Handel Could Make It to the Hit Parade!

This morning Troy and I were listening to CD3 of Handel's Organ Concertos.
You truly have not heard Handel if you are not familiar with them. Believe me, I could repeat that again and again.
Without further delay, Concerto no.5 in G minor, Mvt 2 is a variation of the famous Pachelbel's Canon. And - as much as I love the Canon, this is so much ...what's the right word... more interesting?
I know it's extremely hard to read about music without hearing it, but trust me, it's worth listening to it. Try to find it on you tube - you won't regret the effort.
The way Handel spices it up, changing the rhythm and the tempo, makes it sound ultra-contemporary. If you added a light modern arrangement to it, just a hint maybe, it would probably make it to the top 10 of this month's Hit Parade! I am serious.
I loved did! Troy loved it!
First, he started clapping right along with the music, and then, when he thought it was not enough, he started clicking with his tongue and clapping, right along. He really got into it and was very excited to "participate" in the music making!

Handel, Rieu, and Why I Need Twitter

Yesterday, during a lovely lunch at Borders, along with a couple of pop-up books for Troy, I picked up this triple CD set . Complete Handel’s Organ Concertos, guys! If you never had a chance to hear any of these, you haven’t heard Handel yet.
The amazing thing, however, happened when I got back home. Troy took a very brief look at the new pop-ups and almost immediately lost interest in them. Instead, he pulled the “old” Handel book off the coffee table down onto the floor and turning the pages, insisted that I talk him through every page, while he was pointing to the pictures.
In one of the pictures the young Handel is playing the organ in the dark of a chapel, while, completely unobserved by anyone, his father and the Great Duke ( Johan Adolf I) are admiring the music. Given that he was very interested in that particular picture, I told him that tomorrow we would hear what music Handel was playing in the chapel that evening. Who knows whose music Handel was really playing in the dusk of the duke's chapel? Was it one of Purcell's liturgical compositions, already popular at the time, or his own improvisations that later shaped up into his incredible concertos?!
This morning, while driving, we played CD 1.
Troy listened with so much attention and joy. Not one single minute was he bored or tired. There was so much happiness in his eyes.
I am so very proud of my boy.

Andre Rieu’s Vienna DVD also arrived this weekend. He loved watching it. Because it was 101 F yesterday, we stayed at home most of the time. So, he would just run around, then stop, watch, clap, dance and then keep running. I thought it was a perfect way for him to enjoy it without getting tired or overwhelmed.
One funny thing though.
A week ago, when asked to show how Andre Rieu was playing the violin, Troy would lift his arms and wave them in the air. Now he just points to the remote control. Makes sense, no?

This weekend I realized what I actually need Tweeter for.
The weekends!
As you all know, I very rarely blog on Saturdays or Sundays. And even if I do, it’s never more than a couple of sentences. My son and the house keep me so busy, that I barely have time to check my e-mail. Plus, when I blog, I edit endlessly, and this, as some of you may know, is a very interesting, but also a very time consuming process.
Moreover, you can’t just blog one sentence. A blog suggests a different format, I guess. It requires more than a thought and definitely some writing style.
However, one sentence works just fine with Twitter. Short, sweet and to the point – that’s what it is all about. And because you can tweet from anywhere, it actually gives you a cool opportunity to reach out to your friends and share the thought of the moment.
Love that!
But don’t you all worry. As much as I would like to encourage each and every one of my readers to follow me on Twitter, there is no competition involved. I would never trade my blog and the blast I have writing it for anything else!

Free Stuff to Look Forward to!

