love to cook and I always sing when I cook, it’s
my secret ingredient</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">15- <!--[endif]-->I’m absolutely fascinated by languages and my
goal is to learn how to speak as many as I can</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">16- <!--[endif]-->I’m a very domestic person, I love to hang out
in my house and work from home and also to have friends over </span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">17- <!--[endif]-->I don’t watch TV at all but I do watch many TV
series, I download them and watch them in my laptop</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">18- <!--[endif]-->If I had the means I could eat sushi everyday</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">19- <!--[endif]-->I love meeting new people and getting to
exchange experiences, I find that we can always learn so much by simply
listening to the most common place things</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">20- <!--[endif]-->My favorite type of story (be it
book/movie/series) is fantasy/adventure closely followed by mystery and
romance</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">21- <!--[endif]-->My favorite colors are red and green, it’s a
complete and utter tie followed by black</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">22- I LOVE fairy tales</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">23- <!--[endif]-->I’m very concerned about my looks at all times,
I always go out looking as good as the thing I have to do allows me to</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">24- <!--[endif]-->I have a thing for shelves, I love having an
endless number of shelves displaying from all my books and CDS to perfumes and
make up stuff</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">25- My sprit animal is a Panda!</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">26- <!--[endif]-->I love to bike, I get to almost everywhere with
my bicycle</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">27- <!--[endif]-->My favorite drink is a Cosmopolitan</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">28- I’m addicted to coffee</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">29- <!--[endif]-->I speak two languages fluently, my mother tongue
Portuguese and English, I do also speak Spanish and a bit of Italian and French
which I’m teaching myself how to speak</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">30- <!--[endif]-->I prefer to read/write/speak in English</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">31- <!--[endif]-->I’m a proud Slytherin</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">32- <!--[endif]-->My guilty pleasure is Glee</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">33- <!--[endif]-->I used to hate opera when I was younger</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">34- <!--[endif]-->I suck at sports that involve a ball, with the
exception of dodge ball because I can run from the ball</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">35- <!--[endif]-->Two of the biggest inspirations for my personal
style are Blair Waldorf (Gossip Girl) and the Evil Queen/Regina (OUAT)</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">36- <!--[endif]-->I met one of my best friends in the front row of
an opera singer recital</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">37- <!--[endif]-->My sister is the person I trust the most</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">38- <!--[endif]-->My favorite kind of footwear is a Brazilian flip-flop
called Havainas, I must have 10 of them in all different colors</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">39- <!--[endif]-->I’ve had a crush on Alan Rickman since I was 13
years old</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">40- <!--[endif]-->The women that inspired and continue to inspire
me to be an artist were/are Emma Thompson, Joyce Didonato, Sondra
Radvanovsky, Lana Parrilla and Sutton Foster</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">41- <!--[endif]-->I think newspapers are disgusting and smell
horrible and I won’t go near them, I’m serious, if you wanna see me freak out
wave newspapers in my direction</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">42- <!--[endif]-->I’ve only had one boyfriend, we dated for two
years and broke up well so today we are great friends</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">43- <!--[endif]-->I have never dyed or put any sort of chemical product
to change my hair, it’s all black and all curly and 100% natural</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">44- <!--[endif]-->I study for about 5 hours a day everyday</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">45- <!--[endif]-->I hate the fact that I squint my eyes when I’m
smiling for a picture so you can’t really see them well. That usually happens when
I take a picture with a super awesome opera singer</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">46- <!--[endif]-->I don’t mind being alone, I actually kind of
like it</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">47- <!--[endif]-->I’m running out of ideas so my 3 favorite
composers are Mozart, Puccini and Massenet</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">48- <!--[endif]-->Harry Potter changed my life, it made me fall in
love with reading which triggered so many wonderful things in my life</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">49- <!--[endif]-->I love to read fanfiction</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">50- <!--[endif]-->I’m a very agitated kind of person, I always
feel like I should be doing 2 things at the same time to optimize my time</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvi35QJDrckRoKlYN-GGaq84SjSXJODr8u4D7y5GXvg1vZVWD5Kz4h4PuW-KGINelgVXsDjTR-2-AYvfW_txq07gXw2gH8qP_zemsvr7HTDdaATRa1UWkqvoSBJND9aHc0LwsfVj1YAIs/s1600/1898097_817834914900447_1233337619_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvi35QJDrckRoKlYN-GGaq84SjSXJODr8u4D7y5GXvg1vZVWD5Kz4h4PuW-KGINelgVXsDjTR-2-AYvfW_txq07gXw2gH8qP_zemsvr7HTDdaATRa1UWkqvoSBJND9aHc0LwsfVj1YAIs/s1600/1898097_817834914900447_1233337619_n.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Yes, that's me underwater!</span></i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; text-indent: -0.25in;">And that’s it! Now you actually
know why I’m so insane! Leave a comment with a random fact about you you'd like to share! I’ll be making a new post soon! Cheers everyone!</span></div>
Belahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08940075924322732507noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3881539215077596507.post-54532464862914664002014-03-14T20:15:00.000-05:002014-03-14T20:16:13.584-05:00Here and Back Again in NYC - Day 6 - Opening Night of Werther at the Met and Met Museum<div class="MsoNormal">
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">I’m going describe now one of the coolest days of my life!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">It all started quite smoothly but I knew that by the end of
the day I would be freaking out. So after me and mum grabbed some breakfast we
went to the Met to pick up my tickets for Werther and I took this opportunity
to snap a pic with my favorite tenor.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhsBL7ND3fcRB2MZaPsqXYZnVBZE25fJsWJSvSz4fL6rugZ5sT5uoOVt_KY8cNCiX9bRSCUKjmNGmEYcA2QATDouIlO4GHzRoSTFcaMpqk9PJiFbQKtzUSXMhH7ZbIPLObcWwOX-8seEY/s1600/1911818_10152054200327713_1927940659_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhsBL7ND3fcRB2MZaPsqXYZnVBZE25fJsWJSvSz4fL6rugZ5sT5uoOVt_KY8cNCiX9bRSCUKjmNGmEYcA2QATDouIlO4GHzRoSTFcaMpqk9PJiFbQKtzUSXMhH7ZbIPLObcWwOX-8seEY/s1600/1911818_10152054200327713_1927940659_n.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">This day we went to one of my favorite places in NYC, the
other Met, the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
I make sure that every time I come to the city I go to this museum and I
was particularly pumped about going because I was (am actually) reading the
Kane Chronicles by Rick Riordan. I know what you might think, these books about
the Kanes and Percy Jackson are for children/teenagers but, even if they are, I
couldn’t give a rat’s ass! I absolutely LOVE the way this guy writes, I read
all the Percy Jackson books and the Heroes of Olympus in lighting speed. Plus I
love everything about mythology, any kind, but specially Greek and then my
second favorite is Egyptian, so there you go. Some of you might be confused,
the books I’m reading tell the story of two siblings who find out they are
descendant from not only one but two pharaoh blood lines. Being a descendant
they can do Egyptian magic but being a double descendant makes them very
powerful and also apt to host spirits of Gods like Isis and Horus. Pretty cool
I must confess. Most importantly they live in our present so, yes, they do have
a battle at the Temple of Dendur at the Met Museum.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">As I was saying I was pretty pumped to go to the Met Museum
and of course started out at the Egyptian part. I probably have already said
this but they make you make a very though decision just as you arrive in that
museum. Would you like to start in the Greek/Roman part of the Egyptian one?
Well, we hanged around Egypt for a while as I ate up everything I could and
took pictures of the mummies and patiently waited for something to move (sad to
report nothing did move though…). </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">We had a museum quality lunch in which we ate over priced
salads and then moved upstairs where they had the cool musical instruments and
the paintings. This second floor is just bliss, especially the French Paintings
bit, such exquisitely beautiful works of art. I’m what you would call very
traditional when it comes to paintings, so I mostly like very realistic
paintings as opposed to dots and shapeless things. But one of my favorite
painters is George Serraut that introduced such revolutionary ways of painting
back in his day (information I have acquired thanks to a musical called Sunday
in the Park with George).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">We left the Museum around 5:30, more like they kicked us out
because they were closing. We went back to the hotel and for the first time in
forever I actually had time to dress up for the opera. Because I was wearing my
day clothes back in Rusalka and it just wasn’t classy. I decided to wear shoes
and 2 thick stockings because it was opening night and I had been wearing boots
all day, worst decision ever. I wore a very pretty black dress but I should
have brought the boots in a bag or something. The moment I was out in the
street on my way to the Met I regretted the shoes. They got wetish and so very
very cold, when I finally made it to the Met I was almost crying out of sheer
joy of being warm but then I remembered what I was there for and became even
happier.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">I met Melanie and we chatted for a little while before the
opera began. We spotted Danielle DeNiese and Placido Domingo in the rich
person’s dinner thing. So exciting! I had never seen Placido before in the
flesh and he’s like the coolest person in opera today apart from being the very
first opera singer I ever heard actually sing. My dad had his CD when I was
little and I just loved it!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Werther time! I was beyond excited, this would be the first
time of me seeing Jonas Kaufmann and I just adore him! Plus the first time I
saw Lisette Oropesa who is so incredible and it was opening night of one of the
most anticipated operas of the season, so yeah, pretty fucking awesome. I was
sitting in the Family Circle premium so I got amazing sound and OK view,
couldn’t see facial expressions, which was really a bum, but what can you do?</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuCml15RAr-yq3JQ2H5uzr_fqzG51h1emKPbvKWVhNvdgiJhSEz6_8yZb6790Wp-LU_R8GGLhMh1wJuJcHFO2ZWFjMSFNK-_VM5Uo5hjIdRAVscddxuSH58zE5z7Ivg-LBTSKXuNvsQOk/s1600/1962659_10152056449847713_2144883628_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuCml15RAr-yq3JQ2H5uzr_fqzG51h1emKPbvKWVhNvdgiJhSEz6_8yZb6790Wp-LU_R8GGLhMh1wJuJcHFO2ZWFjMSFNK-_VM5Uo5hjIdRAVscddxuSH58zE5z7Ivg-LBTSKXuNvsQOk/s1600/1962659_10152056449847713_2144883628_n.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Patrick was super pumped about this</span></i></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">The overture starts and we see a family (Charlotte’s) at
Christmas when suddenly the tallest woman faints and one of the small children
exclaims “Mama!”. This I thought was so incredible. During the overture we
could see when the mother died, after she was taken away they came back all in
black carrying a coffin. There was a statue of a woman weeping covering her
face in the garden that represented the mother in whose feet all her children
laid flowers. This is quite interesting and useful because in a superficial
level you kind of understand why the father is rehearsing Christmas Carols in
July. And in a deeper level you can see the mother, she’s not a ghost, the
promise Charlotte makes to her becomes more tangible and alive.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">The scenery was so lovely! It was simple yet relevant. I
love stagings like this that act as a vessel for the performer as opposed to
upstaging them. The floor was made out of crooked floor boards that give the
whole first scene a nice “twist”. We are brought to a sunny July afternoon when
the widowed Baliff is trying to rehearse Christmas carols with his young
children but all the youngsters want to do is play. I have to give a standing
ovation to those kids, they were simply perfect. Of course this is the Met and
perfection is the ultimate goal but not only did they sing the part with most
clear diction, dynamic and beautiful color but they also acted so well. I do
like to observe everyone on stage when I watch something like this, because
during the not so interesting conversation Baliff is having with his two
friends the kids are on fire.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Seriously, when Jonas first appeared some people actually
clapped. I thought they only did stuff like that for Placido Domingo or someone as equally monumental. Not that Jonas isn’t great but I didn’t think that the
clapping was so necessary. I probably have said this before but Werther is one
of those operas that I know most of by heart so as Jonas melted my heart with
his amazing rendition of <i>“Oh Nature”</i> I didn’t know if I was gap faced or if I
mouthed the words. Now some people like to say that he darkens his voice and
that he must sound small live. That couldn’t be farther from the truth, his
voice is scarily dark but from what I could capture it was all natural and it
was monstrous! It was BIG! I didn’t think it was that big, so I was really in
the clouds when he finished the aria, unfortunately the people didn’t clap. Go
figure.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">As soon as Werther sees Charlotte is like he’s been shot by
the cupid. They are both kind of shy and adorable around each other at first
which is so endearing! I must confess I hadn’t seen Sophie Koch in many things
but I was blown away by how amazing she sounds live! Lush, velvety, big and
full of emotion she was a perfect Charlotte from start to finish.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">To add to the mix Lisette Oropesa’s voice sounded just as
big and lovely as the two protagonists. I found that in this production, apart
of all the wonderful things I will describe later, they had an amazing balance
of voices that sounded absolutely gorgeous together. Everyone had quite full
voices which melted into each other's and that helped tremendously in emerging oneself
into the piece.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>Lisette Oropesa and David Bizic</i></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Charlotte serves a very real chocolate cake to her siblings
and her and Werther are off to the ball. The ball part must have been one of my
favorite parts. I know what you are thinking, what ball part? What happened
was, during the big introduction of the garden scene after the party they
actually made a silent party scene and it was SO romantic! The floor boards
uncrooked themselves and projections helped build the idea of an indoors
location. There were some couples that started dancing together and so did
Werther and Charlotte and seriously, it was so freaking damn romantic! The
music helped immensely setting the romantic mood but Jonas and Sophie were
absolutely in the same page and had incredible chemistry.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">We go to the garden scene that is one of my favorite scenes
and it was just bliss from start to finish. The orchestra sounded exquisite and
the couple on stage seriously stole my heart. It’s so great to watch people who
have already done the work together before because the more they do it the more
intimate they become and let me tell you, that duet was downright romantic and
melancholic and all things Massenet! Charlotte’s father calls her out just in
time to ruin the almost kiss they would be sharing, I hate that part. End of
act one.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">We only had a 2 minute pause until act 2 began. Curtain goes
up on act two and we still have the same mold of the set but some props have
been put up to make us believe we are in a different location. I thought one
thing that was absolutely fascinating was during that duet from those two ‘comic
relief’ guys there were some ladies setting up a table. And I seriously could
not tear my eyes from them, they did such a meticulous job, the table looked
absolutely gorgeous by the end. But on to the story, it’s Sunday and it’s
apparently the Vicar’s wedding anniversary so he’s having a lunch with his
friends.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Everyone is pretty much sunshine and happiness and here
comes Werther as gloomy as can be because his beloved married someone else
because of a stupid promise (Yeah, the scenes at the beginning did not change
my mind as to how stupid I thought that promise was). Charlotte looks very
miserable as well with her marriage.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">I’m not a really big fan of the second act, I don’t really
like it that Albert (that’s Charlotte’s husband) approaches Werther and sings
an aria about how he kinda knows the guy is into his wife. Although the Serbian
baritone David Bizic (sorry, I am not able to write his name right) was
absolutely fantastic, just like the rest of the principal cast his voice soared
through the Met with much ease and beauty. Even though I’m not a fan of this
act my favorite part has to be Sophie’s aria and Lisette did such a marvelous
job. She was so happy and bubbly and what a VOICE! At the end of the aria she
just turned around and walked away sustaining a gorgeous diminuendo A, I felt the
itching urge of clapping and screaming.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Well Werther and Charlotte have another aching duet sequence
in which he tells her he loves her and wants to run away and be with her. And
she’s like <i>“I’m married, I can’t, that
ship has sailed Werther”.</i> They keep that for a while and then Charlotte
tells Werther to leave and to only come back on Christmas day and that’s the
best for them both. Werther is of course distraught and Sophie comes on to him
like<i> “Come on dance with me Mousier Werther”</i> and he’s like <i>“My live is over,
I’m leaving forever”</i> and Sophie is rather upset about that. Maybe she has a
crush on him, WHO WOULDN’T? You’d have to be crazy to send away a guy like
Jonas K, right Charlotte? Ok, I’m getting too emotional. Ends act 2
intermission time!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">I spent my intermission with my great opera friends Melanie
and Mike. We all could barely describe what we just saw, we were all so
impressed by the whole thing. I love spending my intermissions like this,
chatting with friends about the real deal of opera. What normally happens in
Brazil during my intermissions is that I spend them alone tweeting about what
just happened. But being with these people makes me so incredibly happy. The gong
went off and on we go for acts 3 and 4.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZDFOjJP9AbGdw_HoqEw7rp_xvDCnluKkmtP-jLIKccqUcZhfx6cmcIqk5-gJpAvwKCzCnG8vfFVDzYJ-aP-V2NQZCdBFxCTyEA-Tz3Rpb31tyIRS-6tTXIqE0XEASBwqRb9pwLSGLpCs/s1600/1888585_815569675126935_1285758523_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZDFOjJP9AbGdw_HoqEw7rp_xvDCnluKkmtP-jLIKccqUcZhfx6cmcIqk5-gJpAvwKCzCnG8vfFVDzYJ-aP-V2NQZCdBFxCTyEA-Tz3Rpb31tyIRS-6tTXIqE0XEASBwqRb9pwLSGLpCs/s1600/1888585_815569675126935_1285758523_n.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Three very happy opera heads</span></i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Curtain up and we see Charlotte’s living room with the
traditional piano, books, and gun box. As I’ve said before, the production is
very pretty but it really does not stand out. Then Sophie Koch totally rips our
hearts out with the troubles of Charlotte. Because Werther left but they still correspond,
he sends her letters all the time, love filled letters that would melt any
heart! In his last letter he tells her that if he doesn’t come back for
Christmas that she pray for his soul. Meaning he was gonna kill himself. So
she’s pretty desperate.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Enters Sophie all cotton candy and happiness. She notices
her sister is distressed and then Koch sings one of my favorite arias <i>“Va! Laisse couler mes larmes”</i>. It was
so gorgeous and the ease with which Koch travels through her registers is
really amazing. That ease allows her to give herself completely to the
performance and really bare her soul in one of the most heartfelt musical
moments of the entire piece. My teacher used to say that this aria is two pages
complete and utter FEELING. I wish I could sing it, but elas, I can’t haha</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">After that Sophie leaves and just as Charlotte is getting to
the edge of desperation that Werther theme plays and double doors open.
