Daily Archives: December 12, 2013

The One and Only Tosca

Tosca, the name is so simple but the opera behind it is so complex. The opera was situated in none other than Lincoln Center. It looked great outside too, but I underestimated how big it was inside. The opera hall was huge and grand, with rows of balconies lining away all to the top to the ceiling. The chandeliers were quite pretty, but the amazing part was that they moved. They retracted back into the ceiling when the opera started.

Giving a very brisk outline about the opera, I thought Tosca was something I had never seen before. Granted I never saw an opera before, but this was unlike any production I had ever seen. The orchestra meshed really well with the singing from the cast; it resonated and mirrored the setting around the characters or what the characters were actually singing. A great example of this is the motif that occurs with Angoletti; it was distinguishable, frantic, and a panicky tune that played whenever Angoletti appeared onstage or was even mentioned. The cast was great as well; they performed their lines flawlessly. Tosca, in particular, did a great job of portraying a jealous yet devoted diva to Cavaradossi.

In the end, I was stunned by the performance. There was nothing in my life that could measure up to this opera. It’s so much of a surreal experience when you are actually at the opera, as opposed to watching it via video. The applause was well deserved at the end; I clapped enthusiastically  throughout the cast’s as well as the conductor’s bows. I also clapped for the orchestra, who silently left the stage without bowing. It’s a shame, because they really did a great work with the music in Tosca. I walked away from the Lincoln Center into the cold and brisk night, but inside, I was bubbling with excitement of the drama that can only happen in Tosca.20131211_223916

The NYC Christmas Tree

Rockefeller Center is the home of New York’s very own festive holiday tree. Over the last 80 or so years they have set it up with decorations and lights for all of New York and the world to see. I got the chance to go and see it over the previous weekend and as always, it was as spectacular as ever. Lights encompassing it completely and the fact that its huge makes it a nice and iconic sight to see. I’m sure everyone has seen it in the pass but there is something about it that keeps people like me coming back. I wasn’t even going to originally stop by but, after seeing it in the side of my eye it basically drew me in and I figured I would go get a better look. For New York this tradition is in itself a way for the whole city to collectively show their festive side. Everything around you can be considered art depending on one’s perspective and the Rockefeller Center tree is just another example of how this can be done.

Botched Holiday Songs

Tosca Review

Attending the Metropolitan Opera House to see Tosca was an experience that I never had before. It was a very rewarding experience, because I had the chance to relate material that I learned in my music class to my understanding and analysis of the opera. There were many aspects of the opera and opera house that I enjoyed. For example, The Metropolitan Opera House was very grandiose and elegant, with six floors of audiences watching the opera. The audience was elegant themselves, because everyone had on business attire, so I didn’t see anyone wearing jeans that night. The way everyone was talking during the intermissions was like nothing I’ve seen before, because usually, especially at movie theaters are excited, talking loudly, and all over the place. The calm mannerisms and soft tones of politeness was a first-timer for me, and I believe that is partly due to the “proper” attire everyone had on that night. During the intermissions, I discovered that food prices downstairs were extremely expensive. I saw people having dinner on the upper levels of the opera house, and noticed how finely dressed they were. The food didn’t even look like it was worth a few hundred dollars, but then I found out the people eating dinner weren’t watching the opera; they came just for the dining experience. I was amazed at the sight of the people that were there that night, and couldn’t even believe that they were spending so much money.

The stage was the biggest stage I have ever seen, and the costumes, lighting, and orchestra was grand. My seat was in the eighth row right in front of the stage, so I got to see everything, from the expressions on the character’s faces to the details on the costumes.  The conductor for the orchestra was standing right front of the audience facing the stage, watching the characters and lip-singing the libretto as well. The orchestra was on a lower level than the audience and conductor, blocked off with glass windows so the audience couldn’t see them and the stage at the same time. I was really curious to know what kind of instruments I was hearing, because during the first half of the show, it was difficult to know if I was hearing a harp or a piano, a French horn or a clarinet, a violin or other string instrument. So during the second intermission, I went to the where the conductor stood, and looked down to see what kind of instruments were being played. To my surprise, I saw a big harp, a small drum set (most likely a tympani), clarinets, trumpets, the flute, the oboe, a French horn, and several violins and violas.