As you all may see, my Twitter page is ready and available to look at. You can click on the Twitter window on the right and it will take you there. I am still trying to get a little more comfortable with tweeting, but I have a feeling I am going to like it. And - I got a couple of very cool followers too. Check it out and please feel free to follow me on Twitter.
A little earlier today I got an e-mail about a very interesting event at Kennedy Center that I would like to attend. This is what the e-mail said:
The National Endowment for the Arts, Rocco Landesman, Chairman, today announced the recipients of this year's NEA Opera Honors, the highest honorific the nation bestows upon luminaries of American opera. Many congratulations to this year's honorees: soprano Martina Arroyo, general director David DiChiera, composer Philip Glass, and music director Eve Queler. Learn more about the honorees and the NEA Opera Honors at : http://www.neaoperahonors.org/
Save the Date: Friday, October 22, 2010.
Join the NEA in honoring these individuals on Friday, October 22, when the NEA Opera Honors are presented in an Awards Ceremony and Concert at the Kennedy Center Opera House.
More information about the NEA Opera Honors Awards Ceremony and Concert, and details about reserving FREE tickets beginning on September 20, will be available at www.dc-opera.org later this summer.
Another great event to look forward to will take place on Saturday, July 17th at 2:00 p.m. The Artscape (an annual summer art event in Downtown Baltimore) will host a free concert of Rachele Gilmore (one of this year's Met's Olympia's) accompanied by BSO. I would really like to take Troy to that. She has a beautiful voice. So if any of you, Baltimore/DC people, would like to join me for either or both of the events, just let me know. It'll be fun!

It's All About Dancing Anyway!

This week Troy started dancing. All on his own. Completely independently, without me holding him in my arms (which, by the way, is becoming a harder thing to do).

This week I received some very good, music-unrelated but extremely important news and was so happy that impulsively found myself in the middle of a toy store, picking up a huge music truck!

Of course, the image of that particular truck is not available online, so I can't share with you all, unless I take a picture of it and post it. I will say, however, that it is a sit-down-and-ride truck and it has all those buttons responsible for musical instruments sounds and keys that play five songs, or sound like music notes, depending on the mode you select.

It's a very learning toy, and Troy just loves dancing to those songs, which sound like traditional country dance. I think he has a good feel of rhythm. It looks like he just knows when to stump his feet, when to turn, when to clap. I can see how he discovers that to the music that is so nice, you can also add movements and make it even better. I can see that discovery taking place and it's such a joy to watch him and dance together with him.

At this point, from what I read, this is much more of a music class than a dance class. Toddlers learn about rhythm and tempo through dancing. So, I guess, we are doing pretty good!

I also think that he might have gotten my dancing gene after all.

Projects

I have been working on a couple of things recently.
First of all, it's a review of that same WNO Hamlet for TOI (see TOI's link on my blog roll).
I already submitted the interview that you all read to TOI's director, Kala Maxym, who (what a small world it is!) turned out to be a good friend of Liam Bonner's.
What a small world, indeed!
Kala asked me if I would be interested to also write a review of the performance I attended, to which, as you all might have guessed, I said yes. I am supposed to turn it in by the middle of July. Not too much time to do a thorough job, but enough I think.
It's a lot of work, but also a lot of joy and excitement. Discussing and analyzing opera is my favorite thing to do - and now I finally get to do it someplace else, besides my blog!!!
So right now I am trying to scrape all the little details of that performance from the bottom of my consciousness and put them all on paper. Later, during the long hours of editing, I might delete most of them, but now I need them.
My other project is a twitter account. Some of you will probably be surprised what's there to work on? Design, my friends. Still deciding on the background and which of my pictures is good enough for Twitter.
Why do I need Twitter?
Sometimes, I feel like I want to shoot a short message to my friends, but have nowhere to do it. If it's not music-related or not important enough, it can't be posted on my blog. Twitter is a perfect place. You'll be able to check out my Twitter page pretty soon. And of course, you all will be the first readers of that review, once it is ready. So, please stay tuned.

Troy Goes to See Andre Rieu!

