Gemma D. Alexander

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Angela Meade, Jamie Barton, Opera at Home, opera online, opera recital, Seattle Opera

Sisters Before Misters in Latest Seattle Opera Recital

I never attended an opera recital before the pandemic. A full opera is so extra, I thought the music by itself would be boring in comparison. But I was wrong. Of course digital recitals are no substitute for live theatrical productions. But they do have an appeal all their own. To me, a major part of that appeal is getting to see more of the personality and taste of artists you only know from in-character performances. Before Seattle Opera’s latest recital, I didn’t actually know either of the singers at all. But their recital was a lot of feminist fun. (And if you think that’s an oxymoron, you’re probably reading the wrong blog.)

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cars, Gardens, poetry

Kinky Machine

Well that’s a clickbaity title if I ever wrote one.

This classic car parked in a community garden on the roof of a parking garage in lower Queen Anne, and planted with perennials and ornamental grasses. The windows are painted with poetry:

Strange beautiful grass of green, with your
Majestic silver seas, your mysterious mountains I
wish to see closer, may I land my kinky machine?
JMH

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Opera at Home, opera online, opera recital, Seattle Opera

Jorell Williams in Recital

It’s hard to keep up with all the new material Seattle Opera is releasing these days, but it’s a good kind of trouble to have. Most recently, I watched Jorell Williams in recital – can you say “at Seattle Opera” when the recital was actually filmed in Toronto? Let’s say Jorell Williams in recital for Seattle Opera. Williams followed the now-familiar format of introductions against a neutral backdrop and songs performed on-stage with a pianist. But the format was the only unsurprising part of the recital.

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Albania, backlist books, book reviews, books in translation, diverse books, Ornela Vorpsi, Read the World, Reading Around the World

The Country Where No One Ever Dies

I’m terrible about starting book clubs and reading challenges and never finishing them. But the idea of a “reading around the world” challenge has been going around the internet for a few years and it really appeals to me. So the last time someone’s Reading Around the World book list popped up in my feed, I looked at it a little closer.

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Opera at Home, opera online, opera recital, Pagliacci, Seattle Opera

Seattle Opera’s Pagliacci Highlights Recital

Seattle Opera has been releasing content at a shocking rate this fall – new performances are posted every Friday. After so much new digital content, you’d think that people would know what to expect by now. But nearly everything I’ve seen so far has been a different “type” of production. From the summer’s at-home recitals to a semi-staged production to an on-stage recital, there are so many ways to produce a physically distant opera performance. It’s hard to keep up, so there’s already new content available, but the most recent thing I’ve seen was Seattle Opera’s Pagliacci Highlights Recital.

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Sisters Before Misters in Latest Seattle Opera Recital