erikajulia
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Post by erikajulia on Jun 4, 2019 3:47:21 GMT -5
Sometimes I feel like an alien... :-D Saturday I went to see - and listen to - Verdis Otello. I like the music, but I could have hit all of them on the head because I think the story is so weird, and at the end, when Otello stabs himself ... and keeps on singing and snatching kisses from the corpse of his wife whom he just murdered ... the music was not enough. "Un altro baccio" - I was relieved when it finally ended. Then again: Beautiful music, and great performance. I attend the opera regularly - and am quite depressed that there are so few people that are my age.
Maybe today I will listen to one of my few vinyls - Dolly Parton is nice to listen to and fitting to warm weather, I think.
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Post by Hopper on Jun 4, 2019 9:32:02 GMT -5
Ah, Opera. I've never been to one (yet) but I love the stories behind them. The last one I saw (online) was surreal horror adapatation of the British seaside puppet show 'Punch and Judy' itself based off various variants of stock Commedia Dell'arte character Pulcinella which as you'd expect for a surreal horror, rather disturbing and caused a fair bit of controversy when released 50 or so years ago.
Dolly Parton is a guilty pleasure, I love what I've heard from her and she has an infectius spirit but I never usually tell people that I like her.
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erikajulia
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Post by erikajulia on Jun 4, 2019 10:22:35 GMT -5
Ah, Opera. I've never been to one (yet) but I love the stories behind them. The last one I saw (online) was surreal horror adapatation of the British seaside puppet show 'Punch and Judy' itself based off various variants of stock Commedia Dell'arte character Pulcinella which as you'd expect for a surreal horror, rather disturbing and caused a fair bit of controversy when released 50 or so years ago. Dolly Parton is a guilty pleasure, I love what I've heard from her and she has an infectius spirit but I never usually tell people that I like her. I don't very much like to go to the Opera (or to anything to do with art) alone, because I love sharing it, talking about it - and as happy as I am with getting older, but it may be cute and sweet if a teenage girl dissolves into tears while Mimi dies in Rodolphos arms (La Boheme - sooo beautiful!) - a grown woman doing the same is a bit weird, so I don't like to be surrounded only by strangers while doing so. Still, my family and friends are not always available, so I started going alone during the last year (an extremely good production of the Valkyrie made me - I had to see it more than once!) Is there a decent house near you? And isn't there anyone willing to go with you? There is great pleasure of good online recordings, but an orchestra - a good one - life is a completely different thing. Our house is even built in a way that when I am seated at the right place, I can feel every string plugged by the harpist, vibrating through air and floor, spreading inside me not only through my ears, but through my body. As a harp player, that's immensely cool. Really, if there is only the slightest possibility - use it!
The opera you are mentioning sounds interesting - what's the name? Who's the composer? "New" opera sometimes fails to catch me, but I would love to give it a try.
Twenty years ago we visited a freshly composed Opera of two hours length, called "Friedrich und Katte" (referring to the future King Frederick II of Prussia and his lover, a young lieutenant) - I never ever experienced such headache! Yea, there was a lot of hurt and shame and hatred, broken love and destroyed dreams ect. - but there was not one moment of rest or respite, and I envied the musicians, who without exception used ear-protection. Well, if I have to decide between this and a shallow operetta, the Bat it is for me. :-D Still, "Vanessa" (from Samuel Barber, 1958) was quite interesting this year - but also a cause of: "Girl, hit her on the head, knee him in the balls, leave the house and start to live!"
Why is Dolly Parton a guilty pleasure?!?
So, now you can tell everybody you had to be polite and at least check out the links, and the guilt is all on me.
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erikajulia
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Post by erikajulia on Jun 4, 2019 11:02:42 GMT -5
Dolly Parton is a guilty pleasure ...
(I'm right now listening to these, by the way.)
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paruumotto
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Post by paruumotto on Jun 4, 2019 12:28:47 GMT -5
I may not look it but I'm a rocker and a dub stepper, though I have a special place for Dave matthews.