He’s looking worst than ever and having homicidal thoughts. Sometimes
Charlotte’s lack of compassion towards him irritates me and I really would like
to see a production in which she is warmer to him. I know it’s impossible to
change what’s being said but what they actually do is entirely up to the stage
director, she could be saying <i>“NO”</i> in
a less cold way. I know this is a German tale, but still, I’m Brazilian, we
want heat and physical contact for Christ sakes, isn’t this a love story or
something? </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Anyways, they talk and as Werther starts getting into that
suicidal vibe again Charlotte asks him to read her a poem he’d been translating
and here we go. “<i>Pourquoi me réveiller” </i>was
out of this world. No wonder there’s a video on YouTube of Jonas singing this
entitled “The best tenor of the world”. It is just so unbelievable how his
voice is so absolutely different from what you would expect from a tenor
singing this kind of repertoire and still, he sounds like something out of the
heavens. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Something quite funny happened to me during this aria
actually. Because it was such a heartfelt moment and I started leaning forward
and suddenly I feel a hand grip my from behind and it proceed to put me back on my
normal sitting position. I have to say I was kind of mortified when that
happened and felt really bad that I was blocking the guy’s view. But after the
opera the first thing I did was turn around and apologize expecting the guy to
be a total jerk but he was actually really cool about it and said that happened
all the time.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Anyways, this aria got a very generous ovation. Then there’s
that flame that starts building up as Werther sees that Charlotte does indeed
have feelings for him and, for lack of better word, kinda attacks her. I
thought it was pretty hot, them both in the divan kissing, then dropping to the
floor while passionately gabbing each other. If I was the lady playing
Charlotte I would give a big shout out to that stage director “THANK YOU MAN!”,
I mean, it’s Jonas Kaufmann!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">But of course she has that whole guilt and vow bull and runs
away locking a door on her way out and one of the most heart breaking things in the
opera is Werther reaching out for the locked door and begging her to open it
then slowly sliding his back on the door crying. BANG, my heart was torn to
pieces! He leaves and Albert comes back home to find it messed up, he calls
Charlotte. They receive a message from Werther asking for Albert to lend his
guns for he is going on a long journey. Albert sends them off to him and
Charlotte finally realizes that the plan is actually suicide. She rushes
through the snowy streets to Werther’s house. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuTyhaEreYBr_rTDAZrhYjsRcUD9N7d08yRcIvR3fMMABHztfMsAPNo65Sl1mUhIzXKYfAUHoIBgV4sLWH1h8gIuTSbZeyGssYFpYNj2u4HGhqE58FZC81-ngjHOoYxOTQVEO_R9B9N2M/s1600/ivQXq.fS92Cs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuTyhaEreYBr_rTDAZrhYjsRcUD9N7d08yRcIvR3fMMABHztfMsAPNo65Sl1mUhIzXKYfAUHoIBgV4sLWH1h8gIuTSbZeyGssYFpYNj2u4HGhqE58FZC81-ngjHOoYxOTQVEO_R9B9N2M/s1600/ivQXq.fS92Cs.jpg" height="302" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">What was pretty cool about this production was that there
was no pause whatsoever between acts 3 and 4. The scenery is taken away as
Charlotte puts on her boots and then you see a large square far in the back of
the stage. At first I thought it was a projection but it was actually Werther’s
room with Werther on the inside. As it approaches you can see the scene of
Werther getting the guns unfold. He takes one of the guns and points to his
head and for a moment there you go like <i>“Holy moly he’s gonna do it!”</i> but he
lowers the gun looking quite desperate. The music starts building up and then
out of the blue BAM, he shoots himself in the stomach area. And let me tell you
live in HD people, it’s sudden and really loud and everyone is gonna get
startled when it happens. Specially because a perfectly synchronized projection
of his blood spilling on the wall happens and you are like <i>“Holy shit that was
brutal”</i>. I’m so not complaining about it though, I thought it was brilliant but
it is not subtle.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxAXUr8UG9GXkm0UbSd7BA4vK_zsjp96YxECu0GucAbli5LtbRZHhonlV6znIUxNIrn98WVYxppPA8werJwTgN22x2-jV8p53lFzDnrjW2fcfiROYcFxJGwkzNXWsLaEShvIuXNATi3mQ/s1600/Werther_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxAXUr8UG9GXkm0UbSd7BA4vK_zsjp96YxECu0GucAbli5LtbRZHhonlV6znIUxNIrn98WVYxppPA8werJwTgN22x2-jV8p53lFzDnrjW2fcfiROYcFxJGwkzNXWsLaEShvIuXNATi3mQ/s1600/Werther_1.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Charlotte arrives moments later to find him nearly dead on
the floor and I couldn’t believe I wasn’t crying yet (it’s mostly because the
guy behind me doing that thing kind of unsettled me a bit). Now Charlotte is
beyond desperate but Werther is already in another dimension, he knows he’s
gonna die so all he wants is to cherish his last moments with the woman he
loves. OH MY GWAD THE FEELS! He puts him on the bed and tucks him in and of
course gives him all he ever wanted, a kiss which is so romantic! For a moment
they are there in each other’s arms, he stands and she comes to stand behind
him as they embrace and </span><i style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">oublion tout.</i></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-8JucHHPNrKX70EZctADF6J_yq4zSfad0gFRU92RtBOqVe7NCVrwZvaUvod_Vfa1xUpBcZeWR2-I2-l-_2t3HgfA02PUd2qbfmjlYe6JGGOKjzZSGzr_X7dy9LtmE5Y6xay9ia0MuC2I/s1600/werther-1-master675.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-8JucHHPNrKX70EZctADF6J_yq4zSfad0gFRU92RtBOqVe7NCVrwZvaUvod_Vfa1xUpBcZeWR2-I2-l-_2t3HgfA02PUd2qbfmjlYe6JGGOKjzZSGzr_X7dy9LtmE5Y6xay9ia0MuC2I/s1600/werther-1-master675.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">This is when I started crying, they are there forgetting
about everything when suddenly there’s an orchestral bang and you can hear the
children go <i>“Noel, Noel, Noel”</i> and Lisette starts singing the most gorgeous
melody and Werther comes back to his senses feeling his wound and falls on the
floor. This isn’t even heart breaking, this is heart dilacerating! Jonas gave
one hell of a performance, absolutely genius performance. I was expecting
something quite exceptional coming from him but he exceeded my expectations by
a long shot! At the end I was helplessly crying like a retard and many people
around me where also weeping. That’s why people go to the opera, right? To cry
their eyes out!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Curtain call was insane, the audience was crazy! I think
even the singers were a little bit taken by surprise due to such a loud
ovation. Jonas only had to give one tiny step down stage that I felt like that
Metropolitan Opera would fall from the screaming and applause. It was SO
FUCKING AWESOME to be a part of that! These curtain call pic were taken by my friend Felipe Cunha, thanks man!</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipuXI4W7eWGJ33IVkWBq0eHXFkDySJNHg6nZ8PSzyfqkbdiT59nBYKhKumDmoWXg2ws3hrLKaryWnHkJCs2dtX7-kbNQsxS9fo0D7aQA8d1iUVcmJQ7QytkjsnW-s83Iu13Z0t-R1mvzw/s1600/1975255_10203057772744659_1798596060_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipuXI4W7eWGJ33IVkWBq0eHXFkDySJNHg6nZ8PSzyfqkbdiT59nBYKhKumDmoWXg2ws3hrLKaryWnHkJCs2dtX7-kbNQsxS9fo0D7aQA8d1iUVcmJQ7QytkjsnW-s83Iu13Z0t-R1mvzw/s1600/1975255_10203057772744659_1798596060_n.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">the principal cast plus maestro</span></i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijB_IlktRxEz1umeGya6wtpjV65jpPSm-5op_Eyqn9Hju4tNn7Iha-QECjuy5FS3hYcaumTy3j2JUJQlTuxouxyMp2PBVMFrr9N85DQtHVlqqVdrENxpQXca8UW59j-EnTvP3p9-nm_eM/s1600/1654276_10203057771464627_416355091_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijB_IlktRxEz1umeGya6wtpjV65jpPSm-5op_Eyqn9Hju4tNn7Iha-QECjuy5FS3hYcaumTy3j2JUJQlTuxouxyMp2PBVMFrr9N85DQtHVlqqVdrENxpQXca8UW59j-EnTvP3p9-nm_eM/s1600/1654276_10203057771464627_416355091_n.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6zeNahnaSmaqYAkNmwuldeX8wqVM2hgOrWq7NB20pWqQlAap8CqiddBLB6Wkzo8ACsTt9urVcOTj-akKNjTJ3Y5iDru3XBAmTgVBtbzUa_SRI-SohcdC_lzyPKQgW37s8LK-_B2QhYK4/s1600/1798490_10203057765064467_1913697143_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6zeNahnaSmaqYAkNmwuldeX8wqVM2hgOrWq7NB20pWqQlAap8CqiddBLB6Wkzo8ACsTt9urVcOTj-akKNjTJ3Y5iDru3XBAmTgVBtbzUa_SRI-SohcdC_lzyPKQgW37s8LK-_B2QhYK4/s1600/1798490_10203057765064467_1913697143_n.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Jonas Kaufmann and Sophie Koch</span></i></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtkjYFtUf8zt9eMryTJRgIGbC0hYwTjo0LgmWazP71qmBQisEjsIOUcCtt8UMvroqVMPqMQz1LjZRWYAI63JDYpRrwAOPAh3L9OehkXaUG4eEIP-_u74tjUclFkEG6CVa3DNIopDrDd6U/s1600/1234873_10203057768104543_367400174_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtkjYFtUf8zt9eMryTJRgIGbC0hYwTjo0LgmWazP71qmBQisEjsIOUcCtt8UMvroqVMPqMQz1LjZRWYAI63JDYpRrwAOPAh3L9OehkXaUG4eEIP-_u74tjUclFkEG6CVa3DNIopDrDd6U/s1600/1234873_10203057768104543_367400174_n.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Jonas getting flowers, close up on Lisette's face, da best!</span></i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Well from having tweeted Lisette I found out they would be
going to a cast party after the opera and would be leaving quite late. But I
had attached to me a very big Jonas fan whose only opportunity to actually talk
to him was today so we were not leaving. What we did was, we went to that
Starbucks just across from Lincoln Center and grabbed some coffee and there we
stayed until they closed up (around midnight) and kicked us out. Then we went
to the stage door that was not deserted (I was expecting it to be deserted).
There were two guys there and OF COURSE the crazy white haired bag old lady named
Linda. She was chatting (the way we all know so well how she ‘chats’) with the
two guys who seemed so nice but we didn’t want to talk to them afraid that the
crazy lady would talk to us. One thing you do NOT want to be associated with at
stage doors are people like her, you just don’t. She went away for some
mysterious reason and we took this opportunity to approach the boys and them
about these ‘stage door beggars’. The guys were beyond nice, they were both
from Russia, one was a singer and the other was a pianist and they were both
still students just like me and Mike. We hit it off SO well. They told us that
Placido Domingo had come out the stage door just a while before we arrived and
they got to chat with him! Of course I was very jealous but I was about to meet
Jonas Kaufmann so I wasn’t THAT upset!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">At about 1:15 in the morning Jonas came out with some other
people that turned out to be his agent and publicist. I don’t know why, but I
never am the first person to go up and talk to the singer, I always let my
friends chat to the person first. I don’t really know why but in doing so I end up
talking to the people that are accompanying the singer and this time I had the
absolute pleasure of talking to his agent. The guy is so cool, he’s from NYC
and he speaks many languages and when he learned I was from Brazil he immediately started
to talk in Portuguese like a native. Now Portuguese is a very difficult
language as Renée Fleming herself has already pointed out, the most difficult
language for her, and she sings in Czech and Russian and Elvish for Christ
sakes! Plus, he was really nice.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">But on to Jonas, I have to admit I was very star stuck when
I met him, I think I’ve never been so star struck in my whole life. He’s very
tall and very handsome and when he smiles I feel like fainting, he’s a
presence, and no, I’m not overreacting! He was SO cool, he talked to all of us
and even told me that he was dying to do something here in Brazil. He’s a very
simple guy and was extremely humbled by all the things we told him. When I told
him he was my favorite male singer of all times he looked me straight in the
eye and said <i>“Really? Oh my, thank you so much, it’s such an honor”</i>. I mean,
how can you not adore a man like that? He signed all my cds and took this
lovely, lovely picture with me which I will cherish forever.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGd89QeLDCeSd3xV2F0EDUrMtet0ZEauJz53k_K5sJUPgIqw811DQJ28lHoINAzt6TNf6Cmyzl02cmEDFfg7KodZMluhpppa6_-QNRxMG8VaHErQ6Cxt_jeKHPIj1AYEW2pZg-FX2l4n8/s1600/DSC01796.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGd89QeLDCeSd3xV2F0EDUrMtet0ZEauJz53k_K5sJUPgIqw811DQJ28lHoINAzt6TNf6Cmyzl02cmEDFfg7KodZMluhpppa6_-QNRxMG8VaHErQ6Cxt_jeKHPIj1AYEW2pZg-FX2l4n8/s1600/DSC01796.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Right after he left Lisette came out and I just turned to
her and said <i>“I know you told me not to wait in the cold, sorry!”</i>. And she was
soooooo cool. It just like the whole Joyce thing all over again, she looked at
me with a big smile and said “Isabela?” and we hugged and it was awesome! We talked
a great deal more with her and her husband who was also really cool. And I
totally love it how we can just talk about the production and the music and
everything with the performers and it’s totally normal, they are extremely humble
and so opened to what you have to say. I love it when I feel I got to have an
exchange with the singer and tell her how I really felt when I heard her sing
and that was definitely what I felt about meeting Lisette. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyE5I3ReZDf8pQ8eFvKKu9CzeRhR6sA5slCUpaoRtRp3jaDeihZ45ucnBe_gQhosHzHeLltdDxAW6BSV8ppWAWpEQQkjKzplFgYCRAygFp0vEuFYNwhZfktQE5GxZHh6wo5GKoLczkGR4/s1600/1970368_10152055914247713_1406846353_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyE5I3ReZDf8pQ8eFvKKu9CzeRhR6sA5slCUpaoRtRp3jaDeihZ45ucnBe_gQhosHzHeLltdDxAW6BSV8ppWAWpEQQkjKzplFgYCRAygFp0vEuFYNwhZfktQE5GxZHh6wo5GKoLczkGR4/s1600/1970368_10152055914247713_1406846353_n.jpg" height="640" width="480" /></a></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">I was happy as can be after that. Sophie Koch came out but
since I don’t really know her work I didn’t think it would be very sincere to
go up to her and start up a conversation and ask for a picture. I did congratulate
her and tell her she had done so wonderfully that night but Mike did most of
the talking and I acted as more of a photographer.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">After that we decided to grab something to eat, so off we
went to some diner place, me, Mike and our new found Russian friends. We stayed
in that diner eating not so good junk food and talking about opera until 3:30
in the morning! It was a lot of fun and you people know me, I love making new
friends, especially if they are opera fans and even more if they are fellow
musicians. So we really had a blast that night. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">I took about a week to write all this, I hope you guys liked
it and I promise I won’t take that long ever again to post. Peace to you all!</span></div>
</div>
Belahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08940075924322732507noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3881539215077596507.post-31416948410995666672014-03-07T14:42:00.002-05:002014-03-07T14:42:50.306-05:00Here and Back Again in NYC - Day 5 - Shopping and Avenue Q<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Hey world! This is probably gonna be a short post because I
didn’t go to any operas on the 5<sup>th</sup> day in NYC. But before I write
about that let me just say that I got to watch the Oscar’s the other day. I
loved the ceremony and Ellen was such an amazing host. I must admit that I saw
very few of the movies that were nominated, like Frozen, The Hobbit, The Wolf
of Wallstreet (I made the mistake of going to this one with my mom, TRAUMA) and
August: Osage County. But this ceremony did make me want to watch a lot of the
other nominated films like: 12 Years a Slave; American Rustle; Dallas Buyers
Club; The Great Gatsby; Her; Philomena; Blue Jasmine. And even though Gravity
was the big winner of the night I don’t really want to see it, stuff in space
kinda freaks me out, the whole lack of oxygen makes me nervous. Plus I don’t
really like the director Alfonso Cuaron or whatever is his name, still haven’t
forgiven him for Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">But enough about movies, let’s get to the real fun, NYC day
5!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">So on this day I could breathe a little bit because I didn’t
have anything scheduled with anybody so me and mum could take on the city! We
went out and it was a nice sunny day, very cold, still had to wear about 3
stockings but it was a beautiful day. We decided to walk to 5th Ave through
Central Park which was a lot of fun because we got to see the park in a
completely different light. It was completely covered with snow but for the
foot paths. We could see children sliding down snow banks and I couldn’t help
but think of my closest Brazilian friends who would totally do that with me
were they there. We took some pictures and I was able to capture the cutest squirrel
in the snow moment.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIZsjLhm2Pp5fyDl60zgcrYrCjFzx5rKre_fkemU18U3sObFniP_ooZwIy5GjMSXuDrbG8FIrbZP2ksgc1zn-pYVFxoGn88MTiEA7TzKE4w7tkayE8GtuSCNpSjaCJiQxC9tvm7f0AJ-8/s1600/DSC01666.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIZsjLhm2Pp5fyDl60zgcrYrCjFzx5rKre_fkemU18U3sObFniP_ooZwIy5GjMSXuDrbG8FIrbZP2ksgc1zn-pYVFxoGn88MTiEA7TzKE4w7tkayE8GtuSCNpSjaCJiQxC9tvm7f0AJ-8/s1600/DSC01666.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Getting to 5</span><sup style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">th</sup><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"> Ave we did what we do best, SHOP.
Not much to tell apart from that, our morning was basically spent browsing
through clothes and pretty stuff. You guys have no idea how
ridiculously cheap stuff at the US is compared to Brazil! Don’t judge me
because I shop, I do it because I’m basically addicted.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Then we walked to Times Square and had lunch at Bubba Gump. Holy
crap. Their food is just unbelievably delicious. They have this sauce made of
butter, lemon and garlic, amongst other things, that is absolutely INSANE! And
it’s funny because when the dishes arrived we thought they were too small but
by the end of the yummy dish I was sure I would be having a very late dinner if
I ate at all after that. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">After that we ventured into the big Forever 21 at Times
Square and after some digging found quite a lot of really cheap stuff. I
seriously got a winter jacket and a winter trench coat for $15 each. I just
love that store. I recently learned that they have new stuff every day, no wonder
you can go to as many of those stores as possible and still find loads and
loads of different stuff in all of them. They are opening a store in São Paulo
next week but I doubt it’s gonna be as accessible (price wise and location wise)
as it is in the US. Specially because it’s gonna be located in one of the most
high society and expensive malls in São Paulo. Yeap, it’s still cheaper to get myself
a flight ticket to the US and shop there massively then to shop in my own town.
</span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgD9nafhcuYd1cNJyM3q2ost_clyDgphD6JLl6Tn16SsBTUhxqQ6nAiEpPEZxLO3ncu_kx-ONGezklrUbwHE6z5lK388LY92BMGKN12XM3aR_Cko_iDya6P9tTWWYAhxkQfHrK8Cn-bJBI/s1600/1958029_10152052254057713_1563498843_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgD9nafhcuYd1cNJyM3q2ost_clyDgphD6JLl6Tn16SsBTUhxqQ6nAiEpPEZxLO3ncu_kx-ONGezklrUbwHE6z5lK388LY92BMGKN12XM3aR_Cko_iDya6P9tTWWYAhxkQfHrK8Cn-bJBI/s1600/1958029_10152052254057713_1563498843_n.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Ma moma looooves me haha</span></i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">While I shopped I also made plans with Mike to go to the
singing waiters place called Stardust for dinner. The problem was, my mum was
terrified of catching a taxi by herself and I’m gonna tell you why. On Saturday
she hailed for a cab all by herself and got in one and asked the driver to take
her to our hotel. But the driver didn’t turn on that price thing in the cab and
started asking her if she was alone, where was she from and such. My mum is a
suspicious person by nature, after all she lives in a country that if you turn
your back on the wrong person they will rob/kidnap/shoot you. She got safely to
the hotel that day but really thought that the cab driver wanted to kidnap her.