Last night was fantastic. Well, actually let me get this straight first.
I am so happy we took Troy to see Andre Rieu. He enjoyed it with all his heart. We enjoyed being there with him and seeing him taking in every bit of that music.
Back on New Year’s Day when PBS ran Andre Rieu’s Vienna show and Troy was so excited to see it, I thought: “He is great. Definitely more of a showman and less of a music freak than I like it, but just great for Troy – I definitely want to take him!” Then my husband stepped in with his talent of getting awesome deals on everything and before we knew it, June 20th was here and we found ourselves in the best orchestra seats ever!
A kid of my son’s age (he is turning 17 months old this week) has to have a little draw when it comes to watching a live show. Like a picture in a book, you know? Something to illustrate what he hears. A hook that he could mentally grab onto. A kid of his age does not really care if a tenor sounds flawless or makes a very bad mistake. As long as there is gorgeous live music, the kid is in. Now to this add fancy lightening, ballroom (a bit cheap looking, but who really cares?) dresses of all possible colors, and most importantly all those real instruments and live music.
Troy was really excited to go. We talked about the show every once in a while, just a little. I showed him how Andre Rieu would be playing the violin and he would lift his arms and wave them to imitate that. Did not look anything like it should have, so what? And then I would ask him how he would be clapping and he would clap and smile.
The show started at 6 p.m. and I can proudly report that I did get to keep Troy rested, because he had a good nap and woke up at 5 p.m.!!! During the whole first part of the show Troy was very alert, focused and happy. He behaved exceptionally well. He listened, watched, clapped and smiled. No whining, no crying, no kicking. I was so proud of him.
During the second part of the show he was still behaving very well, but of course was much more tired, even though still very focused.
At the end of the show, Andre Rieu announced that he was going to play the Blue Danube, the waltz that raises all audiences to their feet and that he was curious what would happen in Baltimore. Thanks to one of my readers, I knew that people dance on Mr. Rieu’s shows, so I thought “If one couple goes, Troy and I will go too”. So one couple started waltzing and so did we.
I have to say that Troy loves waltzing (while I am holding him in my arms, of course). We have been practicing for almost a year now. He holds up just like a ballroom dancer, steady arms, straight back, head turned to side just a bit. So going out and starting waltzing all the way down the aisle was nothing out of the common way for us. The great part about it was that my husband filmed the whole thing and I have to tell you that it looks really good and pretty unique! Troy and I are waltzing with Andre Rieu playing just steps away. How nice is that? More and more couples were dancing in the aisles: husbands and wives, girlfriends and boyfriends, mothers and kids, and just friends.
People really liked Troy. Several commented that we danced so well and somebody said “You have a fantastic kid!”
At the end of the show balloons of all colors were tossed into the orchestra and all kids were there to pick them up. Troy got 2 and was very happy.
Of course, he was really tired, but my husband and I both agreed that we did the right thing to take him to the show. He truly enjoyed it and got so much out of it.

There certainly was a number of things that I mentally started picking on right away and I did write them here and then… just deleted them. Why do I always have to be so critical? That’s right – because I take music seriously and because I go for nothing less than the best.
I am not happy with cheesy, eclectic,I do not acknowledge the existence of the second best and have a hard time enjoying singing with bad mistakes. But you know what? Not today. I am taking a break in appreciation of the gift of the wonderful music that Andre Rieu did give to my son and the fabulous time that we all had last night.
Would I recommend my readers to go see Andre Rieu on their own? Depending on what you are looking for in music. Would I recommend my readers to take their little ones to see Andre Rieu? Definitely YES!

Edited to add: Besides the beautiful Viennese waltzes, the program also included highlights from operettas by Lehar (The Merry Widow), Kalman (Silva), and Strauss (Zigeunerbaron), which was just great because Troy is very familiar with those melodies. For him it was a live encounter with the music that he heard on a CD so many times.

Also, this afternoon I purchased this DVD. This is exactly the program that Troy watched on New Year's Day. However, now, hopefully, it will be even more significant to him, because he will recognize Andre Rieu whom he saw live and as close as just steps away!
This DVD is very nice because it was filmed in Vienna and features a lot of ballroom dancing.

