Second City's Guide to the Opera

Anyone who has ever been to the opera knows that it can be funny. Some of the plots are so far-fetched, it's ridiculous. My favorites are the ones when someone disguises themselves, like in The Marriage of Figaro. I'll put on this wig! He'll never know it's me!! Or when we are supposed to believe that a plump woman of a certain age is meant to be a consumptive teenaged courtesan... or, gosh, I could go on, but we don't have all afternoon. Sometimes the opera is unexpectedly amusing, like the time we sort of saw the woman without a shadow (frau of something something). I say sort of because we left after the 2nd act. True story. It's the only time I've ever walked out of anything. First of all, I know the singer actually has a shadow, but there must be a lighting trick to make it look like she doesn't yes? Because Lyric hadn't figured that out when I saw it, so old Deb Voigt was down there going on about her shadow and it was like, no, it's right there, problem solved. We can save ourselves 4 hours of this. That and they had this lame prop horse that lowered down from the rafters and it was supposed to be dramatic, but it hit the stage with a thud and rocked back and forth...

Ahem. Sorry. The point is, opera can be funny. So who better than the talented cast of the Second City to help demystify the experience and poke a little fun at the world of opera? Lyric teamed with Second City to present The Second City Guide to the Opera last night. The gorgeous and all-around fabulous diva Renee Fleming was on hand to host with Sir Patrick Stewart (yes. Because what I think of when I think "opera" "Chicago" and "Second City sketch comedy" is Patrick Stewart. But anyway...) and basically it was a pretty fun evening. It began with an overture, sung by the cast about... all of the stuff that happens during an overture. They did similar songs about the intermission and the finale. Other sketches included a master class with an ego-maniacal, multi-scarf wearing diva, whose star pupil turned out to be... Ms. Renee Fleming, a couple on a first date (to the Ring Cycle! The guy wanted to prove he wasn't afraid of commitment and pointed out that if you could survive 40 hours of Wagner together, you could survive ANYTHING), and "Doctor Opera" therapy sessions for operatic characters  including Mimi and Rudolfo, Hansel and Gretel and Elektra. Both of our genial hosts performed in sketches and were both quite funny (P-Stew, I am sorry I doubted you!).

There was an audience participation sketch which resulted in an improvised Shakespearean rendering of the selected audience member's life. Which was weird. Because, hello, how is that related to opera? And also, the audience member they picked was from the bank sponsoring the show and he seemed extremely uncomfortable and gave one word answers (clearly he never read Tina Fey's book, because she tells us the first rule of improv is to agree and add - so if someone says, do you have any pet peeves and you say "No", you've shut the sketch down before it's even started). So did they pick this guy on purpose? Because if they told him ahead of time, you'd think he would have been more willing to play along.  I find it a little weird that they picked him randomly out of all the people there, but it's not usually common practice to embarrass your lead sponsor.  They ended up having a good time with him because he's a banker and he said he didn't have any pet peeves and that nothing bothered him. That added a little humor, because like, really dude? Nothing bothers you in the world of banking? Are you not living in America right now?

There was also a funny sketch where Patrick Stewart taught the cast to find the opera in regular life situations - so you're at Starbucks and they're out of soy milk (holy crap, Patrick Stewart goes to Starbucks?)? Unleash merry hell on that barista in the form of an aria. Someone has stolen your parking spot even though you've claimed it with a folding chair? Whip out your sword and make that sucker pay.  Your friend loses your favorite sweater? Fall on your sword and kill yourself. That, folks, is opera.

In the middle of this mayhem, Renee sang two arias, as if to say, yes, the plots can be stupid and outlandish and unrelated to real life, but at the heart of it is this - stunning music and amazing singing and artistry. That's opera, too.

ravinia...

My first visit to Ravinia this summer!! Naturally, it had to take place the day after the hottest day of the year so far. The forecast was hot and humid with a chance of storms. Lovely. But what is a little bit of weather when it comes to seeing Renee Fleming?? Nothing, that's what.

The park was beautiful, as always, with flowers blooming in such pretty bright colors. We also spotted a butterfly...

