spent the whole time on opening night taking pictures behind the scenes, of the backstage tour, blogger night and fashion at the opera, i neglected to take a picture of myself. not to say that i'm always gunning to be in front of the camera, but i had gone all out and glammed up for the occasion. and it never dawned on me until i got home.
there is but one picture. one photographic proof of the topshop dress by kate moss that i rocked that night. and it was taken on the norma stage when i took my bloggers behind the curtain for the backstage tour. course, it's doubly awesome how the full on stage lights was so strong as to wash me out.
photo by emme rogers
guess this means, i shall have to wear the dress out again and this time, make sure i'm in front of the camera, instead of the usual being behind it.
norma may be a bit park and bark-ish, what with the uber-dramatic hand raising with fingers splayed and the gloria swanson bulging eyes from sunset boulevard, but that's because it's ALL about the singing.
photo by tim matheson
i think we got a hit, kids.
"Here we find the operatic archetypes: a stout tenor of formidable volume; the diva...who has long owned the title role; the young mezzo-soprano on the rise." - The Globe and Mail
"Norma is all about a trio of principals— soprano Hasmik Papian, in the title role, mezzo Kate Aldrich as her rival Adalgisa, and tenor Richard Margison as the object of both their affections." - Vancouver Sun
"People think Celine D. puts lots of extra and difficult notes into the song line! Ha! They should listen to Bellini. Lots of technical work here—for the females especially. Always in Bel Canto." - The Vancouver Observer
"The backdrop was transformed via projected images a number of times during the performance, and by the end of the opera became a decimated forest, and, ultimately, a funeral pyre." - Review Vancouver
"Not only does it look great, it sounds great, thanks to some masterly acoustical redesign. The sound blooms with presence. I couldn’t believe my ears." - Georgia Straight
ninjagirl is off at a secret location training more ninja warriors for the upcoming season. (or reading between the lines: i'm taking the night off to watch the dress rehearsal with le boyfriend)
but don't you worry, dear readers! you'll still get all the backstage secrets with our newest member, ninjaboy ami, as he utilizes his skills of espionage while stealthly scaling up to the rafters and hiding in the shadows.
so follow along tomorrow night at the norma dress rehearsal with ninjaboy ami on twitter: operaninja.
but don't get in his way or you may see of shower of shurikens coming right at you.
we are just about to burst, we're so excited for everyone coming to see norma at the newly renovated queen elizabeth theatre.
last week, the staff went on a tour of the QET and were delighted by the changes, mainly to the lobby and the mezzanine.
when you're at the theatre, you'll notice:
~ the lobby ceiling has been removed completely! instead, there's now a 3 story atrium and white seashell-like chandeliers ~ there are 12 more stalls in the women's restroom (always a good thing) ~ a bar on the mezzanine and the balcony levels ~ HDTV screens throughout the lobby
inside the house, you'll notice:
~ dark wood stepped floors in orchestra seating area (instead of the concrete decline) ~ brand new staggered seats WITH more leg room ~ the arms of the seats can be put up (for cuddling and handholding, ya know) ~ 100 wide bodied seats along the aisles ~ handicapped seats and companion seats have doubled ~ fabric rolldowns sound reflectors on the ceiling ~ bamboo sound reflectors on the wall that will bounce music back to the audience
the biggest change would be that to the mezzanine seating. patrons will have to get to the mezz seating from the mezzanine level only. no longer can you access through the lobby stairs inside the house. not that people would mind, as sitting in the new mezzanine will make one feel like they're watching a performance in the royal box.
of course, pictures don't do it justice. you'll just have to come down to the opera and see it for yourselves!
if the stars have this to say about norma, imagine what it'll be like to WATCH it!