Bottom line, I had to take the cab with her from Times Square to our hotel then
take another back to Times Square to meet Mike. I was late and I hate being
late.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Good thing was he was the first in a very long line to get
into the restaurant. We got in and it all seemed really fun with the waiters
dancing and singing. The problem was, we didn’t know any of those songs they were
singing. They did not sing Broadway but pop songs that I seriously did not know. So the singing that was supposed to be entertaining became quite annoying
because we wanted to chat and no wonder they were not on Broadway (that sounded
really bitchy but I have a very high standards when it comes to singing). We
ordered food that was clearly overpriced due to the performance part of dinner
and left as soon as we finished eating. Mike wasn’t also a fan of that establishment,
we took a picture that sums up our feelings about it.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Then Mike left and I was on my way to the hotel when I
passed by the New World Stages. First of all I think this place is absolutely
awesome. It’s an off broadway theater place that holds not only one but 5
different stages meaning they have 5 shows on at the same time. It reminded me
a lot of a movie theater but with stages instead of a screen, absolutely
incredible!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">So as I was saying I passed by this amazing place and
noticed that Avenue Q would start in 10 minutes, an impulse went through me and
I went in. I went to the ticket booth and asked for the prices on Avenue Q and
the lady told me they were $90 for orchestra and $70 for balcony. I did not
have that money and so I was about to walk away when the lady told me she could
give me a discount and I paid $50 for an orchestra seat, a great orchestra seat
by the way. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">As soon as I sat down on my seat I started a friendly
conversation with two sisters who came to see the show, one of them was bringing
her sibling for the first time to Avenue Q.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Now, the musical is so much fun. But there was one small
problem. I practically knew the entire thing by heart! So it wasn’t really
funny unless the performer would do something different with it. Don’t get me
wrong, I had a lovely time, but between that and the fact that the singers
weren’t again all that good, especially Kate Monster/Lucy the Slut I kinda regretted
not going to Prince Igor at the Met. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">I’m not saying, don’t go to this show, it’s a great show by
itself even if the performers aren’t ideal you will still laugh A LOT. It’s a
puppet/human show for adults so it talks about sex, racism, porn, growing up,
finding your purpose, bullying, one night stands, being broke, being rich then
being broke, coming out, friendship and love. It’s so adorable! </span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">After the show was over I walked a good 15 blocks to my
hotel and again collapsed on the bed. That’s all folks, next post is gonna be
pretty big, opening night of Werther was pretty incredible and will be hard to
describe in few words, which, I won’t haha Cheers!</span></div>
Belahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08940075924322732507noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3881539215077596507.post-52551222224661997052014-03-05T14:51:00.006-05:002014-03-05T14:51:59.504-05:00Here and back Again in NYC - Day 4 - Met Backstage and A. Museum of Natural H.<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Hey guys! So I just got back from another trip. Me and my friends rented a beach house in the Riviera for our Carnaval holiday. We had a LOT of fun and I've acquired a nice tan. Carnaval is the biggest Brazilian holiday, it lasts from Saturday to Wednesday, it’s fun to have that time off where you
can be with your friends but wonder why my country is so underdeveloped with
this kind of holiday. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">But I’m not here to rant, I’m here to talk about fourth day
in NYC, so here we go!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">I actually hardly had any sleep because I arrived in my
Hotel at about 2:30 (that night was so freaking cold, the wind was murderous!)
took quite a while to get my excitement down and then woke up around 8. I got
breakfast with my mum and headed off to the Met (yeah, I’m always there, all my
pictures are there) for the backstage tour that was scheduled for 10:30. The
problem is, my friend, Mr Mike, overslept and was now running against the clock
to get there. When he did get there the doors were locked and he couldn’t get
in and nobody had the key. The tour guide told me to tell him to go to the
stage door and thank God we are the sort of maniac fans that actually go to the
stage door so he knew where it was, so off he went.</span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzW0O4OGc3efvY2hykE9EnTZ9JGnENrSQ4kcUuZiTmLnVQlM2004irtXunivRXVLKCIZOL6635TFWB2OK2yYq0mfDz4se6y6je0DLqBY4stvql-X8HXtCqzQ7mB0ixIok8HhcfKBMbAnY/s1600/IMG_20140216_101841.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzW0O4OGc3efvY2hykE9EnTZ9JGnENrSQ4kcUuZiTmLnVQlM2004irtXunivRXVLKCIZOL6635TFWB2OK2yYq0mfDz4se6y6je0DLqBY4stvql-X8HXtCqzQ7mB0ixIok8HhcfKBMbAnY/s1600/IMG_20140216_101841.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>Even though there had been a lot of snow the day before, LC was clean on Sunday</i></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; text-align: justify;">I don’t know what happens but this also happened the last
time I took the tour, the most annoying person from the group ALWAYS sticks to
me and annoys everyone and talks to me no stop. Maybe I’m too nice, I don’t
know. The worst part was that she was Brazilian. After I picked up my fabulous
SCOTTISH friend from the stage door she would talk to me in Portuguese in his
presence which I found most impolite because she did speak English after all. I
would always answer her with grunts and nods or in English, I know what it
feels like to have people speak in a language you can’t understand right in front
of you, not very nice, not by a long shot.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">But I found it was so cool to take this backstage tour again
because they don’t work on Sunday so the opera house was empty except for us
which gave us a lot more liberty than last time. So we started the tour
backwards, so we started with the dressing rooms and this time we were actually
able to go INSIDE the dressing rooms. We went inside the first soprano diva
extraordinaire dressing room and just to think that merely 12 hours from then
Renée had her pretty bottom sitting on that chair that I was leaning on. Gosh
I’m such a psico! The tour guide explained all those things we already knew but
one took me by surprise.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Now, there are 10 principals’ dressing rooms in a corridor
that has its entrance right in the middle. So you have 5 for women and 5 for
men. The center dressing rooms are not specifically for the leading singers but
for the soprano and tenor. So, for instance for an opera like Werther, we saw
the dressing room arrangements and the super soprano dressing room was destined
to Lisette Oropesa who plays Sophie instead of being for the mezzo who plays
the leading role of Charlotte, Sophie Koch. Sophie was actually way down the
hall. But the tour guide said that when they do Carmen the mezzo playing Carmen
gets the super star dressing room. They are all alike, the dressing rooms, the
only difference really is their location.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Moving on we went by the place where they build the sets
which is so amazing. The Met has a huge auditorium but has an even bigger backstage
area. You see the new Met was built in the 1960’s so they used up all the space
and innovative technology they had. You remember that movie West Side Story? It
was filmed right where now the Lincoln Center is. And life there was more or
less like West Side Story, gang fights all the time, a great deal of violence,
robberies and such, it was a very dangerous place to be. There used to be what
people used to call an “urban slum”, they relocated the people, took it down
and build Lincoln Center. You might think that’s an awful thing to do, to take
people out of their homes to take them down to build a playground for the rich
people of NYC. But everyone seemed to benefit from what happened. The people
got relocated to various parts of the New York state which diminished if not
ended with the fights, and since the neighborhoods people went to were much
safer they had better quality of life. As for the Upper West Side of New York,
the construction of Lincoln Center brought in new people and helped renovate
that part of town into a sophisticated area just like the Upper East Side. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Why, hello, this just turned into a history lesson!</span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgadxS7FkJxAN2l166xMTl0-r7AFcegH9MkaFjsxOXJBO0vJMrrvBKPrPlNqwwwTAwykGYy2ZK0ZyYqFpmnRpJYMbqbhDyrHBb4-KFcH-zFrg8WmBZZERaN23upN8MaJcl8OiLJCufRiRI/s1600/met-hansel-chefs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgadxS7FkJxAN2l166xMTl0-r7AFcegH9MkaFjsxOXJBO0vJMrrvBKPrPlNqwwwTAwykGYy2ZK0ZyYqFpmnRpJYMbqbhDyrHBb4-KFcH-zFrg8WmBZZERaN23upN8MaJcl8OiLJCufRiRI/s1600/met-hansel-chefs.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>those were actually hanging about backstage</i></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">As we went to Level C the tour guide asked us to pick a nail
from the floor, one for each and he told us how some singers would only go on
after they’ve found a nail on stage to bring them luck. He said we could keep
our nails for good luck, mine is currently resting beside my bed inside my wand
case.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Level C is where the two big rehearsal rooms are and since
there were no rehearsals happening we could actually go inside the rooms. They
were so immense! One of them was a little bit bigger than the Met stage! It was
fun to see the tape marking on the floor with the names of the operas in them.
They were currently rehearsing The Enchanted Island so we had Sycorax’s place
marked as well as Prospero’s, quite a lot of fun! Then we headed to the stage
area where we could spot some of that beautiful scenery from Prince Igor, the
red flowers. All the boxes and things we went by had their respective opera
names written on them. We also went by the costume racks for Enchanted Island
so I could actually see up close Placido Domingo’s awesome Neptune costume. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">When we went into the auditorium they had about half of the
scenery of The Enchanted Island up on stage which was so weird because it
looked so small. I never saw this opera live, only on my pc. We didn’t spend
half as much time as I would have liked in the auditorium though but we did get
to sit on the expensive seats. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">When the tour was over we went to the Met Store and Melanie
was waiting for us. We had a happy hug moment and then looked through the
store. Then we took the subway uptown to have lunch at the Shake Shack, after a
very long wait we ate and had a lot of fun, opera gossiping and eating carbs
like there was no tomorrow.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ3eE7E-oj-I8JJzQ7pZAyUi2aAL0cWsd55JUErPOur2w33fVQ2nCbFFsCOn6BFx3slYoXcOAdIp-nFPV0W8Hi20O-bsViErSiU-SZNuAMUn8XFdIVPzvVOB8z8WWgm0AVvOgBK6yQwGA/s1600/923471_815570228460213_1183233886_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ3eE7E-oj-I8JJzQ7pZAyUi2aAL0cWsd55JUErPOur2w33fVQ2nCbFFsCOn6BFx3slYoXcOAdIp-nFPV0W8Hi20O-bsViErSiU-SZNuAMUn8XFdIVPzvVOB8z8WWgm0AVvOgBK6yQwGA/s1600/923471_815570228460213_1183233886_n.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">we just had to take the silly picture with Jonas' poster</span></i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Then we went to the American Museum of Natural History, yes,
the museum from the movie. We didn’t walk a lot about the museum though. We
went to this super awesome butterfly exhibit that we had butterflies flying
everywhere around you, like loads of them, it was pretty Disney movie cool.
Then after some turbulence we were able to get into a space thing exhibit that showed
the history of the universe and of galaxies. Mike, who was most excited about
this, slept. It was dark and he hadn’t had much sleep. And there was a point
that I just had to say “I’m scared” to which both of my friends totally cracked
up right in the middle of this super trippy video thing. Overall it was a lot
of fun.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL5NFIbEZq7YSZ9QFPzQCwAGBc0XmnT71PMJ5Nbj6R4O68S0CtuLPUHT_Hz63VHRvBLhh9jGPV49PjTz_SvR5C6LEwtGeVtZEsJMXLwESElD8wzs6tnx2wcew3cu8BFDVh_SJoEVps7EE/s1600/IMG_20140216_150555.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL5NFIbEZq7YSZ9QFPzQCwAGBc0XmnT71PMJ5Nbj6R4O68S0CtuLPUHT_Hz63VHRvBLhh9jGPV49PjTz_SvR5C6LEwtGeVtZEsJMXLwESElD8wzs6tnx2wcew3cu8BFDVh_SJoEVps7EE/s1600/IMG_20140216_150555.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9WqPcoW6Ohdnic06MiEKT5DEvlqUqoCsSaewNiaW0gUDra5bKGWFUv7Dp6LwQ6iWfctEXXHpf7VcCKjN3aRDTQCiD0iZgr7LqIn1giUeZc8TuPpi43_URDP0qCoMP_daFp6MHNejv_ag/s1600/IMG_20140216_150528.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9WqPcoW6Ohdnic06MiEKT5DEvlqUqoCsSaewNiaW0gUDra5bKGWFUv7Dp6LwQ6iWfctEXXHpf7VcCKjN3aRDTQCiD0iZgr7LqIn1giUeZc8TuPpi43_URDP0qCoMP_daFp6MHNejv_ag/s1600/IMG_20140216_150528.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcMqMTfImawdSN6rtUjWZ6wyUYczZdvYo4e4Ouc6LwNooB3YwQL80r1OqUguDKLgiiQtxARBdUdlNkGLFmAhFDnI6LhlOU70xaFvh3sisv0FsE1n8xuyGk6hBx26gy8_6OB85VO1ba9Jc/s1600/IMG_20140216_150705.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcMqMTfImawdSN6rtUjWZ6wyUYczZdvYo4e4Ouc6LwNooB3YwQL80r1OqUguDKLgiiQtxARBdUdlNkGLFmAhFDnI6LhlOU70xaFvh3sisv0FsE1n8xuyGk6hBx26gy8_6OB85VO1ba9Jc/s1600/IMG_20140216_150705.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Before this universe exhibit we went to the cafeteria and
just sat there for a while chatting and you know who I saw there? Derek Wills!
Yes, the British stage director from Smash, the guy who was supposed to marry
Elisabeth in Pirates of the Caribbean 1. I was so shocked, what actually caught
my attention was the voice, the accent, it was so familiar, then I turn to my
side and BAM, there he is telling his kid he could not get this or that soda.
My friends didn’t know who he was and I was left to fangirl alone. Of course I
didn’t go up to talk to him because you never know how they are gonna react,
plus, I didn’t really want to. Although he is super handsome he didn’t look
very friendly. </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1IYJ_G0CvjR2FhryhQhIntogOXEcGuFN3m4bnQx7KX978iB-J-4_tu2aM68Crhpzevj7fMWdZVw_FFFsZeBe6P3p85z6tp2c6dMlX5m3r3waRJ4L3lOpLar0qRlUwJHVAp-zgE0kwvi0/s1600/1392592974453.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1IYJ_G0CvjR2FhryhQhIntogOXEcGuFN3m4bnQx7KX978iB-J-4_tu2aM68Crhpzevj7fMWdZVw_FFFsZeBe6P3p85z6tp2c6dMlX5m3r3waRJ4L3lOpLar0qRlUwJHVAp-zgE0kwvi0/s1600/1392592974453.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">3 happy heads at the Museum</span></i></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">We spend like 2 minutes in the souvenir shop when suddenly
they are announcing that the museum was gonna close so get out! Mel’s parents
picked her up and me and Mike walked about 20 streets beside a frozen Central
Park until I couldn’t take it no more and we took the subway to Barnes and
Noble on 5</span><sup style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">th</sup><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"> Ave. We hanged there for quite a long time just browsing
through all those amazing books and chatting and then when they were announcing
that they were closing the store we left.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg6JBmx0XjOqa4CitPkZiyPKLTQLuUN0dOzNhKr_pLI7NhhCEl8d_3GmKO9zZjiJnIA4DCENmEc7GXmdS9XI5Kqyv32uZTKoiWzqV9VwxEVyKdRd-v5KO3koHzClCz4_OWyoWaz1-fuMI/s1600/IMG_20140216_211504.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg6JBmx0XjOqa4CitPkZiyPKLTQLuUN0dOzNhKr_pLI7NhhCEl8d_3GmKO9zZjiJnIA4DCENmEc7GXmdS9XI5Kqyv32uZTKoiWzqV9VwxEVyKdRd-v5KO3koHzClCz4_OWyoWaz1-fuMI/s1600/IMG_20140216_211504.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It was very cold but it was also so gorgeous, the moon looked exquisite</span></i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">We headed our separate ways and when I got to my hotel I
collapsed on the bed just thinking what an amazing first day without worrying
about taking an audition that had been. And of course how very lucky I am to
have found such amazing and unique friends! God bless twitter!</span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">I'll try and post more as soon as I have a moment to sit down and write. See ya soon everyone! Cheers! </span></div>
Belahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08940075924322732507noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3881539215077596507.post-11595342517990083662014-02-27T17:33:00.000-05:002014-02-27T17:33:00.360-05:00Here and Back Again in NYC (days 2 & 3) - Hartford, The Audition and Rusalka at the Met<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Hallo world! It’s has been so incredibly crazy and
wonderful! I decided not to post while I was there because 1- there was hardly
any time to do so and 2- because I wanted to write it well. I’m already back in
Brazil, arrived on Monday but let’s go back in time to NYC. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">So Friday (the 14<sup>th</sup>) was kind of a dead day
because me and my mum went to Hartford that day in the afternoon. So we
basically just ate and got our stuff ready, went to Port Authority and got on
the bus to Hartford. I did eat a Salmon Wasabi Bagel that had WAY too much
wasabi and my eyes started watering, it was pretty awful. We got to Hartford at
about 6, grabbed a cab and I could understand about 25% of what the taxi driver
was saying (I didn’t really like him)! At the hotel there were the sweetest
reception ladies that made us feel so at home and comfortable and with whom we
shared a lot of conversation over our Valentine’s day dinner. Me and mum did
manage to lock ourselves out of the hotel room which was pretty pathetic but
also oh so funny. Our room was fantastic and I had a really good night’s sleep.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho7An8F54tBX2QJddqQil7gBVutpLwvKvfn4t_oc0c06zGDHIzIx3r0YQZDsxo8CM8_xGJqa4CfhOkVSSumraKReocMW-GUHsopsJWfbOj96DwMz938F5Y22IklrBeso7wKfGaB2RLdpI/s1600/1184788_10152046843512713_1894198965_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho7An8F54tBX2QJddqQil7gBVutpLwvKvfn4t_oc0c06zGDHIzIx3r0YQZDsxo8CM8_xGJqa4CfhOkVSSumraKReocMW-GUHsopsJWfbOj96DwMz938F5Y22IklrBeso7wKfGaB2RLdpI/s1600/1184788_10152046843512713_1894198965_n.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>me and mum having our Valentine's Day dinner</i></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Next day was completely different, totally heretic and
crazy! So we woke up pretty early, had some breakfast and packed our stuff and
asked one of the nice ladies from the reception for a cab. When we got to the
cab it was the very same guy from last night! He left us at The Hartt School
and my heart started pounding real fast. The whole university was covered with
snow but I could see how absolutely gigantic it was plus it was beautiful. We
got in and I checked in with a very nice girl named Mia (yeah, like the
princess!) and we got to talking a lot and guess what? She knows Sydney!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">I went to this talk thing that was happening in this big
gorgeous auditorium (they have so many, I was drooling!) about scholarships and
life on campus and the school. It was pretty nice and a good way to keep my
mind occupied so I wouldn’t be so nervous. Around 11:30 I went up to the fourth
floor to do my warm ups, there were some pretty nice people there (all the
students that were working that day were incredibly nice). Well, I got into a
professor’s office which was my assigned place for warm-ups and started doing
my thing and texting my voice teacher. I did about 15 minutes of vocal warm ups
and a guy knocked on my door and said they were ready for me. HOLY SHIT! I
grabbed my stuff and out I went only to find Sydney standing there! I was so
happy to see her that the nervousness kinda diminished a bit.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVKmgM3ORvSv1vUC72Jl_DQOMKDmcUip7YNYsiaY-y4oTBOZt3_ECwnmNRYh6w4NraDBZdI9ss66DktxY7OI1hdpogE6bjzrxoCV_iIoaEhW572jjjemcXe3L8z2eV7u00bOQyxrhQ2qM/s1600/1779069_10152048371372713_1783860905_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVKmgM3ORvSv1vUC72Jl_DQOMKDmcUip7YNYsiaY-y4oTBOZt3_ECwnmNRYh6w4NraDBZdI9ss66DktxY7OI1hdpogE6bjzrxoCV_iIoaEhW572jjjemcXe3L8z2eV7u00bOQyxrhQ2qM/s1600/1779069_10152048371372713_1783860905_n.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>Selfie warming up!</i></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">But on I was and in I went for my audition. The room I took
my audition in was quite big and there was a long table with about 6 teachers
there. There was a small stage with a piano and a pianist. The teachers were
really nice and kept asking me fun sorts of questions. They said I could pick
my first song so I picked the Modinha by Villa Lobos which was what Gerald
Finley had advised me to do. To sing in my own native tongue as quickly as
possible to show them my individuality and all. The pianist was insanely good, the
intro to this song is super difficult and he totally pulled it off. I sang and
I think I did a good job, I didn’t crack and I could hear my voice travelling
quite nicely in that room with incredible acoustics.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Then they asked me what else I had brought and they decided
on Les Filles de Cadix! One of the hardest ones! Apart from being super
incredible the pianist was also so very nice. That Spanish tune went on and
there I was, I sang and I didn’t crack which was fantastic. I did mess up some
tempos because I was so nervous but overall I think it went pretty well. The
high notes sounded really pretty and were kind of effortless and I made it to
the end without passing out. After I finished one of the teachers said <i>“Thank
you very much, we will let you know”</i>. I then turned to the pianist in a very
discreet manner (as if) and asked him if it was good thing or bad that they
didn’t ask me to do the sight reading thing. He told me that they probably just
forgot and so I thanked him and flew out of that audition room feeling the
weight of the world finally getting off my shoulders!</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Sydney was waiting out for me and she said that from what
she could hear I went pretty well. She showed me around campus a bit, to the
libraries and stuff but it was really cold and snowing. We went to a small
auditorium where I would be taking my Music Aptitude Test, I was a little
afraid of it but as soon as I took it I was chilled. It wasn’t very difficult but
I couldn’t wait for it to be over!</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheY9nKUwgxkR8qRDBcKia80KSQuifiVJZ9ngs2XLpvSt3gJ8CBsFM1KGDM_-loMYGpS1w4nJOGtGI8nYlDL4CDqRD4XVE6bW_fnhgxhXOhf2df1AWC-Y3UQXwgCDjEQgQHV7pRLQxasdU/s1600/1604506_10152048275052713_329622627_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheY9nKUwgxkR8qRDBcKia80KSQuifiVJZ9ngs2XLpvSt3gJ8CBsFM1KGDM_-loMYGpS1w4nJOGtGI8nYlDL4CDqRD4XVE6bW_fnhgxhXOhf2df1AWC-Y3UQXwgCDjEQgQHV7pRLQxasdU/s1600/1604506_10152048275052713_329622627_n.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>Sydney and I</i></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">I had a chance to talk to some people who were applying to
the school and everyone just seemed so nice! After some time me and mum met
Sydney and we ate at a supermarket place at the university. It was a shame our
taxi got to Hartford University so quickly, we had to say our goodbyes and
leave for the bus station. It was snowing by then and really cold. Our bus left
20 minutes late and the driver drove SO SLOWLY I wanted to murder him.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">You see, Saturday I had a very good balcony ticket for the
very last Rusalka from the Met which is probably the last Rusalka Renée Fleming
would do, ever. My bus was to leave Hartford at 4:00 and arrive in NYC at 6:30.