Well, it was plenty hot, but the rain had stopped. The lawn picnickers were out in force - in fact, there was some kind of contest going on, to see who could present the most impressive spread. People went all out - floral centerpieces, candelabra, really fancy looking food. My favorite? the group who brought a Renee Fleming cake. I don't know who won (or what they won) but that one would have been the winner if I'd been the judge.
The performance opened with the CSO playing Schumann, conducted by Christoph Eschenbach. I thought that was kind of sneaky of them, actually, because the advertisements were all about seeing Renee, not sitting through an entire first half that was diva-less. The music was nice and all, but they weren't the reason I bought the ticket (sorry guys!) and I was waiting for the Diva. Even though I strongly advocate people going to orchestra concerts and otherwise engaging in performing arts activities, I found the Schumann kind of boring, and I can understand why these kinds of concerts aren't everyone's thing. I like a lot of visuals, I like there to be action - someone dancing, someone singing, doing something, but watching a bunch of people playing instruments... yeah. The big screens helped a lot though - they showed close ups of the conductor, the players, the pianist, etc. In the intermission, I got another bottle of cold water (I think they were doing a brisk business...)

Finally, finally, it was time for Renee. She emerged, dressed in a stunning red strapless gown and a whole lotta Diva BLING! She sang Strauss's Four Last Songs. These are not my favorites out of Renee's repertoire, I will be honest, but they were beautifully sung. She is so natural when she sings in German, she made it sound so effortless. If the angels could sing, they would sound like Renee. She thanked us all for braving the elements to come out and see her, and she gave us two encores - Cacile by Strauss and Marietta's Lied by Korngold. Heavenly. Oh, you have to listen to her sing. Just gorgeous. I was on her backstage list and was ushered with a big group back to the green room so she could meet and greet her guests. It blows me away how extraordinary she is. She took the time to chat with each person waiting for her - taking a photo or singing a program as well. This is not a one time thing for Renee, every time I have seen her backstage, she does this. Even after she's sung a four hour opera, she takes the time to meet people and speak, even if it is just for a few minutes.

It has been awhile since I've seen her and I was feeling shy, but that's another thing about Renee, she puts people at their ease immediately. She saw me, gave me a hug and said that it had been awhile since she'd seen me last. I told her how wonderful it was to see her in Chicago again, and we talked about the fan group I started, The Beautiful Voice, eleven years ago, right after I saw her perform for the first time. She is well aware of the group and told me how much it means to her to have such a dedicated support group. She knows a number of the group members, and we all come to see her perform whenever she is in our corners of the world. She likes to see familiar faces in the audience, and visiting her backstage. In many cases, we've met up, and become friends, drawn together by the power of Renee. It's kind of awesome, when you think about it. She is so generous and kind, and has brought so much to all of us. It's a pleasure to support her. What an amazing, classy lady.

Anyway, it was a beautiful evening of opera under the stars. I'm looking forward to seeing Renee again sometime soon....

friday!

I love Fridays very very very much (maybe because I love the weekends very very etc much). Even though today is going to be a hot one. I can hardly stand to think of what tomorrow night at Ravinia is going to be like, but it will not be the first time I have been there in extreme heat & humidity. It's summer, it's an outdoor venue, it's Chicago(land)in July, yeah, it's gonna be hot. At least I'm just sitting there, and I can have all the cold beverages I want, it's not like I'm up on stage playing or singing.

Anyway. TGIF everyone! I will come back later this weekend with a full report of Renée's concert.

one week away!!

Let the countdown begin - I am heading to Ravinia next weekend to see the wonderful Renée Fleming sing Strauss's Four Last Songs. I hope it is not 9 million degrees outside, because as much as she likes the humidity for her voice, it's just killer sitting in the pavilion watching the performance while sweating your brains out. Still, I do it happily (and stickily) for you, Renée. My goodness, I haven't seen Renée in a REALLY LONG TIME. Time to remedy that!!

My next couple of weeks will be quite Ravinia-filled, since the weekend following Renée's concert I am seeing Arrival from Sweden on Friday the 30th (where I will be busting out my jelly glow rings!) and the Sondheim Gala concert on the 31st (where I will also be busting out my jelly glow rings - HA! Just kidding!).

Anyway, get ready for Renée by watching her discuss the Four Last Songs:

dark hope...

