I'm not talking about the Marx Brothers movies, but the possibility of a legitimate title with the same names in it was too good to pass up.
A Night at the Opera: Last week I went to a nearby multiplex to see a repeat screening of an HD broadcast from the Metropolitan Opera of a live performance of Giuseppe Verdi's opera "Don Carlo," which is one of the greatest operas of all time IMO. I posted about it on my music blog. Here I just want to encourage anybody who is at all curious about opera to check these broadcasts out. Too bad you missed Don Carlo, but there are several still to come which might be interesting for newbies. "Nixon in China" is obviously fairly new. It is in a style called "minimalism," music which keeps the same sound and rhythm over extended periods, sorta like Enya. Then, for more traditional music, you've got "Il Trovatore," another masterpiece by Verdi, with great melodies one after another (and in this production some shirtless hunks in the "Anvil Chorus"), and "Lucia di Lammermoor" by Donizetti, which has not only the famous "mad scene" for the soprano, and the sextet, but also some great singing for the guys, both alone and together.
So check out the links on the other blog for times and locations and further information, including how to get tickets. Gay guys are famously opera lovers in disporportionate numbers. So give it a try, and enjoy.
Duck Soup: It was time to finish off the carcass of the "Dead Duck" of a few posts back, so I broke it up a bit and boiled it — including the neck and giblets — and a large cut up carrot with a can of chicken broth, the congealed juices that had collected on the serving platter, and the left over cooking water from the potatoes and squash I had with it. I picked all the meat and some of the cartilage off the bones (and had about half the meat, including the giblets, for dinner last night, with left over gravy and some rice cooked in a bit of the soup, and on the side the last of the apple and prune stuffing reheated with a tablespoon each of Haitian rum, bourbon whiskey, and Grand Marnier — very tasty — some chili powder sprinkled on the rice perked it up) and put the soup and carrots into the fridge. Today the soup was nicely jellied. I used a pint — about half the total — to cook a packet of ramen noodles, adding some chopped crimini mushrooms and paprika (both hot and mild) along with the shrimp flavor packet that came with the noodles. It made an enjoyable lunch. With what's still left, I should get another good dinner and another satisfying lunch. I'm not sure exactly what variations I'll make next time. Bon Appetit — though I say it to myself!
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7 comments:
I have not seen an Opera or had Duck let alone duck soup. I am glad you had a great time.
I truly enjoy listening to the famous arias, and the fact that they are in languages that I do not understand doesn't lessen my enjoyment.
However, I would no more consider sitting through a complete opera than I would watch a movie in a foreign language without subtitles. It wouldn't satisfy me even if I knew the story well.
Guess that makes me the typical American lowbrow.
I would consider attending an opera in English. I wonder why the great operas have not been translated. I know there are problems in translating and maintaining the same meter and meaning, but I wouldn't think that it would be impossible.
Oops! I forgot to thank you for plugging my blog.
I got a spike in readers that day!
Thanks for the comments.
@ Bror — you should give both a try. ;)
Duck doesn't quite taste like chicken — more like turkey dark meat.
@ Mr. Ed — I neglected to mention that they project surtitles in English (and other languages in other countries). It could be pretty deadly having to sit through several hours of singing in a language you don't understand — although in the case of Don Carlo, most of the time I think the music alone would hold the viewer's interest.
At one time operas were usually performed in the language of the country. But then the idea took hold that the music was written for the original text. Also, in these times of international travel, I'm sure the singers would find it a problem to have to learn new words for every country where they sang a role.
But yeah, if you think you'd like the music, you'll have the text projected in English at the top of the screen.
And I hope some of those spiking readers become regulars.
Thanks for info.
Since I've never attended an opera I had no idea that subtitles might be projected on the screen. I had just assumed I would be the only one in the audience who didn't know what was going on! Unsophisticate that I am. LOL
We have a new opera house in Miami. If I find that they do that I'll have to check out the schedule and have a "Night at the Opera".
I dislike minimalist music (and therefore minimalist operas) intensely. However, Enya is my favorite musical artist. So...I think we must be using different definitions of the word "minimalist"?
That said, the whole operas are generally worth sitting through. The classics anyway. I can't speak to the new fangled whatever that people are producing. I highly suspect it's quality is lacking.
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