Happy Birthday, MusicGuy!
Welcome to God(des)-Dom Panni!
Happy Academy Award Nomination Announcement Day!
Last night (just a few hours ago, actually), I saw "Carmen" at the Seattle Opera. It was quite good. I'd never seen it live, only the Julia Migenes/Placido Domingo video and when I was at college, it was the very first stage experience I'd ever had. A minute or so after the overture started, I realized something. I whispered to my friend, "I just realized that the orchestra is playing and there is no amplification at all!" When the singers started singing, it was so wonderful to hear (quite easily) all of their voices with absolutely no microphones anywhere! I can't remember the last time I heard vocal music (other than Tony Bennett's one song off mic) that wasn't electronically amplified. It was so refreshing to experience that after so many years the of overamplification that happens here in Olympia...even in smaller theaters.