Die Rheingold (The Rhine Gold)

Today I went to see Richard Wagner’s Das Rheingold as a movie theater broadcast in The Metropolitan Opera‘s Live in HD Series.  It was awesome!  It was directed by Robert Lepage and conducted by Maestro James Levine.  This is the second show I have seen in the broadcast series, the first being Carmen during the 2009-2010 Encore season in August.

What attracted me to today’s performance was my interest in learning the story of Wagner’s Der Ring des Nibelungen tetrology.  And, it seems that the Met is going to complete the cycle in its upcoming performance seasons.

Perhaps even more intriguing is the technical talent that went into making today’s Ring stage performance a success.  ”The Machine” that was built just for the Ring cycle productions, a 45 ton apparatus with independently moving planks hovering above the stage, was amazing.  It was a beautiful backdrop and canopy for the staged lights and added a wonderful twist of creativity to the stage space.

This production of Das Rheingold – the music, the voices, the dialogue, the stage sets – really came together to create an enchanting work of art.  The next opera in Wagner’s series, Die Walkure, airs in May 2011.  I will definitely be there!

West Side Story

Yesterday afternoon I had the pleasure of seeing the University of Colorado at Boulder’s production of West Side Story: The Opera (written by composer Leonard Bernstein, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, directed by William Gustafson and Nicholas Carthy). It was so much fun! I have to admit, this production took me by surprise, as it did not follow the more traditional operatic style of voice–we left feeling more like we’d just watched a musical for three hours, instead of an opera–but it was very enjoyable, nonetheless. Hey, different is good!

I do actually believe that this production is the first opera I’ve seen that wasn’t written originally as an opera–WSS was composed by Mr. Bernstein for Broadway in 1957. The “light opera” style was great, as the background to WSS is very animated and passionate and is based on Shakespeare’s timeless story of Romeo and Juliet. Mr. Bernstein brought current the often told themes of love, family, feuds and youthful passion with scenes of gang life in the streets of 1950′s New York. The story begins with a brawl between two local gangs: The Sharks (a Puerto Rican gang) and The Jets (a polish gang). Likened to Tybalt and Mercurio, the gang leaders, Bernardo and Riff, want nothing but respect and are so blinded by their rage and hatred for each other they are willing to murder to get it. Of course, a romance ensues between Maria (Bernardo’s sister) and Tony (Riff’s right-hand man and most-trusted friend). Their love is forbidden from the beginning, but it only serves to fuel their passion. Ultimately, each must face a decision–loyalty to their families or to each other.

I was especially delighted to see and hear the performance of Katherine Miller (Maria), whose talented acting and girlish, soprano voice stole the show. In the last act, as she sang an extremely heavy lament over her murdered lover, I looked around and was unable to find a single dry eye near to me. Such regret and sorrow came through in her singing–such love and such remorse! Another delightful performance was that of Meg Marino (Anita) whose sultry alto voice and stern words made an ideal street-wise and protective companion for Maria. The well-balanced synergy between the two was intriguing to watch.

Between the acting and singing talent, the stage production (awesome lighting and props!) and the well-known musical score (“I Feel Pretty”, “Tonight”, and “One Hand, One Heart”, just to name a few…), WSS will go down in history as one of my favorites!

And, to make a fun evening even more fun, there was dinner at the Mountain Sun afterwards…

My Mountain Sun Take-Away Dragon

L’Incoronazione di Poppea (The Coronation of Poppea)

Last night, I saw Central City Opera‘s production of The Coronation of Poppea (written by Italian composer Claudio Monteverdi in 1642, directed by Ken Cazan). It was very good! This was my first visit to the House, and I was really pleased by the size and sound of the place. It’s small, and therefore intimate and fun. The company players were fantastic, as the production was presented more as a play than a standard opera. The acting (facial expressions, body language) was good, and the voices even better. The leading male voices (Amore, Nerone, Ottone) were written in the castrati style, and it was really interesting to hear. The political and social dynamics of power, usually associated with masculinity and deep, thunderous voices, are turned upside down by the high, feminine sound of the castrati voice. The irony goes deeper, even, when one considers that all the power of Rome was handed to one woman, Poppea, because of Nero’s unyielding lust for her. It is very clear that Love (Amore) is ruler of the day. Ultimately, to make room for Poppea as his new bride, Nero exiles his wife, Octavia (Ottavia), who in an especially powerful scene sings farewell to her family, her friends, and her country. “A-A-A-Addio…” she laments from a broken and defeated heart.

During opera notes before the show, I learned that this opera is one of the earliest written in the Italian Baroque era, within about 50 years of opera’s first appearance in Italy. The orchestra (conducted by Nicholas Kraemer) featured period instruments, such as the lute and, of particular interest to me, the viola de gamba, or “viol of the leg”, which looks like the cello. The name “viol of the leg” was given to distinguish these instruments from the aesthetically similar, but distantly related, viola da braccia family, or “viol of the arm”, which we know today as the violin group of instruments (violin, viola, cello and double bass). The gamba instruments come in various sizes, just like members of the violin family, but are all played while being held upright and typically have six or seven strings.

Overall this performance experience was a delight (two thumbs up)! Cheers to Central City Opera for putting on a great show.

Hello world!

So cliche! But yes, hello world. My name is Kim and I come in peace…oh wait, wrong speech. Hold on a sec… Hello world. My name is Kim and I am new to the whole blog thing. It took me hours just to choose this page design, but now I think it’s cool. I’m a college student, so naturally I am in constant search of new and interesting distractions. Like the opera. Tomorrow, I’m going to the opera. Or playing the cello, which I’ve just begun taking lessons on. I also LOVE to dance and watch sci-fi movies. Well, not at the same time, of course. And don’t get me started on wine. I bottled a case of the homemade variety for the first time last weekend. Fantastic. Anyways, there are a lot of things to do and see from where I’m standing. So, here we go!