Monthly Archives: September 2014

Let the Great World Spin Response

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I found Let the Great World Spin to be a beautifully intricated interweaving of perspectives and lives into one grand story. The perspectives served to not only provide a fuller understanding of the plot line bringing new details with each individual storyline but also demonstrated how human lives are interwoven by the experiences which touch each of us. This story which takes place in New York serves as a microcosm of the intricate metaphorical web of humanity which surrounds us, we are connected by the lives we touch and string of experiences we share sometimes unknowingly. I was also struck with a realization of how instantly and innately our judgments of others are with very little pretense. Through the varying points of views we are able to gather the storyline of each character and view how others react and jump to conclusions about those same characters which as readers we know but the others no little about. It is intriguing to think that you see people and they see you and the connection is usually restricted to just that, passing glances. They know nothing about you, you know nothing about them. Quick judgments made during the few moments of your brief encounter will soon be forgotten. Furthermore, with all the chaos which occurs in such a brief amount of time the world seems to continue on regardless reminding us of our own insignificance on the grand scale of our universal timeline.

Man on Wire Response

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Phillip Petit is quite the character to say the least. The film portrayed him as being playful, zealous, charismatic, theatrical, and an overall very likable person. Furthermore, the surprisingly unwavering loyalty of his friends surprised me especially his girlfriend who claimed she didn’t truly have a destiny of her own her destiny was to help Phillip achieve his dream. Although his relentless dream of walking between the Twin Towers was a bit far-fetched and slightly odd it was extremely admirable. There is a strange beauty in the scenes where he finally achieves this. The idea of being in this kind of surreal isolation above a beautiful city living out a dream which nobody thought feasible is absolutely astounding.

Unfortunately, the aftermath of Petit’s achievement had me frustrated and saddened. I think Petit let the adrenaline rush and overwhelming moment of fame get to his head. He seemed to have disregarded the devotion of the loved ones who helped him fulfill his aspirations and move past that era of his life. Although the interviews with his girlfriend and closest companions revealed their resignation at Petit’s negligence after his huge achievement I could see that they were still hurt.

As he breaks out into a smile with the comfort of the tightrope beneath his feet in complete certainty I was struck with a feeling of admiration and jealousy that he had found something in his life that he was so passionate about, something he was more than willing to die for. I found myself inspired to seek out something which I love that much in the world that I can utterly devote myself to so entirely and secu

Le Nozze Di Figaro Reflection

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Firstly, The Metropolitan was gorgeous and exuded elegance in every aspect. Secondly, the viewing of the opera was a very enlightening experience. Prior to seeing the Le Nozze de Figaro my expectations were based on clips from movies and television, portrayals that presented opera as being long, sleep inducing performances of loud singers reserved for the bougie and elderly. I’m glad to report that I have been proven wrong. Le Nozze de Figaro has definitely opened my eyes and opera proved itself to be one of the highest forms of art. The amalgamation of drama, orchestration, and vocalization into one cohesive performance is an entirely unique experience. Not only was I amazed at the power and beauty behind the vocalists’ voices, but also the interesting plot also pleasantly surprised me. Even from the viewing lounge I found myself captivated by the complexity of the humorous and romantic plot line set to compositions by Mozart. It was at times confusing but overall very enjoyable. I’ll admit I have discovered a newfound appreciation for opera and may be tempted to see another sometime in the future.

Elyssa Sur-Intro

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Hello everyone! I know I’m a bit late to the introduction game but here we go. I’m Elyssa as some of you may already know. I have lived in Seal Beach, California my entire life and decided to venture pretty far from home to the city that never sleeps. I guess you could say in many aspects I’m a typical Cali kid: I love the beach, I listen to reggae music, I’m finding it very hard to live without In n Out burger, and I have been spoiled with amazing weather year round. Despite this I find myself in love with the city and feeling like I definitely made the right decision in coming here. One of the main attractions which had me gravitating towards NYC was the sheer amount of culture in the city and the nightlife. Literally everyday has been a new adventure and I am in love with the music scene. I can listen to almost anything and my playlist is constantly changing but mainly composed of indie, surf rock, surf punk, trap, rap and reggae. I also love photography although I am only amateur at best but the city presents many picturesque scenes, which I am glad to take advantage of. I would love to name my favorite films and bands but being a fairly indecisive and noncommittal person I could never choose. I can list some films I am very fond of though: The Graduate, A Clockwork Orange, 500 Days of Summer, Fight Club, and any Wes Anderson film. I look forward to getting to know all of you as well as the city.

