Two things today

So two things to report today.
The first is I owe thanks to Kacey Coburn for making me smile.
THANK YOU MS. KACEY COBURN
Second, and this has me a little worried.
Sex and the City - the sequel
Overkill? What more closure is needed? We'll see...

February is a fabulous month for fabulous people!

This month not only marks the 25th of yours truly's...but some of the greats, and my personal favorites as well. Here's a triple dipper to start the month of right!
Mio gran diva...the angelic Renata Tebaldi, born February 1, 1922. The DEFINITIVE Andriana Lecouvreur and Maddalena de Coigny!

Meine liebe...frau Lisa Della Casa. She still OWNS Arabella, and her Contessa portrayal is the tenderest out there! Born February 2, 1919.

And finally...February 3, 1984 birth of the glorious Joey Castaneda AND the one and only herr F. Mendelssohn himself, born February 3, 1809. Genius behind the thrilling Die Hebrides (Fingal's Cave).

One Last Thing for Today!

Huh - Fucking - Larius!
Match not so made in heaven


Can't win 'em all babe.

Than Franthithco Opera - 2009/2010

So SFO announced their season yesterday, and I must say...wow, they're really gunnin' for the divas of our time. I'm not complaining by any means, I'm just noticing the difference. I always thought of SFO as the breakthrough for many European artists into North America, but perhaps Gockley is playing hardball with Gelb.

Anyway, whatever, I'm so looking forward to Il Trovatore, Il Trittico, SALOME, and Fanciulla del West. I especially am interested in hearing Nina Stemme, I love her on Youtube! The production however is not so hot. Other favorites include Patty Racette, Debby Voigt, Stephanie Blythe, Diana Damrau und Sandy Radvanovsky (mmm, especially Sandy).

Here's our Salome Nadja Michael, portraying the princess at the Royal Opera House, hot.



Catch ya later beezies!

Talk About a Powerhouse...

Now I've hesitated coming to terms that Stephanie Blythe may be this generation's next leading dramatic mezzo , but after Gluck's Orfe ed Euridice seen via HD broadcast there is no doubt she has arrived, at least with me (holding a candle to my leader of the pack Dolora Zajick). She was captivating the entire show through, and never faltered once in music or acting even though she's on stage the majority of the time. Her top notes came natural and did not seem strained, a nice suppleness was produced. Her low notes were there, dead on, audible and strong. There was so much command in her stage presence, emotion and drama conveyed by her voice alone that the others seemed almost inferior. Ms. de Niese however was a divine Euridice, perfect for the part actually...there's just not much for her character to do; her vulnerability was apparent though. And I'm not sure about Amor, sung by Heidi Grant Murphy...I took it as the comical relief, she was very bright in voice and appearance.

Now to the production. UH-freakin'-MAZING! Seriously though, I fucking love Mark Morris and his design team. The above photo is Ms. de Niese as Euridice in what almost looks like an Alexander McQueen piece...see below, simply stunning.

The choreography was so Morris, and not as distracting as I had imagined. The music and movement blended well together, and was enhanced by eclectic costume changes. The sets too were simply majestic with a simple quality. I basically can't wait for this opera to come out on DVD.

Peace out mon cheris.

Was the past 8 years all a nightmare?

What an awesome shot.

I love Bitches

Do you know this face?

If not, then shame on you! She's probably had more of an influence on you than some of your closest friends and family.
Anyway, I wish people would leave her the fuck alone.

Fashion Faux Paux

Now anyone who knows me knows two of my favorite things are music and fashion...and knows I'm all for avant-garde anything, especially when you can draw an inspiration from music...but this takes it to a whole new level...[see and click image below]

I'd have to say my favorite would be the first black number on the upper right. Couture or not, Viktor & Rolf should strive for subtlety. Perhaps they're gearing up for their Opera debut as they will design the costumes for Baden-Baden's 2009 spring run of Weber's Der Freischutz.

Doubt

So I saw Doubt last night. I must admit to really enjoying it, though, there wasn't a whole lot of excitement from the film itself, minus the great acting. The plot had slow momentum though. I guess what I enjoyed most was the subtle poignancy at the end...if that makes sense.

I really want to see The Reader, but I think I'll try and whiz through the book first. I always say I'm going to do that and never do it, but I'm going to put my best effort forth this time around.

I also just uploaded some photos from Christmas break down in SoCal. Here's one I took at LACMA, I'm going to make it into a greeting card on the kodak gallery website...you can do so many unique things there!



In other news, and I mean other. Check this out--->
http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/ideas/articles/2009/01/11/dark_green/
I stumbled upon it while browsing ArtsJournal. I wonder what those uber environmentalists would say to that?!?!

Getting Started

So let me just start our by warning all that this is more of a rant blog than anything else. Of course, I'll throw in the occasional kudos to whomever/whatever deserves it.


Let me start out by saying Happy New Year 2009!
Here's a picture of the New Year's Eve Gala from the Budapest Opera, how awesome...