La Fille du Regiment

Ah mes amis (Pour mon ame)

It's the famous tenor showpiece every aspiring tenor would just love to be able to toss off. Without a shrill the charismatic Juan Diego Florez belted out the string of high C's this opera is noted for and which made the legendary Pavarotti famous.

La Fille du Regiment is considered one of the most vocally challenging operas as it includes some of the most taxing tenor arias. This comedic opera is pure charm with lots of show stopping arias, choruses, choreography and entertaining physical comedic acts performed by no other than the singers themselves. What a gift to be able to execute flawless singing with slapstick comedy.

Young and very good looking, Juan Diego Florez is dubbed the new king of high C's as his impeccable and warm voice hit those pesky notes no one has done since Pavarotti. The only disappointing part was the encore I was hoping for which I didn't get, after the tumultuous applause he received for his "Pour mon ame".

Equally stellar was the performance of Diana Damrau in the darling role of Marie, the love-struck, rambunctious tomboy orphan. Playing the role of a 15 - year old girl, she delivered physical theatrics with such perfect timing. Too bad she didn't get the ovation I would've liked to see, probably because her big arias mostly segue into a chorus or another aria with no time for a pause for a thunderous applause.

I was enthralled by Florez's tender rendition of "Pour me rapprocher de Marie". Oh what a genuinely touching romance, I heard a few sniffles beside me. The great mezzo Kiri Te Kanawa, now 65, was guest with the speaking role of Duchess of Krakenthorp, throwing some comedic asides in English. But what's with the Dom Perrignon added dialogue - in the 1840's?

The clothesline-pulling scene in Act I as Marie bids farewell in "Il faut partir", was both sad and funny. She reminded me of Linus dragging his blanket on the ground. And if that's not enough, at the climax the armored truck rescue to stop the wedding of Marie to the Duchess' nephew gave us a good laugh!

The set design was simple but clever - very large maps that doubled as mountain ranges, the clotheslines and laundry and buckets of potatoes. There is no reading between the lines, it's plain romantic comedy. Extremely funny with a lot of vocal fireworks!

Judging from the cheers, the Met crowd was smitten by Tonio and Marie as they nailed every high note and made us laugh at the perfect time. The discriminating Met audience clearly got their fill of La Fille du Regiment.

Note: Watch for a charming young tenor named Alek Shrader. He won the 2009 Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions. He too has solid high C's as he sang Pour mon ame at the competition.

Only one mother

Only One Mother

by George Cooper

Hundreds of stars in the pretty sky
Hundreds of shells on the shore together

Hundreds of birds that go singing by

Hundreds of bees in the sunny weather.

Hundreds of dewdrops to greet the dawn

Hundreds of lambs in the purple clover

Hundreds of butterflies on the lawn

But only one mother the wide world over.

(In memory of Winnie's mom)

February 11, 2010

What's a pothole, mommy?

It didn't go according to plan at least for little Garrett. For him, touring New York is least important as having a snowball fight. The weekend that Jaime and Nikki are visiting Chong a winter storm was predicted but the darn white stuff that Garrett was hoping to play in shifted to the south leaving us with only some light dusting. Imagine having to fly from Florida just to see snow and now this? The kid must think this is some kind of nasty joke.

It was first for Nikki and Garrett in NYC. Jaime lived here before and all he cares about now is having that inimitable NY pizza, first in the neighborhood, then at Lombardi's in Little Italy.

And Garrett - every chance he got, he stepped on snow dust and rolled microscopic snowballs. That joyful smile! He did have fun at the Museum of Natural History - every child's dream - Night at the Museum comes alive! But he still preferred to have built snowdogs. When warned about being swallowed by a pothole, the kid didn't have a clue as to what I was talking about. Me and my dry-as-a-saltine-cracker litttle joke.

What's a pothole, mommy? Okay Garrett I guess potholes are exclusively Made in New York.

