The Chat Thread

[Benji]

I usually love the winter, but for some reason, the lack of sunlight is really affecting me this year. The cold I don't mind - although it's been quite warm until this evening.

Bloody east coast weather. Mild and then *bam* you need another five layers to not feel the chill. It's especially bad down my way with the wind off the Firth. Brass monkeys! 

[Novi]

Bloody east coast weather. Mild and then *bam* you need another five layers to not feel the chill. It's especially bad down my way with the wind off the Firth. Brass monkeys! 

Brrrr... tucked in bed with a hot water bottle now. Another exciting Friday night...

[MN Dave]

Brrrr... tucked in bed with a hot water bottle now.

That's what you call your wife? 

[Benji]

Brrrr... tucked in bed with a hot water bottle now. Another exciting Friday night...

Bless! I'm here at half 2 in the morning ripping my Boult RVW box set to mp3. What a life! 

[Szykneij]

Me too. But I wasn't doing Catwomen. 

I thought we were doing heavenly bodies in general.   

[Novi]

Bless! I'm here at half 2 in the morning ripping my Boult RVW box set to mp3. What a life! 

LOL, I'm trying to finish last week's Observer crossword and win 'a set of stylish Penguin Dictionaries.'

[greg]

Hm... I've actually had an interesting night so far, kind of... it'd be more interesting if the couples and the little kids in the park actually got visibly scared from my atonal electric guitar riffs. 

[Novi]

That's what you call your wife? 

Hey, she likes it when I talk dirty.

[MN Dave]

I wrote the first draft of a book review. My brain hurts now.

[CD]

My brain hurts now.

[Opus106]

*Is currently getting nearly full speed at RapidShare* w00t!

[Opus106]

Your dose of Saturday Craziness: this is just sheer... seriously, I'm at a loss for words here!

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/33883605/ns/technology_and_science-tech_and_gadgets/

[Elgarian]

I'm feeling a bit glum. In the last few weeks I've been living in Opera-Land, high in the stratosphere (yes, cheap seats): Ariodante, Alcina, Werther, and finally Cosi Fan Tutte brought the run to an end last night. So suddenly, despite the fact that I have a million things to be thankful for, life seems a bit ... humdrum. And there's a big gap now until February at the earliest. And I want more of the same. I WANT MORE, I tell you!



That's me, there, trying to climb back to the cheap seats.

[knight66]

You want more...then try this at the ENO.

Turandot. Not as I had been told, set in a fast food outlet, but in a large Chinese Restaurant. We might proceed with me answering a series of very obvious questions about the proceedings....

Were there by any chance three Elvis impersonators striking poses?
Well, funny you ask that but, yes!
How about golfers, any of them?
Spot on! Yes two swinging away, one in baby blue the other in pastel pink. Odd thing, they came back after act 1 and restrained the tenor whilst the servant girl was being tortured, they did a good job there. I felt the tenor was a bit hampered in having to wear his old raincoat throughout the evening. Difficult to cut a dash in such a garment.
How about nuns, I like an opera with nuns?
Amazing, right on the button, there were two and a Chelsea Pensioner, also an ancient wino-hippy who was press-ganged into becoming the Emperor, despite having flicked the V sign at all and sundry in his journeys round the restaurant. There was a head on a plate served up to the diners and a Hasadic Jewish man with a very fetching handbag.

You get the feel for this I guess; the theme was 'Randomness'. The sets were great and there were also a lot of projected Chinese ideograms sliding over the walls and floor, they made a really beautiful effect.

However, if I was to pick out my personal highlight of 'Randomness', it has to be the supernumerary writer. He silently observed and took notes throughout; excepting during 'In questa reggia' when he upstaged the soprano by sitting at the front of the stage eating with chopsticks and ignoring the Ice Princess. During the eventual love duet, Turandot got her theatrical revenge. She disemboweled him with a sword and the lovers then managed to ignore his trails of blood and much extended death throws. Those two lovers displayed remarkable self absorbsion. It was an original touch.

Musically the performance was rather good, but the eye was provoked and distracted by all sorts of mysteries. One mystery I sense that I did solve was that Chinese writing: it read. 'You round-eyes will sit through any old shit.'

Mike

[secondwind]

I'm feeling a bit glum. In the last few weeks I've been living in Opera-Land, high in the stratosphere (yes, cheap seats): Ariodante, Alcina, Werther, and finally Cosi Fan Tutte brought the run to an end last night. So suddenly, despite the fact that I have a million things to be thankful for, life seems a bit ... humdrum. And there's a big gap now until February at the earliest. And I want more of the same. I WANT MORE, I tell you!



That's me, there, trying to climb back to the cheap seats.

Post opera, Elgarian triste est. . . I'm pretty sure that's what I learned in high school Latin class. . . just part of the process.  Don't worry, you'll be back in the cheap seats soon!

[Elgarian]

Were there by any chance three Elvis impersonators striking poses?
Well, funny you ask that but, yes!
How about golfers, any of them?
Spot on! Yes two swinging away, one in baby blue the other in pastel pink.

I'm trying to decide, Mike, if it's better to have Elvis impersonators and golfers in Turandot, or to have Superman and Wonderwoman in Il Seraglio (which is what we got earlier in the year). It's too close to call. I think I need more information - such as whether the Elvises were wearing the black leather TV Special suit or a Las Vegas jumpsuit; and what the golfers' handicaps were.

[Elgarian]

Post opera, Elgarian triste est.

Seeing this in Latin is itself comforting of course, because it puts a proper chronological perspective on one's misery, as the millennia roll back. However, drifting back to distant memories of school Latin classes, I find myself wondering if it should be post operam, and I feel slightly anxious that I can't remember. Displacement anxiety, of course, in the post-opera(m) situation.

Well at least I had no golfers and Elvis impersonators to put up with (a la Mike). It's no consolation to Mike, of course, but Opera North's Werther (with recovering-from-swine-flu-Alice Coote) and Cosi were both seriously good, indeed, inspired productions.

[Opus106]

This just isn't fair!

First they [Bombay] host the Vienna Phil., and now Gramo-winning young hot-shots.

[MN Dave]

Have a good week, friends. 

[Opus106]

Have a good week, friends. 

You too, mein freund. Going away somewhere for the week?