Last night, I went to the newly opened Long Center with my wife, son, and mother-in-law to see Bizet's "Carmen". I remember distinctly that when I was a kid, I never enjoyed the opera quite as much because I had no idea what they were actually saying during the songs, even if I knew the general storyline. This is no longer an issue, since they provide projected subtitles for all of the dialogue and lyrics. Even my nine-year old son was able to follow along easily.
"Carmen" is a relatively long opera, clocking in at just over three hours, which includes two pretty long intermissions of about 20 minutes each between acts. Time seemed to go quickly, thanks to a very talented cast, many of whom are international performers. This was the third musical/opera that my son had attended, and we were all impressed with the production.
Unfortunately, they had sent us tickets for the incorrect date, and since we didn't double-check them before arriving, the four of us could not sit together, but they did make an effort and they found seats for us (two seats each in two nearby locations), despite the fact that this performance was opening night and had been sold out for some time. Needless to say, I was thankful.
Either I never realized it, or I had forgotten how many famous songs come from this single Bizet opera. My son knew at least four of the tunes, including Les Voici, Voici la Quadille", which is perhaps best-known from its appearance in the "Bad News Bears". Another tune that was immediately recognizable was "Habanera". I have heard this countless times, but I never knew how interesting the English lyrics really were. Here's a sample:
Love is a gypsy's child,
it has never, ever, known a law;
love me not, then I love you;
if I love you, you better beware.
The bird you thought you had caught
beat its wings and flew away ...
love stays away, you wait and wait;
when least expected, there it is!
All around you, swift, so swift,
it comes, it goes, and then returns ...
you think you hold it fast, it flees
you think you're free, it holds you fast.
The opera center itself is a gorgeous piece of architecture, with sweeping views of downtown Austin. In fact, it boasts one of the finest skyline views that I have seen in recent memory.
Overall, it was a terrific experience, and I would highly recommend attending an event there if you have an opportunity. We will certainly return at some point soon. From my perusal of the program, it looks like they have some great shows planned in the upcoming months.
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Jason..... tell Paul that he isn't funny all of the time... lol I love plays and musicals. Just never been to the opera. Glad you all enjoyed it....
LISA - My son recognized a few of the songs, and I think just about anyone would in this case. They were very accommodating, but it was their error to begin with, so we sort of expected the help, I guess.
KATERINA - I remember you had mentioned some of that about your upbringing previously. Very cool!
STEVE - It looks like they have some great shows planned for this venue. I would definitely recommend it.
PAUL - Figures.
JEFF - We had a great time. I would actually like to find a good play to take the kids to see sometime.
JEREMY - Austin is the "Live Music Capital of the World", and we host the South by Southwest Music Festival every year, along with Austin City Limits, so we have our share of rock shows around here, too!
ROBERTA - It really made it a lot more fun since we knew what they were saying.
ELAINE - Really? I am surprised. I have seen a few, but never one with subtitles until this one. The cast was great, the setting was awesome, and yes, he loved the music.
Hi my friend Jason, probably not the place to put this, but I want you to ge the points :). I check them every time I log on, and send you a cheer. See, I'm really your #1 fan, no matter what Ms. Deb says :). Anyway I put this on Alan's post too. Looking forward to having some fun with you guys.
I'm glad you read the post on what I've learned from Mike. You might want to use that as a kinda blueprint on the top 1 or 2 things you want me to work with you on. The other think I need to know is you goals, and your past production. So put some thought into that, and remember they are YOUR goals, so it doesn't matter what the # of transactions are, as long as that is what you want to do. So get me those #s, and the couple of things you want to work on the most. Remember to involve the family in this too, if you have their support it's half the battle. Also in doing your planning remember you are striving for balance too, although that's really hard the first few years. However look at the five equities of your life, work, family, spiritual, financial and physical and set goals in all areas of your life, and write them down with a specific date of when you will accomplish them,
We'll have fun with this, and I'm looking forward to it. Speaking of fun, check out our wedding plans at Good Golly Miss Molly...is getting married in the rain...Active Rain that is , can't wait to hear your comments :). Liz
Glad there is someone else on AR that posts about opera...I was starting to feel like the odd man out. I split my time between opera and real estate. Actually, just wrote a blog post about one of my best friends, and his REAL LIFE proposal, after a performance of Le Nozze di Figaro. They've been entered into a dream wedding contest...it's a remarkable story, and I'd love any help you can give spreading the word. It'd be great for them, and great for opera if they won!
Here's my post:
http://activerain.com/blogsview/1568938/a-social-media-experiment-can-you-help-me-make-this-happen-the-real-marriage-of-figaro-