#2 Music Appreciation Verdi Il trovatore My first.docx

#2
Music Appreciation
Verdi: Il trovatore
My first ever experience at Houston’s Opera, any opera, for that
matter was
absolutely exquisite. I had many stereotypes that were surely
busted once the
doors closed and the lights dimmed. I had the pleasure of seeing
Il Trovatore at
Houston’s Wortham Center on the 26th of April First, I
purchased the tickets for
my wife and I to have a nice evening out together while also
getting credit for
class; I cannot think of a better win-win situation. As the opera
neared, my wife
had to schedule other plans and I was a bit upset I would have
to attend the
production alone. I ended up inviting a friend at the last minute
and to my
surprise he was ecstatic to attend his first opera experience as
well with me. We

both arrived early hoping to get our tickets quickly and then go
get some food
prior to the start of the opera. I was told that the doors close on
time and that we
would not be allowed in once it started if we were late. Our
tickets were not there
yet and the time allowed to eat was dwindling quickly. I
attempted to go upstairs
to purchase food at the Wortham building, but I was told that
you must have a
ticket to go upstairs; which is where the restrooms were also
positioned. Once
our tickets arrived my friend and I rushed upstairs to get some
food. By the time
we ordered and it was prepared and then brought to our table;
we heard the 5
minute warning. We both scarfed as much as possible and ran to
the opera
house in order to not be shut out. We hurried to our excellent
positioned seats
and waited to take in something that we were not prepared for.
As the lights dimmed, the audience started to applaud and I
could not see why.

Eventually, we saw the orchestra’s Maestro, Patrick Summers,
appear. I assume
the balcony seats were able to see him first prompting the early
applause. Once
the Maestro started the production, I was in complete shock! It
was absolutely
amazing! He flung his arms around with such finesse at times
and then would
transition to throwing his arms with such vigor. I was simply
impressed purely by
his movements. Once the full opera joined the music, I was once
again taken a
back because I was unaware that operas are similar to a play or
dramatic piece. I
had the impression performers stood still on stage and sang
along with the
orchestra. I had the assumption I would be bored and struggling
to stay awake,
but the contrary. I was so glued to the stage and wide eyed; I
was astonished
from the start all the way to the end of the production and ready
to experience my
next one. The production was in Italian, which from what I

understand is what
most operas are performed in, and subtitled in English. At times
it was easy to
keep up with what was going on stage because the repetition of
the words sang
versus the subtitles; yet at other times when the characters were
having
conversation I was glued to the action on stage and would forget
to continuously
check the subtitles; surprisingly I was able to keep up with the
story line even
though I could not understand the words. The surprise in the
story line with the
mix up between the two young boys and the Gypsy actually
raising the Count’s
son, Manrico, until he is killed and she then shouts that her
mother finally has
had her revenge was excellent. I truly wanted to be in a balcony
seat because I
was unable to observe the orchestra which was located in front
of the stage, but
below ground level. From what I did get to observe after the
performance was
over, the musical ensemble was smaller than I anticipated. I

have not been to a
live orchestra either, but I have seen pictures and movies which
allude to a much
larger collection of instruments and performers. Although the
ensemble was
smaller than anticipated, they were dressed as I assumed; all
wearing black, men
most in tuxedos and the women in dresses or slacks. The music
sounded string
biased with a wonderful complement of some wind and brass.
One of the main
female characters, Lenora, sang in the soprano range and was
wonderful to
experience. Her change in dynamics and ability to express
different inflections
when duplicating the pieces was magical. Manrico, the count’s
son, the
troubadour, sang in the pitch of tenor, which I was confused on
because I
thought he sounded more like a baritone range to me. I
find it amazing that these burley men are able to reach such
high ranges. The
Gypsy has a wonderful range and was able to be a few octaves
higher than