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day to all my readers who also happen to be papas and grandpas!
We are taking Troy to see Andre Rieu tonight! Hopefully, he'll enjoy it.
(Trying to keep him well-fed and rested for tonight does not keep me so, ironically but logically)
C'est la vie...

A Thursday Shock for a Change

We all know that the way to stars is usually paved with thorns, not with roses. The world is not such a nice place actually. Once you do something significant in your life, there immediately appears a bunch of people who want the same things you have and since they don’t, they start being jealous of you, plotting against you and what not. One has to be really strong to resist that pressure and still find inspiration and energy to keep going.
Yesterday, I was shocked to read the review of this CD in the Opera News. The review is a complete bunch of dirty nasty lies. Not a word of truth or reason.
I was doubting whether I should even contaminate the pages of my blog with this… junk, but then I thought hey – it’s so obscenely untrue that I actually want my readers to see it and realize that they can’t trust blindly anything they read in the Opera News.
Believe me, I realize that reviews are supposed to be subjective and you can't make everyone happy, no matter how hard you try, but this goes way beyond reason and common sense.

So, here I am, readers, sharing quotes from this bunch of insulting nasty junk:

Decca's attempt at revealing Florez's musical range falls flat in this stilted, misguided performance.

Florez has no problems with high notes, but in a role that lies consistently above the staff his particular vocal production and bright, lean, hard sound have an unpleasant effect. In music devoid of coloratura and other vocal effects the tenor must rely on depth of feeling, nobility of utterance and a probing musical intelligence, which are in short supply here.

While Florez's singing always show an attractive urgency of declamation, on this occasion it seems merely generic - loud desperation that registers as yelling or quiet desperation that sounds weepy.

First, I was really angry. No, I was mad. However, once I calmed down, I googled the author of the review. Judith Malafronte. A mezzo soprano. I’ll say no more. You guess the rest. Orphee has always been quite a competitive role. Many have wanted it, but only a few got it.

The worst part about this whole thing is that so many people will be influenced by this review and probably won’t buy or ever even listen to this CD, whereas in my humble opinion, this is the best thing that Juan Diego Florez has done so far in his career.
The CD is pure magic.
Therefore, I am planning to write to the editor of the ON and tell him exactly how I feel! Not that it will change anything, because the issue is out and numerous people are reading it as I type this. But I do feel the urge to step in and say something. One voice is supposed to make a difference, right?

A New Poll

One of my readers gave me a great idea for a new opera poll. Let's vote and see which opera wins.

The Definite "To Be" of Hamlet

When stellar cast withdraws from an opera production, Hamlet’s question comes up naturally. To be or not to be?

Truly, will the production even survive a major cast change? Will it be a lot worse, average or possibly better?

There is no right answer to any of those questions, and things are different every time. I guess, you just have to rely on your own intuition of an opera lover and decide for yourself if you want to see that production, all things considered.

Ambroise Thomas’ Hamlet is not the most widely staged opera in the world (and most undeservedly, I should say). For it sure has the music to remember and listen to over and over again. Therefore, when I learned that WNO was presenting Hamlet this spring, I knew I wanted to see it. After all, it would be my first Hamlet. When it was announced that both Diana Damrau and Carlos Alvarez had withdrawn from the production, I said: “Oh well, the stars won’t be there, but the music will!” and decided to go anyway.

Apparently, those twists of fate are not rare in the world of opera. Besides, it is at those times that new discoveries take place, and lucky are those of us who are there to witness them.
Earlier this season, a rising baritone Liam Bonner sang Horatio in the Met production of Hamlet. Only a couple of months later, along with his counterpart Michael Chioldi, he stepped into the principal role in WNO, stunning the audience with his incredible Hamlet and making the whole production a definite “to be”.

