The Arts in NYC Fall 2012

‘Aida’, out of all the required performances, was the one I was the most excited about. Since we spent our last week talking about how magnificent and cultured an opera is and especially after Professor Cohen came in and educated us about the differences between an aria and a recitative and how all the major characters have different themes for them, my level of excitement reached its peak. Therefore, last Friday, Susu, Jackie and I organized a shopping trip to buy the perfect dress for this grand performance and by Monday we were all set to experience our first Opera.

The Lincoln center in itself was huge and the hall where ‘Aida’ was supposed to take place was even more impressive and enormous than I had imagined it to be. Although, we were seated way at the back, I still was awestruck by the overall ambience and was pretty excited for Aida to start. However, unfortunately, within five minutes of the first act I sensed that this was going to be a long night. For starters, I could not even see the faces of the performers. Secondly, I did not particularly like the orchestra except for Aida’s and Amneris’s jealousy theme and since Radames’s part of desiring to be the commander of the army was too prolonged for me, I settled on shifting my focus on my surroundings instead. Hence, I spent the entire first act looking around at who was sleeping, fidgeting around my seat or foraging for candy in my bag. Thus, it was no surprise when after the first act ended, I was more than enthusiastic to get out of my seat (partly the reason for my notorious fall) but thankfully I didn’t break anything and finally took the wise decision to pay more attention on the other acts. With new vigor, I took on the task of putting all my concentration on Act II and surprisingly, this was not as boring as the first one. I still did not particularly like the part where Amneris tricked Aida in confessing her love for Radames and personally thought that Aida could have done a much better job in both singing and acting. However, the triumphal procession part was somewhat more engaging and I actually enjoyed it. The set design, the ballerinas and the horses proved to be quite fascinating for me and at that point I felt as if, after all, the opera wasn’t so bad.

As the acts progressed, I felt more comfortable and at ease, and found Amneris’s parts to be the most captivating. Firstly, Amneris did a remarkable job in singing than both Radames and Aida and even though I could not see her facial expressions, I could sense her emotions through her voice. When I was reading the libretto, Amneris came across to me as the typical spoilt rich princess who was the reason behind the incomplete love of the two main protagonists. However, at the opera I realized that I could relate more to Amneris than to Aida, maybe because she acted out her part so well. I was truly captivated by the Act IV of the play, where Amneris tried to coax Radames in pleading innocent in front of the court. Even though, Radames had betrayed her and her country and had explicitly shown his love for Aida, Amneris still was not able to hate him. Her love for him was so strong that she was willing to sacrifice everything for him, willing to accept his treachery and plead for his life even though she knew that he did not love her. Although, Aida was supposed to be a tragedy of Radames and Aida, I found Amneris’s story to be more tragic and touching.

Overall, watching the opera at the Met was a great experience, and although the opera itself might not have been that entertaining, I still enjoyed the overall experience.

Aida fell short of my expectations. 🙁 It really saddens me to say that I did not enjoy “Aida” as much as I had thought I would. After looking forward to it for many weeks, especially after the class we had with Jake, I was rather let down. It might have been because of the seats…but I am sure that wasn’t the main problem.

In case you were wondering, I did not fall asleep; So, it’s safe to say that it wasn’t my lack of attention that took away from the performance. I feel like I didn’t feel the emotions from the actors on stage as much as I did from the actors in the videos we saw online. This is usually not how it’s supposed to be though. Normally, I would think that seeing a live performance would be better than watching a video but the actors in “Aida” at the Met were really lack luster. Since I had binoculars, I could see the facial expressions of the actors at certain times and it felt like they weren’t giving it their best effort. It was either that, or the actors in the videos were just that much better than them. Either way, their performance was just missing the “umph” factor. In the last scene where Aida and Radames were stuck in the tomb, I was most dissapointed. My expectation was that they would be dramatic like I saw in some movies and even in the videos online. What I saw was an extremely anticlimactic ending and although I did applaud the actors at the end, I wasn’t too zealous about it and barely managed to bring my hands together. There just wasn’t enough emotion in that last part to lift me up.

I do think though, that the woman who played Amneris did a great job. I remember watching her in the last act crying in despair of her ruined love. That was definitely the highlight of the night. Even the New York Times agreed! haha. But in all seriousness she did stand out more for me than the two main characters and even the entire rest of the cast! Her performance was enough to get me to really notice her and feel the emotions that she was supposed to be channeling. Even though I didn’t really feel anything through most of the performance, I kind-of teared up when she was listening in on Radames’ death sentencing. Amneris definitely did a great job. I also enjoyed the sets and the movement they had. It was amazing to see an entire background shift upwards into the cieling or down in to the ground. I hadn’t ever seen something like that prior to the night at the opera and it was really cool. The horses in the opera were also really interesting because they were Live and also restless which made them quite funny.