Lenora, which puts her in a higher range, mezzo-soprano. The
count was deeper
and in the baritone range. The two main male performers
complimented each
other superbly in my opinion and being they were in two
different ranges, it was
great to listen to them sing in conjunction. Rounding out the
main performers is
Ferrando, which I took to be the Count’s main military leader.
He was the first to
perform as the show started and is in the lowest range of the
performers, a bass.
It was satisfying to hear the bass performer first because it was
closer to the
assumption I had in mind when it comes to my initial vision of
the male opera
performer.
The wonderful duets, trios, and works by the chorus kept me on
the
edge of my seat all night. I initially asked myself how I would
endure an

approximated run time 2 hours and 45 minutes, but shortly after
the lights
dimmed to start the performance the curtain dropped for
intermission. Once
back in our seats for the remaining acts the show was over
before I knew it. It
was a wonderful experience and I surely will be back.
What I must say, with my little knowledge of the musical world,
I do
know it is suggested to be able to perform to your full potential
and reach your
full range that you are capable, you should stand. I observed
these performers
not only performing at their full potential while standing, but
also in difficult
positions as laying down and sitting and they were still able to
project their voices
and hit very impressive notes. Also, there is no electronic help
that is provided to
these performers. I thought they would all be wearing some kind
of microphone
or some kind of electronic device to help the whole house hear
well due to the

size of the performance hall. All these performers sang
naturally and everyone in
the house was able to experience the performance as they were
in the first row. I
am absolutely impressed with the reduced orchestra, the
composer, and all the
voice talent. I am glad this assignment opened my eyes to the
wonderful world of
classical performances.
#3
How I was converted to an Opera Believer Dread.
An unmeasurable amount of dread is what I started feeling when
I realized I
would have to attend an opera as one of my assignments. I
consider myself a
very unpretentious person, and unfortunately, opera aficionado
is not part of
my description. I knew this would be something that would
cause me to step
out of my circle of comfort. It would be unchartered territory,
and having no

experience in this realm of music before, I had no idea what I
was getting
into. My only connection to Mozart and his music is the
classical playlist
that I have when I put my baby to sleep. However, after being
an audience
member at the Houston Grand Opera’s rendition of Mozart’s
“The Marriage
of Figaro”, I can honestly say, that although I am still not an
opera
aficionado, I have been converted and will gladly enjoy an
opera
occasionally.
To begin my journey into my opera conversion started with my
wife’s
enthusiasm over this particular assignment. As an ELA teacher,
she has been
part of the humanities circle for a while and has enjoyed the
theater district a
lot more often than I have. When given the choice to attend with
my
classmates, or with my wife, I decided to invite her to be part of
my journey
since she wouldn’t stop going on and on about shows she had

seen in the
past. As much as she had experience in this area of artistic
expression, she
too had never gone to see this particular opera. We both didn’t
know what
we were about to encounter once we stepped inside the theater.
To not ruin
our experience, my wife did not allow me, nor did she allow
herself, to read
anything about “The Marriage of Figaro”. We were to go into
this opera
with no set ideas, preconceive notions, or preset thoughts of
what to expect.
It was going to be a memorable experience for both of us one,
way or
another. I have never stepped foot inside the Wortham Center.
As a native Houstonian, who lived about 10 minutes away the
majority of
his life, my wife said I should be considered a travesty. I had no
idea of what
to expect, what was to come or how to behave. The sense of
doom continued

to deepen when my wife donned on a new dress, heels and make
up. Not
only would I have to sacrifice four hours on a Sunday
afternoon, (did I
mention that it was Superbowl Sunday; and I am a football
aficionado, some
say it might even be my passion?) but now I had to wear dress
clothes as
well? With the thought that if I am going to do this, might as
well get it over
with, I rushed my wife along and proceeded to head towards
Houston’s very
own theater district located in the heart of downtown. Each
minute that
passed, was a minute closer to my doom. I was getting anxious
and more
uncomfortable as we drew closer. In contrast, my wife’s smile
kept getting
bigger and bigger the closer we got.
My wife guided me to park in the underground parking lot right
across the
Wortham Center. This too was a labyrinth, an unknown land,
and the lower

