The Phantom of the Opera and good company

[beowabbit]

Got to see The Phantom of the Opera tonight with a bunch of good people, preceded by spectacularly yummy pear, gorgonzola, and greens pizza at California Pizza Kitchen. Very good company: cathijosephine, mrpet, docorion, cathijosephine’s LJ-bereft friend C. who actually got us the tickets for cheap, C.’s sweetie D., and eisa and buxom_bey, which latter two met us at the theater after dinner.

I didn’t feel all that excited about the performance itself, but it was a wonderful experience all the same. The Opera House is physically, visually impressive in its ornate beauty; I’m glad places like that still exist and are still being maintained. The play also had a lot of ornate beauty and pageantry to it.

I definitely want to see more theater. And this made me want to see a more classical opera. I don’t like recorded opera music, but I think I’d enjoy it live.

I feel like I’ve got lots more to say, but I also feel like I should have been in bed hours ago. :-)

Comments

A non-opera buff's guide to opera ...

[redjo.livejournal.com]

Back home, I went to the opera for 10 years ... and I don't consider myself appreciative of the genre at all. Actually, to this day I find it parts of it really annoying. A friend asked me to keep her company, the student discounts were amazing (they somehow never realized I had graduated :), and I just kept going.

The visual spectacle is key, I really went for the staging, sets and acting. What made it a great experience was when I recognized the music, filtered as it's become through mass culture and advertising. (I can't *tell* you how funny it was to discover that most of the music in Carmen was known to me from an episode of Gilligan's Island ... and Warner Brothers/Bugs Bunny cartoons are another topic entirely.)

It all depends on who's in it and who's directing it of course, but I think you'd rarely go wrong with anything by Verdi or Mozart. La Traviata is a good one, and you won't be able to stop humming "The Drinking Song." You need to be careful with Wagner, it can be great or a real dud. And there's always Gilbert and Sullivan for a good time, depending on whether or not you consider it opera. (I don't care, it's always funny. :)

In Edmonton the opera had a great sub-titling system. You could hear the rhythms of the original language, and read just enough to keep up with the story. I don't know if they have the same system here, but I hope so. Really juicy melodramatic opera sounds dignified when sung in the original, but kinda silly when translated into English.

If you ever need an opera buddy, you know who to call! :)

Re: A non-opera buff's guide to opera ...

[beowabbit]

Oh, I've seen lots of Gilbert and Sullivan! Quite fond of that. Not exactly what springs to mind when I think of “opera”, though.

If you ever need an opera buddy, you know who to call! :)

Um, not quite, actually, since I don't know what human this LiveJournal avatar goes with. :-) I can figure out from your Friends list what general crowd you're in, but that's about it. Drop me email and let me know, if you feel like it.

I can't *tell* you how funny it was to discover that most of the music in Carmen was known to me from an episode of Gilligan's Island ...

In my case it's the movie Bad News Bears. :-)

Re: A non-opera buff's guide to opera ...

[redjo.livejournal.com]

Oh sorry, I thought you would know me ... it's Joanne.

Re: A non-opera buff's guide to opera ...

[beowabbit]

Ah, of course! Thanks. I am a Bear of Very Little Brain.

Re: A non-opera buff's guide to opera ...

[spwebdesign.livejournal.com]

If you ever need an opera buddy, you know who to call!

What she meant was, "You know you can always call spwebdesign!" <grin>

Re: A non-opera buff's guide to opera ...

[redjo.livejournal.com]

Of course, that's exactly what I meant! ;)

Re: A non-opera buff's guide to opera ...

[cathijosephine.livejournal.com]

Sounds like we may have a group gathering...

Re: A non-opera buff's guide to opera ...

[beowabbit]

Um, maybe if Carmen is playing in Boston. (Or did you mean just opera in general? In any case, I aprove of the idea.)

Big sleepy yawn now. :-)