What could be better than this? Last night while kathy was off being stage manager for “Gypsy” at the RTG, I was relaxing in the living room with two former students / now friends – Paul Marchese and Nic Sluss-Rodionov- watching not professional wrestling, nor “Die Hard Two” – but rather a few excerpts from some of the world’s best operas. We watched Samuel Ramey tear up the stage as the devil in Boito’s Mefistofele. . . Juan DIego Florez sing the aria with nine high C’s in The Daughter of the Regiment, and then rattle off nine more when the audience demanded an encore. . . Jussi Bjoerling and Renata Tebaldi in La Boheme. . . Placido Domingo as Otello. . . Vickers as Peter Grimes. . . and on and on. The worst part was that Bobbi and Ellie wouldn’t leave Nic alone; it was as if he had rubbed raw hamburger all over his legs before he came. (I’m pretty sure he didn’t, but it sure looked like it.) Once we got the dogs calmed down, we could settle into our respective seats and just get lost in the world’s greatest art form.
This interesting version of Guys Night reminds me of the time when Pastor Jeff Barrow was my “date” at the Lyric Opera – a night when for some reason Marshall couldn’t go. The opera was Gounod’s Romeo and Juliet and it was a glorious performance- which we both enjoyed- but afterwards, Jeff joked that after such a cultured evening, he had an almost uncontrollable urge to smash a beer can on his forehead. I’m pretty sure none of us felt such an urge after our evening of opera videos, but perhaps I should only speak for myself.
As much as I love what occurs in the studio, in voice lessons, I especially love the learning moments outside of the studio- like the evenings when I’m in my living room with Trevor or Aaron or Nic or whoever – pulling out various videos and stoking their love for great singing – and stoking my own in the process as well! What could be sweeter than that?
pictured: left to right- Paul Marchese, Nic Sluss-Rodionov and GB, watching opera in the Berg’s living room. Real Men Watch Opera!