Never again will I complain about the winter blues. First, the week started with the opening of the 2010 Winter Games in Vancouver, B.C. a week ago. Then, it was the start of the Chinese New Year. The year of tiger has always been treated with caution. I have an adopted aunt who was given away by her own family to my paternal grandmother to bring up because she was born in the year of the tiger. The alleged fear is that tigers bring bad luck to a family i.e. they consume i.e. kill other family members. Later, my grandmother regretted this decision as she blamed the birth of two grand-daughters in the year of the tiger (my sister and a cousin) on her own actions. The curse of superstition!
However, the year of the tiger started very well for Canada. Gold medals for both the men and women won on home soil in the Olympics which is first! Hurrah! For my mother, my friends Noel and Desi, and I, it was a very special night at the gorgeous Four Seasons Centre of the Performing Arts. The world's (and certainly mine) beloved opera, Carmen, was performanced with loving care by a gifted Antia Rachvelishvili in the lead role. Why do I love this opera? The power of the music, the boldness of the character and the brash sexuality of the production have always impressed me. The opera epitomizes all great passions of life: love, lust, passion, revenge, violence, sex, obsession and of course, great music.
Before Carmen, most operas were based on royalty, gods and respectable members of the establishment. Carmen (which is latin for song) is a rebel, a women of "loose morals", a gypsy, and a honest and unapologetic free spirit. Certainly, she is the most unlikely subject of a opera. It is hardly surprising to learn that in its first performance in front of a conservative Parisian audience in 1875 was a flop. The opera was denounced by critics. Most likely the establishment were somewhat afraid of what influence Carmen may have on their daughters and wives. Poor Bizet, the composer, is alleged to have died of a broken heart (heart attack) never to know the wild success the opera would become.
Don Jose (Bryan Hamel) and a few of the company's French needed some work but the voices of all the lead players were fantastic. Only Paul Gay's Escamillo (the toreador) did not hit meet these high standards. The orchestra was fabulous and there should be a special shout out to Rory Macdonald, the peppiest conductor that any of us had seen. In fact, the animation of this performance was somewhat of a distraction from the performance on stage. Bravo to the COC. Ole!
So, how do you top off such a great week....head off to NYC for some shopping and a night on Broadway!
