Vancouver Opera, Blogger Night!
Check back here in a few short hours! Tonight’s the big night… I’m off to see Carmen (By Georges Bizet, libretto by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, after the novella by Prosper Mérimée) with three other Vancouver bloggers — I can’t wait! It’s getting RAVE reviews!
Yes, you heard me right: I’ll be blogging FROM Carmen
! The nice folks at Vancouver Opera National Geographic Explorer dvdrip decided it was time to get a different take on local buzz about the show, and provided me, Miss 604 (Rebecca), Kimli, and Ami from Beyond Robson
each a ticket so that we could write about our first-hand experiences.
So — Watch out for my blogging coming shortly from Queen Elizabeth Theatre !
AND THE UPDATES: (6:27pm) Greeted by Ling, Selina and Doug… Set up at the table in the lobby, complete with this sign (taken by Kimli)
DOH!!! I just lot a whole update. (BACKSTAGE tour coming later, I guess)
6:55pm – Just finished the backstage tour… Very cool! The backstage was a myriad of sets and people scurrying about readying everything for the performance to come. Apparently, the set is a rental from Austin TX, and took about 12 hours to build. I was overwhelmed by the number of moving pieces! I honestly can’t imagine doing manual labour back there — It was really hot. Kudos to them for the obvious hard work to get everything ready.
6:55pm — We’re back at the tables in the lobby again, only this time without internet access… Our connection went down just as I was posting an update (DOH!) (it was a pretty funny update, too, y’know). Moving on: I’ve already seen two people I know, and I’ve been keeping my eye out for a third friend that I know is here tonight.
Okay, this blogger sign that they put up by our table is garnering plenty of talk around us, (please do not feed the bloggers) [grin] — There’s been several staff come up to the four of us — Everyone has made us feel extremely welcome.
7:00pm — The bell has gone off, with an announcement welcoming us all to the Vancouver Opera, and I guess it’s the 15 minute warning to take our seats? It’s been 4 years since I was last at the opera, so I can’t recall.
7:20pm -10 minute bell… I’d better close up until the first intermission… Can’t wait for the performance to start!
8:26pm – First intermission! Back at the table in the lobby (brr, it’s a bit chilly in here – I guess they want to keep the older folks awake? hehe, just kidding) More on the actual story later… Here’s some impressions in general:
– Like last the last time I was at the opera (back in 2006, I think) the croud is mixed. Mostly older, and I notice that the attire isn’t what it was “way back then” — Some people are still fancy, but many are dressed more casually than what I would have expected. Maybe, it’s just a sign of the times?
Aw, wow, Ling just brought out some munchies for us bloggers, totally disregarding the sign completely. There’s a gaggle of opera-goers around us, which is kind of fun… They’re all really keen to understand what we’re doing. Some are even pointing from a distance. I’m chuckling to myself.
Okay, the first act was awesome! The performances of the various cast are all top-notch. I just don’t know how they can get their voices to go to those extremes. It’s also weird to think that I was just behind those curtains, playing backstage, and now I’m seeing some of the same cast acting out the scene in front of me.
The characters are all very unique. I made an effort not to read anything about this production before I came, and I’m glad I went that route. I especially loved the “band of street urchins” that opened up the first scene. The kids made me laugh.
8:35pm – Oh oh… The warning bell is going off already! Phew… I’d love to get into detail about the characters, but I guess I’ll do that later.
9:30pm – Second intermission… Wow, that went super fast. The second act was just as good as the first. Our seats got a bit re-arranged this time, and I felt kind of bad that I got a better seat — No tall guy in front of me for this act. Poor Rebecca (OMG, the bell already!!) got that this time.
Okay, I’m going to have to write the rest when I get home — I would rather not rush my overview of the performance. Check back in a couple of hours for the details!
In the meantime, I’m having a fabulous time!
11:25pm – What a great night! I just got in the door. I’ve elected to climb into my pj’s and do the rest of the review before work tomorrow if there’s time. I’ve got to get to bed…
…I’ll be dreaming of those costumes. I want one. Or three. Wow, they were all really beautiful.
(Thanks a ton to Vancouver Opera, and all it’s staff for an amazing night! You all made us feel extremely welcome… 
)
7:35am – I was hoping to get up earlier, but it just didn’t happen this morning. I’ll have to get to the last of my review after work today!
