Hmmm.
I'm feeling rather guilty at the moment. This evening I was at a Bryn Terfel concert with my mother, who'd got a couple of tickets from a work colleague who'd accidentally double-booked the show. Unfortunately, what we didn't know was that our seats were in the gallery directly behind the orchestra. A soloist in recital with a full orchestra is a risky audio property anyway - from the back it's almost impossible to hear. No question that the concert itself was wonderful, the few songs where Bryn turned towards the gallery magnificent, and the sing-along to O What a Beautiful Morning fun, but overall, I'm disappointed.
Where the guilt comes in is that I've just booked a ticket to his other Sydney concert on Tuesday. He's in a more simple (and traditional) recital with a piano; my new ticket is in the middle of the second row. This is almost obscenely extravagant - but honestly, I couldn't resist. I couldn't afford a ticket last time he was in Australia, and I do like his voice. One of the few operatic singers I've come across who actually seems unpretentious, and who's also able to sing showier tunes without sounding silly. (Musicals and coloratura sopranos aren't always a happy combination.)
It's not that I can't afford the ticket, as it happens. I've got no other major expenses in the next few weeks, since I'm doing a full time CELTA course which is already paid for. But I feel like I'm being greedy, particularly since my mother, who was equallly dismayed tonight, has decided not to try to get a second ticket. And Dad - he'd never pay three figures for one concert at the Opera House, let alone two. (Plus, I don't really have the time on Tuesday evening...it'll mean a very late night work-wise.)
I suppose I can't help the way I am - I've sung semi-professionally, and I am willing to pay money to hear good classical music, whereas the rest of my family would rather use the funds for something else. But I still don't feel quite right.
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Back to HP-ish content tomorrow, as I've been thinking about my Remus. That, and the tennis. And the cricket. Maybe the golf as well. (Don't mind me - I've just turned into a walking ocker cliche.)
Where the guilt comes in is that I've just booked a ticket to his other Sydney concert on Tuesday. He's in a more simple (and traditional) recital with a piano; my new ticket is in the middle of the second row. This is almost obscenely extravagant - but honestly, I couldn't resist. I couldn't afford a ticket last time he was in Australia, and I do like his voice. One of the few operatic singers I've come across who actually seems unpretentious, and who's also able to sing showier tunes without sounding silly. (Musicals and coloratura sopranos aren't always a happy combination.)
It's not that I can't afford the ticket, as it happens. I've got no other major expenses in the next few weeks, since I'm doing a full time CELTA course which is already paid for. But I feel like I'm being greedy, particularly since my mother, who was equallly dismayed tonight, has decided not to try to get a second ticket. And Dad - he'd never pay three figures for one concert at the Opera House, let alone two. (Plus, I don't really have the time on Tuesday evening...it'll mean a very late night work-wise.)
I suppose I can't help the way I am - I've sung semi-professionally, and I am willing to pay money to hear good classical music, whereas the rest of my family would rather use the funds for something else. But I still don't feel quite right.
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Back to HP-ish content tomorrow, as I've been thinking about my Remus. That, and the tennis. And the cricket. Maybe the golf as well. (Don't mind me - I've just turned into a walking ocker cliche.)