Lazy Weekend

For the first time in ages I actually had a weekend during which I did NOT go to the office.  Heaven, although I will probably regret it when I'm in the midst of the Monday onslaught.   

On Saturday I was lucky to attend the Metropolitan Opera's new production of Don Carlo.  (I was supposed to see it with a friend on opening night, but a custody case exploded that day and I had to cancel, much to my regret.)  Very minimal, modernistic sets which I usually hate, but the cast was so terrific that they could have been singing in a shopping mall and it wouldn't have mattered.  Roberto Alagna sang the title role, the Russian sensation Marina Poplavskaya played Elisabeth de Valois, and English baritone Simon Keenlyside was Rodrigo.  (He gets my award for "Best Singing While Lying Prone Dying From a Gunshot Wound.")  

Plan for Sunday:  Run some errands, including picking up a couple of the very few Christmas gifts I'm actually buying in person rather than online; go the movies to see The King's Speech; get a start on my Christmas cards; do a couple of loads of laundry.  Actually accomplished on Sunday:  Nothing, unless you count a three-hour afternoon nap.  

Comments

[Elizabeth]

I really recommend The King's Speech.
Wonderfully done in so very many ways.
Saw it yesterday.
Season's Greetings!

[Liz F]

I am sooo envious of your Sunday afternoon nap. I spent my Sunday afternoon trying to work out why the Christmas tree wouldn't stand upright for longer than five minutes at a time and excavating in the darkest depths of the attic to work out exactly WHERE my Other Half had put the Christmas decorations in January if we didn't want to do a 'Tate' with our tree!

[Martina]

Naps RULE!! Never feel badly about taking a nap...that's my motto!

[Karen]

Hi Elizabeth: The King's Speech is now on my list for NEXT weekend, if I can fit it in between my naptimes. : )

Hi LizF: Ah, the Christmas tree. Am debating whether or not to put on up this year. I usually have this debate with myself and relent at the last minute. (I do love Christmas ornaments.)

Thank you Martina, for that encouragement -- I figure that if I fell asleep for three hours in the middle of the day, I must have needed it!

[Fictionwitch.wordpress.com]

This makes me wish I had heard about the live relays from the Met at my local indie cinema in Edinburgh earlier. (A friend happened to mention them)

I am always astonished that singers can act and sing while lying flat on the stage. Astonishing. The standard of acting in opera these days is really high and it makes a huge difference.

[Karen]

Hello Fictionwitch: That's interesting -- they were filming this production in high definition, although the cameras were rigged to be very unobtrusive. I would highly recommend seeing the high def version of this if it's played at your local cinema -- well worth it to see these performances. Thanks for stopping by!!

[Rosemary (New York)]

And a word for Ferruccio Furlanetto singing the heartbreaking aria about how the queen, his wife, never loved him. This is often a showstopper in Don Carlo and Furlanetto did not disappoint when I saw it last week. All in all a wonderful opera - my favorite by Verdi - and a wonderful production.

[Karen]

Hi Rosemary: Absolutely-- a wonderful performance of a very moving aria, perhaps all the more so because the character of Philip II is otherwise so lacking in redeeming features. (Despite the beauty of the song, I confess I couldn't help but think "Well of course she didn't love you, you old fool. She was forced into a dynastic marriage and you're 40 years older than she is.")

[Short Story Slore]

If you do see The King's Speech, let us know how it is. We have an independent movie theatre a block away and I've seen 127 Hours and Black Swan. The King's Speech is next!

[Christine]

This set was a real let-down for me, but the scenes between King Philip and the Grand Inquisitor were wonderfully acted and sung, as was the auto-da-fe. I'm glad you were able to see it. If you enjoy this kind of opera, the Met's supposedly doing Mussorgsky's Khovanschinna in 2011-2012 with a great cast.

I've only heard good things about The King's Speech. Just avoid The Black Swan! No point seeing it if you live near ABT.

[Rosemary (New York)]

Well of course you are right. Philip II is beyond evil, seeking absolution from the Grand Inquisitor before killing his son - and, no surprise, he gets it. That is one of the mysteries - and joys - of opera, beautiful soul-wrenching music sung by flawed humans (Pinkerton, the Duke of Mantua) or in the case of Wotan, by a very flawed god.

[Karen]

Hi Short Story Slore -- I'm hoping to see The King's Speech next weekend, so I'll report back!

Hi Christine!! I didn't "mind" the Fontainbleau set so much, but I wasn't terribly keen on the rest. The Spanish "gardens" were just plain ugly, and I thought the facade of the cathedral in the auto-de-fe Act looked like nothing so much as a 1950s Chinese restaurant. But, as I said in the post, little could detract from the gorgeous singing. Really a stand-out cast.

Hello Rosemary: Absolutely -- Philip II's aria as sung by Furlanetto had me choked up. A real high point.

[Jacqueline]

I wish I could figure out how to reply in green type, to convey the level of envy I have about your opera experience. What I would give to see/hear Alagna and Poplavskaya! Lucky you! I spent five hours baking cookies on Sunday, and believe me, I desperately wanted (and did not have) a nap after that marathon. Sunday naps in the winter are so delicious, aren't they?

Jacqueline

[Odette]

How wonderful! I've been reading about Don Carlo on the Met website & watching preview videos.
My neighbor treated me to the Carmen live in HD screening at an Atlanta theater earlier this year & I was amazed at how powerful it was - all that familiar music taking on new life. Elīna Garanča is the best Carmen I've ever seen & heard - she captured the earthiness of the character in a way that made everything so vivid & real. And what a voice!
The HD Screenings are much better than I ever would have expected (but I'm hoping to go to an actual live performance at the Met again sometime). I wonder if they are mostly publicized by word of mouth - if I didn't have an opera-loving friend, I would never have heard about them.
http://www.metoperafamily.org/met_player/players/free/index.aspx?upc=811357013533_596645601001

[Karen]

Hi Jacqueline: Believe me, as a small-town girl (even one who's lived in NYC for nearly 30 years) I still pinch myself at how lucky I am to be here and have all of these wonderful opportunities. Perhaps you should check out the HD screenings in your area (see Odette's comment just below yours) -- they're terrific.

Hi Odette: I'm told that the HD screenings are wonderful, with the added benefit of close-ups that of course you only get by glueing your opera glasses to your face in the live performances -- LOL! Thanks for stopping by.

[Sara]

I agree with you - the cast was amazing. Such an incredible experience, and I'm glad you got to go. And I love a Sunday nap, especially when the weather is miserable.

[Karen]

Hi Sara: Don Carlo really was terrific; as for Sunday naps, I may make them a tradition!

[Martina]

Years ago I inherited my grandmother's very small, very crazy looking artificial tree (I believe it was one of the first ever made!). Now each year I put it up gleefully; it takes about 12 minutes start to finish (inclusive of Star Wars ornaments) and makes my apartment feel like Christmas in a heartbeat. If I had to do the big real tree deal every year, I think it would overwhelm me!
Moral of story, find a small, crazy artificial tree you can stash under the bed the rest of the year....