Bottom-line I was oh so very nervous for the whole trip, I watched about 3
episodes of Dracula to see if I could distract myself, it helped a bit. I was
particularly pissed off because the driver took 9</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"> Ave to head to
Port Authority which means that, yes, we went by the Met at about 7:30. I went
to the driver and asked him for the love of God to open the door so I could hop
out because I had tickets for the opera and I wouldn’t be able to make it
otherwise. The fucking bastard said that he just couldn’t do that and so, yes,
I saw the Met go by and so went by my first act of Rusalka.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">But I wasn’t going to give up so easily, 7:43 we arrived at
Port Authority and I was flying out of that bus and into the subway. Flying
from the subway to Columbus Circle and ran 3 blocks up to Lincoln Center and
let me tell you, IT WAS SOOO COLD. And the streets were filled with snow and
ice so it was quite slippery. 7:55 I was in front of the Met hardly believing I
had made it. As I ran up the stairs to the Balcony area I could hear the
instruments tuning and that lady with that instrument I do not know the name of
which meant that the performance was gonna start at any minute. I could have
totally passed out when I got there. I went inside and looked back only to spot
Mike right away! I started screaming “Mike, MIKE!” but my voice was very weak
because of the running. Suddenly I hear someone screaming “ISABELA!” it was
Harry. We waved enthusiastically at each other, I got myself some water and
went to my seat just as the lights were dimming still panting from the running
marathon. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">To top things off just before the performance started Peter
Gelb appeared on stage and there was a loud sigh from the audience and I was
like <i>“Oh no, oh no, no, no!”</i>. Fortunately he was only there to let us know that
Dolora Zajick</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"> was sick but that she still wanted to perform and passed on to us her
apologies. It took me the overture to have my blood run in a more human rate.
The curtains open and you can’t help but be completely and utterly transported,
I totally gasped when I saw that scenery. By the way I have not seen the live
in HD nor have I ever seen this opera ever before so it was all new to me. For
the first act we have the lake where Rusalka lives with her Green Gnome dad,
the effect used for the water is the same as the one they use for Turandot and
it definitely looks awesome when you are in the house but must have caused some
confusion for the HD viewers. The set was boosted by the most amazing lighting
design that could take you to literally any time of day in that place.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Well, in the beginning we have three nymphs playing around
(much like the rhinemaidens) and then comes the Water Gnome who is completely
blue and a total base. That guy’s voice is deep as hell! This scene reminded me
a bit of Das Rheinegold because of the three beauties teasing someone who they
knew wasn’t up to their standards. Rusalka then appears and I’m FREAKING OUT because
it’s Renée Fleming, one of my personal heroes for crying out loud! Right after
some song making with her Gnome dad and telling him she’s totally depressed
because she’s in love with a human prince she sings her signature aria. I’m not
going to lie, I wasn’t a very big fan of the acoustics from where she was
singing, her voice sounded a little muffed (gorgeous as usual but muffed), I
think the tree was too upstage and too high so the sound didn’t travel as well
as some of the other singers’ did.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6_WPU4gvD8Sms1Yo0pfvC1pk5KW_KlN4B4sCCSdP3Mn-Rk7xZYd3Ll-5-2DNRv82Rt2yIfeRAsYaelpsugmq_92lxqKXRK3cXbWIN7pip-UTwVawkOK9wSHC8EUrKWtRtH2-EKxEJ5VA/s1600/rusalka-renae-fleming-in-the-title-role-3-photo-by-ken-howard.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6_WPU4gvD8Sms1Yo0pfvC1pk5KW_KlN4B4sCCSdP3Mn-Rk7xZYd3Ll-5-2DNRv82Rt2yIfeRAsYaelpsugmq_92lxqKXRK3cXbWIN7pip-UTwVawkOK9wSHC8EUrKWtRtH2-EKxEJ5VA/s1600/rusalka-renae-fleming-in-the-title-role-3-photo-by-ken-howard.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">But the aria itself was like walking into a dream, although
I felt the tempo being a little bit dragged! I couldn’t believe my luck that
was actually getting to experience such a thing as this! Renée was glorious and
she held that high B flat just a little bit longer like she always does and
then there was a rain of applause that must have lasted 30 seconds. Rusalka
goes to the witch</span><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; line-height: 24px;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; text-align: justify;">Jezhibaba s</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">o she can turn her into a human (very much like the
Little Mermaid). Let me tell you Dolora Zajick did not sound sick at all, her voice
is totally huge and it just traveled beautifully through the whole theater.
The character of the witch wasn’t exactly a villain but more like a mean comic
relief. She asks Rusalka for her voice in exchange for the potion that will
make her human plus if her lover is untrue to her she is condemned to become a
dark water spirit neither living nor dead for the rest of her days and if her
lover kissed her after that he would die. Pretty brutal, right?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFNAAYcKpIdXe2DctD04Cg4C-R9VpxH2AnoIW9a_gF5r-g29rkeZSiWlOO9p0M2wVnSA1b12Qo_F56pfY4Q9EH4TK_6P_NXyFClsaRc0JvRLqW4CpX9FO-9q7NdzI-vVpj7Lj65GtCwag/s1600/rusalka_Detail+Main+Image.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFNAAYcKpIdXe2DctD04Cg4C-R9VpxH2AnoIW9a_gF5r-g29rkeZSiWlOO9p0M2wVnSA1b12Qo_F56pfY4Q9EH4TK_6P_NXyFClsaRc0JvRLqW4CpX9FO-9q7NdzI-vVpj7Lj65GtCwag/s1600/rusalka_Detail+Main+Image.jpg" height="293" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">They leave and on comes the Prince played by dashing tenor
Piotr Beczala. I had already seen him live as Lensky which was such a wonderful
performance but this one was even better. He sounded absolutely on the top of
his game, voice crystal clear, beautiful color and charming all over, just a
dream! And of course he has all that prince swagger dominated so he looked and
sounded just perfect for the role of the Foreign Prince. He walks in and goes
straight to the water to which he looks lovingly and strokes the water.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUOYw4pA2hI692_Fqy-16_tkslvMULBRI82DU44u2aRjB3kuc9mGNRTkozZ47jO7qNwz3N3lmML-il7mPuE6mZydEN7iqXvoHTJBNPZlZ1loO4mrMN7IZxaq-yMCXbw2IH-xAWTkG4CFo/s1600/SHENGOLD-rusalka-IS.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUOYw4pA2hI692_Fqy-16_tkslvMULBRI82DU44u2aRjB3kuc9mGNRTkozZ47jO7qNwz3N3lmML-il7mPuE6mZydEN7iqXvoHTJBNPZlZ1loO4mrMN7IZxaq-yMCXbw2IH-xAWTkG4CFo/s1600/SHENGOLD-rusalka-IS.jpg" height="320" width="205" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1QCqCGfv3KHPYK-uc48VmeR3VeVEUH-9itkgq3EBXf3BkvzsakaH9ZH1AwDEokY1wAgVtQqfiS7IipziE3eXdWKPD3PYB3II_4KviBQzXYJLflV8NTM79BEuWjXCfHYcGm_LpFl7tJ9s/s1600/rusalka-dvorak-the-met-live-in-hd-2014-i93359.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1QCqCGfv3KHPYK-uc48VmeR3VeVEUH-9itkgq3EBXf3BkvzsakaH9ZH1AwDEokY1wAgVtQqfiS7IipziE3eXdWKPD3PYB3II_4KviBQzXYJLflV8NTM79BEuWjXCfHYcGm_LpFl7tJ9s/s1600/rusalka-dvorak-the-met-live-in-hd-2014-i93359.jpg" height="320" width="212" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">You see Rusalka is a water spirit, even though she looks
like a woman to the audience she is really a wave from that river. And when the
Prince comes and strokes the water and stares at it so tenderly Rusalka falls
for him, after all he is caressing her! When Rusalka reveals her human self to
him it’s like one of those love at first sight scenes, the Prince is completely
taken by her beauty but she can’t speak.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">And so one of the most interesting things happens. On the
page this part looks like an aria, just the Prince singing but when you see and
hear it it’s more like a one person duet. His lines yearn to be completed by
something she would say, same with some vocal lines. It’s quite romantic and
Renée is so absolutely graceful! This role fits her like a glove! They head off
and it’s intermission time.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Normally I’m not a very big fan of long intermissions but,
one, I had fantastic friends to chat to and two even if I didn’t I could just
stare at those beautiful chandeliers all through it quite happily. I finally
met Mike one of my closest and oldest twitter friends and saw Sasha and Harry
again. I might have been over enthusiastic when hugging the friends. We chatted
and the 30 minute intermission felt like 10 minutes. The gongs went off and it
was time for me to get me ass back to me seat.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJNZYRoHtIe3V1oaV_7hK6A7hVZqnDFn6_CNH0TMZsvMW50-qdTE0_yUl0ScP98CWJXM-XLyUIP9boMuorcUmXjXjDKMm8filTy_4IGcx9sBU57WH697F2fFEdw-_7kjfR2soFETl0faM/s1600/1623680_10152048974262713_810848377_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJNZYRoHtIe3V1oaV_7hK6A7hVZqnDFn6_CNH0TMZsvMW50-qdTE0_yUl0ScP98CWJXM-XLyUIP9boMuorcUmXjXjDKMm8filTy_4IGcx9sBU57WH697F2fFEdw-_7kjfR2soFETl0faM/s1600/1623680_10152048974262713_810848377_n.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Happy intermission!</span></i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Second act is set just outside the Prince’s castle where you
can see a big stair case and some large glass doors that led inside the castle.
This first part we had the kitchen boy (a mezzo) and a huntsman chatting about
this strange girl that the Prince found by the lake and with whom he’s totally
in love with. The thing is, nobody really likes Rusalka, they think she’s weird
and a little bit nuts. Because as a water spirit she was sweet, gentle and shy
but as a human she has the very same personality but now in a human body, for
you to get a mental picture she’s a bit like Luna Lovegood, with her head up in
the clouds. Plus she’s very frigid to the Prince's caresses because she doesn’t
really understand them. So Rusalka is not at all popular and is feeling quite
literally like a fish out of water.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggUmJsEYIEKOwtAnCwHSKUQVir5R02l74q6i1dvlNJ7m9oojQMiPz4wxf0IcbccI5q_J5jF37J7Co0K7uVTVBsuDPwR_d6NWSZeTW9roOOmHLIMGlMpVsGw9wsI4l3OfR1u6RXdVPqMgs/s1600/14230036-standard.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggUmJsEYIEKOwtAnCwHSKUQVir5R02l74q6i1dvlNJ7m9oojQMiPz4wxf0IcbccI5q_J5jF37J7Co0K7uVTVBsuDPwR_d6NWSZeTW9roOOmHLIMGlMpVsGw9wsI4l3OfR1u6RXdVPqMgs/s1600/14230036-standard.jpg" height="297" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">They come out and the Prince is making an effort to try and
understand why Rusalka is so different and odd. He says she’s beautiful but her
beauty is cold and he yearns for the warmth of her love for him. Enters then
THE bitch, the Foreign Princess who is so pissed off because she was to be
marrying the Prince but isn’t anymore because of Rusalka. She makes every effort
to try and humiliate and bully Rusalka and to make her look unfitting and odd
to the Prince’s eyes. She sways his attention by pointing out that he is giving
a ball and should be a good host. The Prince takes the Princess by the arm and
leaves poor Rusalka outside alone. She is miserable obviously, for the first
time since she traded away her voice Rusalka speaks and her father appears and
they have a long conversation. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">The Prince reappears with the Princess and we can see
through the glass doors that he’s making out with her with much ardor. What a
dick! He comes back only to scorn Rusalka and tell her it wasn’t really going
to work out because she’s so odd and chooses to be with the Foreign Princess.
The water Gnome appears and takes Rusalka away and tells the Prince what an
awful mistake he just made. As the Prince approaches the Princess once more
she now scorns him and laughs at his face.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiowhHmtApbHgNaE5MqZ3l6pvI39TwqU3pIVNwcJ3xneeyz1lUlM4fD6te8Dt_AdL-4jUe-KBupbhRaFX53e9K-I7IjfMABENUgE5_OGCIpGXY12AaB056ovp4il-PwwbPNw7QAzvz8nTE/s1600/ruskala.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiowhHmtApbHgNaE5MqZ3l6pvI39TwqU3pIVNwcJ3xneeyz1lUlM4fD6te8Dt_AdL-4jUe-KBupbhRaFX53e9K-I7IjfMABENUgE5_OGCIpGXY12AaB056ovp4il-PwwbPNw7QAzvz8nTE/s1600/ruskala.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">End of act 2 and another great intermission featuring some
of my best opera buddies. But all good things tend to feel as if they last 5
minutes and before I knew it we had to run back to our seats for act 3.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Now in act 3 we have all that ‘you reap what you sow’ thing.
Rusalka is back to her lake, cursed and miserable but she hasn’t touched the
water yet, only when she touches the water she used to call home will she be
cursed. She urges </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Jezhibaba </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">to help her get back to her sisters and forget all this business. </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Jezhibaba </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">tells her there is a way for things to be just the way they
were, Rusalka must take a knife </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Jezhibaba</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"> gave her and kill her beloved Prince, that
way she will be able to live as a water nymph again. Rusalka is horrified and
absolutely refuses to kill him saying she would rather suffer for eternity than
to do that to him. </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Jezhibaba</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"> is hardly impressed and gives her a “suit yourself
bitch” look and heads off.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Rusalka goes inside the water and BANG she’s doomed! The
Prince hurries to the lake but it’s too late, Rusalka is inside and totally
cursed for good. They sing the most gorgeous duet and a water platform thing
appears and Rusalka walks on the water toward her lover. When they meet they
share a kiss that kills him and Rusalka goes back to the bottom of the lake to
an eternity of misery. The end. Holy moly, that was SAD! I had to literally
take a moment to just chill after that because as it ended I was crying like a
baby!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Curtain call time and the people were quite enthusiastic.
Here are some amazing pics my friend Felipe Cunha took, mine are awful!</span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio-FmiMcaL_4WkLbdSinUvhxeAuj9yXNGVT0ojykJSnn7QsyQgPblAjR7WCOkUUG25zdl5j03Yi_-uvJzqcWWNYyf_TfLyOF0-Pd_aXazx_iUzlGjkaNOb2Ca_cB8XZQNelAzaXL5GsXk/s1600/1010100_10202968909523134_2028632473_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio-FmiMcaL_4WkLbdSinUvhxeAuj9yXNGVT0ojykJSnn7QsyQgPblAjR7WCOkUUG25zdl5j03Yi_-uvJzqcWWNYyf_TfLyOF0-Pd_aXazx_iUzlGjkaNOb2Ca_cB8XZQNelAzaXL5GsXk/s1600/1010100_10202968909523134_2028632473_n.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>Emily Magee as the Foreign Princess</i></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDgRXFnNX1bIQYlQhpwqBghzoWNLO_s0lCuBGnOCx67Gxz0BtmYO7qhq2GZ9YPjnUxRTyoLkgL6Z9cfYy5Rx2g9lIgKLSZIucoDa83iU7VOEKJpcdSVdKg9oLSR9SV9fM_UeFwaV2Q5ps/s1600/1798461_10202968910003146_873561442_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDgRXFnNX1bIQYlQhpwqBghzoWNLO_s0lCuBGnOCx67Gxz0BtmYO7qhq2GZ9YPjnUxRTyoLkgL6Z9cfYy5Rx2g9lIgKLSZIucoDa83iU7VOEKJpcdSVdKg9oLSR9SV9fM_UeFwaV2Q5ps/s1600/1798461_10202968910003146_873561442_n.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>Dolora Zajick as <span style="font-size: x-small; text-align: justify;">Jezhibaba</span></i></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4X7pziAZcs-XmXkYI7k8iIvP9Vg7HDaEra7YXihjyX_a0VdDf7ypk15c1SILvLW1yjSUCoVa1am-6QxJl8uhTgRxf92qWNG2V0kTGQbhIg8bBdN0iG51PeUg7xcR7Y1hzxIZOGMeASR8/s1600/1888572_10202968910683163_1333412822_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4X7pziAZcs-XmXkYI7k8iIvP9Vg7HDaEra7YXihjyX_a0VdDf7ypk15c1SILvLW1yjSUCoVa1am-6QxJl8uhTgRxf92qWNG2V0kTGQbhIg8bBdN0iG51PeUg7xcR7Y1hzxIZOGMeASR8/s1600/1888572_10202968910683163_1333412822_n.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Piotr Beczala as the Prince</span></i></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_-wd8Yq1mwUktA-O8FFJ8bg4db9d3tc3DWCTKRsrWMrYmkRsQe_RZfkdUWEKNpFlwz6d2M9_4ZdQVPuksHBc8PZmBsgl0p3F-5QRZeurhI-5sz8UjIv8yB82l9g0cCaOTFseLgNhMsN8/s1600/1800457_10202968911003171_1153097931_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_-wd8Yq1mwUktA-O8FFJ8bg4db9d3tc3DWCTKRsrWMrYmkRsQe_RZfkdUWEKNpFlwz6d2M9_4ZdQVPuksHBc8PZmBsgl0p3F-5QRZeurhI-5sz8UjIv8yB82l9g0cCaOTFseLgNhMsN8/s1600/1800457_10202968911003171_1153097931_n.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Renée Fleming as Rusalka</span></i></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">After that we all head down to the stage door. Stage dooring
is a lot of fun but it is also a very nerve-racking business. Because you never
know in what mood the singer is going to be in or whatever so I’m always
excited but a little bit afraid. The more I like the singer the more afraid I
am and keep rehearsing what I’m going to say to them in my head. So you can
only imagine the state I was because of Renée. Getting to the stage door we had
our usual crazy people and some normal people, there were about 25 people there
if I can remember correctly. Dolora came out and just walked past everyone, did
not stop not even to take a breath. I do understand her though, she was
apparently recovering from sickness and must have been really tired.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Piotr was a sweetheart as always! Gosh I adore him, he is
such a fantastic singer, great actor and such a cool person. He stopped to chat
with us and even said he remembered me from Onegin! It was really cold so I was
wearing my ridiculous hat and as I took it off to take the picture with him he
told me he loved playing that game so we thought the bird should make an apparition
at the picture.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">After a while Renée came out and my heart was beating so
fast I could have chocked on it. She talked to everyone and signed everything,
she’s so fantastic! Although she would sign the programs of the stage door
beggars (yes, that’s what I’m calling them now, my friend Felipe’s creation)
with just a line. She finally came our way and we got to chat with her a little
bit and I told her everything I wanted to tell her. She was very sweet but we
could see it that she was very tired. She signed everything and also wrote a
few words for me in my Inner Voice which was so amazing. I forgot to take off
the pathetic hat before the picture, hence:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">After all the stage door fever me, we went to PJ Clarks to
grab something to eat and did not leave ‘till 2 in the morning or something. It
was pretty fun, I loved seeing some of my friends again and meeting in person
others. So I guess that was that for that Saturday. Stay tuned for more and
pray that I get into The Hartt School!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Cheers! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Hey everybody! Guess from where I’m writing this little
post! From my hotel room in New York! Yes! And let me tell you all about my
first day in da city! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Starting off with the fact that yesterday morning I woke up
to the horrendous news that a snow storm was hitting New York City on the very
same day of my arrival. A few hours later I started coming across all kinds of
people who had their flights cancelled to New York because of the storm. Now, I
couldn’t just tell my mom, she’d be terrified and refuse to go and would not
rest until I told her I wasn’t going either. So I kept it all to myself and
kept checking the Delta website every 5 minutes to see my flight’s status. Well
we packed, we screamed at each other and me and mom were out to the airport,
the car journey took about an hour and a half. Even though we were 4 hours
early the plane departed with one hour of delay that did not surprise me since
there was a storm coming up where we wanted to land! I hate flying, I never get
any sleep and the chairs are uncomfortable because I’d rather buy good seats to
the opera than at a plane. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">We did land smoothly after 10 hours on the air, we did have
quite a bit of turbulence which terrified mum (and she didn’t even know about
the storm then!). When we got out of the plane the first thing I saw was snow!
