Monday, April 28, 2008
I’m not sure if it started with my bonus, Bobby’s arrival, or the good weather, but whatever it was I have partying like a rock star these days. Night after night, there was always someone I was willing to oblige in going out and, night after night, I was probably drinking a little too much (OK a lot) and staying out a little too late and going to work looking rough around the edges.
Amid all this, there were some highlights. Last weekend was a weekend with Michael. It started off with opera night at his place and continued on when he got us tickets to see Un Ballo in Maschera at the Met. I saw it earlier this season with my mother and wasn’t that crazy about it. Perhaps it was the improvement in company, seats (we were in the front grand tier), or weather because I had a wonderful time this time around.
The following Monday and Friday I feel like I was out every night and vaguely remember a thing from it, though I do recall going with Rob on another fateful trip to Therapy, a bar in Hell’s Kitchen, hanging out with an old colleague or two, then finally getting to the weekend exhausted. Nonetheless, Friday night I went out with Rob before throwing myself over the edge and heading to meet Michael and his friends in Chelsea. Uuuuugh.
Saturday I toned it down a bit. In fact, I had a great day. Shaking off a hangover and sleep deprivation, Mary and I met in the city for brunch then saw the HD performance of La Fille du Régiment. After, we found a great wine bar before going to a German restaurant for dinner. Sunday was got even more low-key with going to Bobby’s for homemade soup and cookies while playing some Scrabble.
So during all this it was a miracle that I was able to keep to my commitment to quit smoking. Many of you probably only think of me as a smoker when I drink; Problem is that seems to be ALL THE TIME and the lungs are not doing so great. It’s been just over a week now and I feel so much better.
Time to kick the smoking habit once and for all, and get the going out thing under control.
Amid all this, there were some highlights. Last weekend was a weekend with Michael. It started off with opera night at his place and continued on when he got us tickets to see Un Ballo in Maschera at the Met. I saw it earlier this season with my mother and wasn’t that crazy about it. Perhaps it was the improvement in company, seats (we were in the front grand tier), or weather because I had a wonderful time this time around.
The following Monday and Friday I feel like I was out every night and vaguely remember a thing from it, though I do recall going with Rob on another fateful trip to Therapy, a bar in Hell’s Kitchen, hanging out with an old colleague or two, then finally getting to the weekend exhausted. Nonetheless, Friday night I went out with Rob before throwing myself over the edge and heading to meet Michael and his friends in Chelsea. Uuuuugh.
Saturday I toned it down a bit. In fact, I had a great day. Shaking off a hangover and sleep deprivation, Mary and I met in the city for brunch then saw the HD performance of La Fille du Régiment. After, we found a great wine bar before going to a German restaurant for dinner. Sunday was got even more low-key with going to Bobby’s for homemade soup and cookies while playing some Scrabble.
So during all this it was a miracle that I was able to keep to my commitment to quit smoking. Many of you probably only think of me as a smoker when I drink; Problem is that seems to be ALL THE TIME and the lungs are not doing so great. It’s been just over a week now and I feel so much better.
Time to kick the smoking habit once and for all, and get the going out thing under control.
Monday, April 07, 2008
Being an “opera purist” I have always advocated seeing an opera in an opera house to truly experience the art form’s power. How else can you really understand how a singer uses volume, how the voice blends with the orchestra by any other means than being in the balcony and “feeling” that voice project up to you. And, to be honest, they have never truly replicated the sound of the human voice and all its nuances. I remember hearing my first pianissimo (a “soft” tone, yet projected and powered) it sent chills up my spine.
So when the Metropolitan opera introduced live HD telecasts into movie theaters last season I wondered what the point was. We can all purchase recordings and DVDs for a similar price and to experience it live, why not go to the opera itself? But as friends and family who have gone to these telecasts raved, on Saturday Mary and I decided to what all the hype was about. Saturday was La Boheme, an opera I happen to know every note of by heart, and the production was one of Zeferelli’s most famous.
The opera opens with Renee Fleming, today’s reigning diva, sitting on the side of the sets, introducing the opera. She then walks to the flies of the stage by the prompter who cues the maestro. The next shot is in the green room and the cameras follow him out into the pit. The curtain goes up and the opera begins.
