The Metropolitan Opera - every singers dream come true!

The opera was Sensational! Actually breathtaking… Renee Flemming was the Countess and if you don’t know she is pretty much the QUEEN of singing! I have about 6 of her CDs (and 7 CDs of opera music in total) Last time Cappricio was done it was in the 80s and Kiri played the Countess.  The theatre I mean opera house was just exquisite. There were about 5 fancy resturants that are part of the campus and it seemed like it was all about being seen… 

I was in the cheap seats with my $25 ticket (BARGAIN) and so was way way up in the Gods… 7 levels to be precise. They have this incredible Chandalier which was just WOW! They had one inside and one in the foyer. The one inside is surrounded by mini ones like 15 of them. These initially are lower down and then they moved up to the top once the overture was finished. They were cooler then they sound. Also they have these seats along the sides of the top level which are like lecture desks, I presumed they were for reviewers or something.

Basically the first 15 mins I was a zombie and kept having to wake myself up. Was like noooo I cant sleep and then miss her last song (this is the famous bit of the opera) but things picked up and just WOW! I don’t know what it was about it that was so incredible maybe just because its every opera singers dream to be part of the MET opera? It was opening night as well which is always a bit special!

Renee’s voice was so pure so crystal she just dropped the notes out. And just had such a hold on the performance. Her dresses were pretty cool too. The setting was a 1920s salon so kind of just a lounge and there was no set change and no half time. 

The men… oh man give me a singing man any day! Soooo hot! There was a tenor a baritone and then La Roche who was the old guy who was a bass! There was a good amount of humour in the opera, It wasn’t comic humour though (which opera funny often can be – I don’t know ive only seen about 5 operas) it was really intelligent and clever. Really liked the storyline though, about a poet and a musician and both fall in love with the countess so they have a battle off about which is better words or music…  very smartly written. The film of the performance will be showing in Auckland later in the year if there are any takers to come with me… its nice a short (only 2 ½ hours).  See full synopsis here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capriccio_(opera)

The ending was just huge  she has about a 15 minute scene where she is trying to decide which one to choose… Flamand or Olivier – so heart wrenching!  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6oUABPNM_AI Just HUGE! She had her own bow!