Opera Singing in Germany and other adventures....

So, I have to preface this post with the disclaimer: I am not a musical theater fan (except for Rodgers and Hammerstein stuff).  Therefore, it was really quite amazing to me that I should have enjoyed the production of "Wicked: Die Hexen von Oz" as much as I did at last Wednesday's performance in Oberhausen at the Metronome Theater.  In fact, I am not ashamed to admit to my fellow Opera lovers, that it was actually the first standing ovation that I have given a performance since my attendance at NYC Opera's production of Bernstein's 'A Quiet Place', and that was back in October of 2010 and I have seen a few operas since then too! Because of my outrageous reaction to a show that was STILL not  in my native language (emphasis on the 'still' because it puts it on par then with Operas that are also written and performed in non-native languages for me) and in a genre that normally makes me cringe, I felt that this particular experience deserved some c...

Action for action's sake is sometimes enough to get one out of the doldrums that life sometimes has to offer us on its daily 'specials' menu. Not always are we able to choose with heedy anticipation the prixe fixee menu's most halteningly mouthwatering dish, but often, we are left with the moldy bread of yesterday's panini bar. Did we choose this? No. Did we actively do anything to avoid it? No. I mean, who sees things like that coming ahead of time? (Except those who are psychic, and let's face it, we're not in that category.)  Therefore, it is important to remember, action for action's sake does sometimes in those most difficult of sticky-gum periods of life, bring a renewed energy and freshness to something to which you might be overexposed and jaded.  Even if you are going at something with gusto which you have no idea of the outcome or supposed intent, at least you are generating those feelings which will, in the coming days, bring to what...

Decisions need to be made. Until they are, they will nag at your brain cells when they are least expecting it, creeping up on them like the chill that comes on at nightfall, suddenly cold without any warning to the contrary. Except this mental gnawing at your concentration at the fringes of your mind by a decision needing to be made is something which you actually do have control over. Luckily!  When you are able to evaluate something in a objective way and really make a decision, whether or not that decision has negative or positive ramifications in the days/months/weeks/years to come is not of your concern in the very moment that you've decided upon some action. Instead, the sheer weight of not having an undecided decision occupying space in your mental soup of daily life is like feeling the weightlessness of space thrust upon you all at once: a rush of energy and happiness in the sheer delight of the feeling of action and having power upon your own life circumstances, ev...

This performance and piece of art merited coverage in my blog the very night that I saw it, however, due to my extreme lack of time, it is only getting its due at this point in time, much to my own personal dismay.  However, I must rejoice in the fact that at least I am getting out there my thoughts about a really underappreciated piece of art by one of America's most beloved native composers, and hopefully thereby spurring other people to try to listen or see this work whenever and where ever and by whomever it is performed. I realize that in the previous paragraph there is a multitude of praise which might seem a bit 'too generous' for a work which only had its very second performance in the states, and that actually being its very first performance in New York, the city in which Bernstein actually lived and worked for most of his life.  However, there is, to me, no lack of positive adjectives through which I can describe the sheer brilliance of this piece and of its N...

Yesterday afternoon I saw the new movie version of Carl Maria von Weber's 'Der Freischütz' in a theater here in the city of Bochum.  It's actually titled 'Hunter's Bride' in the film company's English title choice, even though a literal translation more aptly put would be something akin to 'The Free-shooter'. Sadly, the film is only playing in select theaters in Germany, Switzerland and Austria, and on top of that, not at every movie theater in those places (normally only at more 'art' cinemas).  Therefore, I felt extra privileged that I was even able to see it and quite happy to be able to share my experience of it with an audience that is also located outside of Europe.  Hopefully, the added bit of publicity that it receives in being read by others on the web might encourage the film's producers to release it in other locations around the world. I was quite interested in seeing this film because this is an original idea from a d...