I hope to see more operas in the future!

Creative Subway Performers

As I walked down into the Time Square subway station I noticed a group of performers playing music. Now although this might be a common sight for a lot of us, what I noticed about this group of performers was that they had a complete set up of musical instruments with around five people that were constantly transitioning between classical and modern hip hop and rnb music. For a couple of seconds you would hear classical music mainly being played on the piano only to have the base and saxophone jump in changing it straight into melodies that belonged to trending hip hop and rnb songs like Macklemore’s thrift shop and One Republic’s Counting Stars. At first I thought there must be another performer that I’m not seeing right now but to my amazement it was all coming from this one set of guys. I thought it was really creative in the way they did that and managed to capture the attention of everyone in an unorthodox way. Rather than being loud, in the middle of everything or something else along those lines, these performers caught my attention because they were unique.

20131211_184245

20131211_184217

Tosca

The Opera, Tosca by Puccini was one to remember. First Opera I ever attended, one of the last days of my first college semester, and all on the day of my birthday. Going into the Opera while knowing that it was going to be a performance that would last around three hours, I became a bit skeptical and honestly was afraid that I might doze off and become uninterested. Thankfully however it became one of the best performances I ever attended. It was nice to see that even if the entire performance was an opera they were still able to add a bit of humor into all of it and give it a nice story. Being in Italian, I originally thought that I would be constantly looking at the screen with the English translations and thus fail to see what the performers were doing but considering that it took them quite a while to fully say each sentence, it all worked out nicely. Of course I don’t mean this in a bad way, I honestly felt that the performers did a fantastic job in executing their roles.

Presentation and location are both also major contributing factors in regards to shows like the Tosca as well. Both of these aspects were spot on, from the Lincoln center with its very classy and professional ambiance and general aura to the manner in which they conducted everything. Events like these are not only limited to the performance but rather the entire experience that you get from attending it. By having a very orderly and professional way of organizing the event, and treating the guests regardless of who they are with respect really made me appreciate the entire experience even more. Small details like the ones that I had mentioned are what make people willing to pay such large amounts for the tickets.

Alongside being an opera where the vocalists were absolutely amazing, I also have to give a lot of the credit to the conductor and the orchestra. They controlled the tempo of the entire performance and were able to give it added emotion through use of multiple musical techniques such as crescendo, vibrato, and an overall grasp over tempo. In regards to the organization of the performance I also really enjoyed the fact that they gave intermissions where they allowed the audience to stand up and grab some fresh air while utilizing the time to create completely different stage set-ups. In doing so I personally felt I was able to come back each time refreshed ready to watch the performance rather than looking back at my watch constantly waiting for it to end.

Overall this performance was one that I very much enjoyed and will truly remember. From the laughs I had during the performance to the ones I had during the intermissions, making the most out of an experience is what matters at the end of the day and I’m happy that I did. 

NYC Public Parks

New York City’s public parks are one of the greatest things about out city. The type of socializing done there is so much better than the type of cyber-socializing everyone is encouraging nowadays. The parks offer a place to relieve oneself of all the pressures and little things that stress us out everyday. Here is a snapshot of the scenery found in my local neighborhood park. I was sitting there watching the children play their games, the birds singing their songs, and adults jogging and doing all sorts of different exercises. Everybody has their own way of finding peace,and sitting down on a bench here in this park makes you want to just breathe. Central Park, Astoria Park, Bryant Park, Madison Square Park, and so many others. The atmosphere at these public parks is like no other.

102

Paradise on a Garage Door

IMG_20131001_131409

 

I felt like I was in paradise when I saw this on  a garage nearby our school, somewhere in between Lexington and Park Avenue. I always walk past all types of graffiti, but I completely came to a stop when  I saw this. It was too pretty to leave behind without capturing it. I looked at this picture and I thought about Florida, where I spent most of my childhood, mostly by the beach with the family on the afternoons. The best thing about Florida was the palm trees. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a palm tree anywhere else in the country. The other thing about this picture is that I can’t even say that its a form graffiti, because its just way too nice, and makes me feel like I need a vacation….quick!