Sometimes, my hair color speaks for itself...

A few days ago, I was looking through my desk drawers and came across a program from the Stars of the Lyric Opera Millennium Park concert from 2005. This would have been at the beginning of my junior year of high school. Flipping through the pages, I remembered a lot from the concert; being in the open air with my mom and aunt Jan, the blisters on my feet, Ildebrando D'Arcangelo's beautiful voice, hair, and his music nearly flying away in the wind while singing the crap out of "Suoni la tromba" with Quinn Kelsey, Matthew Polenzani stopping in the middle of "Salut, demeure" because of the fireworks from the Rolling Stones concert at Soldier Feild, and Denyce Graves singing one of the most beautiful renditions of "Mon coeur s'ouvere a ta voix" I've ever heard. Oh yeah, and Nathan Gunn singing the first Figaro/Almaviva duet and the Hamlet Drinking Song. But this had somehow slipped my memory momentarily:

Les pecheurs de perles
Act One, Duet: "Au fond du temple saint"
Matthew Polenzani (Nadir)
Nathan Gunn (Zurga)

Obviously I remember it, and yes, it was basically gorgeous. This duet, as with many pieces, really needs to be experienced live to appreciate its total beauty. The Lyric Opera of Chicago is presenting this opera next season, with Gunn in the cast. This is giving me roadtrip ideas...

I wish I was in Europe...

The title of this post really has nothing to do with the actual post. I just really wish I was in Europe right now, as part of an ongoing battle of figuring out my place in the music world...

I was up at Interlochen last weekend for graduation. While it was wonderful to see my friends and teachers again, but it also felt very strange to be back. Mostly everything was the same; the Concourse and Rotundas still had gritty sandy floors, TJ House still had that aweful disgusting smell that I lived with for a year, the lake was still beautiful, and you still saw a lot of blue. Lots of blue. It didn't seem true that I could have been away from the pines for a year, as if everything had stayed exactly the same until that day.

While at Interlochen, I was able to reconnect with some friends and teachers from my year there. I briefly went to the bonfire Andrew set up across the street at the state park campsite (word to the wise; flashlights in a dark woods are a good idea, and cell phones just don't do the same thing). I finally met Pei-Ting's mom and sister who came all the way from Taiwan for her graduation. Her mom speaks no English, and I speak no Chinese, but I feel like we could still understand each other, proving one again that language is not necessarily needed to communicate with another person. I talked with Mr. Norris, my voice teacher at IAA, as well as my IAA accompanist, Mr. Larson, who found out about the Facebook fanclub I created for him.

After our excursion to the American Siberia, mom and I went to Chicago for annual Girl's Weekend. We explored the downtown area just north of Michigan Avenue we hadn't seen much of before. We came across a delightful tea shop called TeaGeschwender, a German-based tea merchant that sold every imaginable sort of tea. Our cute clerk showed us several sorts of teas from the over 70 selections, and we finally settled on a Darjeeling and a Russian Samovar tea. Both taste wonderful. We also walked past several of the beautiful (and freaking expensive) houses in that area, and of course I'd like to live in one of them. But....well, that probably won't happen. Oh, but we can dream, can't we?

I want a samovar.

Who says its cold in Russia? Its hawt!

After nearly 14 months of planning, waiting for tickets and then the performance, I finally saw Tchaikovsky's masterpiece Eugene Onegin, presented by the Lyric Opera of Chicago, with baritone Dmitri Hvorostovsky in the title role. Early in the season, Hvorostovsky pulled out of half the performances, causing a bit of anxiety on this part, seeing as there was really only one performance that I could attend. Thankfully, he was singing that night. In fact, this was the last night he performed the role in Chicago, and supposedly for the rest of his career, according to Opera News in September 2006. The production by Robert Carson (presented at the Metropolitan Opera last season, and telecast across the world February 07) also featured Dina Kuznestova as Tatyana and Frank Lopardo as Lensky. Kuznestova's Tatyana was heartfelt and beautiful, with liquid high notes and a perfect Letter Scene. In the final scene of the opera, her face clearly showed Tatyana's anxiety as she struggles with the choice in front of her, and we knew that her final rejection of Onegin was concrete.

I wasn't sure how I felt about Lopardo's Lensky; his was a sound I wasn't used to in the role, but by the end of his first scene, he had won the audience over. His interpretation of "Kuda, kuda", sung just before the duel, was wrenching and heartbreaking. His Lensky almost seems to know that he'll die, making the aria all the more tragic.

But of course, Eugene Onegin cannot succeed without a strong baritone in the title role. And we had Dmitri Hvorostovsky, a singer who's name has become synonymous with Eugene Onegin. I had seen the telecast of the opera from the Met last year, with Hvorostovsky and Renee Fleming as Onegin and Tatyana, and his Onegin was cold and unsympathetic towards Tatyana. However, his present Onegin was much warmer and his rejection was easier to take, although it still breaks that heart to see. Instead of simply rejecting her in the traditional "Its not you, its me" fashion, which is how Hvorostovsky played it at the Met, he was much more paternal in turning from her affection, wanting to protect her. Only his last line in that scene was as heartbreaking as always "Learn to control yourself in the future. Not every man will be as understanding as me." (loosely translated) The rejection is always painful, and nothing Onegin could have said would have been easy on Tatyana. His flirtation with Olga in the party scene would have worked on anyone in the audience, and he dances well too. =) He played with cards and talked with Olga during Triqiet's song, and ignored Lensky's despair at Onegin's flirting with Olga. The duel scene had no scenery, with only the singers and the drama onstage. Most of the scene occurred in darkness, with the sun only appearing after Lensky was shot. Instead of taking a break in between the duel scene and the Polonaise, the time was used rather well. Hvorostovsky stepped away from Lensky's body and proceeded to change his costume with the help of several footmen. Needless to say, shirtless Dmitri was worth the price of admission. =) But perhaps the most passionate and emotionally intense moment in the opera occurred after Tatyana's exit, when Onegin, alone on stage, cries out in his despair. Hvorostovsky could not have expressed that very despair with any more perfection; it ripped your heart to shreds, although it was much deeper than that.

We waited by the stage door after the performance hoping to get a chance to see some of the singers. Some annoying (and reasonably untalented) saxophonist whom had been hanging around after Orfeo two seasons ago was again playing on the sidewalk. We saw a small crowd in the entryway by the stage door, and, assuming they also wanted to meet and greet, we went it. It was a good choice. We saw a few singers leave, but we either weren't sure who they were or how to pronounce their names, as in the case of the spectacular Ukrainian bass Vitalij Kowaljow, who sang Prince Gremin. But after about 10 minutes, there was a collective "Ahh!" as Dmitri Hvorostovsky and his white hair were spotted.

To answer the obvious question; yes, Hvorostovsky really is that good-looking, to the point of being overwhelming. He knows how to work a crowd and signed programs and answered questions, from the normal to the obscure. I was about 5th in line to talk to him, which I did. I worked with a former Italian diction coach of his while I was Interlochen, so I made sure to mention her. He seemed pleased and asked me to send her his love. Will gladly do. He also was kind enough to let me grab a photo.

Of course, I could post much more about the whole experience, but I'll spare you. I will say that Eugene Onegin is an underrated opera, and I wish that more people knew it. Anyone can relate to it, because everyone has experienced disappointment and regret, not to mention that Tchaikovsky knows how to express human emotion in a way that no one else has been able to. I adore this opera.