It was marvelous, the camera work was world-class and the production held up despite the close ups (usually). The backstage interviews with the singers, stagehands, chorus, explaining what this opera means, and how they pull it off, brought this esoteric art form down to earth.
The sound, of course, was nothing like it was live; a bit unbalanced. Well, you can’t have everything. This is, in some ways, a new art form that works incredibly well. Seeing as now this is being broadcast almost everywhere in the US and around the world, I think we can say that the world agrees.
So when the Metropolitan opera introduced live HD telecasts into movie theaters last season I wondered what the point was. We can all purchase recordings and DVDs for a similar price and to experience it live, why not go to the opera itself? But as friends and family who have gone to these telecasts raved, on Saturday Mary and I decided to what all the hype was about. Saturday was La Boheme, an opera I happen to know every note of by heart, and the production was one of Zeferelli’s most famous.
The opera opens with Renee Fleming, today’s reigning diva, sitting on the side of the sets, introducing the opera. She then walks to the flies of the stage by the prompter who cues the maestro. The next shot is in the green room and the cameras follow him out into the pit. The curtain goes up and the opera begins.
It was marvelous, the camera work was world-class and the production held up despite the close ups (usually). The backstage interviews with the singers, stagehands, chorus, explaining what this opera means, and how they pull it off, brought this esoteric art form down to earth.
The sound, of course, was nothing like it was live; a bit unbalanced. Well, you can’t have everything. This is, in some ways, a new art form that works incredibly well. Seeing as now this is being broadcast almost everywhere in the US and around the world, I think we can say that the world agrees.
Friday, April 04, 2008
In a city as big and densely populated as New York, it’s amazing how many people one can interact with and not get to know. After going to the same deli and ordering the same thing day-after-day, there are times when I would venture to say it is the good employees at Liberty Deli that know me best.
Alas, those are only on those days when I’m being melodramatic. On one front, I have the good friends that I don’t see (in Chicago) those in Chicago that I do see (Rob, Mary, a couple of others) and I’m glad to report some new additions. Most of which have come to me, some way or another, through my enjoyment of opera.
No, it’s not going to the opera house that I meet anyone new – it’s like meeting someone in a movie theater. You see, knowing me is hearing me rant about the opera, going to the opera, and listening to it when you come over (and even over a teary martini). So when my friends meet new people that are fans they generally try to connect me to them by saying “oh you should meet Matt, he’s a fan, too.” And so it goes that I’m eventually introduced. In some ways it’s like being a smoker; there aren’t many of you but you share something so esoteric that you immediately let your guard down with that person and have stuff to talk about.
Ok, ok, so where am I going with all this? I met a cool new friend, Michael, through his friend that lives in Wisconsin, Brock, who dated – at one point – a guy who just broke up with my friend in Chicago. Exhale. Inhale. And while I’ve generally met a lot of other opera fans, this is one of the first that is not a) a snob, b) totally anti-social, c) boring, d) 90+ years old, etc. Layer on that a good soul who's lots of fun and there you have it, a recipe for good, new people in my life.
Alas, those are only on those days when I’m being melodramatic. On one front, I have the good friends that I don’t see (in Chicago) those in Chicago that I do see (Rob, Mary, a couple of others) and I’m glad to report some new additions. Most of which have come to me, some way or another, through my enjoyment of opera.
No, it’s not going to the opera house that I meet anyone new – it’s like meeting someone in a movie theater. You see, knowing me is hearing me rant about the opera, going to the opera, and listening to it when you come over (and even over a teary martini). So when my friends meet new people that are fans they generally try to connect me to them by saying “oh you should meet Matt, he’s a fan, too.” And so it goes that I’m eventually introduced. In some ways it’s like being a smoker; there aren’t many of you but you share something so esoteric that you immediately let your guard down with that person and have stuff to talk about.
Ok, ok, so where am I going with all this? I met a cool new friend, Michael, through his friend that lives in Wisconsin, Brock, who dated – at one point – a guy who just broke up with my friend in Chicago. Exhale. Inhale. And while I’ve generally met a lot of other opera fans, this is one of the first that is not a) a snob, b) totally anti-social, c) boring, d) 90+ years old, etc. Layer on that a good soul who's lots of fun and there you have it, a recipe for good, new people in my life.