So. This is the cover for Renée Fleming's new cd, Dark Hope, which I am personally very excited about. The music is all covers of some pretty unexpected groups:

1. Endlessly (Muse)
2. No One's Gonna Love You (Band of Horses)
3. Oxygen (Willy Mason)
4. Today (Jefferson Airplane)
5. Intervention (Arcade Fire)
6. With Twilight As My Guide (The Mars Volta)
7. Mad World (Tears for Fears)
8. In Your Eyes (Peter Gabriel)
9. Stepping Stone (Duffy)
10. Soul Meets Body (Death Cab For Cutie)
11. Hallelujah (Leonard Cohen)

Cool, yes? I love when she sings jazz, and I love that she keeps pushing herself as an artist, and doing projects that she feels strongly connected to.

I am not particularly wild about this cover photo though, although I think I understand it, from a marketing perspective. It's fine. It's pretty, even, because Renée is absolutely stunning. But it's very different from her other cd covers (I mean, what's up w/the hair?? I'm sorry, I love you, Renée, but ????). But yeah, I think I get it. There are some opera fans (the purists/snobs/haters/whatever) who probably don't care for this kind of music, don't think she should be singing it and would not be likely to pick up the cd. The question then becomes who is the audience for this album? People like me, Renée's fans, who will listen to her sing the phone book, because we love her voice?

What about an adult contemporary crowd? A group that knows nothing about Renée's career as an opera singer, and would not, in fact, be caught dead going to see an opera? This cover is the farthest you can possibly get from an album of opera arias. For the uninitiated, opera is scary. There are certain perceptions out there - that it is long, it must be horribly, mind numbingly boring, and opera singers are those big ladies with horns and braids. I am not saying those are correct perceptions, mind you, but they exist. It costs too much, people are snobby, I won't know when to clap, I am intimidated are other things that keep your average joe audience member away from the opera house. And those aren't really true, either. Still. People are creatures of habit. They like what they know and the unknown is an awfully big jump. Especially opera. If my first had been, say, Frau ohne Schatten (or however the hell you spell it. I don't know and I don't care. It SUCKED.) - the only one I ever walked out of, by the way, I don't think I would ever have gone back.

But say that Joe or Joanne audience member is strolling his or her local Borders store (or somewhere that they still sell music). They see this cd, go, hey she's totally cute, and I like these songs, and voila! A new fan is born, one who might eventually pick up her other music and one who might end up in the opera house one day, or heck, even their local movie theater, to watch Renée on stage (an experience not to be missed!) and decide to try some others. It's like a lovely circle of life and death and dried fruit (I hope that line is still in the Addams Family musical!!) I love the way a singer can lead you on an unexpected journey, just by following him or her through her choice of repertoire. Renée has introduced me to lots of different styles and genres, just by my listening to a cd.

Anyway. It will be interesting to see the response to this album...

the diva's Dark Hope

Below is an article from the LA Times about Renée Fleming's new album, Dark Hope, to be released this spring/summer. I am so very excited about this - I love Renée's voice when she sings more contemporary and jazz pieces (my absolute favorites of hers are "All the Wasted Time" from Parade, and her entire "Haunted Heart" album). She is such a multi-faceted artist, and I appreciate her willingness to explore and take risks to expand her own horizons as an artist. So bring it on, Renée. I have already pre-ordered my copy.

From the LA Times:
When not performing in opera houses around the world, soprano Renée Fleming has been known to dip a manicured toe into the waters of jazz, Broadway tunes, holiday music and film soundtracks ("The Lord of the Rings").

In what may be a first for the ubiquitous Grammy-winning opera star, Fleming is traveling way downtown in her new album, "Dark Hope," in which she performs pieces by indie-rock bands including Muse, Arcade Fire, Band of Horses and Death Cab For Cutie.

The album also includes songs by Peter Gabriel, Tears for Fears, The Mars Volta, Jefferson Airplane and Leonard Cohen.

"Dark Hope," which is being released by Decca, is scheduled to go on sale this spring. Amazon lists the release date as June 8.

Fleming worked with producer David Kahne on the project, but the idea for the album came from Peter Mensch and Cliff Burnstein (from the talent agency Q-Prime Management), who persuaded the opera star to take on the challenge.

Fleming has said that she tried to find a "stylistically authentic" way of performing the songs and that "singing in the lowest part of my voice was key to making this work."

The singer described making the album as "a wonderful learning curve, one reminiscent of my early days studying Mozart as a Juilliard student."

She also said her two daughters and sister performed as back-up singers on the album.