Here’s a song which I have been very into lately:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TnNxhP0qsnY

A Girl on the Subway

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This is written from CCNY library, Monday morning, about an hour before the start of the class. The computer has stuck space bar, which makes it extremely difficult to type. Nonetheless, the fact that I miscalculated my time this morning and the fact that I arrived here an hour earlier than I intended do not change. Therefore, I must scribble something before I die of boredom.

I ride the 7 train to the “city.”

On the Queensboro Plaza, two come into train, a father and a daughter, to whom I gladly gave up my seat so that they could sit together. The father must remain a father, not a man, because he seemed to not be anything else without the relationship with his daughter, or at least, it appeared so for the duration of my travel. The daughter, however, was self-existent and therefore, I was able to conclude that she was not only a daughter, but also could be a girl.

“Next stop, Court Square”

This is the part of the travel in which the fast becomes slow and slow remains slow. Express train no longer leaps across the insignificant stations that are outside the “city.” If the Queensboro Plaza is the beginning of this revolution, Court Square is the one that fully lives up to her rights, and do herself justice by not being ignored. How fair.

“Why is it Quart Sqware?”

The girl asks her father. Is she asking the ontological question about the existence of “Quart Sqware”? The father kindly seats his daughter on his lap and tells her that it is “Court Square.” The girl insists on “Quart Sqware.”

“Oh…. then Times Square is next…..”

On what world is Times Square after Court? She should be the head of MTA. Many people will appreciate, especially when the universe revolves around moi.

“…and then it’s Vernon Jackson Avenue…”

I take it back. Her world must have trains leaping and jumping wildly across the air, back and forth around the globe. Not bad. Afterall, it is her world, and she has the right to think whatever–there is no limit, and if she is able to will it and able to imagine it, it exists.

“It’s Vernon Jackson Boulevard.”

The father kindly replied. Great revelation. Shocking truth. Undeniable reality.

“Well, it’s also an Avenue.”

The girl says. Super human analysis. Epitome of human wisdom. Highest philosophy.

“I die! I die!”

The girl is dying of boredom. There is nothing more relatable and nothing more genuine and nothing more philosophical and nothing more universal than the horror of death by boredom. I die I die. Death. Eloi Eloi- death? Langston Hughes’ weary blues death? Nicolas Guillen’s grandfathers singing ballads of me canso me canso, me muero me muero-death? I die I die I die.

And the two left on Vernon Jackson—without having to go through the tunnel of Sheol between Vernon-Jackson and Grand Central.

Le Nozze di Figaro Reaction

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To be completely honest, I enjoyed our evening at the opera much more than I had initially expected to. I had definitely been excited for the chance of a new experience, but I wasn’t necessarily sure whether or not this one was really going to be for me. I have never really been one for classical music, and I didn’t realize how entertaining the actual storyline would be. Needless to say, I was pleasantly surprised by how much I ended up enjoying myself by the end of the night.

As the show went on, I kept thinking about what Professor Drabik said in regard to taking a chance to admire what these people are able to do just with their voices. I think there is something to be said here for the determination and passion instilled in humanity, for there are people out there who have conditioned their voices to be able to be heard from “almost-Siberia”, all the way in the back of the theater, without a microphone. Sometimes during the show I had to consciously remember “Wow, they are doing this without any technological help. This is just them, singing to us”. Every time I remembered that, I thoroughly appreciated the music much more.  I had a similar thought every time I realized that the music wasn’t prerecorded, that there were real people playing real instruments right in front of my own eyes. After the performance, I had a much deeper appreciation for this kind of live music.

The reason that I say that there are indicative of humanity’s passion and determination is that we are not necessarily born knowing how to do these amazing things. It’s something that we have to train ourselves to do, and put in lots of practice before we can consider ourselves good at it. The fact that these people have conditioned themselves to create this music is astounding to me, particularly as someone who has never been musically inclined, and I am incredibly impressed by how beautifully it was all presented.

