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Comment on The legendary lover is here to sweep you away! by Tulsa Bloggers Do Tulsa Opera - Tasha Does Tulsa

Tulsa Bloggers Do Tulsa Opera - Tasha Does Tulsa — Sun, 13 Feb 2011 15:37:08 +0000

[...] folks at Tulsa Opera invited our bright, sunshiny faces to the dress rehearsal of Don Giovanni this Thursday night, Feb. 17, at 7 [...]

Comment on The legendary lover is here to sweep you away! by Eleni Protopapas

Eleni Protopapas — Thu, 10 Feb 2011 07:14:53 +0000

From Athens Greece i wish a great great succes to ‘the legendary Lover”!

Comment on It’s finally here! For young opera lovers we present “brindisi”. by tulsaopera

tulsaopera — Tue, 08 Feb 2011 16:35:31 +0000

And for people over 40, an option would be membership in the Tulsa Opera Guild. The Guild has great events and learning opportunities to help foster a love of opera. We also have a group called President’s Council that offers really great membership benefits; it is for opera donors. There’s more information on our website, http://www.tulsaopera.com. Thanks for reading our blog!

Comment on It’s finally here! For young opera lovers we present “brindisi”. by tulsaopera

tulsaopera — Tue, 08 Feb 2011 16:31:01 +0000

Sorry we didn’t respond right away. Due to the severity of the winter storm, we had to postpone our happy hour. We’re rescheduling for next Tuesday, 2/15 from 5:30-7 p.m. Thanks for helping us spread the word! We plan to continue to grow this group over future opera seasons. It’s going to be a lot of fun!

Comment on Tulsa Opera goes rock-and-roll! by Kitchen Units

Kitchen Units — Mon, 07 Feb 2011 01:02:47 +0000

~`. that seems to be a great topic, i really love it *:”

Comment on It’s finally here! For young opera lovers we present “brindisi”. by Kathryn

Kathryn — Wed, 24 Nov 2010 05:16:35 +0000

What a great idea. And a great price! I will spread the word on this. Will it be something repeated in the future? I wish my boss wasn’t 47 – I know he would love to see a rehearsal. Is that an option for people over 40?

Comment on Kids say the darndest. by Randi Wightman

Randi Wightman — Wed, 27 Oct 2010 18:09:59 +0000

I love this story! I love the concept! So many people think opera is inaccessible; this proves that even elementary age kids can ‘get it’. Now if we can just keep them interested….
Thanks for sharing this story.

Comment on Enhance the Opera Experience by Pam Carter

Pam Carter — Thu, 07 Oct 2010 16:44:08 +0000

Anyone interested in losing 20 pounds in 30 minutes!!? This is how you do it:
1) Get good friends like Bill and Susan Thomas to buy you the right to be a supernumerary in one of the grand old traditional operas, like La Traviata.
2) Show up for dress rehearsal and put on your costume. First the QUILTED floorlength petticoat, then the bum roll ties around your waist. That’s like a STUFFED half innertube. Then the BROCADE floorlength skirt, followed by the corseted top that laces up the back (hint: don’t do this unless you’re flatchested…otherwise, it will feel like being in a mammogram for hours at a time). Top it all off with a WEIGHTED wig full of curls (after your long, thick hair has been curled up with a million bobbypins), then all the jewelry.
3) Walk around for three hours at rehearsals, so you can really get the FEEL of it. You can’t sit down and mess up the ruffles, unless you wear capri’s or shorts, because you have to hike up the skirt to drape it over a chair back (! not ladylike).
4) RUSH back to the dressing room after curtain call. Actually, go get the @#$% wig off first (sorry, Ruth, it is BEAUTIFUL and I do look so lovely), because everyone else is in the dressing room stripping.
5) Voila. 20 pounds evaporate in an instant! Well, feels like 20 pounds. I’ll actually measure it tonight and report back tomorrow.

Many thanks to Bill and Susan for the opportunity to know what it’s like to enjoy instant weight loss of 20 pounds!

Comment on Enhance the Opera Experience by Rex Daugherty

Rex Daugherty — Wed, 06 Oct 2010 19:54:45 +0000

You can read “The Lady with the Camelias” at Google Books.com. The edition I found also had an excellent treatise on Marie Duplessis as an introduction to Dumas fil’s book. Reading the book AND the play (also on Google books) greatly enhanced my appreciation of Verdi’s opera.

http://books.google.com/books?id=leYOAAAAIAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=lady+of+camellias&hl=en&ei=VM6sTI60EMGDnQfCq4XhDA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CDQQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q&f=false

If you watch Franco Zefferilli’s production of “Traviata” you can see where he references the opera, the play and the book for his movie. (the movie opens with preparations for the auction of Violetta possessions – where the book opens as well)
(the opera opens with the dinner party, which is where the play opens)

One thing we shouldn’t overlook in a discussion of the opera is Violetta’s battle with consumption or tuberculosis …. a disease called the “white plague” in its time, and responsible for one in three deaths in Europe (also a problematical disease in the US – in fact my father was placed in a tuberculosis sanitarium in Arizona during the 30′s as a child)

This was a disease that Violetta/Marguarite/Marie probably caught when she moved from the country to be a seamstress in the crowded slums of Paris.

The escape she and Alfredo take to the country was actually one of the recommended treatments for tuberculosis. Also peace and quiet was a main part of the regimen. (In fact, doctors were encouraged to lie to their patients about their condition – thus in the book, Marguarite says “My doctor tells me the blood is coming from my throat, but I know better.”)

In tuberculosis sanetariums, patients were supposd to do as little as possible.

So, Alfredo’s “you’re killing yourself” may have been advice given on his familiarity with treatment for the disease.

And, thus the kind of fatalistic resolution of Violetta to her dilemna ….. if she didn’t live the life she did, she couldn’t support herself — a trip to the country meant a loss in income (but possible healing) — a quandry that precipitates the fallout between Alfredo, his father and Violetta.

The stressful argument she has with the father, was highly upsetting to her — weakening her — and possibly contributing to the reason she finally gave in to his demands.

Comment on Check out our new commercial for La Traviata! by Ramona Koljack

Ramona Koljack — Sat, 02 Oct 2010 01:01:34 +0000

Can’t wait for opening night!