A few hours after we dropped them at the airport to return home, a blizzard dumped about 8 inches on us. It's a tad bit late for Garrett, he won't believe this. This is what you missed my friend. Bummer! Would you like us to send some your way? I heard it snowed at the Keys, so you still can hope for some in Tampa, okay?

Bucks stopped the Knicks

Would it kill me to spend a few hours with these good guys in exchange for dinner at Mustang Harry's and a Knicks game at the Garden? After all I've spent some of my most creative (Ha!) years in my career with some of these fellas. Besides no one wants to waste good money that the company belches out once a year to say thanks to its highly motivated employees (another big Ha!). Thanks to Santina, Maria (I'm her guest) and Michael.

My kind of guys - whoever's left of the old team, then some new.. witty Abdul, gentle Jimmy, funny Ray, pontificating Valerio, Scott, Pat, Carol and "ping that device" Melena.

It gave me an uneasy feeling, Michael the big honcho luring me into coming back to work and Scott singing the same tune. But I won't steal the spotlight from my buddy Pat or my mentee, Carol. And risk falling out of favor and not get that birthday present?

If your college days were like mine, you probably have gone to a few basketball games at a stadium. Back then, my brother June would drag me to the Araneta Coliseum or Rizal Stadium. Big names like Caloy Loyzaga and Robert Jaworski and teams like Toyota and Crispa graced the sports world in the Philippines in those days. My dear brother, he too was a star player in his own right in high school. Dreams shattered by a tough schedule in engineering school.

The Bucks beat the Knicks 114-107, but who cares. It's not all about the scores, or is it?
Here's some highlights:

This is as Brk'lyn as one can get - these fans are so into it!

It was fun being surrounded by young high-fiving fans "declaring their fanhood", I felt like a kid again. At halftime washing down that Mustang Harry's sirloin (not grilled to my specs, by the way, but thanks anyway) with what seemed like a bucket of Sprite and a Haagen Daz bar - aahh, so refreshing.

And what's with these drinks of divine proportion at the games? What ever happened to small and medium? Everything is gigantic.

And don't send me out there at halftime to redeem your voucher for a free Knicks T-shirt. A few trips from our nosebleed seats could've sent me tumbling down if didn't grab onto the handrails. MSG is awesome but I got lost, and eventually found my way, with the help of Oishe and Melena. Who else but Melena - she always knows exactly what to do, if you get my drift!

And look who I discovered underground. It's Michael Shulman, the rock shred violinist. It was great watching a free performance on my way to the sports bar to meet the group. Interesting music, I've heard of shred guitar but violin?

Win or lose, as a New Yorker my loyalty is to the Knicks. I would've preferred if they played as good as Patrick Ewing, but....I don't get to watch a game for free very often, so fuggedaboudit let's just look the other way.

Super Bowl of cherries

What's the big deal about the Super Bowl and who cares about the game's logo, SB XLIV or #SB44 on Twitter? Needless to say I have no opinion on that since I don't care for football. Whether or not it will be "L" when it reaches 50, it doesn't matter to me.

All I know is that Roman or decimal, life commands that we all grow old.
And heaven help if my nephews lump me in with the geriatrics age group now that I turned another year older. If they do, they'll get written out of the will.

It was a small and yet not terribly quiet celebration last Saturday. The kids hinted at something different so we opted for a nice spread of tapas and stuff. Nelsie brought the wine, Ped had some fried butterfish for Inang who wouldn't have anything to do with the parchment-like serrano, the olives, cheeses, bread, etc. George brought some fruits and a package of torrones. I got a red sweater from Rose and Chong was my helping hand. Thank God for Zabar's for all the prepared food.

Between bites, I helped Nelsie book a flight for Marc's wedding in New Orleans, then get concert tickets under my name for the group called Muse. Alternative band, whatever that means. Nelsie is a master at cryptic texting her long lost classmates with her iPhone but would rather leave the drudgery of searching for flights to her poor aunt. That gives me something to live for in my senior years, doesn't it?

