Madama Butterfly

[vivien_sivvus]

I’ve just got back from seeing the opera “Madama Butterfly” at the local theatre with my mom. To my shame, I’ve never really heard any of the music before... but it was absolutely *brilliant*!

It was terrifically well acted and sung by a touring Russian company, and the orchestra was amazing (although there was only one double-bass player, when

Comments

[team_fen]

The opera production sounds really wonderful. It was nice just to hear about it secondhand. Do you have a favourite opera? I like tragedy sometimes, but my idea of beauty in story and music is usually on a more personal scale-- warmly human, humourous and with an underlying seriousness. I also like purity of expression. My favourite operas are The Marriage of Figaro, La Boheme and Pelleas et Melisande.

You might like April Fools. It's a fun and clever Rufus Wainwright music video where you can pick out all the tragic opera heroines. His sister Martha and Gwen Stefani are in the video too!

--Imo

P.S. Your drawing is really cute. Poor Kel! Joren's hair is so much better than hers. Her crush is doomed.

[vivien_sivvus]

I like The Magic Flute and the Marriage of Figaro, since I'm a huge Mozart fan. I also like Carmen (just for the entr'acte in the second half! :P) And now I'm madly in love with Madama Butterfly!

Le drawing is Kel and Neal. I was cracking up laughing when I realised it... I tried to summarise POTS to someone and I ended up with "There's this girl... who pretends to be a rock... and her friend who wants to be a daffodil..."

[team_fen]

You're right, Kel and Neal works every bit as well. That's a pretty great 'in a nutshell' version of the Kel books. Heh!

Yes, Carmen is a lot of fun, and some gorgeous music. I really like the 'Flower Duet' in Lakme too, and Delilah's famous aria in 'Samson and Delilah. Do you like other kinds of music than classical? --Imo

[vivien_sivvus]

Yeah, I just find it easier to talk about classical. If I mention my other faves most people go: "REALLY?! o.O When pushed for time I tend to say "I like everything except sunshine music and the Beatles," and then I get lynched by every other Beatles fan in the area. Love and peace, guys

[heather_neather]

It sounds wonderful!! I've heard nothing but good on 'Madama Butterfly'- it must have been amazing.

[lyredenfers]

Mmm, Puccini. I've never seen Madame Butterfly but Turandot is one of my all time favourites. I always love reading what people have to say about music. I know what you mean by watching too, it's always so strange, but at the same time I've gotten spoiled, listening to orchestral works in surround sound :D What do you play?

[vivien_sivvus]

Depends who I'm playing with- clarinet, flute, saxophone or piano. (I'm training to be a teacher.) I know what you mean about being spoiled by surround sound! Wouldn't it be awesome to have some kind of recording from the POV of the viola section or something?

[lyredenfers]

I'm doing the teacher thing too! But for little kids, so no band for me.

I'm a harp, and the conductors tend to shift me around the orchestra depending on what they like, so I've played pieces where the second time I was, for example, between the back desk cello and violas instead between the violins and brass. It's so different! I was almost part of the double bass section :D

[vivien_sivvus]

Wow! Harp is one of my favorite instruments- I don't think I could play one to save my life, but they sound so beautiful! The only difference I get in seating is depending on the style- so front desk for wind band, normal desk for orchestra, or solo mic for jazz groups. So I've never played near the double bass section! :P

I think the oddest place I've ever been was in an army induction band, where they put the clarinets next to the tuba. So all we could hear was this OOM-pa OOM-pa BLART!! for the entire piece.

Out of interest, have you ever been placed next to the wind section? I would imagine putting a harp between the second violins and the flutes would sound terrific, although perhaps be slightly hard to fit... in terms of sync, it would be awesome. Usually when I'm mixing recorded orchestras I try to put the harp between the pizzicato strings (which are seperate... don't ask :P) and the treble wind. I don't know if it would work live?