we got into the parking lot, the more lost I seemed to get.
Normally, I am
very good with directions. Stick me in the middle of nowhere
with a
paperclip and shoestring and I can McGyver my way out of
there. Yet, here I
was in the middle of an underground parking lot, in the heart of
Downtown
Houston, and I could not tell the difference between up and
down or left and
right. I saw nice cars, nicely dressed couples holding hands,
fathers in tuxes
leading the way to equally adorned sons, mothers in pearls
holding the hands
of beautiful little princesses and here I was, dreading to step out
of my car.
My wife capped her lip gloss, smiled at me and asked if I was
ready. I was
not. To continue the sense of doom, how was I supposed to get
out of the
parking lot and into the Wortham Center? Again, I was lucky to
have my
wife. She taught me the secret of the underground; the tunnel
that connects

you from the parking lot right to smack in the middle of the
lobby of the
Wortham Center. Her enthusiasm was palpable, felt in each
bouncy step she
took. My dread had me sinking and stumbling over my own feet.
Her smile,
normally contagious, could only get a small wisps of a smile
from my own
face. I thought to myself, it’s only three hours left. The worst
that can
happen is that I will have spent three boring hours next to my
wife, (the
weekend before Valentine’s Day) and I have just scored major
points. This
thought gave me hope.
My Sunday was beginning to look up after all. We took our
seats. We were
seated in the center section, thirteen rows behind the orchestra.
Being inside
the theater, I was starting to absorb it all. The orchestra
members were
tuning their instruments as my mind began to sync itself to the

violin. The
dynamics started to blend into one sound. I realized that the
violin was not
playing to my ears, but it was touching my heart. The curtain
was raised and
the audience drew in a unanimous breath.
The music started and I couldn’t help but close my eyes. I was
no longer an
audience member in a very famous rendition of an Opera; no, I
was alone
floating on a melodious cloud, where the winds that carried me
where the
sounds from the string instruments. The cacophony that was
flowing from
the orchestra pit helped me understand the Italian Opera. Even
though I do
not speak Italian, the crescendos, the buildup and the rhythms
created a
world that I was now part of.
As Figaro started making wedding plans with Susanna, I was
engulfed in the
story line unfolding before my eyes. The ensemble and the
angelic tones

only added to the drama going on stage. Was Susanna really
being unfaithful
to Figaro with Count Almaviva? Was Countess Almaviva really
that dense
and love sick? The director’s hands flailed about in a madness
that seemed
to have no sense of direction. His arms went this way, and that
way and only
seemed to be random flailing of arms. However, what I didn’t
realize before
and only started to realize at that moment, was that the director
was actually
only enhanced the musicality coming out of the orchestra pit.
The timbres of
the trumpets, mixed in with the vibrations from the violins
enhanced the
confusion of the Count’s courtship of an engaged woman. I
couldn’t help but
be swept away with the emotions emanating from the stage, and
smiles,
gasps and amusement crept on my face.
As the music and storyline progressed, I became part of what
was going on

in the life of Figaro and those who surrounded him. Before I
knew it, the
curtain was lowered to allow for the intermission. Time was
flying by. Since
the story was already unfolding before our eyes, I was able to
start reading
the program and was pleasantly surprised to see that a cast
member was a
fellow Latina, Aylin Perez as the Countess Almaviva . It filled
me with a
sense of pride to see someone from my culture being able to
lead an
audience through such an emotional journey with her voice
aided by the tone
set by the musical ensemble. It brought to mind how in the
future, I would
want to be a tuxedo dressed dad guiding his little tuxedo
dressed son to
experience Mozart in more than just his bedtime playlist.
The lights dimmed and the second portion of the opera was
about to begin. I
saw that the director took his place on his podium and I eagerly

anticipated
the conclusion wanting to know if Figaro would marry Susanna
after all. If I
thought the first half was funny, I wasn’t ready for the humor
that was
awaiting me in the second half. The director’ guided the
ensemble to create
diverse tempos that heightened the humorous antics of
Cherubino. The rise
and fall of the composition had me guffawing when Figaro
found out that his
mother had previously attempted to coax him into marriage. The
repetition
of Marcellina and Dr. Bartolo proclamation of being Figaro’s
parents, was
also repeated in the music. Each repetition was met with
laughter from the
audience. If it hadn’t been for the music, I do believe that the
humor in that
situation would have fell flat. In the end, Figaro, Susanna and
Countess
Almaviva were able to in a conniving manner trick Count
Almaviva into
admitting the error of his ways. Mozart, in my professional

