La Bohème - Giacomo Puccini

This is something I had been meaning to do for a while. I started a separate blog for a more full exploration of this grandest form of theater so it wouldn't take up too much space on my Random Thoughts Blog. I realize that Opera is not for everyone, but if you feel inclined or just might be a bit curious to take a peek at a full Opera, read on and visit my Random Musings About Opera blog. It's not a stuffy pretentious look, but a more mainstream introduction to one of my favorite art forms.

La Bohème, French for The Bohemian Woman, is an adaptation of a French Novel Scènes de la Vie de Bohème (Scenes of Behemian Life) written by Henri Murger. The Opera was composed by Giacomo Puccini with the libretto written by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. La Bohème premiered on February 1, 1896. It is a Opera in four acts, each a different scene and setting in the lives of six bohemians living in Paris around 1830. The cast is as follows … Read More

via Random Musings About Opera

Morning Trails - Springtime at Lakefront

I am fortunate to live in an area that has hundreds of miles of dedicated walking trails and a marvelous lake and wildlife preserve a few miles from my home. I enjoy an early morning walk or run on these trails, and when I have extra time and the weather is nice, I make my way to the lake, camera in hand. I've been snapping photos of the lake for almost a decade now, and the fascination and beauty of the place never fades. If you have a few moments, join me and see why I consider this waking part of my day to be so special. I'll try not to bore you too much with commentary - the images tend to speak well for themselves.



A Blue Heron searching about for breakfast.



Sunrise making its presence known.



A young buck and his companion enjoying a morning drink. Personally, I prefer a nice strong cup of coffee.



Sometimes, all you really need to do is look upward for inspiration...



A favorite spot for me to reflect, and to journal those random thoughts that occasionally make their way to this blog.



Last year's grasses yielding to this year's new growth.



Full sunlight bathing the lake's easternmost end.



Here we have a family of Expatriate Canadian Geese who have declared their preference for permanent residency in Maryland.



This pesky Egret was dodging me for quite some time before finally staring me down, probably wondering what the heck I was doing poking around his environs.



It is said that some men spend their time sitting in Church and dream about fishing, while other men spend their time fishing and dream about God. I believe this shot helps me understand the spirit of that saying.

As I made my way home, walking through the trails and eventually emerging to the streets leading to my home, I couldn't help but notice the frenzied pace of cars whirring past me as people scurry about in their daily lives, completely oblivious to all that beauty lying just beneath the veneer of a world they are unconsciously rushing through.

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Turnabout...

The Yin and Yang, a symbol of the interconnectedness and interdependence of seemingly polar opposites. One can not exist without the other against which it contrasts in order to provide meaning. There is no hot without cold, light without dark, joy without sorrow, and so on. Each side carries the seed of the other.

I was sifting through the old vinyl collection when I stumbled across an old favorite. Such a hypnotic and spellbinding musical sound, coupled with great lyrics worth thinking about as I relax and write. Enjoy!

Wrapped Around Your Finger

by The Police (1983)



Lyrics:

You consider me the young apprentice
Caught between the Scylla and Charybdis
Hypnotized by you if I should linger
Staring at the ring around your finger
I have only come here seeking knowledge
Things they would not teach me of in college
I can see the destiny you sold
Turn into a shining band of gold

I'll be wrapped around your finger
I'll be wrapped around your finger

Mephistopheles is not your name
I know what you're up to just the same
I will listen hard to your tuition
You will see it come to it's fruition

I'll be wrapped around your finger
I'll be wrapped around your finger

Devil and the deep blue sea behind me
Vanish in the air you'll never find me
I will turn your face to alabaster
When you find your servant is your master

Oh, you'll be wrapped around my finger
You'll be wrapped around my finger
You'll be wrapped around my finger

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Who Says Opera Can't Be Fun?

I'm here to dispel a few notions that Opera is not fun. Opera is the mother of all modern day musicals and the grandmother of all music videos. Long before the movie moguls transported this art-form to celluloid film medium, Opera was the only form of musical theater in existence, and was so for several hundred years before movies. The concept of meshing music with visual imagery is not an invention of MTV. So sit back and take a look at the lighter side of an aria, one that isn't afraid to poke a little bit of fun at itself, giving the audience a little wink and a nod.

The following clip is from the Opera "Les contes d'Hoffmann" composed by Jacques Offenbach and first performed in 1881 in Paris. Our protagonist Hoffman falls in love with Olympia, a mechanical doll. He isn't initially aware that it is a mechanical doll, and its creator has convinced our Hoffman to wear a pair of rose-colored glasses to help with the illusion.

The aria that follows is a Olympia's debut to the public and to Hoffman who really falls in love. She sings "Les oiseaux dans la charmille" (The birds in the bushes). As a mechanical doll however, Olympia is in need of an occasional "adjustment and winding" when she runs out of power. I'd say the following interpretation is quite er... um... interesting. Enjoy!




I've got to hand it to the French - they sure know how to have a bit of naughty fun at the Grand Opera.

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Trippy Music - Early 70's Style

The end of another busy day, and I'm having fun surfing around with headphones on, listening to music to unwind. I'm not in a writing or a reading mood, choosing to satisfy my aural senses instead. Following are a couple of nice mellow and trippy selections from the old vinyl album collection, guaranteed to put you in a better frame of mind.

The World is a Ghetto - War. The long version with a really nice sax solo.



Daydream - Robin Trower.



Enjoy!
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Spanish Guitar

It's late at night and I've just finished an incredibly long week at work, reading dozens of proposals and edits into the wee hours of each morning. So, how to unwind from all the stress in order to get some sleep? Music is my elixir, easing me into a serene and peaceful state of mind, washing away the stress and chaos of the day. So much to choose from, but tonight I am in the mood for some classical guitar, otherwise known as Spanish Guitar.