"Dark Hope" contains 11 tracks...
Endlessly (Muse)
No One's Gonna Love You (Band of Horses)
Oxygen (Willy Mason)
Today (Jefferson Airplane)
Intervention (Arcade Fire)
With Twilight as My Guide (The Mars Volta)
Mad World (Tears for Fears)
In Your Eyes (Peter Gabriel)
Stepping Stone (Duffy)
Soul Meets Body (Death Cab For Cutie)
Hallelujah (Leonard Cohen)

Happy Birthday, Renee!

A very happy birthday to Renée Fleming - Queen of Hearts, Our Favorite Soprano (OFS).
What's the best way to celebrate this smart, successful, gracious, amazingly talented lady? Pop in your favorite of our Diva's cds, whip up some of her signature dessert (La Diva Renée - on second thought, better leave that to the professionals!) or, better yet, go somewhere and listen to her sing.

Happy, happy birthday, Renée!

one more, in the name of love...

CAR UPDATE: Methinks I will need a new bumper... Joy, unbounded. I will keep y'all posted.
(Funnily, now I've got Mazeppa "Revolution in Dance" in my head with her line "Maybe there's something wrong with your bumpah")

But back to happier days... last Thursday. I'll spare you all the travel details. Original 8:00 AM flight got canceled - LaGuardia + rain = disaster. But American Airlines seemlessly seated me on the 9:00 flight which left without incident. I landed, arrived at the hotel and had lunch. Imagine, if you will, a weary and hungry traveler, just off her flight. It is raining and she just wants some hot soup and a sandwich. Or better, a sandwich and a cup of tea as she's not had any caffeine yet today. Off she wanders down Amsterdam, looking for a cozy diner to park in. Wanders. And wanders. Her jeans are getting wet. She passes many places that are either too expensive or too fried (her stomach just cannot handle something called "The Chirping Chicken") or too bizarre (sushi, and what appeared to be a Japanese Italian restaurant. Quoi??) when all she wants is a damn bowl of soup, people! Suddenly, a light shines out in the darkness. It is a divine establishment known as "Crumbs" they sell not soup, but perhaps the next best thing - CUPCAKES. Ah, she's gotta come back here. But wait! She's getting wetter and wetter and thinks that's it, goddamn it, it's my VACATION. If I want a cupcake for my lunch, I'm gonna have one!!! So the weary traveler rested her wet self and had a not so nourishing but nonetheless delicious lunch of a massive red velvet cupcake and a steaming cup of earl grey tea. After that, our heroine goes back to the hotel and commences to... take a nap.

Yeah, I know. Livin' it up in Manhattan! I am very very exciting!!! But I needed my strength for the opera. LONG shower and sinus steam, then off to dinner (spinach ravioli at La Grolla, also on Amsterdam, yum!) and The Met.

I arrived really really really early, and it was pouring down bucketfuls of rain. I wandered some more around the Renee Shop, oh, wait, I mean the Met Shop - which had a gigantic shrine erected to the Diva, complete with her (gorgeous!) opening night gowns, her cds, her (gorgeous!) face plastered on season posters, the season book, and kniccknacks like mint boxes and something else... but I don't remember. Also bottles of her perfume La Voce. I was afraid I'd drop the bottle, so I didn't venture near it. The new shop is nice, but not as cluttered with stuff as the old one was, so it didn't take too long for me to browse around in there. So I hung around for, oh, I think it was close to an hour, looking at the neat looking Dr. Atomic sculpture (I WISH I had made it to the Met to see Dr. A again!! It was UNBELIEVEABLE! And this from someone who seriously dislikes modern opera. It rocked. If I had not been otherwise engaged at a work function, I would have gone to see it in HD.)Anyway, the Met is pretty spectacular, all shiny chandeliers and red velvet walls... My seat was not great - orchestra, left side all the way in the back, a few rows before the Standing Room area.

