Blog Worm Wins

The 2009/10 Opera season has turned out to be the season of recitals for me, or should I say the Season of Duo Recitals.
First, Olga Borodina and Eldar Abdrazakov.
Then, Joyce DiDonato and Eric Owens.
Then, Renee Fleming (coming up in December) , not a duo recital, but still is a recital .
Today, I purchased a ticket for Dmitri Hvorostovsky and Sondra Radvanovsky’ s duo recital at WPAS, in Kennedy Center, on Monday, March 29th, 2009.
Finally, it looks like it’s actually going to happen, but hold on - you have to read this!

With Dmitri I have some bad luck or something. Literally, every time he comes to the Metropolitan Area, which is almost every year, something prevents me from seeing him.
One time I could not see him, because I was at… my own wedding. Another time I was out of the country, vacationing in…Canada.
One time he even came to Baltimore, but of course – out of all year that was the day, when my husband and I were out of town, at a skiing resort.
Needless to say, I check Dmitri’s website every once in a while, to make sure that I know when he is in the area next time. So this year I looked at his schedule and…just my luck! His Kennedy Center all-Verdi recital is scheduled for March 27th, 2010. Nope, can’t make it again this year – March 27th is my husband’s birthday.
Let’s get real. Yes, my husband goes to the opera with me. Sometimes. But -his favorite thing about the opera is ( I think) me in the opera, all dressed up and glowing.
Seriously, I could not ask him for a sacrifice like that. So, I told myself, no Dmitri again this year.
But the blog worm in me never gave up. And searched. And found.
Dmitri’s website is wrong. His All-Verdi Recital is scheduled for Monday, March 29th at 8 p.m.

I knew there and then I am getting through. March 29th is my opera day. I can’t tell you how many times I have been to the opera on March 29th. Don’t know why. Did not plan for it. Every time it was just a coincidence. Hei-hei, no connection with Stephen King’s numerological insanities here, OK?
Back I rushed to the Kennedy Center website….Tickets are sold out! Ok, what else is new?
But the blog worm in me never gave up. And searched. And found .
There is a way to get that ticket.
You have to become a subscriber and buy a ticket for 2 more performances out of the suggested list, which is not bad at all, considering they have Joshua Bell and Ricardo Mutti there. But those guys are really expensive, plus I have no desire to spend the spring in DC: I have a little one at home.
So I kept searching. And found. Two performances at $12.00 per ticket. Got one of each and one for Dmitry. Orchestra Prime. The best seat. All-Verdi Recital. Jealous yet? I am. Of myself.

My Trip to Mexico

Well, my friends, the trip to Cancun was really nice.

The resort that we stayed at,(on the side that faces you, our balcony was the 2nd on your right, 4th floor) Westin Regina,
was half-empty (fear pressure turns out to be almost as strong as peer pressure, no?)
The swine flu panic was way blown out of proportion. Nobody was sick at the resort to the best of my knowledge.

Our room looked out at the beach, allowing a breathtaking view of the ocean every single minute of the day.
It was particularly amazing to watch the sun rising over the ocean every morning. Not to miss the spectacle, we would set the alarm clock for 6 a.m. and watch the marvel without lifting our heads off the pillows. Seriously. What a great way to start your day! I am happy and just a bit proud to report that I ran on the beach every morning from 6:45 to 7:30, just like I used to in my 20s. I was happy to find myself in great shape to do that and not tired at all. Plus of course, all the all inclusive sinful temptations being considered, that's the least I could do, right?

If anybody asked me now, 2 days after I came back from Mexico, what pops in my head first when I hear the word Mexico, I would just say "the colors".

The colors were out of this world and inspired me for a lot of cool shots.



Ultramarine blue and white

Aqua and white...

off-white,green and blue...
...and all the different textures, and light, and shadows - an artist's bliss!

I enjoyed using my Spanish and I thought I spoke very well, good grammar and all. My husband was really proud of me.

My beach read was the new book by Stephen King Just After Sunset, a selection of creepy short stories! ( Did not feel like committing to a thick novel on a brief vacation). He is good and deep in a creepy psycho(logical) way. The guy makes you pause,think and ask yourself "Wait a min, and what if...?" Love it!

I am really proud to report that I actually made time to sit on the beach, under a palm tree, watching the ocean, sipping Pina Colada and letting my mind go completely blank for the whole ... 10 minutes. That was really relaxing - I needed that!

We did not want to go places every day - our resort was just too nice or maybe we were just too tired.
However, we went to Chichen Itza, the Mayan pyramid about 3 hours away from Cancun. The place is grand, dark and creepy. That pyramid has this special thing that takes place only twice a year, on March 21st and on September 22nd. When the sun hits its western wall at exactly 5:30, it reveals the image of a gigantic snake, which was believed to be the God of Fertility in the Maya Civilization ( see the image on the right? There you go!)

and then you stand there and watch the snake fade away from head to tail. The head is actually there all the time - it's a sculpture at the bottom of the pyramid. The rest of the snake is an optical illusion, a projection of the sun rays onto the pyramid wall.
We took walks among numerous columns, the dark and creepy ruins of Mayan buildings.
The whole place is spiritually intense and at times not easy to be at, if you know what I mean. Mayan people were famous for human sacrifices,you know.
Funny enough, the story that I was reading at the time, called N was kind of about the same thing, even though not quite the same. Let us just say, it was also about spiritual intensity of a place.
Our guide was really impressive. Usually guides bore me to death, no matter how educated or well-informed they are. This one however, obviously did not have a degree, even though he knew his material very well. What a speaker! How interesting was his tour! He spoke with so much passion, inspiration and the feel of the subject.