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Post by Hopper on Jun 4, 2019 16:47:03 GMT -5
erikajulia There's no shame to be had at crying at opera or any other form of theatre, if it elicits an emotion, any emotion it's made an impact. Thanks for the heads up about Birmingham, it's not too far away. I'll end up going alone but it's worth it. The name of the opera is simply 'Punch and Judy' by a fellow named Harrison Birtwistle. Performances can be varied in quality. I've found that the one with the most interesting look had the worst music and vice versa. As each performance has a different asthetic in terms of sets and costuming it's worth seeing it more than once. Now on to Dolly, even with my very varied taste in music she's something of a wildcard and in a good way. Perhaps guilty pleasure was the wrong phrase to use but she sticks out from the rest in my collection. A candle amongst damp matches. Love all the songs you suggested BTW. I'll have to check out the operas you mentioned too. You play the harp? I envy that, there's a real skill and flourish to it that's mesmerising to watch when played either solo or as part of an orchestra.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 5, 2019 2:17:59 GMT -5
Wow, I woke up this morning after my first night at the opera to see you guys had been discussing opera! I went to see Opera North's production of Aida and I really enjoyed it. I was kind of expecting big costumes etc but it was a modern presented version with up to date dress and the orchestra were on the stage instead of below. The music was beautiful and I appreciated the screens with the English translation of the words. It was all so very dramatic! I always wanted to go to an opera and now I'm keen to see more!
I think classical music appeals to me because I used to play violin and harp a long time ago and have fond memories of getting lost in the experience of playing in the orchestra where i was part of and connected to something bigger than me. Also I have always loved heavy rock/metal and that has the same massive scale and full sound. I love the whole body experience of the drums and guitar going through me and how my ears are still ringing afterwards..... probably not all that good for me!
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erikajulia
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Post by erikajulia on Jun 5, 2019 2:34:42 GMT -5
erikajulia There's no shame to be had at crying at opera or any other form of theatre, if it elicits an emotion, any emotion it's made an impact. Thanks for the heads up about Birmingham, it's not too far away. I'll end up going alone but it's worth it. The name of the opera is simply 'Punch and Judy' by a fellow named Harrison Birtwistle. Performances can be varied in quality. I've found that the one with the most interesting look had the worst music and vice versa. As each performance has a different asthetic in terms of sets and costuming it's worth seeing it more than once. Now on to Dolly, even with my very varied taste in music she's something of a wildcard and in a good way. Perhaps guilty pleasure was the wrong phrase to use but she sticks out from the rest in my collection. A candle amongst damp matches. Love all the songs you suggested BTW. I'll have to check out the operas you mentioned too. You play the harp? I envy that, there's a real skill and flourish to it that's mesmerising to watch when played either solo or as part of an orchestra. Birtwistle is an interesting composer. I had a fast peek into Punch and Judy, but right now don't have the time to listen to it completely - and I remembered quite fast, that even as a child I did not like them. :-D Birtwistle has composed a piece called Tragoedia, for flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, horn, harp and string quartet - it is close to Punch and Judy in time, and even though I only listened to a few minutes of the opera, I think one can hear the relation.
Yes, I play the harp, but only as a hobby. I'm no great player, but the harp is an immensely friendly instrument, it gifts nearly everybody with lovely sounds. :-) Try it yourself sometime! (I have lots and lots of people come to me after performances, asking to try it... we found out quickly that even hands are not necessary - as long as you don't want to play complicated sheet music. And it obviously works wonders for muscle relaxation, coordination and fine motor skills. "I probably can't" is one of the most often used sentences, and I took to replying: "Maybe you can't, but the harp can." Complete tetraplegia might be a problem, everything else would definitely be worth a try.)
"Damp matches"? That's harsh words, directed at your own musical collection!