Now, I had never seen snow before so for me it was like magic! I was only
wearing a t-shirt and a jacket and feeling fine with that snow falling from the
sky and landing everywhere. The journey to the city was fine but there was snow
everywhere, I felt like I was in a Christmas Movie or something!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">We left our heavy luggage at the Hotel and vestured off to
Starbucks to have a happy breakfast. We only forgot about one tiny detail; the
storm. Have you ever experienced a storm? You know in Frozen when there are
those rough winds with snow? It’s very much like the ending of Frozen, I felt
like Anna, freezing to death fighting the winds. We had an umbrella, I brought
it because of the rain, but we used him in the storm and it died. After me
getting loads of snow inside my mouth because I was laughing too hard at my
mother almost falling every 5 steps she took we arrived at Starbucks. We drank
a lot of coffee and ate a lot of yummy things and neither was very keen on
leaving. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">I was actually kind of sad, because the storm was really
bad, that Starbucks was like a block away from the hotel and getting to it had
felt like building the great wall of China. I wanted to go to Lincoln Center if
only just to drool and cry and look at the cool stuff at the Met store. We went
back to the hotel and got to the hotel room, pretty nice, two queen beds, spacious
and free wifi. After about half an hour it stopped snowing so I decided to get
some things done now that it was ok to walk outside.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Oh, how I was wrong! It had stopped snowing, that’s true but
it had started raining! It was about 0 degrees and the rain was falling in the
diagonal, almost horizontally sometimes. Result; I got super wet, my boots got
wet, my feet, my trousers… And I could feel the front part of my wet tights
burn because of the cold wind that was blowing, worst sensation ever.
Nevertheless I did go to Carnegie Hall and picked up my tickets and did the
stuff I needed to do. My prize? Going to the Met!</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpgk5YxepwnPKkY9eh4GFkn4wUV_07K8sNp78QKn8u8p81U4M-20u6GWs7HLc9yymIj_wTLUAgXcnnUNQvX3SiOXBFuJ8p9lC-mIqCQbem2X2jNw1ucsDoKfpneoI8U3zhTxc33PCYWjQ/s1600/1779900_10152043580182713_677899314_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpgk5YxepwnPKkY9eh4GFkn4wUV_07K8sNp78QKn8u8p81U4M-20u6GWs7HLc9yymIj_wTLUAgXcnnUNQvX3SiOXBFuJ8p9lC-mIqCQbem2X2jNw1ucsDoKfpneoI8U3zhTxc33PCYWjQ/s1600/1779900_10152043580182713_677899314_n.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">But the thing is, to get to the Met I had to navigate the
melting streets of Manhattan and that is an art! I felt like I was a character
in a video game or something. What happens is: it snows, the temperature is a
little below zero, it stops snowing and the temperature rises a bit to a little
something above zero. That little subtle yet fatal change in temperature starts
to slowly melt the fluffy snow on the floor turning it into something I like to call “street slushie”. Trucks clean the car ways and people clean the
side walk but what people neglect to clean up is the little piece of street
between the side walk and the street the cars use. Actually most of the snow
removed actually goes to this spot. What happens? It’s impossible to cross the
street because one step out of line and you have your precious foot underneath
urban freezing New York slushie water/snow/ice thing, the point is that it
makes your shoe wet, your socks wet and your foot wet and it’s already really
cold here. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">So basically one of the things that I have learned today was
to navigate the slushie and make sure I don’t take a false step into freezing
waters. I eventually got to the Met, although I was all wet. I sat for a while in
one of those benches inside the Met outside the Met Store. When I felt I was
politely dry enough I entered the shop and just browsed through the stuff. Ah,
it’s so great to be back here! I feel whole, it’s so odd walking along these
streets it feels so natural to me.</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">I got a DVD of that concert Dmitri Hvorostovsky did with
Sondra Radvanovsky in Moscow plus I got my Rusalka ticket! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">I was just about to
leave when a man stopped directly in front of me, from a certain distance, and
started texting. At first I squinted my eyes to see if he was who I thought he
was then I quickly reached for my glasses and saw it was him! David Daniels,
the Met’s super counter tenor. Then I did something that is worthy of my dear
opera bff Otávio and of which I’m slightly ashamed of confessing… I followed
him! Down the stairs, out the door, out the other door, (Oh my God he’s heading
to the stage door you gotta catch up with him) I pretend to be running for
something, turn my head in his direction at the very last minute and say “Hey!
Excuse me, I’m so sorry to bother you, but aren’t you David Daniels?”. We
chatted for a little bit and he was THE sweetest! So nice and asked me fun
questions. When I asked for a picture he said “Yes, but only taken from above”
to which I replied “Do you thing I take any other type?” but a guy turned up
and took it for us. He was on his way to rehearse The Enchanted Island which is
so thrilling!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">After that I came hopping back to the hotel and me and mum
had lunch together at a restaurant close to our hotel. Again she almost fell
several times trying to cross the street, my entertainment is forever guaranteed!
After that we came back to the hotel (it was a late lunch) and I started
writing this post while trying to watch Renée Fleming’s masterclass that was
streamed online but couldn’t.</span><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhamAA4d_L_H-jxAqPOMrLxc0oPKbF3wBRw4UDWrspI22nHCzSGY5o7uyjRq60MaeC84TvTcD2BKaCGJ87g9p4E0EvH_kJ23x1pWIMUHA3X0lblFmkW_iTIM7_CcCGlGmCzQtWjyqvEDpM/s1600/patrick.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhamAA4d_L_H-jxAqPOMrLxc0oPKbF3wBRw4UDWrspI22nHCzSGY5o7uyjRq60MaeC84TvTcD2BKaCGJ87g9p4E0EvH_kJ23x1pWIMUHA3X0lblFmkW_iTIM7_CcCGlGmCzQtWjyqvEDpM/s1600/patrick.jpg" height="320" width="239" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Patrick during lunch, happy to be inside with the snowy weather</span></i></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Around 6:30pm I left the hotel all ready to go to my first
night out of fantastic music in New York, Gerald Finley and Julius Drake
performing Schurbert’s Witerriese. First of all it wasn’t at the big hall of
Carnegie, it was at the Judy and Arthur Zankel Hall to which I had never been
and was very excited to experience. This musical event was unlike any other
musical event I ever went in NYC or anywhere really. Everybody there was
dressed well but rather casually which I found most revigorating and cozy. The
hall is so lovely, it is much smaller but I think it’s perfect for this kind of
recitals, it gives you that intimate feel that a big hall just cannot provide. Also
almost everybody there that I could spot was there for the music and not just
some social status of being in an expensive musical event in the city.</span><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlOrdw8wOAgJwPyXvg54hsEDs5leUHZdADxYp73vR3S-F57E5dk-bDwwomOphmSMNH3DRxyQmLEBvQClurNVhnMnwhA_itCBi4bFoUswUrYz8lpsGxiDLkB9O3OBCA74z_hckxVu-be-4/s1600/1904172_10152044614457713_264945769_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlOrdw8wOAgJwPyXvg54hsEDs5leUHZdADxYp73vR3S-F57E5dk-bDwwomOphmSMNH3DRxyQmLEBvQClurNVhnMnwhA_itCBi4bFoUswUrYz8lpsGxiDLkB9O3OBCA74z_hckxVu-be-4/s1600/1904172_10152044614457713_264945769_n.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>view from my seat, second row :)</i></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Gerald Finley came out first and spoke a few words to the
public and mostly thanked us all for coming despite of the crazy heretic
weather. The hall wasn’t full but almost about 8/10 full but I knew that that
concert had sold out and people hadn’t come because they really weren’t able to
get to NYC today because of the storm.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Now, I don’t know much about Lieder and I don’t like
pretending I do but that was freaking awesome! I was feeling stuff by the end I
didn’t even know I could feel, it was so intense, so well executed, with so
much artistry from both performers and also so much humility. I’ll talk more
about Gerald because I’m a singer and of course I paid more attention to the
singer. Seriously now, the moment he opened his mouth and started singing I
went “Oh my!” and kinda held my breath, I couldn’t believe it, it was so simple
and yet absurdly beautiful. His objective was so clear, to be a vessel to tell
the music of Schubert through his voice, to show us what each little piece was
about through his voice and fantastic facial expressions that were just the
right dosage. I was so impressed by his technique, of course I knew he had a
killer technique because of other works he’s done but to hear it live it’s unbelievable!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">People, go see stuff live, the sensation of a singer’s voice
vibrating in your face without the use of any amplification is like no other,
you will be touched, I’m sure!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">There were so many songs in that cycle and I think that he recorded a CD singing
these and I promise to review this CD as soon as I buy it with more details. I
just know that right at the begging, I think it was the fourth song <i>“Erstarrung”,</i> there was one song that
his rendition nearly drove me to tears. But that’s the thing about these song cycles,
you have to really know them in order to appreciate the performance you see
more (that’s for everything not just song cycles). From this particular one I
knew I liked the last song “Der Leiermann” in which Gerry carried a lot of
emotion and at the end drew a very long pure silence from the audience, nobody
even dared to breathe. Then he lowered his head and the hall exploded with
applause, they did 3 curtain calls, another real first for curtain calls I
attended here in NY. By the end I swear to God I was dizzy, didn’t know what to
say or think, I just knew I needed to share that with someone. I noticed that
that was the general feeling amongst the people who watched, most of them were
very really touched by what they saw.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">After the recital Gerald did pop up in the reception area
and as a line formed to talk to him he would talk to everybody for as long as
the person wanted to talk to him. I wanted to speak to him SO BAD! But I was
very nervous and very cold which made me tremble nonstop. So I waited for a
while for all the other people to talk to him and before I know it he’s having
the most enlightened conversation with a 12 year old young musician to be who
keeps asking for advice, he was very cute and intelligent, he talked like an
actual grown up. After the boy left it was my turn and I was so nervous. He was
absolutely incredible! I told him I was from Brazil and we entered in
conversation quite easily, I told him I was auditioning for the grad program on
Saturday. He was very interested to know what I was singing plus he gave me
great tips of what to do in my audition that I think will really make a
difference. I told him I loved his masterclass and he was so flattered and we
started talking about giving Mozart for young singers and something in my head
was like “OH MY GWAD YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT MOZART WITH THE GUY WHO WAS YOUR
FIRST ALMAVIVA!”. We talked for a while and he was so incredible, supportive and
HELPFUL, really, just AWESOME! We took a picture (of course!) and he gave me a
big hug and his most sincere well wishes for my audition when we said goodbye. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">You can only imagine I came back to the hotel eating
snowflakes out of happiness. And now here I am, writing it down! One more
thing, New York is the BEST place to be!</span></div>
Belahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08940075924322732507noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3881539215077596507.post-77162735329891171782014-01-21T07:58:00.000-05:002014-01-21T07:58:27.550-05:00Movie Marathon<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Hallo everybody! It’s been a while since my
last post, I do apologize. Today is a very sad day for the whole musical
community, the renowned Italian conductor Claudio Abbado has passed away. And I
got rather upset when I heard the news, we get so emotionally attached to these
people because of the beautiful work they do it feels as if it was someone I
knew. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">But I’m here to talk about good things. Like
the fact that The Hartt School called me to audition for their Graduate Voice
Program. YAY! This means I will be going to the US once again and staying in
NYC for a while longer! YAY! I’m really happy because so many of my friends are
going to actually be there, some I’ve already met in person and others not.
Plus I’m going to get to go to the Met and see some pretty freaking awesome
opera! If any of you are going to be around here are my dates;<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">13<sup>th</sup> of February - Gerald Finley
Recital in Carnegie Hall<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">15<sup>th</sup> of February - Rusalka at the
Met<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">17<sup>th</sup> of February - Prince Igor at
the Met<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">18<sup>th</sup> of February - Werther at the
Met<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">20<sup>th</sup> of February - Jonas Kaufmann
Recital in Carnegie Hall<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">22<sup>nd</sup> of February - Werther and Die
Fledermaus at the Met<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">I might go to Prince Igor on the 21<sup>st</sup>
as well, but I will probably decide then. And I will most certainly be seeing
some Broadway musicals.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">This is a different kind of post, I’m not
really going to talk about opera in this one. I did a rather fun thing last
week that I wanted to share with you guys. I barely went to the movies last
year because of all the college stress and there were SO MANY movies I really
wanted to see that passed me by. So I did a all week cinema project, last week
I went to the movies 5 days in a row. You might be socked as to what is playing
now since some of these movies premiered last year in the US and have only just
come out here.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Monday - <b>Last Vegas</b><span style="font-size: x-small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXD5Q1dwkNZ3MfmEVRO5OSviWunGdlF8c2aSPjpXaQxb5tNWsgZKbdAuu0oEqjfWIm1dmoPKijSRnH9dFqSaLIk7HTnaowMdfEZK5gP_4_WLnqoUB7EZa53hbV1CYoj2RDJARAoKYlAiM/s1600/LAST-VEGAS-Poster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXD5Q1dwkNZ3MfmEVRO5OSviWunGdlF8c2aSPjpXaQxb5tNWsgZKbdAuu0oEqjfWIm1dmoPKijSRnH9dFqSaLIk7HTnaowMdfEZK5gP_4_WLnqoUB7EZa53hbV1CYoj2RDJARAoKYlAiM/s1600/LAST-VEGAS-Poster.jpg" height="320" width="204" /></a><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">I’ll do a quick recap of the movie. It’s about
these four guys who have been friends since they were 6 or something but now
they are almost 80. One of them, Michael Douglas, is getting married to a 30
year old beauty and decides he wants to have his bachelor party in Vegas. As
the other friends we have Robert De Niro, who lost his wife and is in a
depressing mourning mojo, Kevin Klein, whose wife gives him a free pass and a
Viagra pill for Vegas (his wife is played by Joanna Gleason, the original
Baker’s Wife of Into the Woods, I’m a musical theater geek!) and Morgan
Freeman, who had a light heart attack and now whose son is fussing about him
and not letting him do anything. In this cast we also have the actress I love
to call “Percy’s Mum”, she plays Percy Jackson’s mum and she’s just what I
pictured for that character so I like calling her that, but I think she’s a
fantastic actress. And to my absolute delight we also have one of my favorite
Broadway performers all in drag Roger Bart, he did a lot of Broadway and some
movies, he’s freaking awesome. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">But on to the movie, really funny, but I’m a
person who is easily amused. I went to this one with my mother and she is definitely
not someone who laughs at just anything and she laughed a lot. But the laugh
champion was the old lady sitting next to me, I guess I actually knew all that
medication they were talking about. The movie is fun and light and has some
minor drama that is resolved before you can say bazinga. It’s a feel good
movie, fun but maybe not for the whole family, don’t take the kids. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-weight: normal;">Tuesday - </span><span lang="EN">August: Osage County</span></span><span lang="EN" style="font-size: x-small; font-weight: normal;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></h1>
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<span lang="EN"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">This one blew off the roof! The basic story is that the patriarch of the
family goes missing and then is found dead and the whole family comes together
to mourn. And we have an astounding cast, starting off with the woman who could
even pull off playing Batman, the one and only Meryl Streep. She plays the
mother who has mouth cancer and is so utterly addicted to pills, she’s got no
filter, she says whatever she wants to say and don’t care about the
consequences. As her daughters we have Julia Roberts, sort of separated from
her husband with a teenage daughter, the youngest Julianne Nicholson , who has
a bit of a lesbo vibe but really isn’t and the middle daughter Juliette Lewis
who is kind of ignored and mistreated by her mother. To add to the cast we have
Ewan McGregor as Julia Robert’s sort of husband, he had/ has been having an
affair with a much younger lady, and their daughter is played by Abigail
Breslin, rebel, smokes pot, the perfect dysfunctional family. To add to the mix
we have Meryl Streep’s sister who is sort of a bitch and her nice husband and
their son, played by none other than Benedict Cumberbatch (yes Sherlock!). I
loved Benedick in this because he shows he’s really such a flexible actor, this
character, Little Charles has next to zero similarities to Sherlock. Awkward,
insecure, kind of daft, very pure of heart and sporting a thick American
accent. Gotta love Cumberbatch, he can go from Dragon to this to Sherlock
freaking Holmes! <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">This was definitely one of my favorites of the week, of the year. The story
starts out kind of warm, the only high points being when Meryl Streep has a
scene. But then it gets dark and profound and like a bomb is about to explode
as the family secrets start coming out and everyone’s lives change forever.
This movie is rather heavy, also not for all audiences, no kids or overly
emotional people or people who think it’s comedy. Seriously, the daft girls
sitting next to me, apart from not stop talking, thought it was a freaking
comedy! I mean, have you seen the poster? It’s a great movie but it’s not for
the faint of heart.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Wednesday -<b> Até que a sorte nos
separe 2</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">This is a <span lang="EN-US">Brazilian</span> movie, a sequel to “Até que a
sorte nos separe”. <span lang="EN-US">Brazil
produces REAL funny comedy movies, it’s so funny that you can’t hear all the
jokes because everyone is laughing so hard at the previous ones. The story is
the following, a young couple wins 100 million bucks in the lottery and after 15
years they have managed to spend EVERYTHING and are broke and in debt. They go
through some pretty hard times and at the end the wife’s uncle takes pity on
them and gives them some money and jobs and that’s how the first movie ends. In
the second one the uncle dies leaving 50 million bucks in his will to his niece
with a request that his ashes are to be thrown at the Grand Cannion by someone
who loves him. So the family goes out to Las Vegas to throw the ashes, dad, mum
and their two kids. But as the father is a complete idiot he manages to gamble
away all his wife’s heritage and gets into a 10 million dollar debt with the
leader of the Mexican Mafia. How stupid is that? The film is really funny,
REALLY FUNNY. But at the end of the day I didn’t like it. It sends out the most
absurd message. After being pursued by the mafia and kidnapped the cops arrest
the mafia people. The guy’s wife actually forgives him for gambling away all
her money (I mean, WHAT?) and an old rich man gives him a dollar which he
gambles in the roulette and makes 2 freaking million dollars and they live
happily ever after. So it’s ok to be totally irresponsible and inconsequential
with someone else’s money because you are such a funny and well meaning guy?
Ah! It seems like everything in this country is just wrong!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Thrusday - <b>Frozen</b><span style="font-size: x-small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Now I’ve come to the conclusion that the older
I get the more I cry watching Disney movies. I had heard just that day that
there are plans to making a musical out of this movie and just today that
there’s gonna be a sequel. For me it’s one of the best Disney movies I’ve seen
so far. Ah I started crying at the Disney logo, I mean, what’s wrong with me?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Frozen tells the story of two sisters who are
princesses, Elsa and Anna. But Elsa has a secret she has a freaky ice touch
thing and she can basically turn stuff into ice and make ice stuff and snow.
