Ahhhh, Puccini
Over the last few weeks I have had the good fortune to attend two Puccini operas..."La Boheme" and "Madama Butterfly." Additionally I rented Donizetti's "L'elisir D'amore."
Until I was about 40 I had no taste for opera whatsoever. Once I heard anything operatic I would immediately tune out. Then I started to hear more arias on Beethoven.com. That station is like "Classical lite." And before long I was starting to recognize arias, which operas they came from, and which composer.
Now I'm hooked (and have several more on my Netflix queue).
Over the past few years I have attended about a half dozen live performances and rented DVDs of about another half dozen. The local opera company is small and excellent and this is where I saw "La Boheme." Now, I had an IDEA of the story, but have never SEEN it. It was gorgeous. Great sets, staging, costumes, lighting, and performances. When Rodolfo was in anguish over Mimi dying I had to wipe up my own tears. Since I attended alone there was no date to see me lose my macho.
Then, out of the blue, an old friend invited me to join her to see "Madama Butterfly" in Greensboro. It was also top notch. The set was drop-dead beautiful (pun intended since Cio-Cio San kills herself). BOTH my date and I needed Kleenex for that one. I cracked her up by leaning over and whispering "you big BABY!" She whispered "You want a Kleenex too?" and I said "Yep!"
SO, if you're over 40 and have never gotten out to the opera house, give it a try. You may just find something new that you really enjoy.
posted by Tim B. @ 10:02 PM
10 comments
10 Comments:
Some of the arias from "La Boheme" are goose-bump forming, soul stirring and emotionally draining. It is amazing that I cannot understand the words but can understand the emotion behind them. It is the reason I liked the movie "Moonstruck" so much, Pucinni's music just made that film.
I would have to agree with Grandpa on that one. Right after I read the first sentence of this post, I thought of the movie "Moonstruck," which I really REALLY like. The parts about the opera on there were really interesting and, like he said, soul stirring. Maybe I won't have to wait until I'm 40 to see an opera...
Isn't it sad to know that Dad has never attended a real live Opera, knowing that it is so stirring to him.
Little do you know how emotional Dad can get.
I remember my dad crying at movies so, another acorn, another tree.
You have an uncle (ex-uncle?) who, as a child, named his dog after Pucinni.
Really?
What did you name it?
Ha ha.
Funny you should ask……Herman Adolph Hambone Gibraltar Dave George Danny Giacomo Puccinni. I spent weeks hearing nothing but Madam Butterfly, rough days…..no MP3, no I-pod, not even a walkman.
BTW….we called him Pooch
I haven't done opera, and most likely never will, nothing in this area.Have you ever seen or heard about Andre Rieu and his orchestra? He plays the violin while directing. Not quite opera, but extremely entertaining. He performs in Tampa every spring, and his past performances are recorded and played on WEDU in advance, in order to draw the people. I have recorded those performances on DVD and they are fantastic.The titles that I have on DVD are: 'The Flying Dutchman', 'Live from Dublin', and 'Live in Tuscany'. I love to watch and listen to them from time to time.The first introduction that I heard from him is that his father was an orchestra conductor, and as a child he would sit in the audience and be very still like everyone else. Now he says, when I conduct a performance, I like to have people dancing in the aisles. And they do,and they are having so much fun. What a sight!
To (ex)uncle Marty: Guess I walked into THAT one. Don't you love a setup, though? I was half expecting "POOCHini".
To Aunt Monica: I have indeed seen and heard Andre Rieu, though very little. His style reminds me of the late, great Willi Boskovsky, who led the Vienna Philharmonic.
To all: If you are a member of Netflix, you can find a good selection of recorded operas to put on your queue. Can't find that at your local video rental store.
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