Thais is actually one of the only operas I have seen multiple times. I saw it three times when Renee and Thomas Hampson performed it in Chicago in 2003 (and one of those was the infamous dress rehearsal that I got to attend because I also purchased a ticket to a planned giving lecture. Now they seem to think I've got money and send me stuff all the time. HAHAHA! Yeah, right.) Thais has some incredibly gorgeous music, including the moving "Meditation" which I think is one of my favorite classical pieces of all time. The plot is... odd. Fun loving actress courtesan Thais is living it up in Alexandria, when this monk sees her in a dream and decides he needs to - what else - save her soul. The chief monk tells him to keep his nose out of it, but does he listen?? No. So off he goes to the ugly set of Alexandria to find Thais. She laughs in his face, but later, when she's alone (in her weird bedroom set that features many additional chairs all facing the bed - WTF? Guest chairs? Is she expecting an audience??) she ponders his words. She worries that when she's old and ugly, nobody will love her and CERTAINLY Christian LaCroix won't be designing her glam designer wardrobe any more. The monk appears and convinces her, in the span of maybe 20 minutes? That she should follow him. He sells it well - eternal life! Happiness! A convent! Wheee! Sign me up! And then - after a little "Meditation" she decides to go with it. Great, he tells her. Burn all your stuff and then we'll take a little walk through the desert. Awesome, she says, I'll be right with you, padre. So he brings her to the convent. His "teachings" she tells him, have shown her the way, and she has traded all of her great clothes for sackcloth (which looks pretty glam, too!). He goes home, tormented because - wait for it - he has really loved her all along. He realizes he'll never see her again, then gets another dream that she's dying. But no! He heads back across the desert to find her - 3 months later - a saint and waiting to be welcomed into heaven. Then she dies.

So yeah, totally believeable. Great music though. Thomas Hampson is simply incredible. At one point, the man is singing off stage and yet he was as clear as though he was still standing front and center. I don't think he was mic'd either. And Renee? Well, she was just sublime. What a perfect role for her, it fit her like a glove, perfect for her voice, a joy from beginning to end. The production was imported from Lyric, so it was like being home except you know, 100 times cooler. It was, in fact - Metacular. Hahahaha.

More to come...

TOMORROW NIGHT....

Barring all snow-related flight delays, I will be in New York City tomorrow, and seeing the Divine Ms. Renee Fleming in Thais... Oh, I am so very excited. I saw Renee sing this role in Chicago back in 2003, and it is gorgeous. Speaking of gorgeous, check out the Thais photo from the Met.

Wow & wow & wow. So glamorous. They are, it must be said, doing an outstanding job with... pretty much everything. The promotional photos (which started - last year?)are AMAZING, the HD broadcasts, I even got an email reminder for the performance tomorrow night (as if I could forget!). Bravo, Peter Gelb. Bravo.

Thank you, Peter Gelb!

Since I can't actually go to New York City to see the dazzling Ms. Renée Fleming in the Metropolitan Opera's Opening Night gala on September 22nd, it looks like I will have to settle for the next best thing... the Met in HD, coming soon to a theater near you (& me!). Seriously, I think this is one of the best ideas anyone has ever had, ever. I get to see the Met's gorgeous productions, have some popcorn and milk duds if I want, and not have to leave the state.

In other news, since I can't let an entire year go by without actually physically going to the Met, I've bought a ticket for Thais in December. It is all part of my 30th birthday blowout extravaganza. This will also hopefully involve another trip to see Patti in Gypsy (stay open, please!) and maybe a few other shows...

Master Class

Until today, the only experiences I'd had with master classes involved the class I'd had the chance to observe when I was interning at Lyric (given by tenor Frank Lopardo) and the Terrence McNally play.

Renee's class today was sold out (too late for those who spotted the above blurb in today's Chicago Tribune) and Pick Staiger hall was packed with music students, people who should have been in the office but took the day off to see The Diva (hmmmm), fans, friends and a lot of seniors.

There were four singers - a soprano, mezzo, tenor and bass. Each sang an aria once all the way through and then worked through sections of it with coaching from the Diva. It was interesting to me, because each of the young singers would sing their aria and I'd think "WOW. That was so good!" I couldn't think of a lot of things to correct - but then Renee would start talking and pointing out things that the casual listener wouldn't have even thought of. It made me really understand just how much is going on when you watch an opera singer perform! The breathing, the technique, the interpretation, the actual sound coming from your mouth! Renee is a good teacher. She emphasized that the most important thing for the students was to keep working with their teachers. She was not trying to undo what had been taught, but to give pointers that would help all of them develop as artists. She was funny, too, chatting with the audience and explaining to us about singing and all the preparation singers do. She also did a Q&A session and answered questions.

La Traviata...