And, the rest of my review…
The story, Carmen, is set in Seville, Spain, in 1830, and has the most wonderful costumes to match. Carmen herself is a hedonistic gypsy, and from what I determined, a master manipulator of men. This hot, hot, hot role is played by the beautiful mezzo-soprano Rinat Shaham who definitely stole the show with her voice.
Carmen is sung in French — But as with all operas that I know of, there were subtitles above the stage. I found that most of the scenes were very clear without needing to glance up. Partly because I understand some French, but mostly because the sensuous characters on the stage did a fabulous job of portraying their unique roles by their intonation and movements. I can see why Carmen is one of the most popular operas in the world.
(I’m still in awe of the voices)
I don’t want to give away the story, because if you are anything like me, you want to see it for yourself — And you definitely should. Almost everyone will recognize much of the music that Carmen is set to, which gives the story a familiarity without knowing a thing before you sit down.
Be sure to take a date – This is one opera the guys will enjoy as much as the girls (probably for slightly different reasons [wink, wink, nudge, nudge])… And get your tickets soon! Carmen is playing at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre until February 5th. Tickets start at only $29 (plus handling fee) are available from the Vancouver Opera Ticket Centre, online at www.vancouveropera.ca, or by phone at 604-683-0222.
Did I mention that Carmen was the fastest selling production in the history of Vancouver Opera? Yes… It’s that good.
If you’d like to read the other bloggers experiences… Check out Kimli of delicious juice, Rebecca of Miss604, G.I. Joe: The Movie movie and Ami at Beyond Robson.
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i am looking forward to this! great experiment!
Hopefully the kind folk who suggested you blog from an opera have been considerate enough to the rest of the paying audience to ensure you don’t disturb them during the opera.
I guess I have a problem with this. There is precious little culture in this city as it is and electronics in the opera is as about as ok as phone calls in the cinema.
Just my feelings.
OMG Simon… we’re not going to have our laptops on IN the theatre! I would NEVER do that.
No, sorry I should have been clear — We’re blogging before and at intermissions from the lobby!!
Phew!
Sorry, I have strong feelings about the pervasiveness of technology and the decline of humanity!
Apparently!
I get it though… if I had someone furiously typing away next to me with a bright screen, while paying good money for tickets, I’d FREAK out.
i hope you enjoy!
Thanks omphteliba! I will!
That’s a cool opportunity! While I know nothing about opera, I’ll totally come back to read your review. Fun!
hello you! thanks so much for joining us in our first vancouver opera blogger night! we had such great response from everyone that we look forward to our next one at rigoletto in march!
Hi Tanya!
There have been some posts in a prominent blog in New York City by Greg Sandow (http://www.artsjournal.com/sandow/ ) about the future of Classical Music (and often the entries are pretty grim). One thing that Sandow calls out is the lack of connection between the music of the past and people growing up today – that it has no relevance to people in mainstream culture.
I think that both the Vancouver Opera and Netchick (as well as the other bloggers) are giving a breath of fresh air to the Opera. You all make it the place to be on a January evening, and they are smart to make you feel welcome and their special guests. I’m really thrilled and proud that this happened in Vancouver, which up to now, I’ve felt kept their Classical Music stuffy and only played to people with grey hair (like you remembered). Glad you had such a great night – you deserved it.
David’s last blog post was… Identity Theft Follow-up
Hey there Tanya – great to meet you last night! And thanks so much for participating in Blogger Night… which will be repeated, I’m sure!
A blogging opera? From the title, I thought that they were going to act-out posts from blogs.
It’s cool that the opera allowed a bunch of blogging-types to come see the opera together. I personally know of only one or two other bloggers, I’d like to know more (you know, for networking and such).
Thomas’s last blog post was… Why I Believe In Things Unseen
I love this. I wish I’d gone, but in a small way I feel that I have.
Tom
Very interesting.
A few of us saw an epic version of Carmen in Verona a while ago and I blogged about it then; as you say, quite a story. The Italians ran it in the open air in a Colosseum similar to the one in Rome.
Then more recently I saw the modern version by Matthew Bourne which uses a similar story but is an altogether different type of performance.
Interesting to compare the different versions!
rashbre’s last blog post was… time to use the iPhone pub detector