Nessun Dorma...yes I know none of this has to do with Turandot, but I think you can figure it out.

Saw Sleeping Beauty with the Interlochen ballet last week, and it was amazing! Dance was one of the art areas that I hadn't seen anything of (except a short piece at Collage this fall), and I don't quite know what I was expecting, but it was wonderful! I'd say that some of the dancers, the men in particular, were just as good or better than what I've seen at Fort Wayne Ballet.

Just finished listening to Don Carlo on the Met broadcast; it's one of the great things about being home, since I have classes on Saturday's and can't listen to them. I had been looking forward to this broadcast for weeks, for many reasons. First, it's Don Carlo, enough said. Second, the cast was loaded (Dmitri Hvorostovsky, Rene Pape, Samuel Ramey, Olga Borodina, Patricia Racette, Johan Botha), Dmitri and Sam being two of my all time favorite singers. The only thing that could have made it better would be Placido Domingo singing the title role, although Botha did it justice. I've listened to many of the broadcasts over the years, but I don't recall the audience ever being this wild; they went crazy for the singers! The applause for the Friendship Duet, The King's Study Scene Aria, Eboli's O don fatale, Rodrigo's Death Scene, Elisabetta's Tu che la vanita, and the final curtain calls (Rene Pape and Dmitri Hvorostovsky in particular) were the loudest I've ever heard. It's such a wonderful opera, and even though it's very long and a bit complicated (had to watch the video about 5 times before I finally figured out the politics that go on in it), it's one of my favorites. The major characters are all very complex with great music to sing. The ending is a little strange, but who really cares? I don't, it's still great music. Rodrigo's Death Scene always makes me cry, and this was not an acception, especially with Hvorostovsky singing it. He sang the first phrase of O Carlo, ascolta in one breath! I love it I love it!!