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It was pretty damned cool.
Mind you, I have very wide and eclectic tastes in music, thanks primarily to my parents who also had wide and eclectic tastes in music, and went out of their way to expose their children to everything from classical, to jazz, to folk, to rock and roll. [Side note: Dad, you still have my Santana album...] But I don't really go out of my way to listen to opera much these days.
Still, a few months ago, when my writer pal Nancy Holzner (who is a huge opera fan) suggested that we go to see Aida at the Glimmerglass Opera in Cooperstown, I responded with an enthusiastic, YOU BET! For one thing, I really enjoy Nancy's company, and since we live about 2 hours away from each other, I rarely get to see her. For another, I am working hard at getting out of my work/write/garden/chores rinse and repeat rut, and this seemed like a perfect excuse for a day out.
And you know what? It was! We had a lovely day; the weather cooperated (which was questionable), the food was good, the company was great--we got to catch up on each other's lives and talk writing, writing, and a little more writing--and the opera itself was just fantastic. The singers who played Aida (Michelle Johnson) and Amonasro, Aida's father (Eric Owens) were simply stellar, and overall the production was terrific, although we both agreed that a few of the modern touches were a little jarring.
Still, a terrific day out, as you can clearly see:
Big thanks to Nancy for coming up with such a great idea, and for spending such a great day with me! (And signing my copy of her latest book while she was here...)
What have you all done recently to get out of your usual "same old same old" rut?
And did you notice that the blog is almost at 40 THOUSAND PAGE VIEWS??? Holy crap! I'll have to do something to celebrate when we hit the big 40K!
It was definitely a fun day. I needed a day out, too! Thanks for being such great company.
ReplyDeleteNo, no, YOU were great company :-)
DeleteAnd I was so lazy when I came home, I had popcorn (organic, with organic butter, of course) and prosecco for dinner!
I am so glad you guys had a great day out. Gorgeous pictures. Wish I lived closer so I could take you out for a day. Well, I will have travelling time and money at some point! ;)
ReplyDeleteSomething to look forward to!
DeleteSounds like a great way to spend a day. And those elephants are gorgeous!
ReplyDeleteThey looked even better close up!
DeleteI am jealous! It is a little ironic that we New York opera lovers envy those of you who have the opportunity to see Glimmerglass in Cooperstown. The Met may have the biggest opera budget in the country and the ability to attract international stars, but Glimmerglass is clearly on the cutting edge of thoughtful and exciting opera production in the U.S. Now I want to go. Glad you had a good time.
ReplyDeleteJune,
DeleteI'm not sure "cutting edge" is always a good thing. Both Nancy and I would have preferred a production that was a little more traditional :-)
But Erik Owens was..stunning. If you ever get a chance to go hear him, I highly recommend it.
And here's Nancy's blog post about our day, in case you think I'm making it all up :-)
ReplyDeletehttp://nancyholzner.wordpress.com/2012/08/15/playtime/