When they are little Elsa and Anna are best buddies and Anna knows about Elsa’s
powers and they play in Elsa’s snow all the time. UNTIL the day Elsa’s magic
accidentally hits Anna and she get weirdly sick and a strand of her hair turns
white, like Elsa’s. The queen and king take Anna to the trolls, who are very
cute, and the master troll cures Anna but the parents decide to make Anna
forget about Elsa’s powers and to separate them and close up the gates of the
castle for what they think is the best. Elsa feels super guilty and shuts
herself away inside her room and almost never comes out. They grow and their
parents end up dying in a ship wreck and after 3 years Elsa is to be crowned
queen. The day of the coronation they open up the gates and hundreds of people
come in (including Rapunzel and Flyn Ryder, yeah, cool). Anna meets a dreamy
prince and they fall for each other almost instantly and he asks her to marry
him and she says yes. At the party Anna asks Elsa for her blessing and as a
responsible adult and queen she says “No, you can’t marry someone you’ve just
met!” they argue and Elsa lets out her freaky powers by mistake and freaks
everyone out and runs away. But in letting out her inner kraken she brings into
the town an eternal winter feel. Now Anna goes after her so she can come back and
unfreeze everything. On her way she meets a cutie named Christopher and his
reindeer Swen who agree to help her and also Olaf the most adorable snow man
ever!</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">It’s a great movie with many plot twists and
surprises. The music is beautiful, it seems as if it’s adaptaded already from a
musical or maybe I dream too much. But it is very really good. The “theme” song
“Let it go” sung by Elsa aka Idina Menzel aka Elphaba the wicked witch of the
west is beautiful. Although I do think Idina’s singing is screamy at times and
that bothers me a lot, I want Joyce singing this song! Pretty please! It’s a
great movie for everyone in the family to watch, absolutely loved it!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Friday - <b>Delivery Man</b><span style="font-size: x-small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">When I saw this movie’s trailer I was like, man
I need to see this movie! And I wasn’t disappointed. This movie tells a story
of a guy, Vince Vaugh, who isn’t really good at doing anything in particular and every
project he tries to start just blows up in his face. Plus he owes money to the
mafia or something. He has this girlfriend who has just told him she is
pregnant but wants to raise the kid on her own because he’s such an
irresponsible douche bag. But one day a man comes to his apartment and tells
him that there’s a big ass law suit on his back. When he was twenty something
he donated his sperm 6 hundred and something times to the same fertility
clinic. But the thing was, his sperm was rather good so the clinic used it a
lot, I mean, A LOT. A lot like now he has 533 kids. And about a hundred of them
want to know who he is and are filling a law suit for that information. The guy
is completely stunned. His sons and daughters who want to meet him have all
sent him a profile of their selves to see if he gets interested in coming out.
Even though his lawyer told him not to read them he does and decides that he
can’t be their father but he can be a guardian angel so he starts helping them
out as best he can without revealing his identity. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">It’s a lovely movie, it’s funny, it has some
drama, and it’s set in NYC. Think it’s
fit for the whole family, it’s guarantee of a good time.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Ok so that’s it. I’m not a very good movie
reviewer but I tried! I’ll be posting a lot next month so I’m getting back to
my solfegio books now!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Peace everyone!</span></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"> </span></div>
Belahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08940075924322732507noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3881539215077596507.post-40877197752056375232014-01-10T09:29:00.002-05:002014-01-10T09:29:41.196-05:00Four Artists and a Fat Man
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Happy New
Year everybody and merry Christmas! Long time no see! I’m so sorry about that,
I did try to write several posts but they all kind of couldn’t stand for
themselves, I’m feeling kinda bitter today so this post might be a little
poisonous. And let me just draw your attention to the title of this post, it's supposed to be a derivation of Four Weddings and a Funeral, I'm so witty haha</span></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Today I’m
talking about the two operas I saw in December of last year in São Paulo.</span></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Generic Falstaff</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Now,
everybody went to the live in HD of Falstaff but I wasn’t able to make it. I
was really upset about that. BUT only a week before that transmission the opera
house just around the corner from my house was actually doing a production of
Falstaff. Funny enough, that looking back at that production and of what I saw
of the Met’s production they are oddly similar. Set in the same time in
history, even the color choice of some sets were very much alike. But no
matter. I did like this performance a lot. The guy playing Falstaff was really
very good and VERY funny! It’s very difficult for me to warm up to female
singers, maybe because being a female singer myself I can spot defects more
easily in women. I thought they were all OK, Nanetta was kinda pissing me off,
she was odd. The lady I mostly liked was Mistress Quickly, she was real good
and her scene with Falstaff in the beginning of the third act was just superb.
Another superb moment was Mr. Ford’s aria in the first part of the second act.
That guy was good, real good. He got quite a nice ovation for his performance.
But I think the part I mostly liked was the end in the woods. Maybe it’s
because the chorus was a bunch of people that I knew from a choir I used to be
part of and it was real fun to see them all dressed up. </span></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">But there
lies one big problem with opera in Brazil. Those people, the chorus people, they
are great people, such nice, hardworking and fairly good sounding people. BUT
they are not singers, this choir is not a professional choir, it consists
mostly of retired people who love to sing and although they sound quite nice I
don’t think its right for them to do this project. This is supposed to be a
professional production of Falstaff and the people who call the shots decided
to call these people to sing for a very simple reason. They love to sing,
singing for them is a hobby and they will sing for free, because they always
sing for free and they did sing this opera for free, all of them. I just think
it’s wrong having so many unemployed singers out there to just grab an amateur
chorus that consists of people who learn their parts via audio MIDI files made
in Finale to sing in a Verdi opera just because they will do it for free. And don’t
get me started on “they don’t have enough money to pay for a chorus” because
they do. This opera house is founded by the State Government and we pay a hell
lot of taxes in this damned State. But that’s just a taste of glorious Brazil
politics and lack of interest when it comes to anything that won’t profit
billions.</span> </span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Closing the Year a la Puccini</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">The last
opera I saw last year was La Boheme, I must admit I was very skeptical going to
the Theatro Municipal to see this. Last time I’d been there I saw the most
horrifying thing ever, the singers managed to kill one of my favorite operas
and I grew rather resolute in never getting back there. I did skip a
performance of Cavalleria Rusticana and another of Das Rheingold that I had
tickets for just because I knew there was a very big chance that I would hate
them. And also because those were after I came back from NYC and really nothing
I have seen yet has matched or even come close to that experience. But I love
Puccini and I had tickets for opening night so I thought I’d give the São Paulo
Opera House another chance. </span></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">I actually
really liked this production, I went alone, as always, and I had one of the best
seats in the house, 9th row orchestra center, quite nice. When the curtain
went up the whole audience went “OOOh!”, seriously, that’s exactly what
happened. The stage was all covered with white paper and in the center we had
some boring looking furniture all pilled up. As Marcello and Rodolfo sang they
also organized the furniture and before you know it you have a flat in the
middle of all that white paper. I found that even though it was rather
different it worked marvelously well. The tenor playing Rodolfo was none other
than the Brazilian who’s been singing all over Europe with Angela Gheorghiu,
Atalla Ayan. He was just stellar, really fantastic! But for me the best of the
night was the baritone playing Marcello. He really had it all, a fantastic,
well projected and beautiful voice and refined acting skills. The other artists
weren’t far behind and I did love this staging, the stage director had them
hoping from one place to the other almost all the time and it gave the first
act such incredible lightness as if they were really just chatting and happened
to be singing. There was an easiness to their movements and interactions that
was really quite nice to watch.</span></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">But then
came Mimi and at first when her music started playing I felt tears come to my
eyes but not because of the singer but because I’m starting to learn this music
so it really hits home. And since I’m getting far too familiar with this La
Boheme score I almost couldn’t stand this lady playing Mimi. In my opinion her
take on the character was almost all wrong, she wasn’t delicate or fragile at
all. She was too energetic and bubbly singing “Si mi chiamano Mimi” as if
telling a friend of all the fun things she has done which really didn’t work
out for me. Plus she was doing something that THOROUGHLY irritated me which was
imitating Angela Gheorghiu’s voice. Now, I’ve had my share of listening to
Angela Gheorghiu specially in this particular role and I’m telling you this
lady would imitate to the last </span></span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">portamento</span></span></i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">
EVERYTHING Angela would do. She even sort of lost her voice in the middle of
her first aria, I imagine because singing with a voice that isn’t yours isn’t
really healthy, which resulted in her </span></span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">forte</span></span></i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">
moments being transformed into </span></span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">piano</span></span></i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">
which was really a shame. Even the ignorant ladies sitting next to me who knew
nearly nothing about opera noticed there was something wrong. </span></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Second act
out on the streets was pure fun! The stage was over flowing with people and the
choruses were wonderful! Again there was no scenery just various pieces of
furniture and everyone was wearing tones of blues and grays. something else that bothered me was the fact that Mimi's hat wasn't pink, it was gray just like all the ladies on stage, boo for that. Again, the other
lady of the production did not amuse me not even a drop bit. The lady playing
Musetta was very pretty, very thin, blond with quite a nice body a petit body, what was
missing was body of voice, that beef a singer must have to sing Puccini. She
did not posses that, I’m not saying she was a bad singer, no, but she didn’t
have enough size of voice or enough warmth of voice o even enough size for this
role that is pure seduction. Her aria came out little and bland to me and after
second act we had intermission and everybody seemed to be talking about the
lack of Musetta qualities in that Musetta. It’s just sad that people are cast
to play a role like this just because they are pretty. </span></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">During
intermission I didn’t even bother to get up, since 1 I was wearing very high
heels and 2 I wasn’t meeting anybody anyways. Third act was up and it’s not one
of my favorite moments in La Boheme, I find it’s all so mushy and melodramatic,
Angela… oops I mean Mimi with the cough and Rodolfo being an ass. The only part
I do like in this act is Musetta’s and Marcello’s argument, I find it quite
funny. Maybe I’ll grow to like these things but for now, na.</span></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">We had
another short intermission after the third act and as the curtain came up for
the last time I understood why. There was again another collective “WOW” from
the audience as we saw the whole stage floor covered with neatly placed red
roses. The effect was absolutely gorgeous! Really a work of art! The beginning
of this act felt like the beginning of the opera with the 4 friends playing
around and they did such a fantastic job! Musetta arrives and the mood completely
changed, they bring Mimi up and lie her down. It was really very sad but the
whole scene was directed very well, you could see that the director took very
good care of this work. And quite unexpectedly when Mimi dies and Rodolfo holds
her and screams the famous “MIMI!” red rose petals fall from the sky and I
could not hold back my tears. It was very beautiful.</span></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Overall I
really liked this opera, I left the theater pleased.</span></span></span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> Well, until next time peeps! Peace!</span></span></div>
Belahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08940075924322732507noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3881539215077596507.post-22689225342544262332013-12-16T15:30:00.000-05:002013-12-16T15:30:11.869-05:00The Rite of Spring on a Summer Night at the beach
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Ok,
yesterday was probably the coolest most unexpected way for me to close my
musical year. When I started this blog, one of my first posts was about a
traditional concert held at the beach every year with Brazil’s most prestigious
orchestra, OSESP. They've made it their tradition to close their year's season here for the past 7 consecutive years, which is pretty cool. And yesterday it was about that time of year for another
concert. I don’t know why, but it wasn’t until yesterday’s afternoon that I
took a great big look at the sign of the concert and I almost had a freaking
heart attack. MARIN ASLOP was conducting, and I could hear the orchestra
rehearse and all I could think of was <em>“Holy mother of God, Marin Aslop is in
front of my house”</em>. Insane.</span></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I went to
the concert with my mum, as usual, and the beach was insanely packed. I read
online that there were about 25 thousand people there, and I believe it because
it was really very crammed. People had brought their beach chairs, some sat on
the sand but most people stood. What I thought was kind of stupid was the fact
that right in front of the stage there were about 100 chairs for VIP people and
around those chairs the area was absolutely empty and then everybody had to stand
behind a “barricade”. I thought that was SO STUPID. Specially because the
people on this VIP area were the closest to the stage and had the nerve to chat
like they were in a cocktail during the concert. But that’s just how my shitty
country works, I’m not even gonna go there. You guys can see it for yourselves... </span></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The concert
itself was so incredible. I was so thrilled to see Marin in the flesh
conducting! I have been a big fan of hers ever since that incredible Last Night
at The Proms. But seeing her conduct for the very first time at the beach where
I grew up and have gone time and time again for my entire life was really the
cherry on the top of a fantastic year!</span></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">After some
introductions Marin hit the stage and they played Beethoven’s 5th</span></span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
Symphony, the first, third and fourth movements. It’s just electrifying to hear
that symphony alone but the whole context made it even more special. It was a
very informal kind of concert, since the orchestra was facing the setting Sun I
could see some musicians sporting sunglasses (how often does that happen?) and
they were all in very light colors, like a light kaki and white. </span></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDVU70Vvm_JfcNWpK9FwYky1-F3U140vs-zxxGlocwerMjVrbnB4_UBMmOCai3XzJt968CbAVQP0GXNVmarPsyXRpBMus8Zq0fT8Qo7XkX5SMkTPIfzHoatJcN4PAP4eMYnmZOtk5qMkE/s1600/IMG_20131215_194127.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDVU70Vvm_JfcNWpK9FwYky1-F3U140vs-zxxGlocwerMjVrbnB4_UBMmOCai3XzJt968CbAVQP0GXNVmarPsyXRpBMus8Zq0fT8Qo7XkX5SMkTPIfzHoatJcN4PAP4eMYnmZOtk5qMkE/s1600/IMG_20131215_194127.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I’m not
gonna sit here and pretend that I know much about Beethoven to expand thoroughly
in their playing. But I thought it was real good, very consistent and strong.
Those guys know what they are doing. It’s interesting to notice how different
this orchestra sounds from the Met’s Orchestra for instance (because I saw them
play the 7th</span></span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> symphony back in October) and I’m not pointing fingers
and saying this one is better than that one. Just saying it’s so ridiculously
different. Why of course it is and that was even more explicitly obvious when
they played their second piece of the day, The Rite of Spring.</span></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I know it
might sound suicidal but I prefer the Rite of Spring to that 5th</span></span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> Symphony, that’s just my personal taste. Maybe it’s because I know more about
this particular piece than Beethoven’s symphony. I have never been much of a
symphonic person, I like vocal music too much and most importantly, I like
stuff that comes with a story. I feel like I can relate much, much better to
the piece if there’s a story behind it, that’s why I liked studying Symphonic
Poems </span></span></span>
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">so much</span></span></span>
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> (no idea if I translated it right) back in college. </span></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0obWgrbDg4_Q5caZDfevbqblx3qKEJbe-9EmUpVvtiQ9dWJDgkankyoCKU1cIqFgrngtgrIf6DmkBAnBMPcH3m0Cw4hfSakQrI3ipEDugEVMKJwFoG4c3nVEpDKx1MOLCMtjs3MCcprY/s1600/IMG_20131215_195232.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0obWgrbDg4_Q5caZDfevbqblx3qKEJbe-9EmUpVvtiQ9dWJDgkankyoCKU1cIqFgrngtgrIf6DmkBAnBMPcH3m0Cw4hfSakQrI3ipEDugEVMKJwFoG4c3nVEpDKx1MOLCMtjs3MCcprY/s1600/IMG_20131215_195232.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The guy introducing
did a horrible job. Not only did he not tell the story of the piece nor the
historic context but he did describe the music as “ALIEN”. ALIEN? ARE YOU
KIDDING ME? He said that this music will sound “alien” to our ears. Who does he
think he’s talking to? A bunch of people from the Middle Ages? This is not Schoenberg
or Berg, come on, you offend my people by saying that. You offend me at least.</span></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">But just
before they started it there was an ANNOYING dog barking like crazy and Marin
just turned to the direction the sound was coming from and people started
booing and screaming at the dog. It was quite funny, I screamed too, FUN! </span></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjY3R3ZPZbVwkViMSigQjqQy-30U3UrzK2T9OA2iZtcITrzdwr3nJUYtS9tng_zpuLqy9UAjqPyStRT6rUoGMmFT-un8MmcgfigsUK7Oyj7hMoBr95tX_97oIqyxDqQRx_E2MP8D7rokNA/s1600/IMG_20131215_201406.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjY3R3ZPZbVwkViMSigQjqQy-30U3UrzK2T9OA2iZtcITrzdwr3nJUYtS9tng_zpuLqy9UAjqPyStRT6rUoGMmFT-un8MmcgfigsUK7Oyj7hMoBr95tX_97oIqyxDqQRx_E2MP8D7rokNA/s1600/IMG_20131215_201406.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I felt so grateful
for most of the concert. Like </span></span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">“I’m so
blessed to be here, to be able to hear this in the city where I grew up, with
one of the most incredible conductors of this century on the year of The Rite
of Spring’s 100th</span></span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> birthday”</span></span></i><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">. And the presenter did say something
quite right, I don’t think that this particular piece was ever played in such circumstances,
to an opened public in a Brazilian beach on a delicious Summer December evening.
The evening was actually quite perfect, the sunset was GORGEOUS and it gave the
concert a magical background of all sorts of blues and some reds coming from
the setting Sun. The pictures I took were the best my phone's camera could do. </span></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">But down to
the Rite itself it was real nice. It’s so interesting to see how different
kinds of people conduct the same music in completely different ways. I mean, I
saw Valery Gergiev conduct this just last October and his take on it could not
be more different from Marin’s. I love to watch her conduct, she quite
literally jumps on that podium, over and over again. You can just feel all the excitement
emanate from her and how her body responded to all those crazy rhythms, she
would sometimes move on their impossible pacings. I loved it! I actually made
video to show how many people were there just as the first part ended.</span></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">And alien
or not, I think that the music managed to touch everybody. I would look around
and see people’s expressions, it was a mixture of shock, eagerness and
happiness. They were glued to that unusual music, especially after hearing the
most “best hits” of symphonic music. When the piece ended the audience roared
with cheers and applause. Marin did two calls and they left and so did the 50
million people on that beach. There were a lot of people there.</span></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Overall it
was incredible and part of me was so eager to just stand at the “artist exit”
to talk to Marin but then I thought it was better not to. Anyways, my friends
arrived a little bit after the concert ended and we went to drink coconut water
and chat about last night’s party. But I was secretly hoping Marin would decide
to get some coconut water for herself. But she didn’t haha </span></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Well guys,
that’s it for now. I’m now at my parent’s house in Santos until the end of the
year waiting eagerly for the colleges to reply my applications! I’m already
working on some other pieces to post later this week so stay tuned! Peace
everyone!</span></span></span></div>
Belahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08940075924322732507noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3881539215077596507.post-77571226056055250032013-12-11T21:34:00.004-05:002013-12-11T21:34:48.100-05:00A Love Letter to NYC
<br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Hello people! Are you annoyed by my alomst daily posts yet? I do hope not! This is gonna be a quick post so don't worry. I just wanted to let you guys know that my grades came out and I freaking did it! I passed which means I now have an official bachelor's degree! JOY TO THE WORLD! I can breathe again! And I also just sent out my three applications to Grad Schools in the US.</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">But wait, wasn't I applying to 4
schools? Well, yeah, the thing is all of them require audio
files of you singing, all of them except MSM that requires a video. I had major
problems with the video thing and when I finally got to record the video it was
like a billion degrees (because November in Brazil equals hellish temperatures)
and I wasn’t singing to my singing teacher’s playing. I didn’t really feel it
with the pianist and don’t think I did my best, plus she missed notes, didn’t
breath with me and made me altogether uncomfortable and nervous. So I decided
not to apply to MSM since the deadline was December first and I didn’t want to send them a
so-so video of me sweating through my repertoire. </span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Why am I
saying this? Well because the essay MSM asks is the following: If you were
given a blank airplane ticket to go wherever you wanted, where would you go? </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Now this
nagged me through and through because the only place on earth I could think of
was NYC and it’s ridiculous since MSM IS in NYC. But following my good friends’
advice I wrote about what I loved from the heart and since I’m not sending the
application I might as well publish my love letter to NYC </span></span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">somewhere</span></span></i><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">, right?</span></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span></span></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">“Were I handed a blank ticket at this very
minute, where would I go? I can’t help but think of any place but New York
City. I know it sounds very ‘been there done that’ but I’ve always felt a very
special connection to NYC. I’ve been there twice before and I must admit I
never felt so much like I belonged anywhere else. I love how walking down the
street I can see all kinds of people from all over the world, all sorts of
different languages popping out in every corner. The city has an infinite
number of completely different things to offer and every hour that I spend in
that city I feel I’m learning and experiencing something new. I can’t help but
think of NYC as a huge opera house.</span></span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span></span></span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">That’s probably why I love it so much. You have many languages going on
constantly and as many sorts of different types of people as you have different
kinds of opera, modern, romantic, classical… </span></span></span></i></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span></span></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Something I adore in New York City is the
people in it. Every single person I’ve met in the city has a special something
about them. It’s like a special spice that everyone who lives there possesses
and it comes out in the most amazing ways. From talking to restaurant
waitresses who speak 4 different languages to extremely lovely old ladies who
have worked as extras at the Met just for fun, I found a place where my words
and ideas were finally understood. A place where being different is normal and
I felt I could finally be myself and stop apologizing for having such a
different taste for things.</span></span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span></span></span></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I think that the first thing I’d do when I got
there is definitely go to the Metropolitan Opera to see about everything I can
watch: performances and the opera guild talks and such. And I can say that if I
were to spend a short period of time in the city, I would gladly go watch
something at the Metropolitan Opera every night. After all it was thanks to
their Live in HD program that I was able to see opera in a light I’d never seen
it before and fall hopelessly in love with it, so that opera house in
particular holds a very dear place in my heart.</span></span></span></i></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">But one thing I’ve always wanted to do and
never could is explore the city fearlessly and with no rush. To walk through
the streets of Little Italy and be able to go to their fantastic Italian
festivals which have a ridiculous abundance in fantastic food and good mood.