Fleming was born to sing Violetta, and she has made this touchstone role her own. She fully inhabits the strong yet vulnerable heroine who sacrifices her happiness and, eventually, her life to preserve the Germont family honor. The diva has mastered the elusive vocal and musical challenges, and knows how to project big emotions on an intimate scale, no small feat in a 3,500-seat theater. (John Von Rhein, Chicago Tribune, 1.14.08)

What else can I say, really? After seeing the dress rehearsal last week, I was very much looking forward to seeing how the whole thing came together in performance. Particularly since Matthew Polenzani, the tenor playing Alfredo, was recovering from a cold and so marked the entire dress rehearsal. I really wanted to hear him sing out, Louise.

But, I am getting ahead of myself. Our evening started with a snowy walk from my office to the Italian Village where mom and I met up with Mary Nell and Tim for a pre-performance dinner. Much risotto was eaten, and much of the strati di cioccolatto a frangelico-soaked chocolate mousse type chocolate covered extravaganza that we split for dessert. Off then to the Civic Opera House where you could just feel the anticipation in the air. Has Renee really not sung a role here since Thais in 2003? Alas, this is the truth. Her six performances of La Traviata are sold out.

Even our seatmates, who we have sat next to for the past 2 years and have never spoken words to, were chatty (the gentleman half of the couple happily commenced to tell my mom his life story, how he was a supernumerary in 1956 and stood on that stage with Renata Tebaldi, etc etc etc) and friendly and excited. Sort of a Renee induced euphoria. The lights dimmed and a Harbinger of Doom appeared on stage in the form of Jack Zimmerman (the Subscriber Relations Manager and Media Services, whose voice you usually hear admonishing the audience to turn off their cell phones and pagers). He only appears if there's been a change in casting. We all held our collective breath - but all three principals were performing. The substitution came for the role of Annina, the maid, and really? Does it matter?

The music for La Traviata had been in my head all day, a kind of little soundtrack for the madness of meetings and other assorted Monday Mayhem. And then, there I was - sitting in the darkened theater with 3500 of my closest friends, listening to the orchestra play the familiar overture... and waiting for my favorite opera diva to take the stage in one of my favorite roles.

Renee was glorious, of course, throughout. She pretty much had the audience in the palm of her hand from the second she started to sing. At the end of the Act I party scene, she is alone in the house and, after a long pause, begins to sing "E strano..." In that pause, she was just totally working it, commanding the stage and not moving a muscle. Every pair of eyes in the house was trained on her, standing there, waiting for her to break the silence. You could have heard a pin drop. At the end of the opera, "Adio del passato" and her final deathbed duet with Alfredo never fails to make me cry.

Matthew Polenzani was a good Alfredo, probably one of my favorites that I have seen in the role. All I could think, when I was watching him was "He can SING! He can SING!" since he'd just marked during the rehearsal.

Thomas Hampson is just so great as Papa Germont. I don't usually pay a lot of attention to the character, just because he's a big baddie who brings about Violetta's sacrifice of Alfredo's love and thus ruins her life, but Mr. Hampson gave such a wonderful performance - singing and acting (and had a seemingly miraculous recovery! A cane he'd been lugging around for scene 1 of act 2 magically disappeared in the second scene!) His aria Di Provenza il Mar just filled the house. Strong, booming and powerful. He got a huge ovation at the curtain call.

But of course we went backstage afterwards. After a minor "I can't find your name on the list" snafu (where do they find some of the people who work back there? It took two of them to figure out how to even read the list in front of them. Then an angel from the production office came out with a clipboard and let us back. Renee was as always, lovely and gracious. She greeted me with a hug and a smile and we had a brief chat. She asked what I was doing now (she even remembered details about my life - ie that I'd interned at Lyric!) and said again how much she loved the flowers we'd sent as a group. Oh, she's just such a classy lady. It was such a wonderful evening.

Today: the Master Class (for which I have to leave in about an hour and a half. I guess I'd better figure out where the hell I'm going, huh?) and then one more performance of La Traviata next week.

La Traviata: Sneak Preview!!

The Diva has Landed! In less than a week, I will be watching Renee in La Traviata from my nosebleed subscription seats (this production is the ONLY reason I subscribed again this year, because tickets to these winter Traviatas were available to subscribers only. Even the single tix, which honestly, Lyric? I think is kind of stinky.) But FIRST, I am going to the closed-to-the-public dress rehearsal this afternoon.

I am SO excited!!!
My favorite soprano, in my favorite opera.... does it get any better??