One more day of class left—how should we feel about that?
Is it really an occasion worth celebrating? The very seminar that brought friends together, and allowed us the opportunity to chill at free performances, is about to end. Should I really feel happy that the one class where I was allowed to watch films, speak my mind, and actually broaden my horizons is over? We were privileged enough to see Off Broadway performances and an opera for free, while touring parts of the city previously unknown to [some of] us. We were lucky to have an open teacher who allowed open, intellectual discussion that was both engaging and a learning experience. We are fortunate that our final is fun and will certainly provide comic relief at the end of the year. So how do you expect me to sit in the house all day and be happy, when the only fun seminar [of the four] is over?
I am exaggerating, and I will thoroughly enjoy my winter break in case you think I have no life, but still, I have a point. The Arts in NYC is the most entertaining of our required seminars, so why should we be happy that it’s over, when we still have to take three more, minus the freebies and Dunkin Donuts? There should not be much debate over this, and I’m afraid it’s not possible to do anything about it. All we can do is look back at the times we’ve shared together.
That brings me to this blog—I’ve just reread some of my old blog posts. You know, the ones on Little Foxes, Ralph Lemon, Israel Horovitz, and so on. I don’t need to talk to you guys about it, seeing as you should have seen the performances too. But what I will do is talk about the performance that was most memorable to me.
Contes D’Hoffman was perhaps one of the best operas I have ever seen, seeing as I have never seen an opera before. It may very well be the only time I watch an opera in my young adult life, and I am happy that I was given the chance to do so.
Everything about this opera was memorable. The musicality, actors, setting, and especially costumes all remain vivid and fresh in my mind. I still remember the kinky robot, the fat lady who sings, and the dominatrix, all of whom break poor Hoffman’s heart. I remember the descending stage props, the falling paper, the twisting dragon, the floating violin, and the masses of forest trees all coming down the stage with invisible strings. I remember the seemingly gigantic stage, which is a spectacle of its own, and the French language, which at the time, didn’t seem so hard to understand. Most of all, I remember the atmosphere of the MET. The tension during certain scenes and the jolliness of others. I loved Contes D’Hoffman for everything that made it unique and because of this experience, I now feel just a tad bit inclined to spend money to enjoy an opera.
On the flipside, I wish I could forget the Ralph Lemon Dance. I could go on and on about how every other performance we watched was entertaining and allowed something to be taken away from it, but the Ralph Lemon piece neither was enjoyable or educational. If anything I learned how cruel Ralph Lemon could be, both to his audience and his actors. Putting hard feelings aside, the Ralph Lemon Dance was the least successful of all the things I’ve seen. I may remember it, quite clearly actually, but it’s the only performance we’ve been to where I felt dissatisfied and wished that I didn’t show up. I remember bright colors, sweaty dancers, crying, and subtle sexual references. I really don’t want to be rude, but the only thing I wanted to know about the piece was why BAM chose to host it. If it were not for blog prompts, I wouldn’t have delved too deep into why…? Why…? And again, why…?
I’m getting kind of attached to these blogs. It’s distanced enough from a diary [which I find silly], and it’s as close as I’ll be to having what I really think “out there.” Though I don’t have much control over several things in my life, like going to school, staying out late, or even my bladder, these blogs are something that I can control, and that I can personalize. I’m really going to miss Healey’s class, and I really am going to miss our classroom atmosphere.
🙁
