Getting Cultured..

Last night Valerie and I went to the New York City Opera at the Lincoln Center to see Carmen. This was my first visit to the Opera and as I walked down Broadway to get to the Lincoln Center I was chatting on the phone with my father and he yells "There's a Band" - a famous quote from Pretty Women when Richard Gere sweeps Julia Roberts off of her feet and takes her to the Opera - in which I reply to him "Mine are Broken" - another quote from Pretty Women when Julia Roberts is trying to use her Opera viewing glasses. Oh good Page family humor.

Anyways, Carmen was amazing. The performers were fabulous, especially Vanessa Cariddi who played Carmen or Carmencita. The Opera is performed in French, however they did have a screen with the English translation. I believe even without that it is an amazing Opera. Carmen is a typical love story. Carmen herself is a beautiful gypsy and every man that crosses her path falls in love with her. She falls in and out of love quickly, and her fate is sealed by this blazee approach to love. She woos the corporal Don José, leading him to mutiny against his superior. His infatuation causes him to join a band of smugglers, of which Carmen is a member. He is happy with Carmen for a brief period, but is driven to madness when she turns from him to the bullfighter Escamillo.

Several well-known pieces from this opera have taken on a life separate to the work: the Prélude (overture), the Toréador Song, and the Habanera.

The Opera itself was 3 hours long but it flew by and it was over before I knew it. I thouroughly enjoyed this experience and I can not wait to do something like this again. This is what living in NYC is all about, last nite I was at the Opera, the night before that I was at an amazing Halloween Parade (well it was kind of amazing - haha see previous blog).

I have decided that I want to go see the Nutcracker Ballet. Anyone want to join me? My mom used to take me every Christmas season when I was little and this year I am going to go (since I won't get to spend Christmas with my mommie).