and flies and flies.
Sochi is past, medals have been collected.
No medals collected, well there is always something/one to blame. Snow too slushy. Wax too sticky. Suits too (?) aerodynamic? and so on and so forth!
Memories enhanced by selfies and other camera work.
Meanwhile there are riots in various parts of the world.
Meanwhile the killing goes on...
not on the stock exchange, well, perhaps some is happening there as well....
but ...
Laws are proposed and vetoed, at least in Arizona.
And the list of "what the hell IS going on in this miserable world" is going on and on!
But hark, the RODEO barbecue cook off is on and the air's full of aroma!
And the tickets are selling.
And the prize (hoped for anyway) steers and calves and hens and roosters and goats and sheep and, and, and.....are being groomed and pampered and fed and, well, you all know!
About Me
- artandhockey
- Split personality. Liking the arts, especially opera, and hockey and Los Toros. I know, I know THAT one is non pc currently. But I can't help it saw some in Spain and got hooked, but good. But on the other hand right now opera and hockey are in the forefront!
Friday, February 28, 2014
Saturday, February 8, 2014
Sochis' Electronic performance
The 2 voices in my head had a heated discussion last night whilst watching Sochi's Opening ceremony. There was Warm Fuzzy (WF) versus Sneering Cynic (SC).
WF: Aw, how sweet to see athletes represent that (what was it now) Country, where his/her mother/father was born, even though he/she is now American.
SC: Yeah, sure, wouldn't you, too, fly under that foreign flag if you are a soso athlete who' never had a chance to get into the USA team?
WF: And isn't it so nice that that guy took 4 weeks off to train just to be able to come here?
SC: Must have a real generous employer to let him off during these economic hard times. Right!
WF: But those beautiful presentations of Russia throughout history. So impressive.
SC: They sure did gloss over the nasty parts (Killing off the Romanovs, The Gulag, Stalin's purges, etc). But hey, it was all 'done with mirrors' Which, btw, reminded me very much of MOBY DICK's electronically enhanced opera performance in Dallas! Maybe that's where they got the idea of those projections so enthralling you!
WF: But those dancers and the music.
SC: I grant you the music. How could they not use that. After all the world knows Tschaikovsky, swan lake. But did they have to make it look like electrically charged sea anemones?
WF: I admire the dancers they must have practiced for months.
SC: You know, I have the sneaky suspicion these were real red army soldiers who are so used to drill, and tight formations, as when they used to strut on Red Square to proclaim the power of Russia, just now put into theatrical costumes.
WF: But you did like Anna Netrebko?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=d56MMagyMXs
And the male chorus backing her up- yes?
SC: You have me there, she was great... except for a second or two I thought that it was a robot made to look her, the way her face seemed immobile, but then she belted out the anthem and moved, slightly. Yes, the male chorus was a nice touch, to emphasize her statuesque beauty, perhaps.
WF: I was soo excited because I think I recognized one of the singers in that chorus, a former HGO Studio member.
SC: Oh sure, but only if that smaller chorus was culled from the larger army chorus where BD is supposed to sing.
WF: So nice that the camera showed all those politicians clapping for their country's teams.
SC: Hmm, I did not see the any from the USA, and some other countries, but maybe those clapped during the infernal commercials and so were missed by the camera, do you think? And Putin's smirky countenance with limpy handclapping when not applauding Russia's preferred countries, what did you think of that WF?
WF: Aw, come on SC, maybe he was getting tired of clapping hard. He has had so much on his mind before these weeks.
SC: I guess so. Masterminding the transformation of a sleepy palm tree lined village on the beach to an "internationally" attractive destination in winter, could not have been easy even if spending so many millions over budget on it to end up with slip/slapshot results.
(Clip: the marching in of the athletes +)
WF: I was soo excited because I think I recognized one of the singers in that chorus, a former HGO Studio member.
SC: Oh sure, but only if that smaller chorus was culled from the larger army chorus where BD is supposed to sing.
WF: So nice that the camera showed all those politicians clapping for their country's teams.
SC: Hmm, I did not see the any from the USA, and some other countries, but maybe those clapped during the infernal commercials and so were missed by the camera, do you think? And Putin's smirky countenance with limpy handclapping when not applauding Russia's preferred countries, what did you think of that WF?
WF: Aw, come on SC, maybe he was getting tired of clapping hard. He has had so much on his mind before these weeks.
SC: I guess so. Masterminding the transformation of a sleepy palm tree lined village on the beach to an "internationally" attractive destination in winter, could not have been easy even if spending so many millions over budget on it to end up with slip/slapshot results.
Well, there you have it. It was a stunning productions, technically and electronically well done overall.
