Since it was an Italian opera, I thought it was appropriate to have Italian dinner.
We arrived at Dorothy Chandler Pavilion about 20 minutes before. To my surprise a lady was explaining aobut the opera but we missed most of it. Next time I'll go early so I won't miss it.
Our seat was in the middle but still it was at least 90-100 feet away from the stage. But to my surprise I was able to hear the songs very clearly. I dinn't know human voice can be that beautiful and that powerful.
Ramon Vargas performed as Nemorino,
Ruth Ann Swenson as Adina,
Sir Thomas Allen as Dulcamara, and
Rodney Gilfry as Belcore.
The story was easy to follow and the opera was filled with good humor and comic touches. (super script helped a lot) My favorite character was Dulcamara, more of a clown character. He didn't only sing well but performed as good as any actors. I realized opera is complete entertainment; songs, classical music, and theater, all combined in one.
I almost cried when Nemorino sang "Una furtiva lagrima". It was very moving. The audience cheered for almost 3 minutes after that song. Mr Vargas and Ms. Swenson's performance was outstanding.
The only weak part was the set. The set never changed and Belcore's enterance should have been more colorful.
We both enjoyed it very much. To me it was an eye opening experience. Next time I'll try to get a closer seat and will try one of the tragedies.
I did impress her with "recitative" <g> (however, there were only few lines of recitatives in entire opera.)
I also look for a pink shirt, but wasn't able to find any.
Just thinking about that pink neon shirt among mostly black and dark clothes gave me a big smile.
Thank you all for helping me out!
jon |