I’d like to go to the Metropolitan Museum of Art several times so I can take my
time looking at each work of art. Because even though I already feel incredible
about seeing a Monet painting in the flesh I would have liked to have taken my
time admiring it as opposed to having to tear my eyes off the canvas to look at
my watch every five minutes. But I feel the thing I most want to do in NYC is
have an everyday life and with time discover little by little what the city has
to offer.</span></span></span></i></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span></span></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I cannot say how long I’d stay, I feel if I had
the chance I’d never leave, at least not for a good five years. But if I had to
spend a shorter period of time there, and I was able to call the shots, which I
never am, I would stay at least a month. Then I think I’d be able to accomplish
a little bit of what I desire to do in this amazing and embracing city.”</span></span></span></i></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRZOPVsu06RbWcfgj-Lnjmscvg_A6fFqP7ZOp1Lf08-DT8bv6StvbeS_SenahhyphenhyphenAtws9yictkyAXr081aiUhn7-LtqkcWrUdTtrBSwoP1-wSJIdkqQ25caReW3E9XeHHH5u7om4hN8lz8/s1600/IMG_20131011_140214.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRZOPVsu06RbWcfgj-Lnjmscvg_A6fFqP7ZOp1Lf08-DT8bv6StvbeS_SenahhyphenhyphenAtws9yictkyAXr081aiUhn7-LtqkcWrUdTtrBSwoP1-wSJIdkqQ25caReW3E9XeHHH5u7om4hN8lz8/s400/IMG_20131011_140214.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><em>that's me in Central park and no, I wasn't planning on sending the picture attached to this</em></span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
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</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Cute,
right? Never-ending thanks to Kim who edited it and corrected my grammar
mistakes!</span></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
Belahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08940075924322732507noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3881539215077596507.post-22533023254859982222013-12-10T13:49:00.001-05:002013-12-10T13:49:27.402-05:00Best Recordings and Books of 2013<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">So I’ve decided to continue the “best of 2013” lists, so
here are the best CDs and books that I have acquired in 2013. Mind you, these
were not all out in 2013, some of them are as old as 10, 15 years, but I bought
them this year so there you go! I’m also organizing these in alphabetical order
because I can’t choose which one is best. I’m also going to give the places and
prices I paid should anybody be interested in getting any of them.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Best CDs</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Angela Gheorghiu – <i>My Puccini </i>(2008)</span></div>
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<o:p><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"> </span></o:p><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"> </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguza2Z9TpUnxULvPR9sUXcBuH6VgY7lLFSINLi2JYJjMmnlZ4A68fIwmec4dd807IPTryIjWorv4il2YfCaS60ANGpgiz4olX84dYMBNPyLQIz-Ha8qA6yvXRO5USB2Bj02X9ItbuAgqA/s1600/2937869032_3da33e1b23.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguza2Z9TpUnxULvPR9sUXcBuH6VgY7lLFSINLi2JYJjMmnlZ4A68fIwmec4dd807IPTryIjWorv4il2YfCaS60ANGpgiz4olX84dYMBNPyLQIz-Ha8qA6yvXRO5USB2Bj02X9ItbuAgqA/s200/2937869032_3da33e1b23.jpg" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">I got this CD in my last trip to NYC at the Met shop for
about $20, but it’s not on the website so here’s the <a href="http://www.amazon.com/My-Puccini-Angela-Gheorghiu/dp/B001E1YVU4/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1386683461&sr=8-4&keywords=angela+gheorghiu" target="_blank">Amazon link</a>. I love
Puccini with every fiber of my being and I think Angela does a great job in
this Verismo repertoire. This is a two disc set, the first disc is a CD with
some of Angela’s Puccini signature roles like Mimi (La Boheme) and Magda (La
Rondine), as well as Angelica (Suor Angelica), Lauretta (Gianni Schicchi),
Manon (Manon Lescaut) and Tosca (Tosca, duh!). The second disc is actually a
DVD of clips of her singing and her reflections about Puccini. The tenor in
this CD is Roberto Alagna which at the time was fine but now I find kind of
odd. My favorite tracks in this are Magda’s part, specially the two arias and
the end duet which is absolutely heartbreaking. I also liked her “Mario, Mario!”,
it’s sweet and it sounds like they are having a wonderful time singing this
piece.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="IT"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Dmitri
Hvorostovsky & Sondra Radvanovsky – <i>Verdi Opera Scenes</i> (2009)<span style="font-size: x-small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgInAMDyWAKD-82WGm21GNdYnWsutOAHYXX3lBNfwbesNCI25J7WE5IeF-CUCyb7m5jtArATIY9Z9PZbT5gr1ZMWpOjIQ1IYDhfwuMTF7F7orcucTtWiuRhKN3urBrvQc-AZZPXjVIMKeQ/s1600/verdioperascenes.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgInAMDyWAKD-82WGm21GNdYnWsutOAHYXX3lBNfwbesNCI25J7WE5IeF-CUCyb7m5jtArATIY9Z9PZbT5gr1ZMWpOjIQ1IYDhfwuMTF7F7orcucTtWiuRhKN3urBrvQc-AZZPXjVIMKeQ/s400/verdioperascenes.png" width="392" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">This one I also got in my last trip to NYC at the <a href="http://www.metoperashop.org/shop/dmitri-hvorostovsky-sondra-radvanovsky-verdi-opera-scenes-cd-4589" target="_blank">MetShop</a> ($19) plus this one is totally autographed by none other than Sondra
Radvanovsky. These tracks were taken from a live concert they did together in
The Great Hall of Moscow with conductor Constantine Orbelian. Now I’ve listened
to this CD from back to back about a billion times I love absolutely everything
in this CD. First it’s Verdi Opera Scenes with two of the BEST Verdian singers
in the world. You have that GREAT scene of the beginning of act 3 of Un Ballo
in Maschera, Amelia’s desperate plea “Morró, ma prima in grazia” followed by
Renato’s “Eri tu” that is also so incredible, and it’s fun to hear the audience
roar like CRAZY while clapping. Another scene that just drives me over the edge
is the Confrontation Scene from Il Trovatore. HOLY. MOTHER. OF. GOD. They just
ROCK this scene like no other! This is probably one of my favorite parts of this
opera. Plus there are some neat solos like “Song to the Moon” from Dvorak’s
Rusalka, “Deh vieni alla finestra” (PLEASE COME TO MY WINDOW!) from Mozart’s
Don Giovanni and “Vissi d’arte” from Puccini’s Tosca. It’s a great CD, buy it! And fun-fact, the trousers Dima is wearing in the cover are actually Sondra's, it does not get any cooler than that! Just for you guys to get a little taste of that Trovatore scene, here it is!</span></div>
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<object width="320" height="266" class="BLOGGER-youtube-video" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0" data-thumbnail-src="http://img.youtube.com/vi/81z1YzH_994/0.jpg"><param name="movie" value="http://youtube.googleapis.com/v/81z1YzH_994&source=uds" /><param name="bgcolor" value="#FFFFFF" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><embed width="320" height="266" src="http://youtube.googleapis.com/v/81z1YzH_994&source=uds" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Jonas Kaufmann – <i>Romantic Arias</i> (2008)</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOa3L17OmiTbnv4ASrmPJOz6acGz7Z4Ij85_JICAi28WmWEOVMgKgtWU7yuh6nUVH-Cms1xy_OezrMzRbDbIqhBPIF8nU-3IX1BcZ0XptskGx4ZXxllxQESgBEMTlEZiqEnayB4YHbzIM/s1600/cover_romantic_arias.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="198" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOa3L17OmiTbnv4ASrmPJOz6acGz7Z4Ij85_JICAi28WmWEOVMgKgtWU7yuh6nUVH-Cms1xy_OezrMzRbDbIqhBPIF8nU-3IX1BcZ0XptskGx4ZXxllxQESgBEMTlEZiqEnayB4YHbzIM/s200/cover_romantic_arias.jpg" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">This is yet another one I got in my last trip to NYC and
also got it at the <a href="http://www.metoperashop.org/shop/jonas-kaufmann-romantic-arias-cd-8589" target="_blank">Met Shop</a> for $17. Jonas has to be one of my favorite tenors
and in this recording in particular he’s sounding quite dreamy. With the use of
the most varied repertoire that ranges from Wagner to Massenet and from Gounod
to Verdi and from Puccini to Berlioz he sings all those songs that makes us
sigh for the tenor. His brilliant rendition of Carmen’s “La fleur que tu m’avais
jetée” is golden and his Werther is so passionate and heartbroken. Just as well
as his De Griex from Massenet’s Manon, the hero blinded by love and his
Cavaradissi from Puccini’s Tosca with his last words of love to his beloved. He
makes you basically want to put him in a bag and take him home. And I think
this is such a great recording because it has such a varied repertoire and you
get a little taste of everything that Jonas does, which is great!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Joyce DiDonato – <i>Drama Queens</i> (2012)</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRuRQt7Kyn_vQgh-n47HnnRXVLhbDGEzWk0f511aQGL60ECQUDRJG43V4ZUOmrXVBBLzMvnYhfoq8Fw1JC5fpqjt_HD3iEzzEyZBnWVyf2EDvVB3cv8cp4rH2Y3QHuJMaP5OrzibhyphenhyphenXwc/s1600/dramaqueens.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRuRQt7Kyn_vQgh-n47HnnRXVLhbDGEzWk0f511aQGL60ECQUDRJG43V4ZUOmrXVBBLzMvnYhfoq8Fw1JC5fpqjt_HD3iEzzEyZBnWVyf2EDvVB3cv8cp4rH2Y3QHuJMaP5OrzibhyphenhyphenXwc/s320/dramaqueens.png" width="316" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">I bought this CD on </span><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Drama-Queens-Joyce-DiDonato/dp/B008R9QB18/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1386685362&sr=8-1&keywords=drama+queens+cd" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;" target="_blank">Amazon </a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">in February for about $16 (but
now it’s $21) and it is also super signed! (all my Jdiddy CDs are signed) This
is probably my favorite CD by Joyce DiDonato because I love every single aria
in it and almost know all of them by heart (and that’s saying something when it
comes to baroque repertoire). This CD is basically all baroque queen arias (which
I thought was such a great idea!) with Alan Curtis conducting and Il Compresso
Barocco accompanying. I wish I could have seen one of the concerts she did with
Il Compresso Barocco with this repertoire, I have some friends who did go and
said it was beyond incredible. If I have to choose some favorites in this
recording they would have to be “Madre diletta, abbracciami” by Porta, “Lasciami
piangere” by Keiser, “Da torbida procella” by Orlandini and “Mort ecol fiero
aspetto” by Hasse.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Joyce DiDonato – <i>ReJoyce – The best of Joyce DiDonato</i> (2013)</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8hRiTL95pEF_2zhc4o8QXoJdh0bWK8f9d0sZtlRqFjQlhUsQJ7AASO857wQsjCNbzX5CwowXgDcKyEI7tpuaqm8oKY5fQWOYNxv5ZrFx22lpFHp9zLTA-6vqNK0DDHfSHU77wPJlWBl0/s1600/rejoyce.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8hRiTL95pEF_2zhc4o8QXoJdh0bWK8f9d0sZtlRqFjQlhUsQJ7AASO857wQsjCNbzX5CwowXgDcKyEI7tpuaqm8oKY5fQWOYNxv5ZrFx22lpFHp9zLTA-6vqNK0DDHfSHU77wPJlWBl0/s400/rejoyce.png" width="392" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">I couldn’t possibly leave this one out. This was the very
first CD I bought at the </span><a href="http://www.metoperashop.org/shop/rejoyce-the-best-of-joyce-didonato-2-cd-11575" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;" target="_blank">Met Store</a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"> last October and it was about $19. As the
name explains this is the best of the last 10 years of Joyce’s recordings but
it’s so much more than that since Joyce let her dear fans choose most of the
things about this CD. The title, the tracks, the cover picture was taken during
a concert by a friend of mine, and also she filled the booklet with pictures of
her fans (including me and some of my friends) and also quotes from fans (including mine), so it’s
a real special thing and I’m so honored to be part of it. But on to the CD
itself, this one is also a two disc set, first CD filled with mainly baroque
repertoire (most of my suggestions made the cut!) and also some Mozart. Some of
my favorites are “Crude furie degl’ orridi abissi” “Where shall I fly” “Scherza
infida” by Handel and “Voi che sapette” by Mozart. The second CD is filled with
belcanto specially Rossini and also some contemporary work she’s done. My
highlights would be “Una voce poco fa” “Tanti affetti in tal momento” by
Rossini, Strauss’ “Seien wir wieder gut!”, Jake Heggie’s “He will gather us
around” and of course “Over the Rainbow”.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Olga Borodina & Dmitri Hvorostovsky – <i>Arias/Duets</i> (1997)</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNv2ZDrJk2YIQYEo8_dmc5qDj-hyCSvEKsfz-lV4q5zCG3BsdjahOaL3k6BjcmJ64VIrCAamPSpROlp9SFGCumSlRUhWDvlMIe6Wj3LFqq5I4PfnwJpRZI3fbmWeojSjNZcOhyphenhyphenGjqRhUc/s1600/51f9ZXXxyGL._SY300_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNv2ZDrJk2YIQYEo8_dmc5qDj-hyCSvEKsfz-lV4q5zCG3BsdjahOaL3k6BjcmJ64VIrCAamPSpROlp9SFGCumSlRUhWDvlMIe6Wj3LFqq5I4PfnwJpRZI3fbmWeojSjNZcOhyphenhyphenGjqRhUc/s200/51f9ZXXxyGL._SY300_.jpg" width="196" /></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">This one was a difficult one to get, I got it at <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000006P4K/ref=oh_details_o04_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1" target="_blank">Amazon</a> from a random person for $7 but now they apparently have one left in store. I
love these collaboration between singers CDs, they turn out so great and fun
because you don’t get only one voice all the time but two alternating. I adore
these two Russian jewels that are called Dmitri Hvostovsky and Olga Borodina and
I think their voices sound incredible together. Both have that Slavic depth and
darkness (not too much but some) that I absolutely ADORE. <span lang="IT">This is a fun recording with my favorite parts
being the Il Barbieri di Siviglia exerpts that include “Una voce poco fa” “Largo
al factotum” and “Dunque io son… Tu non m’inganni”. </span>I also love it that
they get to sing in Russian as well in this CD, the excerpts from Tsar’s Bride
couldn’t be more beautiful. And finally to close the CD wonderfully they sing
the act 2 duet from Saint-Saens Samson et Dalila “J’ai gravi la montagne”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Renée Fleming – <i>Strauss Four Last Songs / Signature Roles
at the Met Opera</i> (2008)</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEey62UIyg1p-tRI6W4vP8uAV_B7NLnyZQvv5IQiCKQvUeg7l66XwgOgTQHui9obyuscWQ6EMEHX8kEGMIxwEep9gOzOoRI6jKszB2eNBVYl8sR2Ja44G6Pg-gSNWJS3lmVwSx2ZUAR8k/s1600/51j7e2fGmiL.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="176" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEey62UIyg1p-tRI6W4vP8uAV_B7NLnyZQvv5IQiCKQvUeg7l66XwgOgTQHui9obyuscWQ6EMEHX8kEGMIxwEep9gOzOoRI6jKszB2eNBVYl8sR2Ja44G6Pg-gSNWJS3lmVwSx2ZUAR8k/s200/51j7e2fGmiL.jpg" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">I got this CD on <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001D27GKQ/ref=oh_details_o06_s01_i04?ie=UTF8&psc=1" target="_blank">Amazon </a>for $12, great deal, specially
because this is a double CD set! This is like all the best from Renée Fleming,
she’s so amazing in the repertoire she chose for these CDs. First all Strauss
bliss starting out with the Four Last Songs that are hands down one of the most
beautiful things I ever heard followed by selections from Ariadne auf Naxos and
Die ägypische Helena. And then we have the 5 things I mostly love Renée in.