Aside from the actual performance I feel like the Metropolitan Opera was only just okay. Yes, the chandelier was pretty and they had pretty nice water fountains but the rest of the decor was so much less than I had expected. The walls were very bare and the dress displays were so few that I was done viewing them in a heartbeat. It might have been because I was expecting too much but it was kinda sad that the opera was so different from my expectations.

Overall, The opera was nice but not really. I’m not sure if I would go back…maybe if I was really interested in another opera, and i had the money. But, without help from an expert like Professor Jacob Cohen, that isn’t very likely.

~Jackie

I don’t know how many of you get a chance to come out to Long Island, but if you ever do there is truly a gem in the Heckscher Art Museum in Huntington. Heckscher has on display over 2500 traditional pieces of art with a focus on the 19th and 20th century landscape paintings. As American’s moved west and settled their lands, so too did their brushes and paints settle on canvas.

The collection I sought to see was their exhibition on Realism in the 19th and 20th centuries. The pieces use reflection of reality on water, ice, or even mirrors, as a talent of painting and as an interpretation of the time period.

The art lacks the shock value of many modern art pieces we have been viewing this year, but because the semester is ending and I have been inundated with contemporary art, I decided to take myself back to art as I knew it prior to this class.

A piece that stood out to me was the Blue Bulb by Margery Caggiano. It was painted during the 1970’s, which as we know was a time for great cultural revolutions. It stood out to me as being so vividly real in light of a time that was so outwardly idealistic. In addition to that, the sheer talent and time spent on the painting stunned me as it is clearly shown in the grace with which the brush was rubbed.

Upon first glance I had thought it was a photograph. The shadows and reflections were so unnervingly real that I could hardly fathom how much practice and effort went into painting it that way.

The painting struck me as commentary on the banality of everyday things, and how marvelous they can be when meticulously crafted by human hands instead of their machines. A light bulb to us would appear as nothing more than a tool; we use it, we flick it on or off, but we never observe. We never care or take time to appreciate the effort put into creating or working it. Through photo-realism, this particular division of pop art, we are able to see the beauty in the tedium of modern day life. With all our amenities and gadgets we rarely take the time to appreciate them for what they are and the effort that goes into creating them. Case in point, the shadows and reflections expertly painted in this piece.

If you desire a different experience from your traditional art museum, one that you can better understand and appreciate for talent and time spent, the Heckscher museum is host to hundreds of realist and surrealist pieces. It is art as we know it; the classics we see in textbooks but never anywhere else. Being so close to them allows you to appreciate all that you’ve learned and compartmentalized of history, tapping into the culture of the time as opposed to the counter-cultures.

-Stephen Elliott

Like many of us, I was pretty hesitant, at first, about attending the opera. Simply looking at images of Lincoln Center and at commercials for upcoming performances were quite overwhelming because of the great sophistication they exuded – way too ‘classy’ for me. I figured that a bunch of 18-year-old college freshmen at an opera – sung for over 3 hours in Italian – would not be the most ideal trip. Fortunately, I was wrong.

Our seats were obviously not the best for viewing the stage, but it gave me a great view of the orchestra. Before the performers appeared on stage, the orchestra played – what I recall to be – an impactful opening piece. It was absolutely moving to hear such skilled musicians play and to see the conductor fervently lead the orchestra. As a matter of fact, I often glanced between the stage and the English subtitles in front of me to the orchestra just to watch, as a fellow classmate commented, “intense looks on their faces. It was obvious that playing music was their dream, and they definitely put in their 10,000 hours.”

As for “Aida” itself, Acts I and II were the opera’s highlights. They seemed to have just flown right on by. I was captivated by the strength of Radames’ voice. I also found him to be a good actor. Initially, I was not impressed with Aida. I still do not think that her acting skills were on point and her voice did not move me. Although she hit some beautifully high notes and knows how to work the dynamics of her voice. Amneris’ voice was not all too captivating, but she knew how to sing in a way that very easily reflected the words of her song. I believe that she had the best connection between how she sang and what she sang about. One could tell whether she was raging with jealousy, distraught, or in the middle of one of her strategic and manipulative tactics.

Acts I and II were also home to incredible set and costume designing – let us not forget those fidgety horses either!

I was quite disappointed by Acts III and IV. Those acts seemed endless and, quite honestly, were dragged out for much longer than they needed to be. I was very disappointed with Aida’s performance when Amansaro refers to her as Radames’ slave. Aida, a Ethiopian princess, your father has just called you the slave of an Egyptian king and all you have to say to that is ‘ohh!’ This was such a pivotal moment in the opera and Aida’s reaction did not suffice – especially when compared to that of the other Aida in the YouTube video we saw with Professor Cohen. Moreover, the ending acts, in general, were too anti-climactic. Acts I and II were incomparably vibrant and lively even though the turning points were mainly in the last two acts.

