I’m at the Opera!
The Vancouver Opera is treating me to a performance of Salome and a Diet Coke, and I couldn’t be happier. I’m set up in the lobby of the Queen Elizabeth Theatre checking out the action – the doors will be opening shortly, and I’ve heard we’re getting another backstage tour.
Tonight my partners in crime are:
I’m really excited about this performance. It’s the last one of the 2008/2009 Vancouver Opera season, and it’s going to be so much fun. If you aren’t familiar with the synopsis of Salome, I suggest you catch up: here’s the Wiki entry, and here’s the Vancouver Opera Manga.
We’ve been warned that tonight’s opera contains nudity, decapitation, dancing with veils (7 of them!), and my personal favourite (figuratively speaking of course), necrophilia. Salome is one fucked up girl, and I can’t wait to see the VO’s take on it.
There’s no intermission in tonight’s performance, so we won’t be able to blog our thoughts part way through. There’s a party afterward, and I’ll be taking as many pictures as I can during the tour. That’ll have to hold you until tonight or tomorrow, but I promise pictures and words and nudity.
It’s TOUR TIME!
hey baby, how about a kiss
Awesome. I have a lot more photos, but I’m restrained by the flaky internet – I will post them when I am home. This is going to be so cool!
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I am in nisku. Opera does not exist here. The closest thing is that girl #3 at the greezy peeler bar sometimes watches Oprah while her 6 year old helps her roll smokes.
Oh wait, I lied. I just Saw a girl whose outfit consisted of a Phantom of the Opera sleeper T with a non functional white vinyl belt over some black leggings. She might have been wearing keds.
Ok, I just came home after seeing Salome. Salome is far from being one of those popular operas that everybody loves. I had seen Salome before so I knew what to expect, but I witnessed how some people in the audience, who were seeing Salome for the first time, were “hit really hard by it”.
Last Monday I got an email from the Vancouver Opera with a quote from Jonathan Darlington, Conductor and VO Music Director, that said: “Salome is a good beginner’s opera, because if you’ve got no experience of it before, this will really hit you, really hit you hard. And that’s what it should be.”
Well, it certainly hit some beginners really hard. So much that they walked out within the first 15 minutes! I saw them stand up and leave. And I can assure you that some of them won’t go back to see another Opera again in their life. This is NOT a beginner’s opera, you moron!
Now, here is my review: In my opinion, Greer Grimsley (jokanaan) was by far the best singer on the stage. Mlada Khudoley (Salome) is not the type of singer that I want to see perform this role. She is a little too short and doesn’t have much charm. Her singing was quite good and she barely danced ,but I enjoyed seeing her tits bounce during her fast sprints. I felt like John Mac Master (Herod) lacked power on his voice. It didn’t project well enough. Judith Forst (Herodias) was quite good but there is not much for her on this role.
The scenography does the job. I actually liked it and they made a good use of the lights.
Jokanaan’s head was very scary. Especially because it looked so real and it really looked like Greer Grimsley’s head!
All in all, it was a good night for me and I confirmed that this is definitely NOT an opera for beginners!
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