Various happenings
Jun. 21st, 2007 08:09 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
tarigwaemirBlair Hall Apts., on the Feast of St. Aloysius Gonzaga
Forty pages in, and the overriding question is: The Name of the Rose = medieval!AU of Sherlock Holmes?
(I'm sure there are other numerous literary references at work, but I am too tickled to death by the idea of Sherlock Holmes as 14th-century Franciscan monk to notice them.)
My rudimentary dog Latin has been sufficient (so far) to keep me afloat in all the untranslated passages and phrases, but I wish I actually knew the language.
In other news, last night we went to Cunningham Park for one of the Metropolitan Opera's summer outdoor concerts. La Bohème with Hong Hei-kyung as Mimì and Roberto Aronica as Rodolfo. We managed to sit up fairly close to the stage and had a great view.
I'm probably spoiled by listening to recordings of Jussi Björling in the role, but the tenor sounded a little too energetic and brassy to fit my "image" (aurally speaking) of Rodolfo. He had no problems with volume, and certainly there was a nice color to his voice, but he expressed himself rather unsubtly. My mother said it was a problem of control: too abrupt a change in dynamics whenever he went to fortissimo. His best moment came at the end, when Rodolfo cries out, "Mimì! Mimì!" (The very first time I heard La Bohème was through a televised broadcast of a San Francisco Opera production when I was about seven, and this last scene still stands out in my memory as the moment when the whole point of opera really clicked for me.)
In contrast to the tenor, Hong Hei-kyung was spectacular. I watched her in La Traviata in another one of these outdoor concerts last summer, and she had sounded a little weak after two high notes in the first act. But she was in perfect form yesterday night; I think Mimì really must be one of her signature roles. During "Mi chiamano Mimì" in the first act, I actually had tears in my eyes when she sang, "Ma quando vien lo sgelo, il primo sole è mio, il primo bacio dell'aprile è mio!"--her voice was that beautiful.
It's easier to enjoy performances for operas you know very well because so much of the thrill lies in the anticipation of a beloved aria or phrase (or even note) and having that anticipation perfectly fulfilled.
Father woke me up at unholy hour this morning to go practice driving in a nearby parking lot. As expected, I'm exhibiting a very slow learning curve while driving.![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
angelyrique and I have been taking driving lessons together for the past few days from an instructor, and both of us have been having trouble with turns despite having had three lessons already. Next lesson is next Wednesday so I'm trying to keep in practice by practicing with my father. Road test is in late July...ugh, I hope I pass. I have to pass.
I'm also supposed to be riding my bike regularly although I haven't for the past four days. My father's philosophical dictum: "You must become one with the bicycle." -_-
Yours &c.
Forty pages in, and the overriding question is: The Name of the Rose = medieval!AU of Sherlock Holmes?
(I'm sure there are other numerous literary references at work, but I am too tickled to death by the idea of Sherlock Holmes as 14th-century Franciscan monk to notice them.)
My rudimentary dog Latin has been sufficient (so far) to keep me afloat in all the untranslated passages and phrases, but I wish I actually knew the language.
In other news, last night we went to Cunningham Park for one of the Metropolitan Opera's summer outdoor concerts. La Bohème with Hong Hei-kyung as Mimì and Roberto Aronica as Rodolfo. We managed to sit up fairly close to the stage and had a great view.
I'm probably spoiled by listening to recordings of Jussi Björling in the role, but the tenor sounded a little too energetic and brassy to fit my "image" (aurally speaking) of Rodolfo. He had no problems with volume, and certainly there was a nice color to his voice, but he expressed himself rather unsubtly. My mother said it was a problem of control: too abrupt a change in dynamics whenever he went to fortissimo. His best moment came at the end, when Rodolfo cries out, "Mimì! Mimì!" (The very first time I heard La Bohème was through a televised broadcast of a San Francisco Opera production when I was about seven, and this last scene still stands out in my memory as the moment when the whole point of opera really clicked for me.)
In contrast to the tenor, Hong Hei-kyung was spectacular. I watched her in La Traviata in another one of these outdoor concerts last summer, and she had sounded a little weak after two high notes in the first act. But she was in perfect form yesterday night; I think Mimì really must be one of her signature roles. During "Mi chiamano Mimì" in the first act, I actually had tears in my eyes when she sang, "Ma quando vien lo sgelo, il primo sole è mio, il primo bacio dell'aprile è mio!"--her voice was that beautiful.
It's easier to enjoy performances for operas you know very well because so much of the thrill lies in the anticipation of a beloved aria or phrase (or even note) and having that anticipation perfectly fulfilled.
Father woke me up at unholy hour this morning to go practice driving in a nearby parking lot. As expected, I'm exhibiting a very slow learning curve while driving.
angelyrique and I have been taking driving lessons together for the past few days from an instructor, and both of us have been having trouble with turns despite having had three lessons already. Next lesson is next Wednesday so I'm trying to keep in practice by practicing with my father. Road test is in late July...ugh, I hope I pass. I have to pass.I'm also supposed to be riding my bike regularly although I haven't for the past four days. My father's philosophical dictum: "You must become one with the bicycle." -_-
Yours &c.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
(no subject)
Date: 2007-06-21 03:18 pm (UTC)Wow, I know a lot of people trying to get their license this summer, myself included. XD
(no subject)
Date: 2007-06-21 04:06 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2007-06-21 04:48 pm (UTC)hee! I wasn't the only person who thought this at the beginning then. Read the book about two years ago, and had a convo with Charmian about whether it could be called a Sherlock Holmes AU (http://fable.livejournal.com/151054.html?thread=889102#t889102) (there are some spoilers in that thread).
(no subject)
Date: 2007-06-22 05:02 pm (UTC)People have been telling me it gets less Holmesian later, but at least for now the book is pretty enjoyable.
(no subject)
Date: 2007-06-22 01:41 am (UTC)You know, I've never had a chance to really experience opera. I went to one of the Concert in the Park performances yesterday night (half of it, really) and heard a fraction of La Bohème. I'm becoming more curious about all that I've missed out on due to 1. your entry and 2. I just watched Amadeus. Hmm.
Best of luck with driving! I still can't...
Btw, this is Danica. Friend me back?
(no subject)
Date: 2007-06-22 05:04 pm (UTC)Opera takes time to appreciate musically I think; at first it was only really the stories that drew me in, but after a while I started enjoying the music too. I think La Bohème is one of the more accessible ones (at least, it's the first one I really enjoyed).
(no subject)
Date: 2007-06-22 01:46 am (UTC)Good luck! :)
(no subject)
Date: 2007-06-22 05:05 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2007-06-22 10:20 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2007-06-22 05:06 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2007-06-25 12:55 am (UTC)*giggles* Last time I tried to read that book I noticed there are a bunch of philosophical references and that I might miss for my lack of knowledge in the matter... So I decided to stop until I began studying Medieval Philosophy at college so I could understand the book a little better. I've been told is great, though (my sister loves it loves it loves it).
I too fail at Latin, though I'm supposed to have LEARNED it already. ;O; However the edition I own does have translations in the last pages for each sentence in Latin :O It's in Spanish, though, aren't there any editions like that available in English?
Now I wonder who's cuter: Adso or Watson? :D
(no subject)
Date: 2007-06-25 01:31 pm (UTC)Hmm, I would say Adso, just because he's younger and more starry-eyed. XD
(no subject)
Date: 2007-06-25 05:21 pm (UTC)I know! I've only read a few chapters but he's so sweet! 8D so much I thought of William/Adso. XDDDD My yaoi mind never rests...