ByGD
When I go to the opera, I always feel like the Grandson at the end of The Princess Bride.
Grandpa, maybe you could come over and read it again to me tomorrow?
The action in Tosca takes place over about 18 hours. For the same amount of time, my life was completely focused on the opera last weekend when one of my dreams came true and I got to watch the Sunday matinee of Tosca after attending opening night on Saturday.
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Adam Diegel (Mario Cavaradossi) in Tosca. © Elise Bakketun photo
Things so often disappoint in direct proportion to how highly anticipated they are. The Blarney Stone is a tourist trap; the Mannekin Pis is only a foot tall. That movie everyone raved about has a plot like Swiss cheese. Cheese from Switzerland – not really sweeter than cheese at home. But every now and then, a classic delivers everything promised. Like Tosca at Seattle Opera. Read More
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Photo from another production of the Consul used in the booklet
The first rule of Bravo Club is…
You must be under 40 at the beginning of the opera season. Okay, so that’s different from the first rule of Fight Club. But there is one similarity between the two – the first rule is the only rule.
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Don Giovanni is tricky. Yes, the character plays tricks, but that’s not what I mean. At least for me, Don Giovanni is a tricky opera. An opera with the hashtag #MozartsBadBoy has immediate draw; the actual experience is complicated by the fact that in this story seduction is interchangeable with rape, and it was written when rape was still considered comedy. Read More
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A while back I wrote a post about the erroneous perception that heavy metal has to be grim and angry and depressing. Even a lot of heavy metal fans fall into this way of thinking despite the fact that they have a lot of fun listening to heavy metal. Last weekend, Tales of Hoffmann at Seattle Opera reminded me that opera shares a similar image problem. Heavy metal and opera are both technically challenging styles of music that can seem inaccessible to the uninitiated, but both are actually a lot of fun. In fact, they can be quite silly.