Well, what can I say? As usual, it was an absolute joy to see Renee - it's been a while since she's been at Lyric singing anything (teeny tiny appearance at the 50th Anniversary concert in 2004, last time seen in a role was Thais in 2003!) and it was the perfect combination - my favorite diva in one of my favorite places in the city. Being me, I wanted to leave at 5 - ideally, I would have been hanging out at Lyric all day long, of course, kind of lurking around the building, maybe having some McGriddles across the street in McDonald's, visiting the development peeps on the 8th floor, saying a quick hi to the crazy guys in Wolf Camera, etc etc etc.... We had to take Lake Shore Drive into the city... The Drive is great, but getting there SUCKS. I have this crazy fear of being late and missing curtain. I mean, what if???? And they don't let you in, and you'd have to watch on a screen in the foyer.... I've never been late, knock on wood, but I always have this fear... It only took about an hour to get down there, but we were there with plenty of time to spare.
Seats were decent, on the main floor HH, on the left side. We kept an empty seat next to us, just in case Sarah or Sally decided to fly in from NYC to claim it. Or maybe the lady next to me didn't want my coat touching her, so she left a buffer seat between us. Who knows? The orchestra was on the stage, rather than in the pit, and Sir Andrew Davis had the baton. Can I just say - since he's usually in the pit, I've never had much chance to watch him - he's a very dynamic conductor and he's got, like, completely fabulous, happy and musical hair. He'd move, and it would move right along with him. He must get it especially cut to do that. Lots of conductors have similiarlfy fabulous hair, and I wonder if it's part of the jd? When you become a conductor, you get a plaque that says 'Maestro' the regulation baton, tail coat and number of a hair dresser to be sure that your locks have movement??
Sorry. On with the show. Program highlights for me - for the orchestra, I loved the overture from La Forza del Destino - the opening strains get me every time. Sighhhh. LOVE IT. Then there was the beautifully sung letter scene from Eugene Onegin which made me really excited that I've got that ticket for February. Also really liked the Gounod piece from Mireille - simply breathtakingly beautiful. For some reason, there was a change in song order from the printed program - but I couldn't hear what they were saying about it, either. There was a very, very very long orchestral interlude (during which I began the above speculation about Conductor Hair), the final scene from Capriccio, and then the show was over. The crowd was very very subdued. They applauded very politely. There was a standing ovation, started by yours truly and someone in the middle of the floor. Was it past their bedtimes or what??? They perked up considerably for the encores which included "O mio babbino caro" "Adieu, notre petite table" and the Song to the Moon. Before Adieu, Renee explained that a friend in the orchestra had asked in rehearsal if she was wearing two gowns for the concert. She'd said no, and had the Volpe gala dress flown in because she was suddenly afraid we'd get bored with her clothes. She said that in Manon, Manon has to make a choice - and she choses clothes and money over true love. She sings the song to the little table and is full of sentimentality, although, "Not enough to make her stay."
She also told a little background story before Song to the Moon, how it is the story of The Little Mermaid, and that Rusalka, in her "seafoam form" had embraced the prince, and was now appealing to the gods to intervene on her behalf. And then she sang the song... gave me chills, honestly. I have not heard her sing that one live since 2001.
Then, of course, to the backstage! We went back there and a guy was in the vestibule (not Mr. Sunshine who'd been so polite and helpful post Rosenkavalier.) He asked me who I was there to see, and I told him, and he asked "Are you on a list?" I said yes, and he seemed surprised. So he checked, and I had brought the email from Alison (aka SuperGirl. Seriously.) with all of our names on it. He started printing out little backstage pass stickers, then decided screw it, and just told the bouncer type person guarding the door to let me and my party back. So we were back there, all present and accounted for - we went to Find Our Diva. She came out of her dressing room and was talking for a bit with the people ahead of us. Amelia and Sage were both there, too. Renee chatted with both my mom and me, and posed for a picture. And I got a hug. :) It was a fantastic evening.
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