Hyper Realism?

There is always a way. When things look like there's no way, there's a way. To do the impossible, to survive the unsurvivable. There's always a way. If you become frightened, instead, become inspired.



This is not a hyper realism painting, this is an actual star forming, courtesy of the Hubble satellite. How incredible and wonderful is it that the universe doles out things like this?

Because I love it so much

The opera is meant to be lavish. I cannot help but love the production of Turandot precisely because it is so incredibly over the top... I shouldn't be partial, but the spectacle of it all is such a stronger base for "character development" in comparison to last season's Don Giovanni. I'm sad that Franco Zeffirelli is no longer with us, because my goodness he had an eye for drama.

My favorite Act (this is the 2010 version so don't go looking for me :-) )

My favorite aria in this, my favorite act, is Liu's death scene at around 44 minutes in the above video.

Marina Poplavskaya (the principal singer in the video) and Hibla Gerzmava (the Liu in my cast) have similar nuances to their interpretations of this role, but I'm partial to Hibla's rendition because I've heard her live, and because she has this wonderful penchant for making notes float into the rafters with some of the most glorious, lilting clarity I've ever heard produced from a human.

Love,

A Broadway Baby

Dissolved into a blur

Some how the last several days dissolved into a blur of activity. Between the opera performances, manic tutoring engagements, classes, and mandatory friend time of the past month, it seems like it's been a while since I took a moment to breathe.

In the past week, I've been surprised by flowers at the stage door (thanks mom and dad), impressed by my students' progress in tutoring sessions, amused by the tenacity of a particular fart-loving twelve year old, frustrated by a relationship that just won't work, made to feel like I don't do much of value, swallowed momentarily by annoyingly oppressive waves of insecurity, and stunned by the most romantic, passionate, incredibly flattering love letter ever written. In aggregate, I'm reminded of all I have to be thankful for.

New York City can be a judgmental, status driven place. It's easy to lose sight of your happy when it seems as though everyone around you wants to know what you do, where you do it, how much you make, who your friends are, what/who you're wearing, what you can do for them, where you're going, etc.. Even though I was in East Africa for only a month, I forgot how this particular Northeast clime has a tendency toward inducing panic if you're not careful to make time to take care of yourself.

I have a butter yellow dining room. There are three bouquets of roses and or wild flowers gracing my apartment. I have enough expendable income to buy some new sparkly clothes when I'm missing my audacious grandmother. I have incredible friends and parents who are as close to perfect as parents can get and my kids are alright.

There are cul-de-sacs on the road of life. Sometimes you have to go backwards to find your way back to your path. There is no shame in turning around and going back the way you came if that is what you need to do.

One day more!

I know I'm mixing my performing art references, but ONE DAY MORE.... Until Turandot opens.... eeek so excited and a wee bit nervous. (Incidentally if you haven't seen the trailer for the new film rendition of Les Miserables, check it out here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0cDVdg7gVdg )

It's not easy undressing and redressing a principal singer WHILE he's still singing.... so cross your fingers for me around this time tomorrow night, when I'll be scurrying around in Act II, trying to do just that!

Check out my view for tomorrow night:

P.S.

How adorable is it that the gchat status of one of my twelve year old tutoring students says:

Do not dwell in the past
Do not dream of the future
Concentrate the mind on the present moment.
-Buddha

Well sign me up, I'm into it!!


Love,
A Broadway Baby

Excited to get my cower on!

Just two more days until Puccini's Turandot opens for its season premiere at the Metropolitan Opera this Wednesday! I can't WAIT, and I'm obsessed with the fact that for a good amount of the time I get to crouch on stage to listen to the gorgeousness created by the principal singers.

(Note the cowering folk on the bamboo stairs in the image below. Yours truly will be in the huddle either stage left or house right).

Making magic here, people!!! This is art, performing diamonds of the first water.

Mondays and Wednesdays I tutor some of my students in the lobby of Avery Fischer Hall, which is adjacent to the Met Opera House.  Tonight, we had the pleasure of viewing some of the most elaborate and ridiculously garbed New Yorkers (and that's saying something, considering NY fashion week was only a few weeks ago) on their way to the opening night of the 2012-2013 season. My kid remarked that one lady must not have changed her fashion sense from the age of four years old (she literally looked like a hot pink cake with pink frosting wrapped around her... there was a hat too, a hideous thing with a white veil and GOLD CHROME HEELS I kid you not... oh and she was a grandma at least)/

Debut night for my Elisir chums! I know it's going to be stunning and gorgeous and can't wait to see it live!

Opening night from the terrace:

All About the Journey... What a Week!

Since coming back from Tanzania, I have been tutoring like a lean, green, educating machine to make up for the month that I took a hiatus from my life and my regular income. As a result of the epic tutoring schedule and relentless rehearsals, auditions have by necessity taken a back seat. I decided today they really ought to be out of the picture until October, when several of my test prep students take the SAT and I can finally breathe a wee bit.

But hey, Turandot opens NEXT WEEK! I can't believe it!  (Here's a rehearsal shot below, courtesy of the Met Opera facebook page. I'm the munchkin center left in dark green, reaching dramatically toward the sexy Prince of Persia, who's about to lose his head. Welcome to Met Opera Ballet Studio C!)

After the madness of last week, which involved rehearsals every day from 7-9:30am and from 10am - 5pm (followed by tutoring from 5-10pm ish), this week has been a much welcome respite. I'm back to sleeping at least six hours a night, and not a moment too soon!

I was just telling one of my favorite people that today could not have been more perfect. After having my priorities readjusted by an eye opening, calming sojourn in East Africa, I've ceased worrying about the immediate end result  and putting undue stress on myself. Now, it's all about the journey. This morning, I took Acting for Dancers at BDC. The teacher Bronwen Carson was on POINTE (pun intended, because she's a kick ass ballerina) with the wisdom she imparted, and it was my first time pretending to be different animals to get a different perspective on creating character. So cool!

Then I took ballet and was reminded that I actually kinda sorta am a good dancer... and that as one improves at dancing, things only get harder, but that's awesome because the harder I work, the more diverse visual and performing art potential I can tap into. Exciting things ahead!!

You're sure to do impossible things

Following a dream is like falling in love or starting a business. There's really no good or bad time to do it. There's no treasure map to follow, no straight exponential incline of a success slope, no easy answers.

There's always some crap going on that is out of your control and even the benefit of hindsight is illusory at best.

So go for it! Be smart about it, but remember: no matter what happens in life, we never have ALL the information or best conditions in which we have to make decisions.

Every choice we make in life is a gamble, and the best thing we can do for ourselves is to make sure we have a little fun along the way.