things that are amazing

[cahn]

-Le Nozze di Figaro
-Mozart. Da Ponte. Mozart.
-That whole last half of the second act of Nozze. Just the most brilliant ensemble singing EVER.
-The singers at this summer music festival, why did it take me this long to see their live opera? (the festival does one every year, this is the first one I've been to but I'm definitely going every year from now on, they were sooooo good)
-particularly Figaro and Susanna were amazing
-live opera in general, oh gosh it was so great
-"Riconosce in questo amplesso," which is just the most hilarious thing ever
-"Sull'aria," which is sort of terrible in context but such a beautiful duet
-"Deh vieni non tardar," which is also terrible in context but so amazingly beautiful
-this may be the only opera where I actually love the women's singing substantially more than the men's singing
-although Figaro was so great that I also loved "Aprite un po' quegli occhi," which is fine but not usually my favorite
-they staged Basilio so he kept coming out with a different instrument each act, act I was a guitar which sort of made sense, but I laughed pretty hard when he came out with a saxophone in the last act
-that last half of the last act when everyone gets so wound up, LOVE IT
-Più docile sono, e dico di sì. SO BEAUTIFUL. SO MUCH COMPASSION. SO EVERYTHING.
-Something about "Corriam tutti," the way they sang it and the way everyone looked so hopeful and the way the music was so hopeful and happy: I am usually a complete cynic about the Count and Countess being happy afterwards but I found myself thinking, maybe it will all be okay, maybe those crazy kids can make it work!

-but boy it's a long opera, I am not used to staying out that late

Comments

[cahn]

Figaro is so great! It is the first opera I ever fell in love with. (And it was the opera my voice teacher made me learn some (Susanna) arias from, back during my abortive efforts at voice lessons, so I know all the words from, say, "Deh vieni non tardar" even though I realized while watching that there are big gaps in my knowledge of how it's translated.)

So -- now you've made me think about what the music is saying -- the Count's "Perdono" is moving, but it's the Countess's "Più docile sono" that really breaks my heart (and also the "Tutto contenti" afterwards, although like I said in this particular production the "Corriam tutti" got me hard) -- so I think maybe the music is saying that the Count may or may not reform (and his behavior certainly doesn't point that way, as you say), but the Countess will, in the end, be all right; she'll find her way. I have to believe that, after listening to her sing that.

"Tamino mein/Pamina mein, O welch ein Glück!" is, I think, my favorite line/exchange in any opera, ever. It's the kind of thing where I almost have trouble talking about it, I feel so strongly about it.

I really like your take on "Deh vieni non tardar" -- that makes a lot of sense, that it means something real, just not what Figaro thinks it means :)

[zdenka]

Figaro is so great in so many ways!

I think it's that to me, the Countess's reply moves the entire opera into harmony and resolution, the way it flows into "e tutti contenti," and part of me can't help believing in that.

"Tamino mein/Pamina mein, O welch ein Glück!" is one of my favorite moments in opera too.

I'm glad you like that take on it. It makes sense to me, but my views can sometimes be eccentric.

[cahn]

Oh, you're right about "e tutti contenti" <3 I just don't know how to reconcile that with the weight of the entire libretto against the Count... maybe I don't need to; human beings can be surprising, after all <3

Oh Mozart. <3333333

(And I feel like I'm usually on board with your views!)

[zdenka]

To be honest, I don't know how to reconcile it either. That's why I can only say part of me wants to believe it, not that I definitely believe it. :)

I'm just used in general to having people thinking I'm weird for caring so much about obscure things or for getting obsessive enough to have this level of knowledge of them. It makes me really happy when I can go to fandom and find people who think my opinions are interesting and that my random obscure knowledge is actually useful.

[cahn]

I think it's really amazing and awesome that you are so knowledgeable and have thought about all these things so much! (I sometimes feel a bit weird for always being all TELL ME MORE ABOUT TRANSLATION AND MUSICAL IDIOM PLEASE YAY! at you. But this kind of thing is absolutely my jam and I totally love it when you talk about it <3 ) Though yeah, I was just thinking recently about how fandom tends to attract people with focused personalities and who appreciate people who have focused personalities. :D