i just think it’s absolutely gorgeous music. it’s something not to be missed because bellini is not done that often and i don’t think done often enough. - richard margison
i think the singer who can sing this role is blessed because it’s a wonderful part-dramatically, musically, vocally. there’s everything there. - hasmik papian
it’s got the greatest singing minds. it’s got wonderful orchestral score. it’s got great drama. it’s something which moves people. - maestro richard bonynge
oh, the anticipation!
video by bombshelter productions & mike mckinley
doesn't the video make you want to buy a ticket? or a subscription? or three? thanks to sean for an awesome job on the interviews.
indulging the child of the 80s in me today. this aztec camera song makes me happy with its boppy beat. had such a big schoolgirl crush on roddy frame too. skinny guys in black leather jackets with a guitar did it for me in highschool. (but gosh, why was the saxophone in so many 80s songs?)
this crush would continue on when roddy frame later teamed up with mick jones from the clash to sing good morning britain. course by that time, i was all about the racing stripes and track tops. (and still wear 'em to this day)
as a gen x'er, i'll always look back on 80s music with such fondness.
two things for sure:
1. you'll never see me in the travesty that was 80s fashions again: RIP power dressing shoulder pads, shaker knits & oversized tops, lace and fishnet, hammer pants, flashdance sweatshirts & leg warmers, neon & paint splatter miami vice look. it didn't look good then. it doesn't look good now. (note to the kids trying to resurrect the look today)
2. i will be bopping to the sounds of the 80s even when i am 80.
last time i went to archery was before the indoor club went on summer hiatus. and it kinda showed last night. as well, my bow arm was a tad stiff after class, drawing my 20 pound bow for a couple of hours.
i kept getting good groupings of all 3 of my arrows, but sometimes not anywhere near the target's centre. at least, i could still batch the arrows together. now i have to get back in practice of getting into the black, blues or red circles.
photo courtesy of rina
however, i did try out a different technique: raising my bow, finding aim and then drawing my arrow. normally, i would pull back my arrow while taking my bow up and then aim.
i also attempted to shoot a robin hood.
and got my first bulls eye towards the end of the night. course it was when it was contest time. whoever shoots a bulls eye would get bailey's the original irish cream chocolates.
a most fitting prize as i'm allergic to booze of any kind. course, it's almost always never about the prize itself. always just the win.
crew mantle of commandopera blog has written up a glowing blurb on VO and our blogger night at the opera. he'll also be joining us for opening night of norma. and yes, it does feel good to impress people.
"...While this company is over 50 years old (not significant in operatic terms) it operates with a free thinking elan thanks in large part to the combination of younger and older minds who run the theatre. There is no question to COMMANDOpera who has had a great deal of contact with the theater, the reality that every one’s voice is heard, and listened to. The commonly known West coast relaxed manner is well and alive. Ling Chan of the Vancouver Opera explained to me what was rather an obviously brilliant yet simple marketing strategy. Why not have a blogger’s table of local bloggers operate live from the theatre before and during intermission? What would the composition be of the table? The criteria was to have bloggers who did not blog on opera, but enjoyed a history of blogging in the region with a younger audience. I can only marvel at the sheer intelligence of the concept. The theatre reaches a guarenteed audience through the bloggers, who have established reputations in their own worlds. Their public would be generally hip, younger, and very clued in.
It just does not get better than that.
The Vancouver Opera becomes a place that is ‘in’ with a local audience that would never have offered a second glance. Why? Because the Vancouver Opera used the tools which most of society are familiar with as though a right hand. By virtue of utilising bloggers on glamorous opening nights, they make the opera accessible directly to that new, highly desirable demographic, but most importantly; comfortable...The lesson is clear. Be felixble in your marketing strategy, utilize what is right in front of you, and most importantly; recognise the relevance of the new media. There is little doubt to COMMANDOpera, other theatres will follow the example set here by the Vancouver Opera. It is really only a question of time..."
the operabot screening party was held at rainmaker studios this past tuesday evening and for those of you who missed out, it was a great screening in rainmaker's 50 seater HD theatre!
