Disney hall at ISO 1600...

meep!!! hilarious rendition of "Ode to Joy"

What does a conductor do?

Mr. Borge has an interesting point of view here about conductors and orchestras. He's not completely thorough, but is that really to be expected from him??

Enjoy!

What does a conductor do?

Metropolitan Opera

Last night, I spent the entire evening at the Met, for a performance of Die Meistersinger, by Richard Wagner.

I was invited to go several weeks ago by a good friend, L, who was planning to go for an opera class she's taking as part of her master's degree program. When she mentioned the Metropolitan Opera, I leapt at the chance (having never been before)...then she told me which opera.

I wasn't thrilled with the chosen opera, but I still very much wanted to go.

1. I dislike Wagner with an intense passion. (This meaning Wagner himself - not necessarily his music.)

2. As you may or may not know, Die Meistersinger is approximately six hours long.

So, in the end, I went.

And...I truly had a great time, not only spending time with L, but also at the opera. The Metropolitan Opera Orchestra is outstanding, the singers were fabulously talented, and above all, the set design was beautiful.

While I still don't particularly hold love for Wagner, I have to say that it was a pleasant evening, and the opera was performed with great skill and musicality.

L and I also managed to stay awake for almost the entire 6 hours, although I nodded off for a few minutes during the first act, and she rested her eyes for a very short time in the third act. I have to say that my nap was largely due to the fact that I had no idea what the story was, despite the fact that I have played the overture to Die Meistersinger in the past. So, I was so confused that I fell asleep. Therefore, when the first intermission arrived, I read the synopsis of the entire opera and found the rest of the performance to be much less confusing.

The best part was that I voiced my confusion to L, and she said something to the effect of, "well, you could read your supertitles", to which I replied, "I did!!!"

So much for my ability to comprehend opera.

(*as a side note - as useful information - if you note the seating chart picture found here, we were sitting in family circle, house right center, about halfway up. We could see the entire stage, the orchestra pit, and the sound was good. Despite the fact that we were quite far away, the seats were excellent as far as I'm concerned. And, they're a grand total of $15! You too can go to the Met! )