First the letter scene from Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin that I think she gets
so fantastically well and her characterization of Tatyana is probably my
favorite! Then we have her signature aria from Dvorak’s Rusalka “Song to the
Moon”, fun fact about this aria in particular, the first time I heard Renée
sing it was when I saw her concert live, yeah, PRETTY COOL. Then we have her
heartfelt rendition of the “Willow Song” and Ave Maria from Verdi’s Otello and
the mirror aria from Massenet’s Thäis. And to close we have the last scene from
Strauss’ last opera Capriccio. This is a wonderful recording to have!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Sarah Connolly – <i>Heroes and Heroines – Handel</i> (2004)</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggzBdgwrpiLQXar1YWEDz2QkHb0t0-OjjLI2Gxit1z2CX-H4vuQ5lOlRlAsWsCok_xMbrxWIdNI1dwpfnxtpGXBZpt5faQsbi7K0CddU2it9n-B8nsfVlQP7GyTa9v19zksX75iU_5nto/s1600/cor16025.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggzBdgwrpiLQXar1YWEDz2QkHb0t0-OjjLI2Gxit1z2CX-H4vuQ5lOlRlAsWsCok_xMbrxWIdNI1dwpfnxtpGXBZpt5faQsbi7K0CddU2it9n-B8nsfVlQP7GyTa9v19zksX75iU_5nto/s200/cor16025.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">This one I also got on <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00030ERP6/ref=oh_details_o06_s00_i07?ie=UTF8&psc=1" target="_blank">Amazon </a>for $17. Mezzos are
awesome, they get such great ideas for different kinds of CDs! This one is
awesome, Sarah Connolly is famous for her baroque repertoire and even more for
her incredible performances in pants roles. So I guess this was what inspired Joyce’s
Diva/Divo. In this CD Sarah sings Handel ladies and lords. She sings a lot of
Ruggiero (Alcina) my personal favorite is, of course, “Verdi prati” and also
the hero Ariodante, my favorite piece is obviously “Dopo notte”. She also sings
Dejanira which is one of my favorite opera characters, she’s so insane! Her “Where
Shall I fly?” is priceless and incredible! Plus this cover couldn't be more awesome, her lady self looking at her lord reflection! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Sondra Radvanovsky – <i>Verdi Arias</i> (2010)</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2RqnlLeB5sNv2akhoYl1QLkZxMv3H1D7aT7_1V48M_jlrkbrsBVXaWRQ5tsPsJH-ZBrBKOk1j5_JvoqWvelb9R06NUeHcfrsqi-dAy5Q7VuPbKpASSzDm91pH7mxY-bGXZKe6j7F8JCQ/s1600/verdiarias.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2RqnlLeB5sNv2akhoYl1QLkZxMv3H1D7aT7_1V48M_jlrkbrsBVXaWRQ5tsPsJH-ZBrBKOk1j5_JvoqWvelb9R06NUeHcfrsqi-dAy5Q7VuPbKpASSzDm91pH7mxY-bGXZKe6j7F8JCQ/s400/verdiarias.png" width="391" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">I also got this CD
at </span><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Verdi-Arias-Sondra-Radvanovsky/dp/B0039ZCHPY/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1386690066&sr=1-1&keywords=sondra+radvanovsky" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;" target="_blank">Amazon </a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">for about $16. This is another one of those CDs that I listen back to
back a billion times. Because A- Verdi is awesome and B- for me, there is
nobody who can do more justice to these pieces than Sondra. Her voice was made
to sing this repertoire so there is really no weak track in this CD. I love all
of these arias but if I had to choose the ones I listen to more often I would
have to say Il Trovatore’s “Tacea la notte”, Un Ballo in Maschera’s “Ecco l’orrido
campo… </span><span lang="IT" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Ma dall’arido stelo divulsa”,
La Forza del destino “Pace, pace, mio Dio”, Ernani’s “Ernani, Ernani involami”,
Aida’s “O patria mia” and Il Vespri Siciliani’s “Bolero”. </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Basically all
of them, seriously, I left like, 3 songs out of that list. The coolest thing is
that I got to tell Sondra how much I loved this recording and she was so
thrilled, she even drew a little heart in her autograph. It was awesome.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Best Books</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">I’m listing here first my favorite opera related books of
the year with the long notes I always make and after some other books I read
this year that I also liked. Everything in alphabetical order.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9TKXoP1nAY2po1YlVww7DaPxupDQJUNCgc1KU4V8a02eeY2GZuiDRWOH2WcWt958J-CVg3NFtZDudXz2NmZ52SWztjG8xWiAlFqAeCQff8Jwh_aD7ekTrkOUHljm-6O5pDVBK9-tOW2s/s1600/9788527307925.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9TKXoP1nAY2po1YlVww7DaPxupDQJUNCgc1KU4V8a02eeY2GZuiDRWOH2WcWt958J-CVg3NFtZDudXz2NmZ52SWztjG8xWiAlFqAeCQff8Jwh_aD7ekTrkOUHljm-6O5pDVBK9-tOW2s/s200/9788527307925.jpg" width="138" /></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span></div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>As Óperas de Richard Strauss</i> (The Operas of Richard
Strauss) – Lauro Machado Coelho (2007)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">This book is actually by a Brazilian writer and it’s only
available in Brazil and I’m pretty sure I bought one of their last copies back
in July. This book is part of a great (and expensive) collection that talks
about all kinds of operas, Baroque, Romantic Italian, French, Wagner Opera so on. And
this in particular speaks only of Richard Strauss and it’s such a wonderful
guideline to travel through Strauss’ operas and also to understand his compositional
methods. The writing is filled with knowledge but it’s not stuck up and quite a
pleasant read.</span></div>
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<span lang="PT-BR"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDABsd9B-npuq3zx1JNgGmmoJX_Dot5A028nAsFH7A6Jh57QQvhhV7-H_z4oF1NNPhieosKI4b6MOgDu4FTBRGuHe2TlHJE1dCCpvNyE9r-tEyvA5g84TkJ8rbLID_SP2dGo1XLaFuA6k/s1600/Capa_Contos_de_Operas.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDABsd9B-npuq3zx1JNgGmmoJX_Dot5A028nAsFH7A6Jh57QQvhhV7-H_z4oF1NNPhieosKI4b6MOgDu4FTBRGuHe2TlHJE1dCCpvNyE9r-tEyvA5g84TkJ8rbLID_SP2dGo1XLaFuA6k/s200/Capa_Contos_de_Operas.jpg" width="140" /></a><span lang="PT-BR"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>Contos
de Óperas e Cantos</i> (Stories of Operas and Singing) – Sergio Casoy (2009)<span style="font-size: x-small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Another Brazilian author, I’ve had the great pleasure to
actually watch two talks he did about voice types. He’s an opera history
professor and an opera critic. This book is so delicious to read and I actually
read it in various ends of afternoons at the beach. It’s a compilation of texts
Sergio Casoy wrote for opera programs here in Brazil over the years. They
usually tell a little bit of the story of the opera but also of the back story in
the making of these operas which are always super cool and sometimes funny. How
did Verdi decide he would write Otello? How long did Donizetti take to write L’elisir
d’amore? Plus, this book is dedicated to my vocal coach! How cool is that? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>Diary of a Redneck Opera Zinger</i> – Jay Hunter Morris (2013)</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX6TRYc6od9XDTy91tr4bFIKmpgc0w1RBczC5BQQZV73PTRlQaYtt7zKilxwO3nMpuozO4XaB_X0jwDClCmqFLPYWDhsJM1L0QtRCaMNuXSYqTc5YzDCDevovJh6GF7JBQ-Ki1XbWd9EM/s1600/Diary_Redneck.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX6TRYc6od9XDTy91tr4bFIKmpgc0w1RBczC5BQQZV73PTRlQaYtt7zKilxwO3nMpuozO4XaB_X0jwDClCmqFLPYWDhsJM1L0QtRCaMNuXSYqTc5YzDCDevovJh6GF7JBQ-Ki1XbWd9EM/s200/Diary_Redneck.png" width="123" /></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">I got this on <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Diary-Redneck-Zinger-Hunter-Morris/dp/0615793878/ref=sr_1_cc_1?s=aps&ie=UTF8&qid=1386699938&sr=1-1-catcorr&keywords=Diary+of+a+Redneck+Opera+Zinger" target="_blank">Amazon</a> but you can also get it at the Met
Store. The funniest opera book I’ve ever read! This book is like a compilation
of the best emails he’s sent to his family and friends while pursuing the
career of an opera singer. Jay is such a sincere writer and his take on
situations are absolutely hilarious. There are all sorts of words written the
way a Texan would say them which really adds to the reading because you imagine
a Texan with a real strong accent narrating these situations to you. Like the
time a crazy lady asked him to keep in his freezer a dead frozen dog sized
bird. Or the time when he ripped his pants right in the butt area in the middle
of the last scene of a concert version of Carmen and the audience roared with
laughed. Or the time when he saw some people slip in orange vomit just out of
stage door. Or when he finally got his big break as Siegfried only 2 years ago
at the Met. This book is GOLDEN!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>The Inner Voice – the making of an opera singer </i>– Renée
Fleming</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN3GGwmsMl6J38aXDmzNchTcrPa6ZNPz6PiFjhudJIojobtYd-wdPQwesiA5w8qhBxUZLixgoALCPIzFVXpdzqs5rXw80BplZ1JltPazssDA2Iok24HR2t7rm6JtJFRf2_s0cOH0oL_XE/s1600/103488886.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN3GGwmsMl6J38aXDmzNchTcrPa6ZNPz6PiFjhudJIojobtYd-wdPQwesiA5w8qhBxUZLixgoALCPIzFVXpdzqs5rXw80BplZ1JltPazssDA2Iok24HR2t7rm6JtJFRf2_s0cOH0oL_XE/s200/103488886.jpg" width="132" /></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">I got it on <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Inner-Voice-Making-Singer/dp/0143035940/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1386700210&sr=1-1&keywords=the+inner+voice+by+renee+fleming" target="_blank">Amazon </a>in the beginning of the year for about
$16. This is the best opera singer guidance book I’ve ever read. I love it! I
think I read it 3 times already and would gladly read it again, I’ve underlined
and copied my favorite passages. I’m actually quite self conscious about asking
Renée to sign it because it’s kind of worn out! I translated the introduction
to Portuguese for my repertoire teacher to give to her students but those
people are so clueless they barely read it. There was ONE (out of twenty people
who say they want to be opera singers) girl who asked me if I could lend her
the book and I did and she loved it, most of the others don’t even know who
Renée Fleming is which is both sad and utterly unacceptable. But on to the
book, Renée tells the story of her voice and about all her difficulties and
insecurities growing up to become the absolute success that she is. This book
is a MUST for anybody who wants to pursue a career in singing classical music,
specially opera, it’s so great!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>True Tales from the mad, mad, mad world of Opera</i> – Lotfi Mansouri</span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM-I5cXLqM8r2QQkuDpcFABqSuG21j8rgdqnd5at4OVNdRo3HtQGQ6EP1pjT9e20epQAQlIrSrbepwz6l1tUxtd7NJQmB2sI7X70_USmUJJZjCUmI9H282-1A1UK6GYGcIgAzaY3wUvdw/s1600/Lotfi-Mansouri_2682833b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM-I5cXLqM8r2QQkuDpcFABqSuG21j8rgdqnd5at4OVNdRo3HtQGQ6EP1pjT9e20epQAQlIrSrbepwz6l1tUxtd7NJQmB2sI7X70_USmUJJZjCUmI9H282-1A1UK6GYGcIgAzaY3wUvdw/s400/Lotfi-Mansouri_2682833b.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">This isn't the cover of the book, although I would totally buy a book with this cover, but the thing is, Lofti wrote such a beautiful message to Joan Sutherland right at the very end of this book that drove me to tears so I though I'd be nice to have a pic of them together here</span></i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">I also bought this book on </span><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1459705157/ref=oh_details_o06_s00_i03?ie=UTF8&psc=1" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;" target="_blank">Amazon </a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">for $15. First of all,
the foreword is by Carol Burnett, I mean, come on! How cool is that? These are
the memories of stage director Lofti Mansouri, of all the absolutely insane
things he’s been through in this truly crazy business. Plus he worked with big
legends of opera like Joan Sutherland, Luciano Pavarotti, Placido Domingo,
Renata Scotto, Maria Callas, Jesse Norman and many, many others. This book is
the literally proof that we do this out of love, because there is no money that
can pay being put through the situations Lofti was. Like having a patron from
an opera house tell him that a certain young soprano had to play the role of the
Duchess in La Fille du Regiment. Or have a Russian mezzo sing a role she barely even learned in an English version of Der Fledermaus, ah, and the
singer didn’t speak English, like at all. It’s funny now, but it must have been
hell back then! </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"> </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Other titles that I read this year I thoroughly enjoyed
that have absolutely nothing to do with opera are:</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Pocket-Full-Rye-Mystery-Mysteries/dp/0062073656/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1386700966&sr=1-1&keywords=A+Pocket+Full+of+Rye" target="_blank">A Pocket Full of Rye</a></i> (Agatha Christie)</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"> – Miss Marple’s
case of various murders happening in the same house, you gotta love that old
bird watcher!</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Curtain-Poirots-Hercule-Mystery-Mysteries/dp/0062074091/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1386700995&sr=1-1&keywords=Curtain" target="_blank">Curtain</a></i> (Agatha Christie)</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"> – Poirot’s last case, it’s just
freaking GENIUS! And I was so glad I got to read it before the episode came
out!</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Death-Nile-Hercule-Mystery-Mysteries/dp/0062073559/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1386701048&sr=1-1&keywords=Death+on+the+Nile" target="_blank">Death on the Nile</a> </i>(Agatha Christie)</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"> – ok, you noticed I
love Agatha Christie novels, this is particularly amazing and with always such
a surprising ending!</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Eugene-Onegin-Oxford-Worlds-Classics/dp/0199538646/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1386701078&sr=1-1&keywords=Eugene+Onegin" target="_blank">Eugene Onegin</a></i> (Alexander Pushkin)</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"> – This is sort of opera
related since it was because of the opera that I bought it. It’s such a
wonderful work of art and even though it’s an English translation it captures
some of the amazing essence of Pushkin’s words. Plus it’s written like poetry
but it has a very narration feel to it.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Big-Four-Hercule-Mystery-Mysteries/dp/0062073877/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1386701105&sr=1-1&keywords=The+Big+Four" target="_blank">The Big Four</a></i> (Agatha Christie)</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"> – another master piece of
mystery featuring my dear Poirot</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/House-Hades-Heroes-Olympus-Book/dp/1423146727/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1386701138&sr=1-2&keywords=The+House+of+Hades" target="_blank">The House of Hades</a></i> (Rick Riordan)</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"> – Book 4 from the
Heroes of Olympus Series which I absolutely love! It’s fun, easy to read and I
read all the 600 pages in exactly 5 days.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">The links for these last books are all from Amazon because if you live in the US the best deal is always to get it from Amazon! Well, I guess that's it! I might come up with another crazy list idea until the end of the week, I actually already have, so stay tuned. I'm watching La Boheme here in São Paulo tonight and I do hope I'm not enraged by what I see, my last experience in that theater was horrid to say the least. Ah well, my grade hasn't come out yet, so I'm suffering, so I appreciate any positive energy heading my way! Peace everyone!</span></div>
Belahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08940075924322732507noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3881539215077596507.post-51723554458244527622013-12-09T19:29:00.000-05:002013-12-09T20:38:19.529-05:00The best of my musical 2013<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">The end of the year is near!
And so I thought it would be fun to do some “best of 2013” lists! I might do
this in more than one post, depending on the amount of stuff I write.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<o:p><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Best
Operas</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">It’s in alphabetical order
because I really don’t wanna choose which I liked best than the other, so those
are the highlights of the year of operas I’ve seen live in 2013</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i><span lang="PT-BR">Aida</span></i><span lang="PT-BR"> <span style="font-size: x-small;">(Theatro Municipal de Sao Paulo)<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span lang="PT-BR"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span lang="PT-BR"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">This was my first time seeing
Aida and it was really love at first sight! The music is just so incredible,
the chorus parts are exhilarating and the solos, duets and trios just swept me
off my feet! The staging was simple but dignified and Radames and Amneris were
particularly wonderful. I saw this production of Aida twice at the Theatro
Municipal in the city where I live, Sao Paulo, it was my very first time going
there.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>Eugene Onegin</i><span style="font-size: x-small;"> (Metropolitan
Opera)</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">I felt so privileged to be
able to see this opera live not only once but twice! Before I even saw this
production I already loved this opera thoroughly. And then having such a
stellar cast under the musical direction of none other than Valery Gergiev was
just an absolute delight. The staging was beautiful and the interpretation of
the characters was slightly different but it worked incredibly well for that
particular set of performers.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>La Cenerentola</i><span style="font-size: x-small;"> (Theatro Sao
Pedro)</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">This opera I also saw more
than once, if you have been reading this blog for a while you will know that I
actually watched some rehearsals of this opera. The cast was adorable, the
staging slightly bleh but the performers totally made up for it! Special
spotlight for the ladies who played the evil step sisters who are sisters in
real life and totally stole the show!</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>Norma</i> (Metropolitan Opera)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">I had never seen this opera
and let me tell you, even though the staging was as dull as it gets, I loved
it! It was my first night at the Met and I was alone and it couldn’t have been
more perfect! I remember my eyes filling up with tears seeing Sondra come out
for the first time and feel the tears roll down my cheeks when she started
singing. Again, I saw this opera twice when I was there and feel so fortunate!</span></div>
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<o:p><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Best
Concerts </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Again in alphabetical order
because they were all such different kinds of concerts and I really can’t
choose, each had a very different kind of special meaning</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>Annick Massis Concert</i>
(Theatro Sao Pedro)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Two incredible nights. Annick
is such a fine artist and with such an impressive repertoire. I remember that
in her very last encore I nearly cried at her rendition of “Chi bel sogno di
Doretta”. And also her reading of Papa Germont’s letter and “Addio a del
passato” was heart breaking and inspired. I was SO lucky to sit in the front
row for this concert in both days!</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>Maryinsky Theater Orchestra plays
Stravinsky</i> led by Valery Gergiev (Carnegie Hall)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">I’m such a grateful person to
have seen this! I guess that’s why I wanna live in NYC, I mean, come on! I
stayed there 10 days and was able to watch so many top notch musical
performances, like with the absolute best in DA WORLD! Ah well, this concert
was incredible. I mean, it’s not every day that I get to see an entire all
Russian orchestra play Stravinsky. I was particularly moved when they played
“The Rite of Spring” because my history teacher back in college dedicated quite
a lot of time to this piece in particular. So to be able to see an orchestra
like that play it was something I will never forget! Plus this concert was on
the very DAY of Verdi’s 200</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">th</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"> anniversary so as a present to the
audience maestro Gergiev led the overture of La Forza del Destino that was composed
for the Maryinsky theater! By the end I was in tears, tears, tears!</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>Metropolitan Opera Orchestra and Joyce
DiDonato led by James Levine</i> (Carnegie Hall)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">This was one of those things
that is on one’s bucket list, again I felt very blessed to have been able to
attend this one night only sold out event! First of all y’all know Joyce is one
of my personal heroes, so just to get to see her perform was already such a
thrill for me. And let me tell you, she was everything I had ever dreamed of
and more, such an amazing artist. Then you add the Met Orchestra led by none
other than the legendry James Levine and it’s heaven! Seriously, Beethoven’s 7</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"> Symphony was just impossibly gorgeous and the overture of Il Vespri Siciliani
being played the WEEK of Verdi’s 200</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"> anniversary was just a
marvelous slap of my musically drugged face.</span></div>
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<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i><span lang="IT">Vesselina
Kasarova and the Camerata Berg</span></i><span lang="IT"> (Sala Sao Paulo)<span style="font-size: x-small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Two magical nights in a row! I
was already a great fan of Vesselina’s work but to actually see her live right
in front of me was so incredible. Plus, as you guys have read in my posts about
this concert, she kept looking and smiling at me and my bff for almost half of
the concert which was just impossible and insane and wonderful. She did her
Mozart and Rossini repertoire which I love and I got to fall in love with her
Sesto once again! *sighs*</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Best
Opera Singer Meetups</span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Now this is where I get overly
emotional like a good Brazilian always does and start crying. I can’t help it
though, these are also in alphabetical order because they were all equally
awesome.</span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Annick Massis<span style="font-size: x-small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1wI2zOSNr4mFAY5YdEDQhWQuTV3jQ3N70XOumny3YvZ56ol7hHxDowcNYP9Z-XyYQ5X4wM__qHNvCh_jh-YzICwuRhY8Y9FQsjTkOcJgJQI5S3iuz26hpypIuJBG72ptyPNJ90RJIDF4/s1600/IMG_20130816_225928.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1wI2zOSNr4mFAY5YdEDQhWQuTV3jQ3N70XOumny3YvZ56ol7hHxDowcNYP9Z-XyYQ5X4wM__qHNvCh_jh-YzICwuRhY8Y9FQsjTkOcJgJQI5S3iuz26hpypIuJBG72ptyPNJ90RJIDF4/s400/IMG_20130816_225928.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Annick is such a generous
person and I knew that from the moment she walked on stage she gave it her all
to that performance. I will never forget the kindness she showed towards me,
looking in my eyes and being sincerely interested in what I had to say. She
showed such interest in me I was a bit shocked and even gave me my very first
opportunity to sing in a real life masterclass, her masterclass. I look back at
those two amazing evenings that I chatted for a while with her after her
performances with always a smile on my face.</span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Joyce DiDonato<span style="font-size: x-small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">I think this was one of the
best moments of my life, getting to meet Joyce the way it happened. It was so
surreal, first to walk in that room and see her SO DAMN CLOSE and just wait a
few minutes that felt like 974298734 hours. Then to get to have her first words
uttered to me be my own freaking name, I mean, how cool is that? She’s like one
of my heroes and she actually knows who I am and plus was so thrilled that we
had finally met and that I went to see her. I mean, that’s daydream material,
that’s fanfiction material and it happened to me in real life. I got several
hugs and even more kind and amazing words from her. Plus I got to walk around
the Carnegie Hall backstage area WITH HER and talk.</span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Sondra Radvanovsky <span style="font-size: x-small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Now Sondra is someone who
inspires me SO MUCH to pursue this career. She’s also one of my personal heroes
and ultimate role model. And I got to see her twice! First time I met her it
was in the Met’s stage door area and I was terrified because A- it was my first
time stage dooring at the Met B- she walks out and she’s like SUPER TALL C- I’m
afraid I won’t be able to speak because of nervousness and/or unexpected tears.
So I just stood there like an idiot with my mouth probably hanging opened
looking her while she sighed stuff feeling my heart beat in my throat (Lord
help me I might choke in my own heart!). She saw me there and walked up to me,
took my hand and shook it and said “Hi! I’m Sondra! But you probably know that,
right?”, for the first 3 seconds I was frozen but then I regained consciousness
and was able to speak fluently and well and we hit it off quite well. After
talking to her for a while I told her I’d be watching Norma again on Monday and
she proceeded to invite me to go to her dressing room to talk to her after the
show on Monday. I nearly had a heart attack then. Monday we met again, in the
dressing rooms area backstage at the Met and she was again, SO SWEET and SUPER
KIND. Seriously, I wanna be like this lady when I grow up, she’s fabulous and
all kinds of wonderful!</span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Vesselina Kasarova<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Vesselina’s heart is the size
of a house. And it’s funny because she has such a strong stage presence that me
and my bff were a bit apprehensive about going up and talking to her. But she
was a bucket of sugar, so sweet I couldn’t believe it. She was particularly
fond of us because she saw us in the front row smiling at her every 5 seconds.
We both quickly connected with her and had a lovely time talking to her. The
second day she waved at us from the stage when she walked in and actually took
my hand during one of her last ovations to thank me. That was SO SURREAL!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Well, I guess that’s it for
now. In other news I’m NEARLY graduating, I have one grade to come out yet. I pray to God
everyday to help me pass, so help me God I WILL!</span></div>
Belahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08940075924322732507noreply@blogger.com4