But moving, it was not, at least not form the stand(lol)point of sitting at home and seeing it with the eyes/lenses of cameras.
It seemed cool in the real sense sort of impersonal.
Perhaps being there IN person would have given a warmer feeling. May the games be successful for all! Go Austria, Go USA, Go... whoever you are!
WF: Aw, how sweet to see athletes represent that (what was it now) Country, where his/her mother/father was born, even though he/she is now American.
SC: Yeah, sure, wouldn't you, too, fly under that foreign flag if you are a soso athlete who' never had a chance to get into the USA team?
WF: And isn't it so nice that that guy took 4 weeks off to train just to be able to come here?
SC: Must have a real generous employer to let him off during these economic hard times. Right!
WF: But those beautiful presentations of Russia throughout history. So impressive.
SC: They sure did gloss over the nasty parts (Killing off the Romanovs, The Gulag, Stalin's purges, etc). But hey, it was all 'done with mirrors' Which, btw, reminded me very much of MOBY DICK's electronically enhanced opera performance in Dallas! Maybe that's where they got the idea of those projections so enthralling you!
WF: But those dancers and the music.
SC: I grant you the music. How could they not use that. After all the world knows Tschaikovsky, swan lake. But did they have to make it look like electrically charged sea anemones?
WF: I admire the dancers they must have practiced for months.
SC: You know, I have the sneaky suspicion these were real red army soldiers who are so used to drill, and tight formations, as when they used to strut on Red Square to proclaim the power of Russia, just now put into theatrical costumes.
WF: But you did like Anna Netrebko?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=d56MMagyMXs
And the male chorus backing her up- yes?
SC: You have me there, she was great... except for a second or two I thought that it was a robot made to look her, the way her face seemed immobile, but then she belted out the anthem and moved, slightly. Yes, the male chorus was a nice touch, to emphasize her statuesque beauty, perhaps.
WF: I was soo excited because I think I recognized one of the singers in that chorus, a former HGO Studio member.
SC: Oh sure, but only if that smaller chorus was culled from the larger army chorus where BD is supposed to sing.
WF: So nice that the camera showed all those politicians clapping for their country's teams.
SC: Hmm, I did not see the any from the USA, and some other countries, but maybe those clapped during the infernal commercials and so were missed by the camera, do you think? And Putin's smirky countenance with limpy handclapping when not applauding Russia's preferred countries, what did you think of that WF?
WF: Aw, come on SC, maybe he was getting tired of clapping hard. He has had so much on his mind before these weeks.
SC: I guess so. Masterminding the transformation of a sleepy palm tree lined village on the beach to an "internationally" attractive destination in winter, could not have been easy even if spending so many millions over budget on it to end up with slip/slapshot results.
(Clip: the marching in of the athletes +)
WF: I was soo excited because I think I recognized one of the singers in that chorus, a former HGO Studio member.
SC: Oh sure, but only if that smaller chorus was culled from the larger army chorus where BD is supposed to sing.
WF: So nice that the camera showed all those politicians clapping for their country's teams.
SC: Hmm, I did not see the any from the USA, and some other countries, but maybe those clapped during the infernal commercials and so were missed by the camera, do you think? And Putin's smirky countenance with limpy handclapping when not applauding Russia's preferred countries, what did you think of that WF?
WF: Aw, come on SC, maybe he was getting tired of clapping hard. He has had so much on his mind before these weeks.
SC: I guess so. Masterminding the transformation of a sleepy palm tree lined village on the beach to an "internationally" attractive destination in winter, could not have been easy even if spending so many millions over budget on it to end up with slip/slapshot results.
Well, there you have it. It was a stunning productions, technically and electronically well done overall.
But moving, it was not, at least not form the stand(lol)point of sitting at home and seeing it with the eyes/lenses of cameras.
It seemed cool in the real sense sort of impersonal.
Perhaps being there IN person would have given a warmer feeling. May the games be successful for all! Go Austria, Go USA, Go... whoever you are!
Sunday, February 2, 2014
Maledizione.. strikes again
After numbers of RIGOLETTOs seen and heard, Verdi's musical power never fails to draw me in, wring me out and leave me wanting MORE. And so it was last night at HGO.
I am sure you all know the story by now.
Amoral Duke dishonors females. Revengeful jester plots to have him killed, which is foiled by another female who saves the Duke first, then by jester's daughter, still enamored despite all, who dies in his stead! That's it in a nutshell.
However, perhaps due to my encroaching age, and past life experiences (lol) I found a "new"? insight. Did Verdi mean this a morale?
The Bad shall not go unpunished? Sadly, it turns into "The Good shall be punished".
Or, women in love act irrationally?