The adequate lengths of and appropriate spacing of the intermissions between the “Aida’s” acts provided some relief from the music and singing, but there could have been a longer pause in the third act. Really, there could have been. 🙂

There are many other things I wanted to make mention of, but the opera is kind of a blur for me no.w Overall though, it was a pleasure to see “Aida” and with Professor Jacob Cohen’s help, I was able to understand much more had I only read the libretto.

– Salma

P.S. I put this YouTube link to a popular Egyptian movie that was released years ago, 1999 to be exact, but “Aida” drew me back to it because of Verdi’s triumphant march. There is also an “Aida” reference – which I missed as a young girl – but am now familiar with. It is also pretty funny.

(I’ve linked it to where it should start (1:05:10), so just hit play and enjoy until 1:06:20 … unless of course you want to watch the rest of it … in Arabic.)

Today, on my way home after class, I visited a small museum called Voelker Orth Museum Bird Sanctuary and Victorian Garden. It is located in Flushing, Queens. The museum’s mission statement is “through the experience of an immigrant family’s 1890s home, preserves and interprets the cultural and horticultural heritage of Flushing, Queens and adjacent communities to engage their ever-changing populations.”

The gardens are well preserved, containing the flora of the Victorian Age, and continues to be managed in a similar fashion as it was about 100 years ago, using natural fertilizers and herbicides. By doing so, it attracted many birds, butterflies, and bees to the garden. Also the house structure is preserved in the way that was very common in Flushing back in Victorian Era.

Even though, the museum was small, I enjoyed seeing little details of everyday lives of people 100 years ago. The museum had a garden, which also was very small in size, but was good to see how people used to naturally grow their plants, using environment friendly fertilizers and herbicides that attracted many birds and butterflies.

When I first learned that we were going to the opera in the beginning of the year, I was sort of intrigued. I’ve never been to an opera before so I had no real expectations. I only heard people’s opinions of the opera; some raved about it, and some absolutely despised it. I would say that after my first trip to the opera, I have mixed reviews.

The positive side to my experience at the opera was the ambiance of the theater. Just walking around on the Upper West Side in nice dress clothes was a fun experience in itself because it really allowed us to get a feel for the elite side of New York.  Being at Lincoln Center allowed us to temporarily enter a social class in which we usually do not reside, and it felt cool to sort of be “undercover” throughout the performance. I noticed there were some people there who seemed like the opera was their hot spot, and that it was designed for them to be there. However, since we were in the same venue as these individuals, my classmates and I have every right to show up at another opera (even if we do smell like a chicken burrito from Chipotle) and act like it’s our place, too. Furthermore, another aspect of “Aida” I enjoyed was the intermissions. I felt like the performance was spaced out really well so the audience never got excessively bored or tired. If the intermissions came in longer intervals during the production, I feel like I could have gotten bored and could have possibly dozed off in my seat. However, the length and timing of the intermissions helped me sustain an interest in the production, so I was appreciative of those breaks. Additionally, another point of the opera I liked was the orchestra. I could be totally wrong in my perspective of the orchestra, but to me it seems like opera-goers only focus on the actors and their singing and not the music being played. I frequently glanced down at the band, and they all had such intense looks on their faces. It was obvious that playing music was their dream, and they definitely put in their 10,000 hours. I think all their coordination and synchronized music really enhanced the opera in a way that I never thought a band was capable of doing.

Moreover, there were some parts of the opera I did not find so enjoyable. I thought some of the actors in the opera did not live up to their hype. Like most of my classmates noticed,  the singer who played Aida was a little flat, and Ramades seemed a little uncomfortable. Their acting was also a little shaky. When Aida’s father tells her she is going to be known as the pharaoh’s slave, not his daughter, Aida simply fell over and began to weep. If a parent disowns a child, you would expect the young person to be an emotional wreck, not dismissive. So, the negative components to the experience would have to be the somewhat flat voices of the stars of the play and the lack of expression on their faces.

Overall, attending “Aida” was a great opportunity for me to learn more about New York City at it’s finest, and I am glad I got to experience it with my classmates.

Aida. Oh Aida.

I always thought that operas are just boring. So, I tried to think of ways to stay awake during Aida. Surprising, I enjoyed it a lot more than I thought I would. Maybe because I was already familiar with the Aida theme, I knew what kind of music they are going to play when Radames expresses his hope to be the captain and I recognized the jealousy theme, I sat there wide awake and excited.

However, by the second act, I became a little bored. It was different from what Jake showed us. Plus, it was not as dramatic as I expected it to be. So, I sat there only looking forward to the part when Aida’s father told her that she is no longer his daughter. I wanted to see all those emotions, but it was alright. Maybe because we are so far from the stage, nothing seemed to be that dramatic.