On one of the nights we had a fabulous dinner at Hacienda del Mortero, one of the best authentic restaurants in Cancun. Click here for a virtual tour tomorrow.
This place is amazing even before you enter it. The building looks like a church, or a chapel at least, and even has a small bell tower with a real bell in it. A little alley with benches and wire sculptures of dead senores and senoras sitting on those benches leads you to the brightly lit entrance. There is a Mariachi band in the restaurant, serenading customers at each table. We loved them. They are the happiest musicians in the world, who sing and dance like no one else!
At this restaurant everything is a show.
After dinner, I ordered Cafe Hacienda, a hot coffee cocktail. It turned out to be a real piece of art and the waiter came to our table with a cart of goodies to create it. He heated Kahlua and coffee on the burner, poured the liquid (together with the flame )into the glass, which was already salted and limed, put some heavy whipped cream there and then put more coffee on fire and poured it into the glass.
It tasted like so many different things: coffee, and cream, and lime, and sugar and salt, and chocolate. However, different as they were, those flavors went together really well.
As we were about to leave, another waiter ran up to us with 2 paper napkins: a green one and a red one and in less than 30 seconds presented me with a beautiful paper rose.
It was a beautiful experience.

Mexican humor is hard to appreciate and is definitely an acquired taste, but once you relax, you kind of get the feel of it. However, sometimes it's much funnier when they are not joking with you.

Mexicans love to sell you things and it does not really matter for them if you are interested. They push you anyway.

If somebody tells me "Come, I am inviting you for a drink", to me it means that this person wants to buy me a drink. If a Mexican guide tells you "Come I am inviting you for a drink", it means that he wants you to pay for your very overpriced drink, after which, chances are he will invite you to a souvenir store for some quality shopping.
So if you are going to Mexico within the next 1000 years, just be tough and don't be afraid to say "no".

On this trip I finally realized why ancient Chinese claimed Nature to be the ultimate temple. Because it is.
When you sit on the beach under a dark starry sky - you are just a little closer to God. And you sense it too.

This is the farewell picture that I took from the plane on our flight back to Baltimore, and the coolest thing about it is that if you enlarge it, you can still see our resort in detail.
P.S. The funniest thing that I tried on the trip was Cactus Juice, the greenest drink I have ever tasted.
Next time with Troy!

Culture Shock: Vamos a Mexico!

Off I go on vacation to Cancun, Mexico.
Seriously.
Yeah, I know, I know...
Shocked?
So I thought.
There is a Russian saying: The one who does not risk does not drink champagne.
Stay tuned for details.

Culture Shock: A Real One!

The culture shock was belated this time, but came as a real blow.

A wonderful actor, Igor Starygin ( Игорь Старыгин), known to Russian people of my generation as the legendary Aramis passed away yesterday at the age of 63.

A very good actor, a singer and a very handsome man, he starred in quite a lot of movies, but was nicknamed Aramis after "The Three Musketeers" came out in 1978. He was not really happy about his nickname, considering Aramis one of his minor and unimportant roles. However, it was that particular role that brought him popularity and made him a real celebrity.

He suffered a stroke about 2 months ago and went into a coma. Yesterday, still in a coma, he passed away. He will be buried in Moscow on November 12th.

Was It a Just Dream?

Last weekend my husband and I watched the newly-received la Cenerentola with Joyce DiDonato and Juan Diego Florez.
We loved it. Needless to say that the voices were great - it's self-explanatory. It was no surprise for me though - I watched clips on You Tube a while ago. The acting was great as well. Besides the leads, Dandini and Don Magnifico were absolutely wonderful. That duet, when Don Magnifico kept following Dandini, thinking he was a prince... superb acting - hats off, everyone!

The costumes were... a bit funky in a way that they looked as if cut out of construction paper by a bunch of kids. Oh well, it is a concept and deserves to be respected as such.

However, we were a bit struck by the unexpected twist of the finale, when Cinderella is left on the stage all by herself, sweeping the floors again.

Was it just a dream?

Her happiness, her love, her liberation - could all that be just a dream? And the reality is that she will be tortured and humiliated for God knows how much longer?

Somehow, to me personally, it's still a question. Somehow, there is still hope that even if it's a dream, it might come true. Just like in the Nutcracker (the story itself and some productions), Marie wakes up to realize that the prince and his magic kingdom were a dream. But wait, who is that standing in the doorway? It's her godfather, who came to introduce his handsome nephew to her. She looks at the guy and knows right away - it's him! One way or another that dream is becoming reality!

I would really like to think about la Cenerentola the same way. Maybe when the curtain falls, the fairy tale will begin?

It really makes me wonder what Joyce herself thinks about it. How did she personally feel about it being up there, on the stage? Just a dream or a dream to come true?