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erikajulia
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Post by erikajulia on Jun 5, 2019 5:48:27 GMT -5
Wow, I woke up this morning after my first night at the opera to see you guys had been discussing opera! I went to see Opera North's production of Aida and I really enjoyed it. I was kind of expecting big costumes etc but it was a modern presented version with up to date dress and the orchestra were on the stage instead of below. The music was beautiful and I appreciated the screens with the English translation of the words. It was all so very dramatic! I always wanted to go to an opera and now I'm keen to see more! I think classical music appeals to me because I used to play violin and harp a long time ago and have fond memories of getting lost in the experience of playing in the orchestra where i was part of and connected to something bigger than me. Also I have always loved heavy rock/metal and that has the same massive scale and full sound. I love the whole body experience of the drums and guitar going through me and how my ears are still ringing afterwards..... probably not all that good for me! Aida is cool, isn't it? Is there an opera near were you live, so you'll be able to go easily? The last seasons here were tremendous, with lots and lots of great productions of popular (and some rarer) works. The coming season will be a bit more special: the Czech opera "Katja Kabanova" by Janacek, the operetta "beautiful Helena" by Offenbach, the musical "3 Musketeers" by Bolland, "Turandot" by Puccini, "Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny" by Weill, "Titus" by Mozart, "Romeo et Juliette" by Gounod, two balletts that sound as if the music cold be nice, too. And lots of symphonic concerts and chamber concerts, of which only one got my attention: Felix Klieser will join our orchestra to play Bonis, Strauss and Beethoven. I got cards. Drolly I heard him first (on the radio) and found his soft sound astonishing and outstanding, bought a CD online and looked with complete bafflement at the picture on the cover. :-D So I will be there just to listen to his music, not because he plays with his feet. But I really would like to know if there will be other devs. ;-)
Why did you stop playing harp and violin? I like violin very much, wanted to play that but could not for the life of me coax a sound out of it at all, other than plugging. :-D
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Post by sy on Jun 5, 2019 17:12:21 GMT -5
Currently I'm into 80's Japanese City pop
and this one too
one more for good luck
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Post by SouthernCalGal on Jun 5, 2019 23:51:58 GMT -5
I've been listening to Billie Eilish lately. My daughter introduced me... and I can't get enough! THAT VOICE...Ugh!! I LOVE it!!!
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Post by Hopper on Jun 6, 2019 3:28:10 GMT -5
]Birtwistle is an interesting composer. I had a fast peek into Punch and Judy, but right now don't have the time to listen to it completely - and I remembered quite fast, that even as a child I did not like them. :-D Birtwistle has composed a piece called Tragoedia, for flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, horn, harp and string quartet - it is close to Punch and Judy in time, and even though I only listened to a few minutes of the opera, I think one can hear the relation. [/div] Yes, I play the harp, but only as a hobby. I'm no great player, but the harp is an immensely friendly instrument, it gifts nearly everybody with lovely sounds. :-) Try it yourself sometime! (I have lots and lots of people come to me after performances, asking to try it... we found out quickly that even hands are not necessary - as long as you don't want to play complicated sheet music. And it obviously works wonders for muscle relaxation, coordination and fine motor skills. "I probably can't" is one of the most often used sentences, and I took to replying: "Maybe you can't, but the harp can." Complete tetraplegia might be a problem, everything else would definitely be worth a try.) "Damp matches"? That's harsh words, directed at your own musical collection! [/quote] Yes, even though I'm an advocate for the more traditional shows, I can see why people see them as sinister. Let's be honest, the opera does them no favours. I'll check out Tragoedia soon, looking forward to it. The sounds a harp makes alone are worth playing it for. You had me ar 'works wonders for muscle relaxation and fine motor skills'. I shall play one, some day. Not very well but it'll be an experience within itself. What made you start playing the harp in particular? Yes, 5000+ songs spanning years and genres and yet deep down even though my love of music is a driving force for getting me through the day I can't help but feel that I've become a bit of a music snob as a result. But then again, isn't everyone?
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Post by Deleted on Jun 6, 2019 18:29:21 GMT -5
Can you ever go wrong with Jimmy Buffett? The answer is no.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 6, 2019 18:30:09 GMT -5
I've been listening to Billie Eilish lately. My daughter introduced me... and I can't get enough! THAT VOICE...Ugh!! I LOVE it!!! You Should See Me In The Crown is my jam
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Post by SouthernCalGal on Jun 6, 2019 21:33:42 GMT -5
@theboulder88, I'm glad I'm not the only non-17 year-old listening to her !
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