opinion, is a
musical genius. The director was able to guide the orchestra and
all of those
magical instruments to create a world that enthralled the viewer.
Without the
different dynamics of the musical ensemble to help set the tone
of what was
going on the stage, “The Marriage of Figaro” wouldn’t have had
such a
powerful vivacity.
I am now converted and will listen to my wife when she wants
to go watch
more operas, symphonies and other classical music
performances. I can say
that I have experience Mozart in far more powerful ways than
just putting
my baby to sleep. The dread no longer exists. In fact, I believe
deep down in
my heart that if I have to do another assignment of the similar
fashion, I
would be filled with excitement. In the end, Figaro gets married
to Susanna.

Count Almaviva and Countess Almaviva reconcile. Cherubino
and
Barbarina end up as a couple. Macerillina and Dr. Bartolo
finally get
married. And my wife and I, also lived happily ever after.
#1
Music 2302
November 22, 2016
Brett A. Lemus
Donizetti “Elixir of Love”
The Houston Grand Opera’s presentation of Donizetti’s Elixir
of Love was a great
experience it was my very first time seeing an opera and I must
say that I am very happy to have
had the opportunity to experience this event.
This concert was performed at the Wortham Theatre Center at
2:00 p.m. on October 23,
2016. I was very excited leaving the house to see the show, I
would have liked to have my wife

go with me but she was in Italy on business with the kids. I was
anxious to see the show as I
have never been to an opera. In route to the show I was
pondering what it would be like and I
tried to imagine how this show would turn out. I thought to
myself why I hadn’t gone to an
opera while I was living in Italy, it just never crossed my mind.
I lived there for six years and
never thought once about going. I was never brought up to
appreciate the arts and sometimes
wished I would have learned more about them growing up. I
find the arts to have a divine
connection. The sounds of classical
music feel divine as if coming from the heavens.
As I arrived to the theatre I immediately notice the elegance of
the building and the
people were dressed so elegantly it was an environment like no
other. I received my ticket from
any instructor and proceeded to the lobby and had a fine tasting
prosecco reminding me of my
time I had in Italy one of my favorite drinks. I hung around
conversation with a few people here

and there and was very impressed with the classiness and
etiquette of those around me it was a
very respectful environment and really did set a tone for the
evening and the show to come. I
waited for the show about thirty minutes and then proceeded to
my seat when the small
xylophone began to play a signal for all to take their seats. As I
looked for my seat I saw some
young folks and I assumed they were fellow students who were
there to watch the show. The
mood was starting to set in it was a relaxed environment the
seats were high and far back not the
best seats but they were not bad at all the stage was easily seen
from the angle. As I
accommodated myself I noticed the orchestra fine tuning
themselves and preparing for the show
it was very nice to see.
The show was soon to start, I could tell because a cascade of
people came in through the
doors and began to take their seats. It was a bit awkward for me
since I was by myself, I am not
usually by myself and I felt a bit lonely to be honest. I felt like
I might be able to start a

conversation with someone but it was getting late and the show
was about to start all those
feelings went away when the conductor appeared and the crowd
began to applaud. The orchestra
had finished tuning themselves and were ready to start the
show. It was nice seeing the band get
ready as it reminded me of my days in High School band when I
was playing the alto saxophone.
The stage was absolutely beautiful a setting that I am fortunate
to be familiar with as I have been
blessed to have seen the Amalfi Coast in southern Italy and I
can say it looked very similar to it
as close as an opera stage could get to it.
As the show began I could see a lady walking around and I
immediately began to think
that she would be one of the main stars of the show. I took a
look at the program that was given
to me at the entrance and read that that the lady was Adina
played by Nicole Heaston one of the
main characters. The setting was her hotel Adina Hotel she was
the owner. The play began
beautifully with the stage filling up with many performers all
assimilating a typical Italian