An epiphany to me in Church

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While I was at Mass in Church yesterday, I was thinking about why God is so important in are lives, while the choir sung “Lord, I need you.” Then all the pieces came together. I realized that a person needs other people, like teachers, farmers, manufacturers, and parents to live. (A person won’t survive alone in the world.) Also, God is in all people, so we need God to live. This is why God and other people should be so important to each of us.

Le Nozze Di Figaro

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I arrived at the Met Opera a whole hour early and just admired the buildings. The Met Opera House has such an extravagant look to it, even though it was boxy, the interior design was really incredible. You could see the inside of the building through its large windows. The chandeliers, the red carpets, and even the way the windows were shaped gave off a luxurious impression, as any renowned opera house should.

As for the opera itself, I would not have chosen a better opera to watch for my first experience. The plot of the play really kept me from sleeping through the whole thing because it was truly entertaining. I have tried watching a few operas (not soap operas) on PBS when I stumble upon them, but what makes me change the channel is how little movement the opera has. However Le Nozze Di Figaro broke this image I had about operas. Figaro had so many physical slapstick comedy, which really surprised me because I always thought operas were suppose to be reserved for more solemn stories, with long boring musical exchanges between characters. What also deterred me from watching the operas on PBS was the language. Even if the opera had a really captivating plot, I wouldn’t understand a word of it. But since The Met Opera provided subtitles, the audience was able to catch all the jokes and plot twisters.

Although the seating was quite far from the stage and a bit too high, it didn’t take away from enjoying the opera. Now I really understand why Operas are nicknamed The Queen of the Arts.

–Chloe

O is for Opera

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To say that seeing this opera was an eyeopener would be an understatement. Who knew an opera was going to be this intriguing?

This actually is not the first time I’ve come to the Met Opera House here at Lincoln Center. I remember taking a tour here at the opera house in 9th grade when we had a tour of the place. Who knew I would be back again some 4 years later to actually witness an opera!

The word opera never meant much for me. I mean, if you were to ask me to give you a word that begins with the letter “o”, the first word to come to mind with probably be orange or Oreo or something, and I don’t even think I would ever say the word opera before saying Oprah, LOL.

But last week Thursday, September 25th, was a complete 360 for me. I came with the attitude that it would just be snobby rich affluent people watching a four hour show that I would have absolutely no interest on whatsoever.

I was wrong.

Well, there probably were some snobby rich people, but I saw very diverse people there as well. People came from all over the world to see these performances.

And the best part was, I enjoyed the opera. At intermission I just couldn’t believe what I just saw, and there was more after that.

The best part of the opera was probably the fact that it was not in English. It forced me to try to go along with the people who are performing. The subtitles definitely helped, but I felt that I could probably follow along a bit even without the subtitles.

Mozart, I have to give it to you for the music. You, my friend, are a savant. A true talent.

~Christopher Chong

My Reaction to the Opera

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This was my first opera experience and as soon as I heard that it was going to be more than three hours long, my immediate reaction was: I don’t want to go. I had couple of experiences with plays and I did not like them. Therefore, I automatically assumed that opera is not going to be much different. In addition, I realized that our seats were all the way at the top, and being scared of heights, I thought I would not enjoy this opera.

First 20 minutes of the play was very slow. I do remember falling asleep couple of times. However, waking up to the sound of music was very calming and very peaceful, just like the professor said. It was a bother to pay attention to both the subtitles and the play simultaneously, however having a understanding of what is happening in the opera made me focus on the opera.

My favorite part of this opera was the humor. I never thought that I would laugh in an opera because I never thought it would be presented as a form of comedy.  I also loved the fact that the music never stopped. It played a great support in what was happening in the opera, such as building suspense. Overall, this experience was worth the time because I was able to encounter a form of art that I never saw.

 

Reaction to Le Nozze di Figaro

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Beautiful. High-class. Entertaining. Culture. Those are a few words that resonate within me when I think about my first night at the opera. Le Nozze di Figaro, a very entertaining comedy, was my first opera, and I saw it at the amazing Metropolitan Opera to boot. It was an incredible experience: meeting by the elegant water fountain, under the daze of twilight hours, everybody dressed in a their formal attire. It is definitely going to be a lifelong memory for me.

