The end of the season

I apologize, things have been busy, and I've missed filling you in on two separate operas (not to mention a million other things that have passed by in the chaos).

After all this opera talk, constantly reminding everyone of my excitement at finally getting to see Rene Flemming in Armida, I completely spaced actually telling you what it was like.  I had mentally composed witty sentences describing how absolutely wonderful she was...which I have naturally forgotten in the ensuing month.  Needless to say, she was divine.  Beyond divine...exquisite.  And the guys were ok, too.  Well, except for the one guy, who I swear to God has been in half of the operas I saw this season and he sounds like he's not only singing completely through his nose, but his voice has a quality to it akin to someone who is being attacked by a weasel.  I'm not a big fan.  But even he couldn't dampen the whole production, because in the beginning there was Rene, and in the end there was Rene, only an angry Rene, and I know that even though the opera ended, Armida would not have let the weasel tenor survive.

And then there was my final opera of the season...Der Fliegende Hollander.  I first saw The Flying Dutchman in Baltimore, in a production that absolutely blew my mind and I completely believe solidified my love of opera right then and there...and yet...I apparently completely mis-remembered the opera.  I'm not saying that I forgot the story (ghost ship, cursed captain, girl falls in love with a picture of the captain, greedy father, spurred love, no one gets what they want in the end, you know the story), I just seem to have combined Der Fliegende Hollander with another 2 or 3 Wagner operas that actually have songs that conjure memories of Elmer Fudd and Bugs Bunny in Brunhilda costumes (even though I know Brunhilda is not in Der Fliegender Hollander).  I swear I had never heard any of this music before, except for the scary ghost ship approaching/storm music that just sounds like blood thirsty pirates must be just beyond the next wave.   So in a way it was disappointing, not because it actually was a disappointment, it was just not what 10 years of fake memories had been expecting.  And I guess in the end what it really means is that I have to be better about seeing the other Wagner operas so I can actually sort out what it is that's all jumbled in my college opera memories bin...

But the season is over.  I have to figure out what to do for next year...another season subscription? There's a lot of repeats next season, Mr. Gleb and Mr. Levine, but there is another chance to see the magnificent Rene.  So that's it. 8 operas: some bad, some good, one fire incident, Placido Domingo and Rene Flemming, horses and dogs and dancing children on stage, and now I have to wait 8 months until I get to sit up in those red velvet seats, surrounded by snoring elderly people, and watch completely unbelievable story lines sung by people with completely unbelievable voices...until next October...