So, the opera. Madama Butterfly by Puccini.
I wore a nice dress, nothing too funky. John and Michelle were both right; a lot of people in LA don't dress up for the opera. I'm glad I did, tho, coz it made it feel even more special.
Before the performance there was a lecture you could go to (so I did) that was about that opera and the composer and that period of opera-writing and different styles of singers (kinda like what my voice coach told me) and stuff. I learned a lot. After the lecture I looked into the orchestra pit (it really *is* a pit, partly underneath the stage!) and saw all the musicians tuning up. They were all dressed up, too, most in tuxes and black dresses.
My seat was in the second balcony. I guess they don't really call 'em nosebleed seats at the opera, but that's what they were. But you could still see everything up there, and the nice old couple sitting next to me on one side let me use their opera glasses (like little tiny binoculars, but all gold and fancy) sometimes so you could see the singers faces and details of their costumes (which were gorgeous). The couple thought it was really sweet that it was my first opera.
This is what really blew me away: they don't use ANY microphones! It's in this big auditorium that holds like maybe 500 people, and they just sing, no mics, no amps, nothing. Wow. And you could hear it really really well. I know that auditoriums are built a certain way to help the sound carry, but still! The singers all projected really great without shouting, and sometimes on high notes I could feel my eardrums vibrating, which was VERY cool. And the RANGE and control they had!
So an opera is like a play, except all the words are sung, with music. This opera was in Italian. I learned from the lecture that most operas are in Italian because that's just the way it's always been done. Mozart wrote some in German because the German king wanted some in German, and some are in French. Sometimes a production is translated and sung in English. There was a screen above the stage with subtitles that showed what the singers were saying. Singing. So you could follow the story. But they were also really good actors and you could tell a lot just by their movements and the WAY they sang stuff, like if they were happy or sad or mad.
The story is in the year 1905 or so (that's when it was written) and it's about this American sailor who is in Japan, and he meets this young woman who falls in love with him, and he's like right, whatever, okay, we can get married, sure. And she's SO in love with him and happy about their wedding and everything, and she even converts to his religion (Christianity) because she loves him so much and wants to be a good wife to him. Her family (they are Buddists) gets really mad. Then the sailor husband leaves and then in the next act it's 3 years later.
He has his American wife with him, coz for him the marriage to the Japanese girl was just a joke and an easy way to get sex. His Japanese wife brings out their son, and then she goes and kills herself. I didn't know ahead of time how it was going to end, and it was very sad. A lot of operas are sad and people die at the end. I don't know why. Sometime I want to see a happy opera. But this one was still good.
I hope I can find time to see another opera while I'm in LA. I can't be rehearsing ALL the time! Katie said she wants to go to one with me. It would be cool for a bunch of us to go together.
This Sunday I'm going to see Sarah Brightman in concert in Anaheim. I'll probably need to get out of the house away from everyone else for a little bit, LOL! Sarah's voice is very pretty and pure, and it will be fun, too. I keep telling myself that going to concerts is like part of my musical training, ya know? I listen and study other great singers and voices and performers and maybe I can learn little bits from them and be an even better singer myself.
Before the performance there was a lecture you could go to (so I did) that was about that opera and the composer and that period of opera-writing and different styles of singers (kinda like what my voice coach told me) and stuff. I learned a lot. After the lecture I looked into the orchestra pit (it really *is* a pit, partly underneath the stage!) and saw all the musicians tuning up. They were all dressed up, too, most in tuxes and black dresses.
My seat was in the second balcony. I guess they don't really call 'em nosebleed seats at the opera, but that's what they were. But you could still see everything up there, and the nice old couple sitting next to me on one side let me use their opera glasses (like little tiny binoculars, but all gold and fancy) sometimes so you could see the singers faces and details of their costumes (which were gorgeous). The couple thought it was really sweet that it was my first opera.
This is what really blew me away: they don't use ANY microphones! It's in this big auditorium that holds like maybe 500 people, and they just sing, no mics, no amps, nothing. Wow. And you could hear it really really well. I know that auditoriums are built a certain way to help the sound carry, but still! The singers all projected really great without shouting, and sometimes on high notes I could feel my eardrums vibrating, which was VERY cool. And the RANGE and control they had!
So an opera is like a play, except all the words are sung, with music. This opera was in Italian. I learned from the lecture that most operas are in Italian because that's just the way it's always been done. Mozart wrote some in German because the German king wanted some in German, and some are in French. Sometimes a production is translated and sung in English. There was a screen above the stage with subtitles that showed what the singers were saying. Singing. So you could follow the story. But they were also really good actors and you could tell a lot just by their movements and the WAY they sang stuff, like if they were happy or sad or mad.
The story is in the year 1905 or so (that's when it was written) and it's about this American sailor who is in Japan, and he meets this young woman who falls in love with him, and he's like right, whatever, okay, we can get married, sure. And she's SO in love with him and happy about their wedding and everything, and she even converts to his religion (Christianity) because she loves him so much and wants to be a good wife to him. Her family (they are Buddists) gets really mad. Then the sailor husband leaves and then in the next act it's 3 years later.
He has his American wife with him, coz for him the marriage to the Japanese girl was just a joke and an easy way to get sex. His Japanese wife brings out their son, and then she goes and kills herself. I didn't know ahead of time how it was going to end, and it was very sad. A lot of operas are sad and people die at the end. I don't know why. Sometime I want to see a happy opera. But this one was still good.
I hope I can find time to see another opera while I'm in LA. I can't be rehearsing ALL the time! Katie said she wants to go to one with me. It would be cool for a bunch of us to go together.
This Sunday I'm going to see Sarah Brightman in concert in Anaheim. I'll probably need to get out of the house away from everyone else for a little bit, LOL! Sarah's voice is very pretty and pure, and it will be fun, too. I keep telling myself that going to concerts is like part of my musical training, ya know? I listen and study other great singers and voices and performers and maybe I can learn little bits from them and be an even better singer myself.