Well, today I got a call from MSG confirming the type of transport assistance I shall need at the Muse concert. Say what again? Me, disabled? How is that possible that I clicked on the patron with disability ticket choice? Ticketmaster will void the tickets with full refund and yet when I got back on queue for replacement all the normal good seats are gone. Nelsie was not amused, I was pissed.

I started a joke (cue: The Bee Gees), I tickled the ivories. Ped and Carol followed the act and you can guess what happened next. These pictures are worth a thousand words and we won't waste precious real estate to elaborate, look closely. You gotta love Carol's techniques, boasting some staccatos and long leaps. Ped was rolling on the floor, I swear! Ay Ave Maria!

Today is my birthday. Chantal and Phyllis sent some homebaked chocolate chip cookies. Although they survived the travel from Texas, they looked a little "deflated" from the trip. Hey, they are soft and chewy, just perfect you'll beg for more! Thanks guys, that was so sweet of you.

This Sunday the fanatics will be watching the Super Bowl looking for some "meaningful football". I'll probably entertain myself with the halftime ads, although searching for meaning is not my goal.

I'm tempted to underscore the similarities.
Life is a bowl of cherries. We take the good with the bad.

We walk away happy.

What's your game plan?

A game of Things? 99? Left right and center?

Those too, but Judy has something else in mind. Downsizing. No one could argue with the soundness of her goal which is to sell the house and move to a condo. After all, she doesn't need all that room now that she's alone and married to no one but her golf clubs and her Rossignols.

Judy's got it made with her two ski trips a year amongst others. Thanks to Tiger for this thing called economic golfcession but I doubt that Judy will even worry about that. As soon as the sunny weather sets in, Maria and Celine will be there to make the journey with her. Notice how I said sunny, not warm. The cold doesn't seem to faze these golf addicts that's why.

So here we are invited to Judy's for dinner and an evening of fun and games or so we're promised. Rather than fuss about it, I decided to join all seven of the Ya-Yas. Declining will simply not do the trick trust me. Just so you know I've also graduated from being a moron to being the butt of jokes at their card games.

A hostess gift wasn't an issue, it's trying to remember to bring it with us that is the problem. Sometimes that ginkgo doesn't kick in, this time it did. That's the cheesecake that Maria already baked for our board meeting. The meeting was rescheduled because Alex begged off, all because his eyelids remained shut after taking the red-eye from Vegas the night before.

Ah so! You took a vacation, we labored here while you're gone and now you want to reschedule? And how about this cake? We can't let this go to waste. And that's why I said yes to Judy's invite (just kidding!). Talk about labor of love, Maria had to make an extra trip to the store for a pint of strawberries. Her usual blueberry topping could send Judy to anaphylactic shock and we wanted none of that.




"Is this your farewell party?" Celine asked. I couldn't keep a straight face when Judy jolted with a "No, I'm not old and dying yet. It's a farewell to my house". Oops! Who said farewell is synonymous to death? I signaled Celine not to push Judy's button, at least not until after we've stuffed our faces with that ham she was baking. She skillfully managed to quell Judy's annoyance so we ended up enjoying her delicious ham served with sides of mushrooms, green beans with slivered almonds, sweet potatoes and potatoes.

I rushed to the kitchen and scooped out the drippings from the pan and to everyone's surprise poured some of that into the several pieces of ham on my plate. Ever heard of au jus on ham? Join me and my weird palate! That was a good meal, you outdid yourself again Judy.

It was Carol's first time to meet Celine all it took was one question to get her going. "What did you do before retiring?" Air force, art school, teaching, social work, raise a kid, etc. Well, some are really born to be big. Is there something else that you haven't done, Celine? After this game of getting to know you, we moved on to cards and games.