The opera itself was, overall, a captivating experience. Admittedly, there were a few moments where my mind drifted (although I did not fall asleep), but I feel that was due to the remarkable orchestra. The music was of such an elegant level that, at times, I forgot about the hilarious plot of the opera, and let my thoughts fuse with the music.

There were specific scenes, however, that truly grasped my attention. The opening scene, with the mind-boggling, rotating castle along with the very familiar classical tune captivated me, and was able to set the stage for what was to come. A few other memorable scenes were the scene in the bedroom, where Cherubino escapes through the window, and of course plot-twisting the scene where Marcellina and Bartolo are revealed to be Figaro’s parents.

My first night at the opera was a grand experience, and has opened my mind to attending future operas and other shows there at Lincoln Center.

Le Nozze di Figaro – Response

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Le Nozze di Figaro is fantastic, but highly confusing with everyone betraying each other, then everyone getting together again, then people switching roles, and heck, there was even a part where a woman wants to marry a man and then she finds out that he’s her son! I do have to agree that the opera was more than enjoyable despite the confusion.

After the opera, I came to a conclusion: We, the majority that haven’t been to an opera until then, did not get the full experience or appreciate the opera to its potential.
The opera has so many aspects of art, the set itself, the acting, the singing, the music and even the timing of lights and other stage props. I doubt that many of us noticed every single aspect at every single moment during the opera.

I know I didn’t. My friends say that I have something called art-ism. My friends joke around saying that its like autism, but with art rather than emotions. I agree with my friends, I know nothing of art. During the opera I was so focused on the storyline that I forgot to appreciate how concise the music was, how beautiful the set is, and how well the actors sang.
Then again, how could I know how well the music was, and how well the actors sang?
This was the first experience of an opera for me and I have no idea what does good music or good singing sounds like.
To a common man, student in our case, we have a general definition for good and bad sounding music.
To a person who is trained or professionally knows music, acting and singing, the definition of good and bad has sub-levels and different categories.
Under that logic, even if an actor sung an octave lower, the common man would not notice at all, but the professional would.
Thus, I feel like all of us, those who had their first experience with opera or know nothing related to singing, acting, and art itself, just couldn’t experience and appreciate the opera to its fullest.

Le Nozze di Figaro

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Le Nozze Di Figaro was much more interesting that I expected it to be. Going into my first opera experience, I was expecting a very boring experience. Moreover, I did not anticipate being able to understand the plot, but the subtitles were incredibly helpful. Instead of being completely lost throughout the performance, I was able to understand exactly what was going on. The opera was actually much funnier that I anticipated, with many well-timed jokes that made the experience much better than just seeing a typical tragedy or drama.

The most impressive part of the opera is that the singers were able to sing loud enough for everyone to clearly hear what they are saying, despite not using microphones. Sometimes the singers would be lying on the floor and still be able to project loud enough for everyone to hear them. They were also able to do this while performing their actions on stage. Moreover, they had to sing over the orchestra, which makes it much more impressive that everyone could understand them.

Overall, I would say that I enjoyed the experience, which is something I did not expect to happen going in.

The Opera

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If you had asked me four years ago, three years ago, two years, a list of all the places I thought I’d go to, the opera would never have been on that list. Going to the Opera this Thursday was an incredibly eye-opening and enjoyable experience.

I went in with the mindset that I’d be bored and I wouldn’t be able to understand anything. I was badly mistaken. The set up at the Met Opera was beautiful. The way the subtitles were shown allowed me to both witness the (incredible) performance on stage, as well as understand what was going on. The sets themselves were another thing of beauty and I was astonished when I saw how they worked.

Everyone involved in the production did an incredible job. The orchestra played very well and you could discern their different sounds. One of the most incredible aspects of the opera, as Professor Drabik talked about in class, was how the actors, unmiked, managed to project their voices to the entire theater over the sound of a full orchestra.

Now there’s the matter of the Opera itself: La Nozze De Figaro. I think I had a great time at the Opera mostly because of how entertaining the narrative was. It was humorous, both in performance and plot. The story, while confusing at times, kept the viewer’s attention.

