Been a long week... recovering from a trip, getting sick, catching up with work (but failing), trying to recover from this cold/flu/whatever, catching up with friends, Tammerfest, sending S off at the train station... oh and trying out Nokia Chat :P
1 month, 2 weeks ago in Hervanta, Tampere, Finland.
21 comments so far
and of course thinking about my grandma... etc. Feel like I need another break. Want to go somewhere. My wanderlust never ends.
1 month, 2 weeks ago by cybette.
Savonlinna opera festival ?
1 month, 2 weeks ago by whiteg.
Opera is not for human beings. Pretentious and corny at the same time. Just my opinion.
1 month, 2 weeks ago by jkniiv.
This cold is a bitch but you ain't alone in suffering, rest asured. :)
1 month, 2 weeks ago by jkniiv.
@whiteg that's actually a great idea. my sister and i plan to do it next year, spending at least a week there. she's a big opera buff. Stefan likes operas too, so he might like to join us. but probably not this year, since a weekend trip won't be enough. @jkniiv i hope you are getting better too. did we both get it on our last day in Turku?
1 month, 2 weeks ago by cybette.
@cybette: Still coughing a bit. Yes, I'm sure we did get this persistent bugger at pretty much the same time. I think it was just the sheer amount of people that made it impossible to avoid getting in contact with viruses despite our use of hand sanitizer.
1 month, 2 weeks ago by jkniiv.
Ok my view about opera made me sound like a rube. Well guess I am, kinda. Let me explain myself a bit. I find musicals and operettes easier to digest but opera is too much for the MTV generation. You can't fucking hear what they sing!
1 month, 2 weeks ago by jkniiv.
I'm not totally disappreciative of operatic influences and styles; a soprano's voice can be a wonderful tool, for instance in more modern piece. I guess I'm more critical of the conservative romantic setting: 19th century stage plays little more than soaps
1 month, 2 weeks ago by jkniiv.
Also opera's relative lack of accessability makes it look like an open-ended elitist club -- like a golf country club in a sense. Anybody can join but you need to invest time and money and your own effort to enjoy it and to become part of the scene.
1 month, 2 weeks ago by jkniiv.
Why not just enjoy shows like in movies or theatre? Cheapest tickets are 12-16 eur.
1 month, 2 weeks ago by map.
opera isn't everyone's cup of tea :) just like heavy metal... in fact i think opera is the heavy metal of its time. can't hear what they sing? first of all i guess you have to know the language (most are in italian, french, etc.). secondly, why do you think they repeat each line like, 4 times? don't get it the first time? you have 3 more chances :) and it's not mindless repetition each time, it takes time to build up the emotions and tries to meet your expectations, just like good sex. and in the meantime give you a chance to explore the other sensory stimulants: elaborate stage setup, costumes, musical arrangements etc. and speaking of music, it is very demanding on the performers, both technically and expressively (is that a word?).
1 month, 2 weeks ago by cybette.
re: lack of accessibility. it's not trivial putting up an opera, much more so than theater or symphonies (it's a combination of those and more). and even some theater, dance and symphony events seem elitist, from the outside looking in. Opera is not something you go to every day, so what if you need to spend a bit more to enjoy it once in a while? i'm not a big buff like my sister and have only been to a few performances, but even she only goes like 2-3 times a year. don't brand it elitist just because you don't like it :) (sorry, i've had people call me a snob because i enjoy symphony music. but i know the hard work that goes behind the scenes in an orchestra so i don't like that...)
1 month, 2 weeks ago by cybette.
I read a random post from this thread on my phone and instantly wondered if the talk is about the Opera web browser. It didn't make sense, so opened up the entire conversation. Keep going...
1 month, 2 weeks ago by tabrez.
@cybette I am the last to cast any doubt on your ability to think and formulate, but ... just ... Wow! :)
1 month, 2 weeks ago by silpol.
Indeed, Carol, you have posted some excellent points there about the quality of production in opera. I guess I'm just a bit anti-establishment in a sense. I feel you are kinda uncondionally expected to enjoy opera if you are part of the establishment.
1 month, 2 weeks ago by jkniiv.
So in the sense the ability to enjoy the drawn out operatic performance marks you as someone with so called "good taste", worthy of hanging at the coat tails of community leaders.o
1 month, 2 weeks ago by jkniiv.
But as you may know, I don't go to see theater either. I don't have so much against theater but the sets feel "deader" to me than the modern equivalent, the movies. The latter feel like a more wholesome experience -- you can decide what you concentrate on.
1 month, 2 weeks ago by jkniiv.
Of course a stage production gives the actors a possibility of interaction with the audience -- to act according to the mood of the crowd. And anything can happen in a live performance. Yet I seem to prefer the recorded against the live one. :P
1 month, 2 weeks ago by jkniiv.
@jkniiv: sure, some opera goers can be snobs (same goes for symphony/ballet/theater/etc. goers). i don't see how opera is more elitist than the rest. if you ever go to an opera, take time to look at people in the audience. you can see, on some people's faces, how much they are really enjoying what a good opera has to offer. you know those fists that we pump in the air at rock/metal concerts? well, there's similar pumping going on during an opera, at dramatic and climatic moments, in their veins and against their rib cages. there is a lot of passion in (some) operas. but, being a form of art, there will be people who love and hate it, so you are entitled to dislike it to the fullest. i don't claim to love opera, i only enjoy a few, and i don't really get most of them. however i never felt as if i have to appreciate opera in order to be deemed as having "good taste". not sure who or what gave you that impression :) I just think your initial comment "Opera is not for human beings." is too harsh. you can hate the art-form all you want, but don't judge the people who truly enjoy it, and especially the people who work hard in producing it. as for those few snobs who tries to make opera seem like a special elitist club, well, it's their loss really, wasting their time on something they don't necessarily enjoy!
1 month, 2 weeks ago by cybette.
@tabrez: uh, hope this is almost as interesting as talking about the browser? :P @silpol: haha, thanks!
1 month, 2 weeks ago by cybette.
damn, i can get really long winded... need to learn to use paragraphs
1 month, 2 weeks ago by cybette.