Where To Begin...
Weeks have passed without a post. Several recent events require coverage however. Life has been too full to even begin discussing everything that has been going on. Between school, work, and a burgeoning social schedule (this isn't complaining BTW) I haven't had any focused moments in which to write.
Two weeks ago saw the coming of perhaps the greatest mezzo soprano of our time, Cecilia Bartoli. I tried to get (affordable) tickets to this event for several weeks without luck. On the day before the performance I was on the phone with three different people trying buy their Craigslist tickets and my mom witnessed all of this. I was just trying to find one ticket for myself since all of my usual cultural pals were either out of town or otherwise commited. My mom asked who I was going to go with if I could get tickets and when I said I was going alone she asked if we could go together. "That would be great!" I said. Then she asked me to call the CalPerfs box office and inquire as to which seats were still available. She wound up treating us both to mezzanine front and center seats.
O M G.
The woman has unbelievable pipes and a stage presence to match. We were eating out of the palm of her hand. The Zurich Orchestra La Scintilla was with her, a chamber sized orchestra arranged in a crescent moon behind her with some interesting additions. There was a lute player, a harpsichordist who also played the chamber organ, and two herald trumpeters. Cecilia herself was dressed in an emerald green gown with a generous train that she paraded on and off stage at every opportunity. It was a gorgeous performance. She sang mostly from her recent projects of 'Opera Proibti' which are mostly short length oratorios. There was a time in Italy when the Vatican has outlawed full length opera. The composers of the time, most notably Handel, Scarlatti and Caldera, instead wrote shorter length pieces called Oratorio which were permitted.
The pieces were singularly beautiful. I'm studying Italian right now (running about a B average, so not wonderful), but even the few weeks of class I've had were instrumental in lending a greater appreciation of her performance. Understanding how the cadence and rhythm of the language works becomes so much more important when listening to Italian opera. My mom and I were both deeply, deeply moved.
After the performance we hooked up with my Art History professor, the illustrious Deborah Loft, and, unable to simply go home, we cruised up to the Clairmont Hotel and had champagne (well, they did, I had scotch) and shared our impressions of the show. It was a gorgeous, late summer evening and I heard Ms. Bartoli's voice in my head for days afterward.
Two weeks ago saw the coming of perhaps the greatest mezzo soprano of our time, Cecilia Bartoli. I tried to get (affordable) tickets to this event for several weeks without luck. On the day before the performance I was on the phone with three different people trying buy their Craigslist tickets and my mom witnessed all of this. I was just trying to find one ticket for myself since all of my usual cultural pals were either out of town or otherwise commited. My mom asked who I was going to go with if I could get tickets and when I said I was going alone she asked if we could go together. "That would be great!" I said. Then she asked me to call the CalPerfs box office and inquire as to which seats were still available. She wound up treating us both to mezzanine front and center seats.O M G.
The woman has unbelievable pipes and a stage presence to match. We were eating out of the palm of her hand. The Zurich Orchestra La Scintilla was with her, a chamber sized orchestra arranged in a crescent moon behind her with some interesting additions. There was a lute player, a harpsichordist who also played the chamber organ, and two herald trumpeters. Cecilia herself was dressed in an emerald green gown with a generous train that she paraded on and off stage at every opportunity. It was a gorgeous performance. She sang mostly from her recent projects of 'Opera Proibti' which are mostly short length oratorios. There was a time in Italy when the Vatican has outlawed full length opera. The composers of the time, most notably Handel, Scarlatti and Caldera, instead wrote shorter length pieces called Oratorio which were permitted.
The pieces were singularly beautiful. I'm studying Italian right now (running about a B average, so not wonderful), but even the few weeks of class I've had were instrumental in lending a greater appreciation of her performance. Understanding how the cadence and rhythm of the language works becomes so much more important when listening to Italian opera. My mom and I were both deeply, deeply moved.
After the performance we hooked up with my Art History professor, the illustrious Deborah Loft, and, unable to simply go home, we cruised up to the Clairmont Hotel and had champagne (well, they did, I had scotch) and shared our impressions of the show. It was a gorgeous, late summer evening and I heard Ms. Bartoli's voice in my head for days afterward.
posted by Peter at
11:36 PM
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