The Opera was an enlightening experience and, now, if someone asked me where I would like to go, it will definitely be on the list.

All’opera con Figaro

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(Note: I’ve added a category for this opera)

Though I had to leave early, I thoroughly enjoyed being able to attend Le Nozze di Figaro–especially in such good company.

I am always struck by not only the splendor of opera, but at how often the story being told is relevant to a contemporary world. I am familiar with Beaumarchais’s plays, though I greatly prefer the operatic versions. The plays were written during a time of immense upheaval in France — the country was building towards revolution (indeed the last of the trilogy was written during the revolution that began in 1789). At this time, immense tension had built between the ruling nobility and the poor commoners. The Sun King (Louis XIV) had run the country financially into the ground and the people were starving.

Though not entirely the same, this tension between economic classes in France during the 1780s and 90s resonates for me with the current national conversation about the disappearing middle class and the increasing number of citizens living below the federal poverty level. I appreciate Mozart’s opera so much because the struggle between classes is clearly present in the tale.

I’m pleased I got to hear “Voi che sapete” during act II, and bummed I missed one of the other pieces I enjoy immensely:

I’ve already made plans to see Carmen next week with a friend. A fantastic opera if you have the chance to get affordable student tickets!

The Metropolitan Opera House : Le Nozze di Figaro

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The Metropolitan Opera. Right near Lincoln Center, in the center of the city. A huge building with towering entryways. Floor-to-roof windows.

I enter and there is a sweeping staircase, front and center. It’s covered with red carpet and branches both to the left and to the right. The auditorium is a box, furnished with a extruded “U” of seating and a very tall stage. I am sitting in the family circle, and I realize that I am very high up; if I slip on the stairs, very bad things could happen. But we are still not yet in Siberia—that’s over to the left and right. I see the turntable move. This is going to be interesting.

I’ve heard the Overture to the Marriage of Figaro many times since I was in grade school; when the orchestra began playing, I marveled at the clarity of each of the instruments. I can see why surround sound systems and ultra-high-bitrate recordings are in such high demand—the sound coming from the pit orchestra can’t be replicated with a pair of speakers and an mp3 file.

The opera was confusing; I couldn’t keep one eye on the titles and the other on the stage, so I had to choose between understanding the dialogue and perceiving the movement of the actors. There was definitely a lot of humor in this opera, made clear through the liberally translated text and the shenanigans on stage.

Intermission: long lines at the bathroom for both genders, Lindt truffles (yes!), and sesame crunch (high-energy, “reinforcements” in the words of Prof. Drabik). The culture of opera-goers includes ordering food to be served during this 30-minute intermission. Hmm… what kind of occasions can be celebrated with this kind of extravagance? How would it make sense to spend that kind of money?

Back to the opera. A hiding of identities and a swapping of roles take place with the Countess and Susanna to make fools of their respective husbands (and if I may propose this, to elevate themselves over their spouses by requiring them to beg forgiveness for their infidelity).

And out. I can see myself coming back to experience Richard Wagner and Hector Berlioz.

Let the Great World Spin Reaction

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I wanted to answer one of the questions that was not brought up in class today.

The question was: The final chapter seems almost not to belong to the novel as it is separated by 32 years from the main events. In what ways does this ending add to, complicate, or even change the story?

First, I want to disagree with the question! I thought the final chapter fit quite nicely with the novel. Even though it was separated by 32 years from the main events, so was the beginning of the story. Let the Great World Spin started off with a description of John and Ciaran’s childhood, which really helped introduce their characters and begin their stories. The ending is just as fitting because it shows the impact all of these different characters had on the new generation. The ending adds to the cycle of stories that brought all these characters together. Just like its title, the stories of every character continues on as the world spins. By showing how the past affected the future of a character like Jaslyn really solidifies the point Colum McCann’s makes in his title as well as through all the different stories he weaves together.

Construction Site, Windy Night Reaction

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This is my favorite poem that we have read so far this semester, but I especially liked the final two lines. In the final two lines, Christopher writes, “towering over them / and filling them with dread of heights”. I interpret this to mean that sometimes we create things that instill fear in others, and I think that is especially relevant today with the advances in technology and many people fearing how far it will go. These tall buildings that are being constructed are bringing about a fear of heights, which we didn’t really have before, since we could not get that high. And today we have many new fears related to the advancements in technology.