the 15 operabot submissions came in from vancouver, eastern canada and the US and can be viewed on our youtube. of course, nothing beats viewing the shorts on the big screen.
clockwise: laura charlton's the marriage of figaro, kristie nutter's madama butterfly, stephanie basque's madama butterfly, john landry's the marriage of figaro
clockwise: brad lamey's madama butterfly, christine cornell's madame boterfly and arron robinson, olaf miller & curt spurging's fragile (madama butterfly)
after the screening, guests got to enjoy platters of sushi and bevvies in rainmaker's staff lounge.
huge picture windows, 2 balconys with a view of downtown and yes, that IS a foosball table!
after careful deliberation between the judges, here are the winners for our first operabot contest!
first place: brandon cathey, art institute of colorado
second place: gabriela meijia and chris holbrow, vancouver
third place: arron robinson, olaf miller and curt spurging, vancouver
public vote: brad lamey, NBCC miramichi new brunswick
thanks to the judges, rainmaker studios for hosting the party and our sponsor, the georgia straight! and a BIG thank you to all the talented artists who made operabot such a success!
tired. if my feet can talk, they'd be cursing me out. what was i thinking?! running around in 3 inch knee high boots like that for hours at the operabot party. obviously, a case of style trumping comfort.
hella exhausted.
updates tomorrow but for tonight, one for the road. because i love watching breakdancing and i'm still on a 'bot bent.
sean has me addicted to his battlestar galactica dvds, which i have been consuming at a back to back episodes rate the past couple of days. but to be fair, i have him addicted to my supernatural dvds. yes, we're both nerding out.
it seems the past little while, it's all been about the 'bots for me. vancouver opera put on a contest called operabot across canada & us for animators to create a short based on any of our upcoming operas. the contest closed november 1 on our youtube channel.
the past week, i've been putting together the operabot screening party which will take place tomorrow night at rainmaker studios. there will be a screening of the 15 submissions in rainmaker's 50 seater HD theatre, (i wish my work had a 50 seater HD theatre) prizes galore, schmoozing, bevvies and by god, there'll be sushi. should be good times.
so it got me thinking about all the robots we've known and love in the movies and tv shows. and i didn't realize there were so many robots that have entertained me.
i think my earliest memory of robots were c3po and r2d2 from star wars. and since then there's been androids/cyborgs/human hybrids of all makes and models, ranging from:
~ superhumanoid (bionic woman/six million dollar man) ~ kicking ass and taking names robot (you do not want to cross robocop) ~ but i want to be human just like you robots (little haley joel in AI) ~ seduce you and then kill you fembots from austin powers ~ the vampire slayer robot that spike built of buffy
but how many of them would you consider sex on legs? i mean, would you consider data a hot piece of android ass? or perhaps the borg's tubules, microcircuit fibers and exoskeleton does it for you? is it obvious that i used to be a star trek: TNG fan?
but i digress...
the fact that robots are so prevalent in so many shows and movies out there, it's not surprising that they've become hubba hubba hot. all to keep us watching, of course.
so back to BSG. in the updated version of the late 70's show, the cylons are no longer "walking chrome toasters" but have now taken on human form. and the main cylon, number 6, parades around in the skimpiest of outfits. as for the sleeper cylon, i can't wait to see what will happen with her when she realizes she is a cylon. it's pretty riveting stuff.
although i haven't watched terminator: the sarah connors chronicles, i plan to. shirley manson as a terminator? LOVE her. and summer glau from firefly as a terminator also? i'm surprised i'm not all over it already.
course, one can't speak of terminators without alluding to the big screen version. although i'm not one to call arnie a sexy robot despite the mr olympia physique, i think they picked a good one in sam worthington. (personally, i think he stole the movie from christian bale) i know i'll be watching the next installment when it comes out.