I came into opera rather late,” says Liam Bonner, 29.
“I went to an all boys’ Catholic high school and the only way to meet girls was to join the drama club. So that’s how I started singing. I did a lot of musical theater and then I [met] this gentleman who used to sing opera. He was retired and living in Pittsburgh, where I am originally from. He introduced himself to me and said “You need to sing opera. Your voice is too big for musical theater – you are going to blow up the microphones and we should work. And that was really how it started. I said “OK, I’ll look into it.” I tried it out and immediately fell in love with it. It sort of was the perfect combination of everything I was looking for. But I never sang in a church choir. My dad listened to Irish folk music and Bob Marley when I was growing up.
”I don’t come from a musical family”, he adds.
“I come from a very supportive family, but no one else is a musician in the family”.

R: On Monday night you won the audience over with a deep, multi-faceted and complex character that you created. Therefore, my question is what was your biggest artistic and personal challenge in portraying Hamlet?

L.B : It’s probably the vocal demand of the role. It’s the biggest role that I’ve ever sung in the sense of the length and the size, and also just the fact that it’s a heavier role than the roles that I currently sing. It’s sort of that in-between singing Donizetti and Mozart and going full fledged right into Verdi, it’s sort of that in-between bridging the gap. That was probably the most difficult part of it. I was fortunate enough to have sung the role of Horatio in the Met production several months ago, which I think actually helped me in the sense of finding the character.

I got to watch Simon Keenlyside [who sang the title role in the Met’s Hamlet – R.] quite frequently, and he is an incredible actor, which, I am sure you are aware, is rare for opera singers. I was very conscious not to do what he did because it’s all a very personal thing, what he brings into the role in his own interpretation. But I would be lying if I said I did not get a few ideas from him, because that was absolutely true. Some of the ideas that he had for the character and interpretation - I could not really see it any other way myself. It just made so much sense, and I think it’s one of the big things for this production too, why it seems to have been such a success with the audience here in DC - the fact that it does make so much sense, even though it is not word for word literally what the Shakespeare’s Hamlet is.

R: While I was watching the production, I was thinking that your interpretation of Hamlet was so incredible for many reasons, but primarily because every time you came on stage, you managed to bring in yet a new and different Hamlet. You really lived the part. What is the significance of this character to you personally? What does Hamlet signify to you?

L.B: Well, I like the fact that I am fortunate enough to be doing this at such a young age, because Hamlet is a younger character. He has to deal with his mother and his uncle, and all these adults in the world that are sort of manipulating and scheming and trying to sabotage his world and his life and the perspective that he sees. It’s nice to be able to really connect with that sort of age difference with my colleagues as well and make that feel really real and honest.

Significantly, I like the fact that it’s actually a story and, with regards to what you were saying about a different Hamlet coming on stage, because it is such a great story and so well written, you are really going through this. Just like in real life, when you are going through trials and tribulations and all sorts of drama in your own personal life, sometimes you are completely angry and upset, and sometimes you just want to break down and cry and other times you just have to laugh because it is so utterly ridiculous that this is happening.

All those things were sort of the draw that this role has for me, and then our director Thaddeus Stassberger was able to assist with [it] also. That was a lot of his staging as well and his interpretation of the piece that I think both myself and the other gentleman playing Hamlet Michael Chioldi were both able to do with this character to show all these different sides that is not sort of “Oh God, no! Here goes that whiny character again in the opera that’s way too long!”
We sort of tried to eliminate that feel. There is always something new to discover and learn in every scene.

R: It was very impressive. The character that you created, like I said, was so complex, that, as a member of the audience, I was sitting there and thinking “Oh my God, what other Hamlet am I going to see now?” It was incredible, really.

L.B: Well, it’s very flattering.

R: To you personally, which aria, duet or scene is the pinnacle moment of the opera and why?

L.B: By far for me, it’s the duet with Queen Gertrude.

R: That’s what I thought!