Honestly, I like Amneris a lot more than Aida. She deserves better. If the roles were switched as Amneris being Aida’s slave, I think Aida would have been the typical evil princess.

Thanks to Jake, I now know what recitative and aria are. I can now brag about it to my friends when we reunite at Christmas gathering. Overall, I am glad that I got a chance to experience the Opera. I would like to go opera again, but I probably won’t until I can afford the better seats.

Over the weekend I went to the Chelsea Piers exhibits with a couple of my friends and walked through the many galleries there. One of the exhibits really stood out to me. “Badges” by Lin Tianmiao consisted of enlarged embroidered sewing circles that hung from the ceiling. Each circle had one word that a woman may be called sewed onto it in Chinese and English. Among the words were “foxy,” “career girl,” “bimbo,” “armcandy,” and “honey sweetheart.” They were all oriented different ways and turned as you walked through them. In addition to this, there was a recording that played of a strange voice saying all the words that appeared around us.

I think Tianmiao was trying to make a statement about the labels placed on women in todays day and age. She seems like an artist who gets her inspiration from challenges women face and also her Chinese culture. The recording added an eerie feeling to the work, which was kind of cool. The overall exhibit was fun and different, while also making a powerful statement. Her style is unique and has a common “thread;” she uses a lot of embroidery in her work, maybe to emphasize the theme of women even more. I looked up Lin Tianmiao briefly and I found that she uses thread in her work a lot, something she learned from her grandmother. She makes a lot of statements about women in Chinese culture, and even uses her own image in her work. Her roots are clearly a big influence in her art. She also sculptures bones often in her exhibits, and accompanies visual works with recordings. I would like to see more of Lin Tianmiao’s art in the future to see how the themes she uses carries over to the different ideas she has.

I have to say, I was really excited to see Aida. Now that I feel more comfortable frequenting museums and art installations, I was kind of hoping that the opera would become more accessible to me too. And it did, but it was kind of alienating in a way?

I walked in with a few people and we immediately got dirty looks from other attendees — and that kind of put me off from the start. I felt really out of place? I like to think of myself as a social chameleon of sorts, because it’s really easy for me to adopt certain habits and practices in order to fit in. But in this case, I felt more compelled to accentuate my differences as a means of showing up the competition, per se.

Anyway, obvious class differences aside, I thought it was a moderately enjoyable experience. I really regret not bringing food, though. (And God knows that I didn’t want to shell out $14 for a sandwich the size of my palm.)

Amneris easily outshone Aida in terms of acting and singing. When one of the supporting characters trumps the lead…well, that’s not exactly a good thing.

Amneris, though manipulative, was a strong and passionate and fiery about her love. She was everything Aida wasn’t.

And that brings me to my next point, which is that I really dislike Aida as a character. For a protagonist, she sure is weak-willed. ! How am I supposed to believe that she loves Radames and Ethopia with such burning intensity when she refuses to act upon anything? She only tricked Radames at her father’s behest — and she wasn’t even happy about it. Her actions are the extension of other people’s desires, and I was really annoyed with her passivity.

I also thought the choreography was a little out of sync.

I’m coming off a little too critical here, aren’t I? Well, I loved the costumes. I loved the antsy horses. And most of all, I love the orchestrated music. I’ve had Aida’s signature theme stuck in my head all week.

I’d quite like to go to an opera again — maybe I’ll go see Carmen? I’m glad I know what to expect, and I know now to painstakingly deconstruct the libretto beforehand.

– damla

My attitude towards operas in general is somewhat indifferent; I never really found them interesting and even after seeing Aida I still feel the same way. There is just something that irks me about going to the opera, sitting there for about 4 hours and listening to a play in another language, let alone the fact that the whole plot is relayed through singing.

Walking into The Met I was taken by how big the theater was, it was monstrous. The stage basically reached the ceiling, which Nate touched during one of the intermissions. The structures that were on stage for the play were massive and beautifully structured as well. I really have never seen stagecraft quite like that.

I must admit that the talent the opera singers displayed was unbelievable, apart from their acting which isn’t the very best.  Some of the notes they hit were very impressive, and took me by surprise. Their ability to hold those notes was just as remarkable. It was really interesting listening to them and seeing how most of the music accompanied the opera singer, besides the recitatives.

Overall, I thought the opera was pretty good. The second act almost put me to sleep because it was so drawn out but I survived it (unlike some other classmates). The story line was a classic tragedy, which I’m not a huge fan of because the endings are predictable. It was neat to hear the Aida theme song and Ameris’ jealousy theme song since I already knew what it sounded like prior to the opera.  My favorite part of the opera was Act II with the dancing scene. For some reason, this part of the Act really grabbed my attention and I stayed awake for this whole part. All in all, the opera was what I expected it to be and I don’t see myself revisiting one anytime soon.

P.S – I found out what Aida stands for just in case you guys didn’t know.