but the sexiest robots has got to be, hands down, the replicants of blade runner. that neo-noir movie was so slick. the costumes, the styling, the cinematography, the conflicts of the characters. the casting was just purr-fect: harrison ford as rick deckard, rutger hauer as roy batty, sean young as rachael and daryl hannah as pris. it's enough to almost give up being human.
course, we all know that despite having all that artificial intelligence, robots need love too. the all is full of love video shows a robotic bjork on the assembly line when she meets another robot and they share a passionate kiss. the music video won the 1999 mtv video music awards for breakthrough video and best special effects. the song with its clavichord and orchestra instruments offers the message that love is all around you; found even in the most unexpected of places.
it's going to be record-breaking rainy the next few days and all i want to do is curl up and stay in bed. can we just tell the outside world to just go away? if but for a little while.
i love the sound of rain lashing at my windows, especially when i'm about to fall asleep. but i hate being out there in it, especially when it's blustery cold outside. november rain gets me longing for the brightness of spring.
under the grey gloomy skies of fall, i find that re-watching romantic movies of the foreign kind are a good antidote. the french sure know how to create heart-lifting, melancholy and quirky love stories, such as amelie, jeux des enfants and paris je t'aime. i often walk away with a lopsided smile, tears streaked cheeks and bouyed by sentimental feelings of longing these films instill in me.
and i just love listening to french songs. it's not hard to get transported into a different frame of mind when you listen to singers such as juliette greco, francoise hardy and yves montand. and although we know of feist singing in english, j'adore the way she sings in french, as she does in la meme histoire for paris je t'aime.
i think it's a sign of getting old. i love to sleep. i look forward to it. it takes a crane to get me out of bed. curling up in bed is such a wonderful comfort. one of my favourite things to do in the world.
but i never used to be like this.
in the heydey of my 20s, during which i partied way too much, i was of the mindset of, "i'll sleep when i'm eighty." i could party all night, rest my eyes for a couple of hours and then get up, go to work and work the full day. shampoo, rinse, repeat. two to three times a week. four weeks a month. twelve months a year. oh, for how many years?
i honestly don't know how i let myself be without the good stuff for as long as i did.
but now that i'm in my 30s, boy, am i trying my darndest to make up for lost time. i get about an average 6-7 hours of sleep on a week night, which is still considered sleep deprived. but on the weekends, i'll tack on another hour or two.
nothing beats fresh laundered sheets, a down duvet and fluffy pillows... sleeping on my back like a starfish or like a spoon, wrapping myself around a pillow.
this is why i love kurt halsey's artwork, especially his sketches on sleeping figures. halsey is one of the only artists that i collect. his pictures really do say it all...
"Influenced by my hopeless romantic and super sensitive mindset, I pay far too much attention to the little things in life and in the relationship between two people. In constant need of reassurance, explanation, closure, and attention, my paintings are made." - Kurt Halsey
i know this may be a bit sinister and morbid, but i kinda dig it.
those italians have to do everything the sexy way. cofanifunebri produces a calendar each year, in the style of the famous pirelli calendars. but instead of displaying stylish nudes, cofanifunebri hawks handmade coffins, with this year's models dressed in kinky s&m gear. sex sells everything these days, so why not coffins?
not saying i would go so far as to drape myself alluringly on caskets inside of a roman gothic church, but i'm open to the idea because it's not a conventional vision. and i do have a dark side.
for me, i think my pictures are far more interesting being photographed in costume, with props or in character than just asking me to smile naturally into the camera.
ask anyone if they can name 5 designer labels or 5 sports cars and most can do it without hesitation. but how many can name even one casket brand? i guess with these calendars, cofanifunebri aims to be on the forefront of people's minds.
exit stage right or left. but do it stylishly in cofanifunebri's afterlife chariot.
another fab song from the arctic monkeys. this band will always occupy a part of my musical heart, upon hearing their flourescent adolescent during my england 2007 trip. although i love the monkeys pre-last of the shadow puppets, i'm glad to see that they've matured in look and sound.