The following selection is Recuerdos de la Alhambra, written by F. Tárrega, and performed by Enno Voorhorst. Now for some reason unknown to me, he decided to perform it outdoors in a snow-blanketed garden. While I have no idea why he would want to do that, after listening to the recording I am entirely grateful he did, whatever the reason. Beautiful. Hypnotic. Soothing.



Well now it's time to head off to sleep. Sweet dreams everyone.

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Matters of the Heart

Another Valentine Day is upon us; a time to ponder love, romance, and matters of the heart. Ah, love! Is there any other emotion that has proven more inspirational to artists, poets, writers, and composers throughout history? I thought I'd pull together a number works that capture love in its many different forms - hardly an exhaustive list but fun for me and hopefully for you. Enjoy!

The first selection evokes a rapturous, emotional, caught-in-the-throes-of-passionate-entrancement, mutually shared kind of love. The song is a barcarole (literally, a boat song) with its rhythmic tempo rocking gently back and forth as though floating upon the water in a Gondola. Lyrics originally in French, with English translation provided.

Belle Nuit O Nuit D’Amour from Offenbach’s Les Contes De Hoffman



French:
Belle nuit, ô nuit d'amour,
Souris à nos ivresses,
Nuit plus douce que le jour,
Ô belle nuit d'amour!
Le temps fuit et sans retour
Emporte nos tendresses,
Loin de cet heureux séjour
Le temps fuit sans retour.
Zéphyrs embrasés,
Versez-nous vos caresses,
Zéphyrs embrasés,
Donnez-nous vos baisers!
vos baisers! vos baisers!

Belle nuit, ô nuit d'amour,
Souris à nos ivresses,
Nuit plus douce que le jour,
Ô belle nuit d'amour!
Ah! Souris à nos ivresses!
Nuit d'amour, ô nuit d'amour!

English Translation:
Lovely night, oh night of love
Smile upon our joys!
Night much sweeter than the day
Oh beautiful night of love!
Time flies irretrievably
Forgetting our tenderness
Far from this happy place
Time flies for ever.
Burning zephyrs,
Fill us with your caresses
Burning zephyrs,
Give us your kisses!
your kisses! your kisses! Ah

Lovely night, oh night of love
Smile upon our joys!
Night much sweeter than the day
Oh beautiful night!
Ah Smile upon our joys!
Night of love, oh night of love!


Of course there are other kinds of love. How about a sad and hopelessly love-struck peasant beginning to believe his Elixir of Love potion he purchased might actually be working his dream woman? Now that's a haunting kind of love.

Una Furtiva Lagrima from Gaetano Donizetti's L'Elisir D'Amore



Italian:
Una furtiva lagrima
Negli occhi suoi spunto.
Quelle festose giovani
Invidiar sembro.
Che piu cercando io vo?
Che piu cercando io vo?
M'ama! Sì, m'ama, lo vedo, lo vedo.

Un solo instante i palpiti
Del suo bel cor sentir!
I miei sospir, confondere
Per poco a' suoi sospir!
I palpiti, i palpiti sentir,
Confondere i miei coi suoi sospir
Cielo, si puo morir!
Di piu non chiedo, non chiedo.
Ah! Cielo, si puo, si puo morir,
Di piu non chiedo, non chiedo.
Ah! Cielo, si puo, si puo morir,
Di piu non chiedo, non chiedo.

Si puo morir, si puo morir d'amor.

English Translation:
A furtive tear
Welled up in her eye...
Those carefree girls
She seemed to envy...
Why should I look any further?
Why should I look any further?
She loves me, yes, she loves me.
I can see it, I can see it.

To feel for just one moment
The beating of her dear heart!
To blend my sighs
For a little with hers!
The heartbeats, the heartbeats of hers I feel,
To mingle my sighs along with hers.
Heavens! I could die;
I wish for nothing more; nothing.
Heavens! I could die;
I wish for nothing more; nothing.

I could die, oh I could die of love.


No references to romantic love would be complete without some mention of Romeo and Juliet. In Bellini's Opera, I Capuletti e i Montecchi (The Capulets and Montagues), Juliet sits in her chambers pining for the forbidden love of Romeo.

O Quante Volte from Bellini's I Capuletti e i Montecchi



Italian Text
Oh! quante volte,
Oh! quante ti chiedo
Al ciel piangendo
Con quale ardor t'attendo,
E inganno il mio desir!
Con quale ardor t'attendo,
E inganno il mio desir!
Raggio del tuo sembiante
Parmi il brillar del giorno:
L'aura che spira intorno
Mi sembra un tuo sospir.
L'aura che spira intorno
Mi sembra un tuo sospir.

English Translation (a lot is lost in the translation - sorry)
Oh! How many times,
Oh! How many times I've asked you,
Crying to the heavens
ardor to which I await,
And deceives my desire!
Ardor with which I await,
And deceives my desire!
The radius of your countenance
Is like the shine of day to me:
The breeze that blows around me
I think of one of your sighs.
The breeze that blows around me
I think of one of your sighs.


Bah! Enough already with the Romantic kind of love. How about a good old-fashioned seductive, saucy, sultry, forbidden kind of love? These following two selections from Bizet's Opera Carmen have a taste of it all: bondage, dominance, flirting, biting, spitting, and of course, submission and surrender to lusty naughtiness. What's NOT to love?






Sometimes you really don't need words to feel the sultriness and oozing sensuality. A Spanish Guitar and a Tango Flamenco will do nicely.



Wishing all of you a love-filled day, whatever meaning and interpretation you may choose for love. Happy Valentines Day.

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