Since high school, I’ve dreamed of going to see an opera determined not to fall asleep (which I succeeded in), but it always seemed far-fetched considering I rarely had hundreds of dollars to spare for a ticket. Clearly, when we got the opportunity to see a classic like Carmen for free, I was ecstatic. Before college I took a music class for six years, which I loved because music is my ultimate obsession. Needless to say, the music in Carmen infatuated me. Most alluring to me was Carmen’s leitmotif (the recurring melody associated with a character) that I sang for days after the performance. I tried a little experiment during the performance where I didn’t use subtitles for the first half and did use them for the second half. I found that I enjoyed it more solely by watching and listening rather than focusing on translations. It isn’t necessary to understand the words especially when most of them are repeated. Feeling the emotion and tone in the music is enough to comprehend the storyline and it allows you to experience the opera instead of looking at a screen. Speaking of the storyline, I loved the plot based on the strong, defiant and beautiful Carmen, but I was dissatisfied with her murder. I felt it was somehow unimpressive because the opera is known to be overly dramatic, so I thought her death would be more public and theatrical. After Professor Eversley showed us Beyonce’s Hip Hopera, I was interested in discovering more Carmen inspired art and I realized a song I loved for years was named after her by Lana Del Rey that tells the story of a promiscuous, independent woman. All in all, my first opera experience left me wanting more which is why I am trying to convince my uncle to buy us tickets for Mozart’s The Magic Flute even though he wants to see The Marriage of Figaro.
On Thursday, December 4th, 2014, I had one of the best nights of my life. Three of my high school friends and I went to the Terminal 5 venue in Hell’s Kitchen to see one of my favorite bands perform in concert. The 1975 is a British indie pop/alternative rock band that released their first album last year, which was self titled meaning it was named after the band. They got their name from a notebook beat poetry with one dated “June 1st, The 1975” and grew fond of the strong use of language putting “the” in front of a date. I listened to their album on repeat for months and when they released tour dates in June, I immediately bought tickets. For six months, I waited in anticipation until finally the day arrived and then I suddenly felt nervous because I knew I would be so sad the next day when it was over forever.
Since there are no seats at this venue, we had to arrive early and wait in line for hours to get a good spot, which paid off because we were maybe 20 feet away from the stage. There were two opening acts (also bands) and I enjoyed there music too, but when the main event began I felt a wave of ecstasy and excitement that lasted the rest of the night. My favorite thing about the band itself is the lead singer Matty Healy. He has such a peaceful and mellow personality, yet he reminds me of Pirates of the Caribbean’s Jack Sparrow because he was smoking cigarettes and drinking out of a bottle on stage and just wanted all of us to have fun. As for the music, I love the electronic sound they have that makes you want to dance and Matty’s voice is amazing. During the concert, Matty kept telling us to put our phones away and instead appreciate the fact that we were all together enjoying the music. It’s so hard not to take pictures and videos at concerts because I want to remember every second of it, but at the same time you miss out on the present moment so I try to only record special parts. Between two of the songs Matty said something that was so truthful concerning today’s societal issues that I couldn’t help but write it down in my phone. He said “Art in its condition, in its essence, especially music…Music transcends a lot of things-gender, sexuality, race, etc., etc., etc.” That’s a huge reason why I love music so much, it’s universal in that anyone can relate to it. It can make you feel a certain emotion so quickly and easily that it takes over your body and mind.
As a fan of contemporary and abstract art, Tom Smith’s “Heavenly Bodies” exhibition at the Rox Gallery was a great opportunity to learn about how these works are conceived and the artist(s) behind them. I enjoyed hearing about Smith’s painting techniques, creative inspiration and travel experience. With these displayed pieces constructed in Brazil, Iceland and Fire Island, he experimented with paper, spray paint and wood for the past two years to evolve his craft. This painting that he created in Fire Island this past summer is my favorite because it conveys the most “heavenly” environment to me. For many people, the connotation of the word “heaven” consists of rejuvenating oneself with purifying light in a land above the clouds. Contrasting from the other works in the installation, this painting concentrates on more pastel colors rather than bright neon or dark spacial colors. To add on, this work illustrates natural earthly features instead of a futuristic appearance. The cotton candy sky with gray haziness emotes a feeling of floating in the clouds or in the heavens, while the blue and orange mazes of waterfalls spew from the seemingly 3-dimensional cliffs providing a place to cleanse one’s body and soul. After admiring the entire exhibition, I was amazed by the encapsulating colors and themes throughout the paintings, but this particular one drew me in with its atmospheric vibes and promising allure.
Recent Comments