restaurant-hotel scene. Nemorino played by Dimitri Pittas sang
his first aria beginning the story
on his love for Adina and how she would never pay any
attention to him since she was rich and
he was poor. I was very satisfied to know that the opera was
sung out in the Italian language
being that I am fluent in Italian I understood what they were
saying it just made the whole
experience so much better. As the opera played along I began
to realize what was going on
Nemorino would search for a way to get Adina to love him. The
appearance of Captain Belcore
changed story around and really added context to the story
making it much more interesting. I
thought that the performers were great and really brought to
light for me what an opera is all
about and how engaging it is with the audience. It was amazing
for me to see how through a
combination of music and acting the audience can get engaged
with a story and with the beauty
of classical music.
As the story progressed I really appreciated the performance by
Doctor Dulcamara played

by Patrick Carfizzi and how he made it very comical with the
elixir, Nemorino really believed it
would work for him it was very comical. The bass, tenor, and
soprano were easily identifiable
during the show Captain Belcore with the Bass, Nemorino with
the tenor and Adina as a soprano.
The surrounding supporting performers were very important to
the opera as they really provided
some great visuals and brought to life a scene which felt
realistic and really made me feel as if I
were there. I thought the performance by the supporting
performers was great as they would set
the tone for each scene and really compliment the lead actors.
As the opera progressed I started to get a better feel for the
opera as it was becoming
clearer that it wasn’t based so much on a tragedy but on a
comical love story that was developing
through Nemorino rivaling Captain Belcore for Adina. It was
very interesting to see how the
changes in attire, lighting and music would really set the mood
for each scene. Reading the
subtitles was not bad at all and although the translation did not
give the full expression of the

Italian language which is to be expected, but it did guide us
through the story which is most
important. There were times throughout the opera that were
very gratifying to me since I know
the language and I could really get the humor out of many of the
lines, but I did notice that the
Italian accents were not accurate. I imagine they are for the
most part American performers and
it may be difficult for them to pronounce many of the words
however I was still impressed. I did
not know there would be an intermission something that I think
is great giving the audience a
chance to get something to drink and a chance to go to the
restroom. The intermission practice is
something I first experienced in Italy in the movie theaters
something I think would be nice if
they did here in America. So I decided to have another
prosecco as I told my wife how nice the
show was and then proceeded back to the theatre a few minutes
afterwards.
I was anxious to see the final stretch of the show I was well
invested into it and wanted to
see what developed. I noticed how the dynamics changed
through the final run of the show and

how the expressions were amplified giving a crescendo feel as
the show was coming towards its
climax. The story had a twist to it when Nemorino’s uncle
passed away and he was left with a
large sum of money through inheritance. It was funny to see the
reactions of all the ladies as
they found out that he was now a rich man and how he
unknowing of his inheritance believed
that it was all a cause of Doctor Dulcamara’s supposed elixir
which had no magical power at all.
Adina would go on to fall in love with Nemorino leaving
Captain Belcore on the sidelines
although he nearly married Adina and tried to get Nemorino to
join his Navy to distract him from
his quest to win over Adina’s love. The entire opera felt
comical to me and really was intriguing
throughout. I thought to myself it must take a great deal of
effort to put together a production of
this caliber. I was thinking to myself the whole time the
amount of training these artist go
through to be qualified to perform at this level, it was great.
I can now say that I have an opera bug and that I will definitely

be going back to see
more shows. It was absolutely amazing being that it was my
very first time that I had gone to an
opera. The artistic display is like no other and the combination
of a live orchestra, beautiful
vocals, and great acting make the experience like no other.
Entertainment was not bad at all back
in the old days. I see how people really looked forward to
seeing the latest productions and how
this form of entertainment really has connection to the people.
There is definitely a divinity to
this form of art and I am glad that I have gotten to see a form of
art that is not as glorified as it
once was but definitely should be. I am convinced that I will be
returning for many years to
enjoy more operas in the future.

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