L.B: Absolutely. That scene has everything you could think of and I think that it’s so well written dramatically, vocally and musically. It really seems to me the most perfect part of the entire opera and it’s the scene that I find the most enjoyment doing. There is so much information and it’s so real. It’s one of those arguments that mother and child are having. The manipulative way that they work each other and sort of one up each other with an insult here and a jab there, sometimes screaming , sometimes physical violence, sometimes sarcasm and just always different facets, which again, one of the reasons why I think this piece is so incredible.

And what we’ve all been able to figure out is that this is not just some, you know, not to downplay some of the great operas, but there is so much more in this piece and the more you do it, the more you discover about it.

R: That’s very true.

L.B: But it’s definitely that scene. I love the fact that it turned into such physical violence at one point, when he almost threatened to bash her head in with the sculpture of Claudius and then arguing over the corpse of his dead father and then that screaming over his dead body, is just really intense and dramatic in the best sense.

R: If your Hamlet did not die, would he ever be able to forgive his mother?

L.B: I don’t know, but I will tell you that I am really glad that we are not doing that version.

[ In Dumas-Meurice version, widely staged in the 1840s, as Gertrude, Claudius, and Laertes are dying, the ghost of Hamlet's father reappears and condemns each of the dying characters. When the wounded Hamlet asks: Et quel châtiment m'attend donc? – "And what punishment awaits me?", the ghost responds: Tu vivras! – "You shall live!"– R.]

I think that Hamlet needs to at the end.

I am really glad that we did the common version. You know, you go through this whole evening and for them to suddenly end on an up note “Oh, long live Hamlet – he is now the king’, to me that was never Hamlet’s mission. To me, he was never ambitious and wanted to be king – he wanted to avenge his father’s death. And once that was accomplished, that was it. I gladly did that version. It makes the most sense in my mind.

R: Your repertoire includes both tragic and comic roles. What is more challenging for you as an artist: to make people cry or laugh?

L.B: Comedy by far is the hardest thing, I think. People with comedic timing are absolute geniuses. And to me that’s definitely the hardest. It’s also hard because you can go very sort of cheesy campy things in the comedic operas that you go for a cheap laugh. It’s much more difficult to go for that honest “Oh my God, I cannot stop laughing – that was absolutely hilarious!, especially in opera. And sometimes that’s what you need. And when you got a great actor and a great cast to work with, those moments do happen. They are much rarer to me than someone being on stage alone with the right lighting and the orchestra and then singing so beautifully that it brings the audience to tears. That for me is a little easier than comedy, actually.

R: You mentioned the cast, your colleagues that you work with in this production. Could you speak a little about your collaboration with the rest of the cast?

L.B: Well, I have to tell you the success that we had with this production here in DC is due largely, if not all of it, in fact, to the cast that they have assembled here, which of course, as you know was not even the original cast that they were trying to get here. So it’s sort of by all this twist of fate that the production [that] has come together has been probably even more successful than it would have been. You know, I can only assume that, maybe it’s a little arrogant to say that,

R: No, not at all!

L.B: But I think that because the product that we have - everyone is really thrilled about it, and there are some of the best colleagues that I have had the good fortune to work with so far in my very brief career. Sam Ramey has been incredibly supportive and helpful with all of his years of experience. Elizabeth Futral could not be any sweeter and more gracious. I have nothing but great things to say about the entire cast. I mean they are just top notch! I would absolutely be thrilled to work with any of them again.

R: Lately opera as an art form has been experiencing some changes. Audiences nowadays are left with little to rest their eye on. Often times there is no scenery on the stage and the artists wear street clothes. Sometimes stage directors even take liberty to change the opera plot. As a new generation artist, what is your opinion of this staging approach?

L.B: I am for it, when it makes sense. I think it’s good to know what the original was/is and to not know that tradition or that style does not do the art form any justice. I think there are some very modern productions that work very well and some that absolutely make no sense whatsoever. Then to me it’s the question “What’s the point? Why did they do that? Did they just do it to do something different? There has to be a reason behind it for me. You know, it’s cheesy, but it’s sort of like – what’s the motivation? Well, truly, what is it? Because if you are just doing something to do it and you don’t understand it, there is no way you can communicate it for the audience to understand it, and it’s just a pointless evening. To me, to do this art form is one of the highest forms of communication and not in the sense of elitism, but just that there are so many aspects to opera that affect people in different ways. You know, it oral, it’s visual. It’s emotional.