alex turner is quite the gifted and sophisticated songwriter and musician. and i feel like such a cougar fan since the lad is only 23.
for the album version and video, click here and check out alex in a red jumper with 70s era headphones and tape recorder. yup. still feeling like a cougar.
in august the government announced a $20M arts cuts. and since then arts organizations, like the one i'm working at, have mobilized together to fight it.
even bc native kim cattrell aka samantha jones of sex and the city, spoke out about these devastating cuts.
on september 9, arts organizations all over the lower mainland gathered 1000 strong at the vancouver art gallery to protest. everyone attending made a statement by wearing grey, the colour of a world without the arts. the grey drizzly weather of that day matched the mood we were all in.
the alliance for the arts has put together a video on the plight to restore the cut to arts funding. and i'm wowed that they chose 2 of my photos for their video slideshow.
one at :32 and the closing shot of the video montage at 1:26
as a fan of the victorian age style, i find her visually interesting, theatrical and striking; her punk-torian/victoriandustrial look. i'm especially intrigued that she a classically trained musician; a child prodigy violinist. i was excited to have a pre-show meet with her.
she's super friendly (asking for a hug first thing after introducting herself) and extremely well spoken and educated. but then there's that undercurrent of eyebrow raising strange, as she was talking to christopher and me about vivaldi, theatre, her time as a psych ward inmate and her bipolar disorder.
photo by ewark
emilie autumn and her bloody crumpets are so cute together in their glam-rock burlesque/vaudeville show. it was like the spice girls on opiates. one crumpet, naughty veronica, performed a feather fan dance routine while another, aprellia looked like a marionette ballerina.
my favourite is captain maggot, this pint sized pixie with jack nicholson's joker smile who does some aerial flying about like a circus performer.
but it was emilie's show and vision. and how many performers out there play an actual harpsichord on stage?
it's too bad that her teenaged fans watching probably took her songs about asylums and girls always getting their revenge at face value. it seemed like it was, for them, merely a show put on for their entertainment. and i may have too, had we not chatted with her before the show and found out the true meaning behind the music and lyrics.
emilie showed us the manuscript to her upcoming autobiographical book, "the asylum for wayward victorian girls" in the dressing room. i'm excited to get into my little paws on this book about looney bins and victorian insane aslyms with true stories of horror, madness and murder.
for halloween, i had toyed with 2 different zombie looks:
rockabilly zombie girl with long black hair streaked with white + bustier + capri jeans + stiletto heels. i really liked the white streaked wig. kinda like the bride of frankenstein letting down her hair. or maybe one of cher's vegas show wigs.
and i would've gone with that, had i not ran into this vintage lace/organza cocktail dress in a thrift store. and the rockabilly wig did not go with the dress. luckily i had bought a backup wig, which worked purr-fectly. and peggy convinced me this look was more costume-y.
peggy was awesome as wednesday addams. she even upped the ante by making a cousin it on roller wheels. now, that's commitment to the part!
here's my halloween night in 3 slideshows:
the evil dead musical press play or go to my flickr set
followed by the party at andrew's press play or go to my flickr set
but the most interesting photos are the most spookiest ones.
let me preface by saying that everyone at the party did not even recognize me when we arrived. i had stares and dropped jaws from everyone. (erm, rayoma) in fact, alden swore that i didn't even look chinese anymore; calling me miss greek throughout the night. was the way i looked such a huge departure?
i suppose that helped me get into character as peggy and i took turns breaking in her camera's colour accents mode. which looks a heckuva lot more vibrant on my flickr than on blogger here.
photographer/model, model/photographer. peggy and i took pictures of one another in character. and although i'm sure the pictures might come across as creepy/gothic, we both like them. heck, a couple of pictures reminded me of ringu.
and also, with andrew's newly renovated boutique hotel quality home, it proved the right backdrop to get me and peggy in the mood.
so fair warning now. you probably haven't seen me like this before.