Construction Site, Windy Night Reaction

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I was really confused when I first read this poem. But, I still appreciated how it sounded when I read it aloud after reading it silently and having no clue what it all meant. What is iconic about New York City are the tall skyscrapers, the brownstones, plentitude of apartment buildings and just everything tall. There is always this constant sound of construction around the city, new office space, new family friendly apartments, newly paved streets. The city is always changing and improving for the constant flux of people coming in and moving out.

9/11

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My memory of 9/11 was a quite vivid one. I had been preparing to play violin at the U.N. with the rest of my violin troupe for a few months now and it we were all really excited to showcase our talents. I remember sitting on the ground outside of the U.N. (we arrived extra early because we were extra excited) and feeling really eerie because of the weather. I remember it being a humid and cloudy morning, but not cloudy enough to smother our excitement.

When we were finally escorted into the building and through security we unpacked our violins and went through the line-up. I don’t remember what order I was in, but just as the second violinist started her piece, security briskly walked in and called for our attention. They said bluntly that the Twin Towers were hit and we had to leave immediately because this building might be next. Panic filled the air and everyone began to scramble for their bags, their cases and grabbed the closest person they were next to and ran for the lobby. We had so many questions and none of us knew where to go, where it was safest and how to get there.

As we continued walking on the streets, all these bars were filled with people, their mouths gaping wide at the giant screens. The televisions kept showing repeats of the plane hitting the North Tower. The adults and the older college students who were in our troupe counted all the kids and made sure everyone was accounted for. But they didn’t know what to do next. Our troupe began to disintegrate as everyone tried to find their own way back. My dad grabbed my moms hand and yelled at all my siblings to hold hands as we went back out into the streets. Everyone was running in no particular direction, people yelling, cars beeping, it looked and sounded like any ordinary rush hour but everyone was panicking. We couldn’t catch a cab, there were plenty but no one was willing to take us to Queens. We finally caught a cab that would only take us across boroughs for 300 dollars. My dad didn’t hesitate and quickly agreed. We all loaded onto the cab and as we were crossing a bridge (I can’t remember which one) I could see the smoke rising into the gray sky. It was the first time I ever saw my dad cry. He lost many of his colleagues that day like many others and still remembers them every year. My younger sisters can’t remember that day but I can’t seem to forget it. My story isn’t particularly special as I am just one small life that has been affected by this tragedy.

Reflection on Let the Great World Spin

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The book “Let the Great World Spin” was interesting because it was made up of three different main stories and it gave the audience knowledge of what was going on from the perspectives of different people. One story was about John and Corian Corrigan and the people they met in New York City. Another story was about Claire, Gloria, Jaslyn and other people they met in or going to New York City. There was also the real life story about the man, Philippe Petit, when he walked across a wire between the Twin Towers in New York City. Throughout the book, there are connections between the stories.

Each story has the goal of telling the reader that it is important to get involved with New York City, rather than sit back and let things happen without your input. Everyone is effected by the city. Whether living in it as a religious pauper, walking on a tight rope between the World Trade Centers, or even just coming to buy a special chess set made of Canadian wood.

What I find unique about this book is that the author, Colum McCann, switches his writing style back and forth between first person and third person. Once I read a chapter of the book, I have to change the way I pick up information from the following chapter.

Man On Wire

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For some odd reason, I feel as if the beginning of any documentary is bound to bore me, however, as this particular film went on, past a certain point I could not peel my eyes off that screen. I was so intrigued by the process Phillipe and his crew had to go through in order for him just to walk that tightrope between the Twin Towers. So to me, the feat that amazed me and demanded my attention the most was not necessarily the actual walk across the wire itself (although it was extremely out of this world), but rather the successful act of breaking into both Twin Towers and stringing the wire between each tower before daylight without getting caught or seen.

I’m pretty into video games that involve stealth and not getting caught, so I guess that explains why I was so drawn to the whole process of breaking into the Twin Towers and setting up their equipment in the middle of the night.

~Pun