Or, do curses really work?
If so, I sure would really love to curse some drivers. Yes, those that cut in whilst texting, yapping, or even putting on make-up ON THE highways and byways! ;-) But I digress.
Back to the HGO production, which, if I recall, has been around a few times before, and seems a bit tired, to me, despite the big red splashy opening scene with Rigoletto.
BTW,
HGO alum Ryan McKinny made his debut as the jester, and did it well with sonorous sound and gestures. He just looks a bit too young even make up did not age him sufficiently to cover his charmingly youthful face.
On the other hand, his daughter Gilda, sung with crystal clarity and meltingly haunting voice by Studio Member Uliana Alexyuk (Einspringer for the scheduled Gilda who left - for personal reasons) was stunning and so teenager. That singer is one to watch, and conquer other opera houses soon!
******************
I heard others as Gilda, the ones most securely anchored in my memory are: more recently,
Maureen O' Flynn (HGO) and, prior to that, Edita Gruberova...but Alexyuk comes very close!
*******************
Now on to others in the cast.
Despite a pre-curtain announcement, that Stephen Costello felt ill, he sang the Duke seemingly without signs, perhaps not quite full out, but getting stronger as the night wore on.
Robert Pomakov's Monterone was a bit less imposing than previously heard Monterones;
Dimitri Belosselskiy (Debut at HGO) did not quite come up to expectations as Sparafucile...that cold, yet "honorable?" viciousness in the voice seemed lacking;
Carolyne Sproule as Maddalena (HGO Studio) decked in shawls like a Carmen (early ads for the coming 'Carmen'? tee hee) was adequately sultry with Rastafarian curls..
Other comprimario roles were also taken by current studio members.
In this production, the naked woman (prudently (lol) holding a dress just in front) flashing across the stage in the first act (a well remembered 'rearview' ;-) from the previous show 2009) was omitted.
Thus, a sense of supposed deep depravity of this court was - well - NOT sensed.
Patrick Sommers coaxed grand Verdian sounds from the orchestra with his usual verve.
I am sure you all know the story by now.
Amoral Duke dishonors females. Revengeful jester plots to have him killed, which is foiled by another female who saves the Duke first, then by jester's daughter, still enamored despite all, who dies in his stead! That's it in a nutshell.
However, perhaps due to my encroaching age, and past life experiences (lol) I found a "new"? insight. Did Verdi mean this a morale?
The Bad shall not go unpunished? Sadly, it turns into "The Good shall be punished".
Or, women in love act irrationally?
Or, do curses really work?
If so, I sure would really love to curse some drivers. Yes, those that cut in whilst texting, yapping, or even putting on make-up ON THE highways and byways! ;-) But I digress.
Back to the HGO production, which, if I recall, has been around a few times before, and seems a bit tired, to me, despite the big red splashy opening scene with Rigoletto.
 |
| Alexyuk, McKinny-Photocredit HGO |
HGO alum Ryan McKinny made his debut as the jester, and did it well with sonorous sound and gestures. He just looks a bit too young even make up did not age him sufficiently to cover his charmingly youthful face.
On the other hand, his daughter Gilda, sung with crystal clarity and meltingly haunting voice by Studio Member Uliana Alexyuk (Einspringer for the scheduled Gilda who left - for personal reasons) was stunning and so teenager. That singer is one to watch, and conquer other opera houses soon!
******************
I heard others as Gilda, the ones most securely anchored in my memory are: more recently,
Maureen O' Flynn (HGO) and, prior to that, Edita Gruberova...but Alexyuk comes very close!
*******************
Now on to others in the cast.
Despite a pre-curtain announcement, that Stephen Costello felt ill, he sang the Duke seemingly without signs, perhaps not quite full out, but getting stronger as the night wore on.
Robert Pomakov's Monterone was a bit less imposing than previously heard Monterones;
Dimitri Belosselskiy (Debut at HGO) did not quite come up to expectations as Sparafucile...that cold, yet "honorable?" viciousness in the voice seemed lacking;
Carolyne Sproule as Maddalena (HGO Studio) decked in shawls like a Carmen (early ads for the coming 'Carmen'? tee hee) was adequately sultry with Rastafarian curls..
Other comprimario roles were also taken by current studio members.
 |
| Marullo=Reginald Smith |
Thus, a sense of supposed deep depravity of this court was - well - NOT sensed.
Patrick Sommers coaxed grand Verdian sounds from the orchestra with his usual verve.
The Production was well done, but.....
Not sure what exactly was missing, something seemed to be - at least to me!
Still it's an entertaining musical event, which does allow one to go away whistling, humming
or - if so talented - singing catchy tunes, which after all is rather good!
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