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December 18, 2020:

WHAT’S OPERA, DOC?

Bruce Kimmel Photograph bk's notes

Well, dear readers, I have finished watching all three-hours-and-twenty-minutes of Der Rosenkavalier on Blu and Ray, the Metropolitan Opera production from 2017.  That is a mere twelve minutes shorter than Ben-Hur.  But I must tell you that I was never once bored, it never seemed that long, and for that I give full credit to the director Robert Carsen and conductor Sebastian Weigle. Opera directors are never quite as lauded as the cast and band, but when it’s a great production credit must be due and given and Carsen’s work on Der Rosenkavalier is simply fantastic, and I think you know just how hard I am to please, direction-wise.  The sets are sumptuous, as are the costumes and although I’ve seen no other production, save for a bit of one on the Tube of You, I’m quite certain that this isn’t your grandfather’s Der Rosenkavalier.  What makes this such a delight is that the director understands the comedy and mines it at every turn and there are moments in acts two and three where I laughed out loud.  And then there’s the cast – I simply cannot imagine a better cast in terms of not only the singing but the acting of the roles.  Everyone in this really sells the characters and the relationships.  Renee Fleming is beautiful and touching (she only appears in acts one and three) and sings like a dream.  Erin Morley’s Sophie is wonderful, and Gunther Groissbock as Baron Ochs is just great – very funny – and there’s a bit with his hair that’s just brilliant.  But the production belongs to Elina Garanca as Octavian is brilliant. I want to see more of her after this.  She plays a man and does so wonderfully and convincingly, but then she plays a man playing a woman and she’s just amazing at it, playing it perfectly so that it’s not only funny and fun but believable. I can’t really say enough about her.  The orchestra sounds great and the camera direction is mostly great.  It gets quite randy at times and Garanca at one point gets to do a Marlene Dietrich thing that’s wonderful.  I may have to watch the damn thing again and soon, that’s how delightful it was.  Highly recommended by the likes of me and the Blu-ray transfer looks swell, too.

And since I’m in the what’s opera, Doc, mode, I’m sitting here like so much listening to the Strauss opera called Daphne, which has lots of wonderful music, wonderful conducting by Karl Bohm, good singers, and only runs about ninety minutes.  And prior to that, I listened to an opera, one of those Decca Entartete affairs called Jonny Spielt Auf by Ernst Krenek, which is totally delightful – jazzy, fun, tuneful, but modern in that twenties way, the kind of thing Weill did.  Wonderful singers and band and I just loved it. What’s opera, Doc, indeed.

Yesterday was an okay day.  I got a little over eight hours of sleep, answered e-mails, and then I moseyed on over to the mail place and picked up a couple of packages, came home, called in an order to Islands – bacon cheeseburger and fries – then, fifteen minutes later, I picked it up, brought it home, and ate it all up and it was really great.

After that, I did some things that needed doing, including getting everything organized for the 5:00 Zoom meeting.  Unfortunately, one of the two people attending never showed up – “forgot” – felt terrible, so we rescheduled for today at five.  It’s a shame, because I was all organized and prepared and now I have to do all that prep over again today.  The one person who was there and I discussed technical issues for the project, so it wasn’t completely wasted.  She also wanted to read project two, so after we finished Zooming, I went through project two again, making a few additions and smoothing out other stuff, then made a PDF and sent it to her.  Hoping she likes it.  After she reads it, it will go where it needs to go.

Then I hunkered down and watched acts two and three of Der Rosenkavalier, which you’ve already read about, and you know the rest and the rest you know.

Today, I’ll be up when I’m up, I’ll do whatever needs doing, I’ll hopefully pick up some packages, I’ll eat something reasonable and fun, and then we’ll have our 5:00 Zoom meeting.  After that, I’ll watch, listen, and relax.

Tomorrow, she of the Evil Eye comes, so I may do what I did two weeks ago – go to Hugo’s, get some pasta papa, and have a leisurely breakfast in the motor car. Otherwise, I’ll go to the mail place, and then I’m going to start making notes for the book I think will be my twenty-first book.  I’ll try to write the first few pages, too, as I like to already be into it so I can just pick up on January 1.  Sunday will be a ME day, and, in fact, next week is a holiday week and I’m not going to do much of anything, save for getting everything prepared for project one so that we can begin working on it right after Christmas.  I suppose I can tell you that – well, no, not ready to say anything – safer that way, if you get my meaning, which I know you do because who is smarter than you dear readers?  No one, that’s who. I don’t know if the Darling Daughter will be traveling for Christmas, but if she is, I do hope she’ll stop by for a visit, just her and me.  As to our annual Christmas Eve Do, it’s not looking good.  This will be the first time in over thirty years it won’t happen but given the new stay at home stuff, I don’t think anyone’s going to be comfortable coming by. The original plan, prior to this new stuff, was to do it at noon for three hours, outside in the yard, distanced, and with me getting everyone’s food and bringing it to them, so that no one would ever be in the house. But they’re saying no to that kind of thing, so what can one do?

Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, be up when I’m up, do whatever needs doing, hopefully pick up packages, eat, then get everything organized and prepared (again) for our Zoom meeting, and then I’ll watch, listen, and relax.  Today’s topic of discussion: It’s Friday – what is currently in your CD player, and your DVD/Blu and Ray player?  I’ll start – CD, Lucia Di Lammermoor, of which I know not a single note. Blu-ray, perhaps Miracle in Milan. Your turn.  Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst I hit the road to dreamland, where I shall, I’m quite certain, have operatic dreams followed by me saying, “What’s opera, Doc?”

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