Omgwherehaveibeen
HI EVERYONE! *waves to julidearest*I haven't updated in a long time because the evil that is homework and examinations has been corrupting my soul D:.
So now I'm just gonna write a reeeeeeally long entry XD;.
I don't think I developed enough my Faut-viewing, so I'll start with that.
The scenery was WONDERFUL, as well as the costumes and the effects. The singing was great, but I can't really tell a good opera singer from a bad one XD;;. I think my favorite character was probably Mephistophiles, because, IMHO, Margeurite is weak-willed and Faust is an ass. Yes, yes, I know he's the devil, which technically makes him worse than those two put together, but at least he's honest about it XD;;. My favorite aria from the entire opera was his Le veau d'or est toujours debot, and I don't think I've mentioned before my irrational hatred for the Jewel Song (I think it's because the very first time I heard it was with Anna Netrebko, whose voice, IMO, does not fit it). The music was overall VERY nice, I expected much less for some reason.
Moving on, last week I saw Il Barbiere di Siviglia.
It LOVE the story! It was friggin' hilarious! I'd describe some of the moments to you guys now, but it's not really funny unless you SEE it. I love the music, and I had no idea that's where that famous tune ("dadada dada. dadada dada. dadada dada...dada da. da da da. da da da da DA da, da da da da da da...etc...) was from from it! And it sounds REALLY hard to sing, what with all of the scales and notes going up and down and around...o.O. The singers totally pwned it though, at least IMO. The tenor who was Count Almavia was Juan Diego Flórez (who is HOT, btw:
), has a great voice, but I didn't really like him much, because I seem to have developed a distaste for tenors in general. Most of them sound whiny to me... I much prefer baritones, though there are some tenors that I love, including Rolando Villazón and Placido Domingo (though my friend tells me he's actually a tenor/baritone aka Wagerian tenor? XD; ).
Anyway, what was weird was that they put Count Almavia on the cover of the program instead of Figaro, so I was really confused for a while XD;.
Speaking of the music, Mr.Rossini likes to repeat himself. A lot. Seriously. At the end of the opera, they sang for at least 20 minutes about how happy they were. Okay, seriously, WE GET IT AFTER THE FIRST 5 MINUTES. It said something in the program about how he liked to recycle music (if a particular opera or piece did well, he'd reuse the melody) and was not above taking someone else's melodies. That just made me laugh, because at least the recycling sounds very true XD!!!
I only realized the next day after I saw the opera that Diana Damrau was Rosina, and I know of her and like her very much. It's really weird to think of her in both of those roles (Rosina and Queen of the Night from Magic Flute), because they're so radically different, and she does them both so well! And yeah, her singing pwns, for lack of a better word.
Speaking of singing, I thought I'd ask my teacher what Fach she thought I was, just for fun, because I know it's ridiculously early to know for sure. She totally suprised me when she said she thought I might be a coloratura o.O. I always thought I was probably a soubrette or maybe a lyric, but I guess I'll have to wait and see if she's right. XD.
The school I'm getting lessons at is having a concert on December 7th and my teacher wants me to singing I Could Have Danced All Night. I dunno if I can do it! It's not a hard song, but I still have trouble with breath support, and also with singing the notes in the front of my mouth as opposed to the back of my throat. D:!
I also noticed I tense up like crazy sometimes and can't seem to fix it. About two weeks ago we were practicing the cadenza from the title song from PotO and I could do the A's and B's...the C's were there, but kinda blah...and the E didn't come out at all...at least not as a note XD;. I can do it by sirening but not my just singing it. Oh well... I try to practice at home, but once I forget how to properly support the notes and so and so, I can't remember it. Gah D:.
Anyway, on a happier note, Thumbelina is an awesome movie. The story is lovely and I was re-listening to the music, and it is SO beautiful! I've always like Jodi Benson, but she was especially good there!
Arg, I gotta go to SAT class. See you later, guys :D.