Arts & Crass
In 6 days I'll be off to Amsterdam via Paris and then to Warsaw and Krakow and then back to Paris, then to Hong Kong before I'm back here again. Nothing is packed and nothing will be packed until the night before in typical style.
The past year has been a blessing whirlwind of concerts and travel for which I am grateful for - in a nutshell:
1. Bjork at the Sydney Opera House on the 23rd of January, 2008 - a religious experience of epic proportions from which I have still yet to recover from.
2. World Figure Skating Championships in Tokyo (March, 2007). For 10 days we invaded the madness that is Tokyo with our ignorance of Japanese language and culture, forcing many unfortunate to contend with sign language and deliberate broken English. Known for its apparent expense (which is somewhat of a myth), the Toyoko Inn was kind enough to accomodate for both of us within a single room. A city that never slept and a city we loved so much that we...
3. Went back to Tokyo for the weekend at the end of 2007 for more crazy acts of capitalism and consumerism. We departed on Friday night on Qantas (slept on the flight for "one night"), spent a night in Tokyo and flew back on Sunday night (on the lovely airline that is JAL) to be back for Sydney's New Years Eve explosives. Ikebukuro, Harajuku and Odaiba on Saturday, Maranouchi, Imperial Palace, Yebisu and Shinjuku on Sunday. By the second trip I was beginning to wonder where all the trees and birds are in Tokyo (I have birds almost fly into my windscreen every day) and I guess by the end of 2007, Toyoko Inn was more strict on their single room policy that we went elsewhere...
4. Melbourne - for a weekend at the end of last year. And how I want to live in Melbourne.. perhaps if I found a well paying job at the Arts Centre... hmm... We were in a state of perpetual alcoholic bliss as we hopped from bar to city rooftops to more bars. Madame Brussels is LE MADAME.
5. Opera Australia productions attended:
- La Boheme (January, 2008) - the big bald guy next to me was bawling his eyes out.
- Il Trittico - one of my favourites last year, it was completely spellbinding and Cheryl Barker was incredible.
- Il Trovatore (I was late so the Opera House staff gave me these splendid restricted viewing seats for the first half)
- The Gondoliers - ravishing foot stomping and lavishing costumes.
- La Traviata, was my first opera ever and what a beautiful night it was.
6. Ballet productions -
- The Nutcracker (December, 2007) - Another religious experience of epic proportions. I don't think I will ever see such a beautifully staged ballet ever again..
- Destiny (November, 2007) - Strangest of the lot.
- Jewels (mid 2007) with the Paris Opera Ballet - the company is incredible and their dancers are technical specialists... the Australian Ballet looks almost clumsy standing next to these Francophones.
- New Romantics (May, 2007) - One of my favourites this year. The sight of Robert Curran topless and in those white (!!) tights... too bad he had a cup.
- Don Quixote (April, 2007) - a classic. So many have skated to this overused piece of Minkus that I just had to see it.
7. Performers and things -
- Tori Amos in Sydney
- Meow Meow in "Insert the Name of the person you Love" - twice and she was incredible on both nights.
- SOMA Puppets International in Cabaret Decadanse (February 2008) - beautiful and very sexy puppet masters with fit bums in tight black pants (we like that).
- Sydney Symphony with Mahler's Symphony No. 6
- Pink Martini in Hyde Park
- Varla Jean Merman... ho hum but a very talented wig.
I can't remember anymore at this stage! Hopefully in 2008, we can still afford to be cultural enough to sink a thousand battleships *eville snobby laughter*.
I go back to uni next week!!!! *groan*
The past year has been a blessing whirlwind of concerts and travel for which I am grateful for - in a nutshell:
1. Bjork at the Sydney Opera House on the 23rd of January, 2008 - a religious experience of epic proportions from which I have still yet to recover from.
2. World Figure Skating Championships in Tokyo (March, 2007). For 10 days we invaded the madness that is Tokyo with our ignorance of Japanese language and culture, forcing many unfortunate to contend with sign language and deliberate broken English. Known for its apparent expense (which is somewhat of a myth), the Toyoko Inn was kind enough to accomodate for both of us within a single room. A city that never slept and a city we loved so much that we...
3. Went back to Tokyo for the weekend at the end of 2007 for more crazy acts of capitalism and consumerism. We departed on Friday night on Qantas (slept on the flight for "one night"), spent a night in Tokyo and flew back on Sunday night (on the lovely airline that is JAL) to be back for Sydney's New Years Eve explosives. Ikebukuro, Harajuku and Odaiba on Saturday, Maranouchi, Imperial Palace, Yebisu and Shinjuku on Sunday. By the second trip I was beginning to wonder where all the trees and birds are in Tokyo (I have birds almost fly into my windscreen every day) and I guess by the end of 2007, Toyoko Inn was more strict on their single room policy that we went elsewhere...
4. Melbourne - for a weekend at the end of last year. And how I want to live in Melbourne.. perhaps if I found a well paying job at the Arts Centre... hmm... We were in a state of perpetual alcoholic bliss as we hopped from bar to city rooftops to more bars. Madame Brussels is LE MADAME.
5. Opera Australia productions attended:
- La Boheme (January, 2008) - the big bald guy next to me was bawling his eyes out.
- Il Trittico - one of my favourites last year, it was completely spellbinding and Cheryl Barker was incredible.
- Il Trovatore (I was late so the Opera House staff gave me these splendid restricted viewing seats for the first half)
- The Gondoliers - ravishing foot stomping and lavishing costumes.
- La Traviata, was my first opera ever and what a beautiful night it was.
6. Ballet productions -
- The Nutcracker (December, 2007) - Another religious experience of epic proportions. I don't think I will ever see such a beautifully staged ballet ever again..
- Destiny (November, 2007) - Strangest of the lot.
- Jewels (mid 2007) with the Paris Opera Ballet - the company is incredible and their dancers are technical specialists... the Australian Ballet looks almost clumsy standing next to these Francophones.
- New Romantics (May, 2007) - One of my favourites this year. The sight of Robert Curran topless and in those white (!!) tights... too bad he had a cup.
- Don Quixote (April, 2007) - a classic. So many have skated to this overused piece of Minkus that I just had to see it.
7. Performers and things -
- Tori Amos in Sydney
- Meow Meow in "Insert the Name of the person you Love" - twice and she was incredible on both nights.
- SOMA Puppets International in Cabaret Decadanse (February 2008) - beautiful and very sexy puppet masters with fit bums in tight black pants (we like that).
- Sydney Symphony with Mahler's Symphony No. 6
- Pink Martini in Hyde Park
- Varla Jean Merman... ho hum but a very talented wig.
I can't remember anymore at this stage! Hopefully in 2008, we can still afford to be cultural enough to sink a thousand battleships *eville snobby laughter*.
I go back to uni next week!!!! *groan*