As if emerging from a deep coma, I panicked at the sight of a deck of cards and three more games I'm not familiar with. They called them Left right and center, 99 and Things. Joan rattled off the rules and as expected of me, nothing registered. You see I have no skills for following instructions, so let's just get with it with a dry run then I'll wing it. Thank you Sheila for warning me that Bridge, a totally different animal, can mean frustration for me. That's helpful!

Things was fun, a no-brainer and most of our answers were hilarious. Pick a topic, get everyone's response, read them out loud and guess who said what. Just say whatever comes to mind. "What tires you out?" That was a breeze for Dorothy. The perfect question. It's a gimme. She's the marrying type, I'd say the most among us, three times to be exact and she's such a good sport about it. And guess who (ahem) won the first game? The newbie, yours truly.

I guess I know my friends enough to be able to predict their answers; trouble is they can also read me like a book. I reserved my half-baked sentiments about the other two games; Left right and center sounded like the provocative political radio program and it's not, and 99 is boring. It's no wonder everyone wandered off to their side-bar chats leaving Carol our mistress of ceremonies with no choice but to hold up that placard that reads "Take a f_____n' card" whenever somebody forgets to grab one from the pile!

I tell you these ladies are a riot, but they're alive and witty. Thanks for the company. Just in time, since I'm starting to turn to Jeanne Robertson for some laughs to shake off the dark winter moods. Thanks to Chantal, I guess this is what they do in Texas to beat the blues. Check out that Robertson woman, she is hysterical. But I wouldn't trade you guys for a Southern humorist.

On a serious note, Carol and Judy are both looking into moving out of their respective homes into either a Co-op or Condo. It won't be easy giving up all that space that they enjoy now. And the memories attached to all the belongings that they won't be able to take with them, they'll stay forever.

Whatever Judy's plan is, I'm not her daughter Karen so I'm not part of it. I know I'm not inheriting this miniature ceramic house which is part of her collection. You better check my purse on my way out!

Carmen, you're a bad girl!

Oh Carmen, you're the ultimate bad girl!

The orchestra played the rousing overture, the famous Les Toreadors which we'll recognize as the breakneck soundtrack for the Bad News Bears. It was the most exciting few seconds of prelude to one of the best written and produced opera ever. It's full of the hit tunes we are familiar with like Habanera (sung here by Maria Callas) and the Toreador song.

The black stage curtain opened right at its bright red slit into an almost erotic pas de deux by a couple from American Ballet Theatre's best. What followed was a fiery performance by the stunning mezzo Elina Garanca as Carmen and tenor Roberto Alagna as Don Jose. The set reminded me of the Roman Coliseum. Crumbling at certain spots, it revolves at the turntable into different looks between Acts the most dramatic of which was the final scene inside the bullring.

The opera was sung in French but set in Seville with its exotic costumes of the period revealing the gypsies in their frocks as factory workers or in long skirts with beautiful shawl as dancers. The matadors paraded in their colorful costumes in the final act while the chorus worked hard at singing while pushing against the barricade of soldiers to get a glimpse of the toreadors.

I imagine it to be a most difficult part for Elina Garanca in Act IV as she sung while down on the floor and then got up with that heavy and long mantilla trailing several feet behind her. That showed her physical strength, all happening while being pushed and shoved by Don Jose.

Her voice was powerful. She was a flirt, whether she was seducing Don Jose with the dance of Seguidilla or suggestively squatting on the ground. Credits for an outstanding performance are due the fabulous soprano Barbara Frittoli as Micaela. Ditto for the tenor Teddy Tahu Rhodes replacing Mariusz Kwiecien today playing the role of Escamillo, the toreador.

The dancers from the American Ballet Theatre and the Metropolitan Opera's orchestra and the singers are a matched pair. With nearly four hours of sheer high note entertainment but only one intermission it was no surprise that I didn't hear any complaints at the restroom line.

Forget about that evening gown in your closet, jeans are acceptable attire. Carmen is for everyone and a perfect treat for the first time opera-goer.

Baddest girl Carmen won the hearts of many. Brava!