R: It speaks to people in so many different ways.

L.B: It does – it takes in all art forms under one roof. To me, it’s the ultimate. It’s not that I don’t appreciate other art forms, but this is definitely the one that I connect most with and feel that I have something to say and something to offer. I don’t know if I quite answered your question though.

R: Yes, you did, definitely.
Unfortunately, nowadays many people consider it old-fashioned to like opera. In your opinion as a young artist, what can be done for opera to gain its attraction and popularity with young audiences?

L.B: Well, I know what a lot of companies have tried to do. They form these young professionals’ groups. Some are more successful than others.

But I think one is accessibility.

One of my missions is always to be accessible, especially to people of my generation. I want people to know that I am an opera singer and that I do this professionally, and when I have complimentary tickets to give them if they’ve never been before, I am more than happy to say “Come!”
You know, one of the biggest challenges for young people getting involved with opera is cost. They finish college, and they are starting their lives, their new job, they are buying a house, they are starting a family, they are paying off college debt and you know, it’s much cheaper to go and see a movie than to go and sit in an opera.

Also think that it’s not, you know, older generation sort of grew up listening to it because of their parents or their grandparents, so they were sort of exposed to it and were around it a bit and at some point went back, tried it and became addicted.

In this age of modern media and everything in your face and so immediate, it is difficult I think sometimes to say “I am going to the theater” and this is all theater, I think it’s dance, it’s straight plays, musicals, whatever. It’s not a real part of the American culture, naturally.

I think to get people to go and say “You know what, I need some down time and I need to just breathe and listen and take things in, rather than going to where it’s always loud and crowded, (depending what you are looking for, but everyone is different), but I definitely try and make myself available and help people understand what this is what I love and what I do.

But I am not nervous about the art form dying out. I think it lasted this long for a reason and the people that are really passionate about it will make it happen. Where there is a will, there is a way.

R: What was the first opera that you saw live?

L.B: Actually, I was in an opera before I saw one.

R: Oh, my goodness!

L.B: Isn’t that crazy?

R: Yes!

L.B: I sang in the Pittsburgh Opera Chorus in my sophomore year. Actually, I should take that back, I guess technically then the very first opera that I saw was Francis Poulenc’s Dialogues of the Carmelites in my freshman year in college. It has a very small baritone role in it, [but] I was blown away by this piece and it’s absolutely one of my favorites to this day, even though there is not really a role for me.

R: I have a funny question: if you could only keep one opera for the humanity, which one would it be?

L.B: The Marriage of Figaro - hands down. I think it’s the most perfect opera, it’s got everything and when it’s done right and well, it’s a very real and honest story. I think Mozart is the god, he is just genius there. There are days like you’d be having the worst day ever, and if I just listen to a little bit of Mozart, I am completely out of my mood. He is good for the soul.

R: For aspiring artists, what should an opera singer never be afraid of?

L.B: Being themselves. Whatever [you] have to offer, [you] have to trust that not everyone is going to like you. It’s art, so it’s subjective, and somebody is going to love you, and somebody is going to hate you. And if you get wrapped up in that, you end up not being confident enough or secure enough in what you have to offer and what you have to say.

I think some of the most successful singers, even if they are not technically perfect and all this sort of thing, it’s real and honest and that’s why they become successful. You know, you look at somebody outside of opera, like Frank Sinatra. He did not have the most beautiful voice in the world, in my opinion. Some people may think he did. But there is something about him as a performer that I love and I love listening to him. It’s him, and nobody else sounds like him.

