listersgirl: (d minor)
So, the opera! We went to see Lady MacBeth of Mtsensk, by Shostakovitch. Good times. First off, I adore Shostakovitch's music, and whenever the orchestra really got going I wanted to start bouncing in my seat. I find him so recognizable -- piccolo and xylophone and BRASS, followed by moody and depressing. And awesome. It's a good thing I like Shostakovitch, because the opera has a lot of extended bits just for orchestra, no singers (except, weirdly, during one very long scene change, where everything was silent -- odd!). The opera itself I didn't know - it's mostly about monotonous loneliness, followed by needy love and angst. Fun is clearly the wrong word, but I did enjoy the experience. The production was excellent - the lead soprano was awesome, and there was no-one that I hated. Definitely worth seeing.

And, oh! It was in the new opera house, which I'd only seen from the outside. It's beautiful. And I thought the sound was good - we were up pretty high, so of course we were getting a lot of brass, but I'm not complaining. :D
listersgirl: (haunted)
I went to the opera last night with [livejournal.com profile] starfishchick -- COC's production of Berg's Wozzack. I quite enjoyed it. Nothing like madness to give an opera some juice. I particularly liked the sets and lighting - they had these fantastic screens that were used for set changes etc. that were painted to look like a concrete apartment building, styled like those Soviet propaganda posters with the really angled perspective. I'm not describing it well, but it was very striking.

I'm quite certain I found [livejournal.com profile] shoefiend in the first beer hall scene, too. Of course, now she's going to tell me that she wasn't even doing this one...

I've come to terms with the fact that I'm not a huge opera fan, although I've seen a lot of productions. I generally find the classics kind of boring (and too long, seriously) unless someone I know is in one, but I do like going to more contemporary works, or things with really spectacular staging concepts. Also, I hate Wagner. I've tried, I really have, but he just doesn't work for me, even though the music itself (in small doses) can be excellent. So I make it to one or two operas a year, something different, and that works perfectly.

I promise, though, when all my opera singers reading this become famous through Mozart or Puccini, I will suck it up and happily come see you. :)

*This was the best (possibly paraphrased, definitely translated) line of the opera. Ha!
listersgirl: (be like that)
What I learned at the opera last night:

-Pants can never be too tight.
-Minions are essential.
-Beware of people wearing flames.
-The bigger the sleeves, the bigger the role.
-Standing straight is for wusses.
-When you are turned into a stag, the shirt is the first thing to go.
-Wearing a boat on your head is a good career move.
-Diana is one mean motherfucker, yo.
listersgirl: (squee - offscreen)
I went to the opera last night with [livejournal.com profile] sarcasma and [livejournal.com profile] sanity_clause - Poul Ruders' adaptation of The Handmaid's Tale, making its Canadian premiere at the COC. ([livejournal.com profile] starfishchick, we wandered through the theatre at intermission, keeping an eye out for you, but obviously didn't see you, or else I wouldn't be typing this right now. Yeah.)

In which I exclaim over the opera )

In which I ramble on about growing up around music and theatre )

Also, I'd just like to say that writing coherent reviews of things is high on my list of things I wish I could do. Also reviews that don't use the word "great" with quite so much abandon.
listersgirl: (otp - jess79)
So, all my Wagner-going friends, how was it? Because I don't want to go myself, but I'm still curious.
listersgirl: (Default)
Is it the weekend yet?

Oh, wait, the weekend just happened. I'd never have guessed. I was very busy, for a change. It's a good thing I'm not normally this busy, though, or my head would explode.

The best part of the weekend (other than those too few hours where I got to be blissfully, happily asleep): I went to the opera (Peter Grimes by Britten), which was excellent. Dark, bleak, depressing, with young boys dying and people going crazy. The male leads, in particular, were fantastic. I'd tell you all to go, but it's over now. Of course, the sad thing is that Britten was younger than I am now when he wrote the damn thing, which is just depressing.

The worst part of my weekend: Finding out that a)my computer really is broken, b)it's not covered by the warranty, and c)it'll cost $1500 to fix, which is as much as I paid for the &%#@$ thing in the first place. Bah. There may be other options, but I feel so sad for my poor little computer.

The parts in between: Thai food, too many cookies, wandering along Queen East, hanging out with friends, reaffirming how little German I remember, sweaty gym workouts, Alias, laundry, games.
listersgirl: (Default)
Is it possible to own too much cord? I looked at my clothes this morning and realized that
I own 2 cord skirts and 3 pairs of cord pants (which may not sound like a lot, but considering I probably only own 7 pairs of pants all together...). I used to hate cord. I wonder what happened.

***

I saw Underworld last weekend, did I mention that? Dude, Kate Beckinsale is hot. But not hot enough to make up for the hideous atrocity that was the acting of Shane Brolly as Kraven. I sure hope this was nepotism at work, because otherwise the casting director was on crack.

***

Speaking of hot, when did Harrison from Popular grow up so nice? And for once a pretend TV boyfriend actor is actually my age (rather than way older or way younger), which makes me feel like a bit less of a dork. The show's not that bad either, although soon Gilmore Girls will start (in the same time slot here) so there likely won't be much more watching of Jake 2.0.

***

And speaking of Gilmore Girls (wow, my random thoughts are oddly not so random today)...I can't believe it's not starting here until next week. Well, okay, I can believe it, because the same thing happened last year (we were a week behind), but it's taking all my strength to not read comments and recaps.

***

So [livejournal.com profile] vestra and I made a deal that we would reward ourselves with non-food related things when we reached pre-determined weight loss goals. Also, there will be glitter and coloured felts and a chart to make things more interesting. Anyway, point is, I only get to buy non-essentials when I reach a goal, which of course just makes me want to run out and buy things RIGHT NOW. I'm really not usually this much of a consumer, but take something away and I wantitneedit. I wonder if I can convince myself that DVDs are a necessity?

***

I'm being inundated with calls from both my union and the Canadian Opera Company, so I can't answer the phone at home anymore. Not that I ever did before - I'm a firm believer in the joy of screening - but now I have an actual reason. Because, see, I know what I'm in for if the COC actually catches me on the phone. Last year, after I bought my first 18to29 ticket, someone called to try to convince me to subscribe for the rest of the season. And he would not give up. I tried to tell him that I really wasn't interested in the crowd pleasers that they had programmed, I lied and said I was away for 3 months in the spring, I flat out said no, but still he kept talking. Never again, I tell you. On the bright side, they're calling because I just got nice cheap tickets to Peter Grimes by Benjamin Britten. Apparently it's full of death, "nieces" and laudanum addicts. Should be excellent. I went to university with the understudy for the lead role, so I'm hoping for some sort of non-fatal illness to attack the lead that night.

***

The latest Savage Love column is all letters from women who are upset that their boyfriends use porn. Personally, I don't really understand, but it would seem that women who are okay with porn are a rare species, so I'm thinking the easiest way for me to find a boyfriend would be to take out an ad:
Wanted: One boyfriend. Will let you use porn. Will encourage you to use porn. Will use porn with you.
I anticipate many responses to my ad.

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