Butterfly and the Bronx Zoo
The opera was wonderful. There's something about going to the Met that is quintessentially New York. Perhaps it's the people watching potential. Perhaps it's the "snowflake" chandeliers. Perhaps it's Lincoln Center itself, so modern and so self-consciously architectural. Perhaps it's all the plush red velvet interior. Or maybe it's the balconies on top of balconies in the hall. Whatever it is, it's a whole experience, no matter what you think of opera itself. And I've certainly come around to opera.
Madama Butterfly is the third Puccini opera that I've seen. Tosca and La Bohème are the other two. I feel like I should see some other composers, even though I like Puccini a lot. He has this very big-hearted and very Italian romanticism about him. "Love" is definitely a word to be spelled with a capital "L" for Puccini. The first act of Butterfly ends with the American naval officer and his new Japanese wife in a passionate embrace. Of course, he leaves, but she remains true. In the end, she discovers that he has married an American woman even though she has been waiting for him for six years with their son (who he didn't know of). So she stabs herself and he comes (too late) to realize that he has betrayed Love. But the big aria is in the second act when Butterfly sings about her fervent belief that she will see his ship sail into Nagasaki harbor one day and she will wear her wedding gown and wait for him on the hill -- she won't go down. Even then, you know she will be dissapointed but her faith in Love is inspiring. The embrace of tragic Love is very Puccini.
Our host for the night, K., has an apartment up in the Bronx where we stayed. Oh, does she have a lovely view. The Harlem River, the Columbia campus, the George Washington Bridge and midtown all in its wide sweep. Marvelous. We went to the Bronx zoo this morning, where K. works. She is in the education department there. We saw lions, we saw tigers and we saw bears. Oh my! Plus, we saw monkeys and hornbills and a glimpse of a gorilla. A nice zoo. A marvel that such a big park is smack in the middle of the Bronx. When we took the "Sky-fari" gondola ride above the zoo, you could see the urban surroundings and it made the zoo seem all that more precious.
Madama Butterfly is the third Puccini opera that I've seen. Tosca and La Bohème are the other two. I feel like I should see some other composers, even though I like Puccini a lot. He has this very big-hearted and very Italian romanticism about him. "Love" is definitely a word to be spelled with a capital "L" for Puccini. The first act of Butterfly ends with the American naval officer and his new Japanese wife in a passionate embrace. Of course, he leaves, but she remains true. In the end, she discovers that he has married an American woman even though she has been waiting for him for six years with their son (who he didn't know of). So she stabs herself and he comes (too late) to realize that he has betrayed Love. But the big aria is in the second act when Butterfly sings about her fervent belief that she will see his ship sail into Nagasaki harbor one day and she will wear her wedding gown and wait for him on the hill -- she won't go down. Even then, you know she will be dissapointed but her faith in Love is inspiring. The embrace of tragic Love is very Puccini.
Our host for the night, K., has an apartment up in the Bronx where we stayed. Oh, does she have a lovely view. The Harlem River, the Columbia campus, the George Washington Bridge and midtown all in its wide sweep. Marvelous. We went to the Bronx zoo this morning, where K. works. She is in the education department there. We saw lions, we saw tigers and we saw bears. Oh my! Plus, we saw monkeys and hornbills and a glimpse of a gorilla. A nice zoo. A marvel that such a big park is smack in the middle of the Bronx. When we took the "Sky-fari" gondola ride above the zoo, you could see the urban surroundings and it made the zoo seem all that more precious.