And I think those opera singers that are world famous throughout the years it’s because they sing with their own voice, they have a very distinct sound that nobody else has and they don’t sound like anybody else or [try to] be like anybody else.

In conclusion, Mr. Bonner shares his operatic plans for this season, which include Donizetti’s Don Pasquale in Opera New Jersey, Weill’s Royal Palace at the Bard Music Festival, Britten’s Peter Grimes in Houston Grand Opera and covering a couple of principal roles at the Metropolitan Opera.

“I guess, in the long term in this business I have no desire to be famous”,- he adds.

“I just would like to work consistently and be able to eventually get married and have a family, support them and do what I love do. You know, at this point, I have been very fortunate for a lot of things happening in a very brief amount of time. And if I woke up tomorrow and the wave I am riding comes crashing down, I’ll know that I’ve gone as far as I could go and done everything that I possibly could to be successful in this business and would not regret a thing.”

[I truly hope that this interview will be some kind of revelation for those readers who mostly go to the opera “for the big names”. Please, do not let yourselves be led or rather, misled by prestige. Let your passion for music lead you instead. Marvel on your way to new horizons, enjoy each and every one of your discoveries and do not deprive yourselves of the miracles that they bring into your lives. You might be up for quite a few surprises. Seriously. -R. ]

(The photos are courtesy of WNO)

That Magic Scene!

While Troy and I were listening to the Magic Flute when driving this morning, it suddenly occurred to me that one of the most magic moments in the entire opera is Wir wandelten durch Feuersgluten. The intensity of the piece on the one hand and the seemingly calm and very distinct rhythm on the other make an unbelievable impact on the listener.
We all know what that scene is about: Prince Tamino and Princess Pamina are going through their trials together. First by the fire, then by the water. And of course, the magic flute leads them and assumingly keeps them safe. However, what comes to mind when you listen to the music is that it’s really their confidence (much more in one another than in themselves) that pulls them through their trials. The amount of deep and enduring love and of trust in someone you love much more than you actually know to the extent that you depend your life on them is what I think makes that short scene so significant and so incredible.
I was also thinking how good the scene would look with projected scenery, widely used in opera these days. Visual magic is a must there and one could do so much with those always changing projected images in that particular scene! (Not that I deny the importance of good old scenery).

FCS: Happy National Donut Day!

Apparently, we at work have shown surprising awareness of it.

I thought I was the only one who knew, until on my way for my free one, I met my boss and my boss's boss with their free ones and ear to ear smiles on their faces.

The Dunkin folks are all pretty grim today and apparently, do not consider this day that big of a holiday. Promotion might not necessarily be their favorite idea of keeping business successful.

Anyway, go spoil yourselves, guys: it's been quite a week. We all deserve it.

( I might shock you again today, but this is it for now).

On Patience

Dear Readers!
I have to admit that I was very pleased that so many of you shot me comments and e-mails showing interest in my interview with Liam Bonner. Several readers asked about the pictures and about when I am planning to publish that interview.

Well, some of us are certainly more patient than others. You guys are great and it's your interest and support that keeps me going.

However, let us not forget that the interview took place last Thursday afternoon, right before the long Memorial Day weekend.
Let us show our respect to the amazing artist that Liam Bonner is by being patient and understanding. Remember, getting us those pictures was the courtesy that he offered out of the goodness of his heart.

Everything is a lot of work and very time consuming. As much as I try to bring everything music-related to you as fast as I can, I have quite a lot on my plate these days. Being a mom, a wife, a daughter and a full-time employee sounds like quite a bit, does it not?
The good news though is that this weekend evenings, after my son went to sleep, I had a lot of fun working on that interview, putting it all together and can happily report that I got most of the work done.
Well, here I am teasing you again, without meaning to do so.

Seriously, just please be patient and go see Hamlet tonight or on the 4th if you are in the area. And don't forget to share your impressions if you go. If you write your own review of the performance, I would be happy to welcome you as a guest blogger and publish it. Just let me know.