Viva la Vie Boheme!

Opera!  We went to the opera!

And we took the kiddos.

It was marvelous.

Mama loves La Boheme (and yes, I know, accents, but I'm not going to figure that out now.)  She has been listening to it for years now, and particularly likes right when Rudolfo meets Mimi, "Non sono in vena" and "Si, mi chiamano Mimi."

And so we decided to go.  And to take the kids. You know, another great cultural experience.  The Met Opera puts the opera on most years; it's one of the classic ABCs--Aida, Boheme, and Carmen.  And they still show the Franco Zefferelli production, which is the same one I saw about twenty-five years ago.  It hasn't aged at all.  Mama hadn't ever seen it.  In fact, we've only been to the opera a couple of times--once in Chicago we saw part of Tosca, with free tickets from a docent, but left after the first act because we were ready to leave.  And we saw Die Fledermaus back in 1994/95.  I remember it mainly because I love the music and Dom Deluise had a role in it that night.

I had gone through my opera phase back in my grad school days.  I think it started with Moonstruck, that wonderful NYC film with Cher and Olympia Dukakis.  I think I got a lot of ideas about NYC from the film long before I moved there.  Including the magnificence of the Met.  I remember seeing the spread for the opera season in The New York Times, with all these different ticket sets--Italian trios, German trios, classic trios.  And for about $20, I could get a Family Circle seat; I bought a set each semester, as I recall, going to the box office itself to book my seats (the olden days!)   I loved it.  La Boheme.  Die Fledermaus.  The Barber of Seville.  Tosca.  The Marriage of Figaro.  Carmen.  I would swear I saw Jessye Norman in Carmen, but I can't find proof that she performed that role in the early 90s when I was going.  I thought it was marvelous.  I have also seen Aida, but in Rome, in the Baths of Caracalla.  I loved it, too, especially outdoors in that setting on a gorgeous Roman summer night.

I was thrilled to go to the opera with Mama and the kids, to share the experience I had enjoyed so well.  The architecture of Lincoln Center, inspired by the Capitoline Hill (yep, in Rome.)  The fountain.  The huge paintings by Marc Chagall.  The glorious crystal chandeliers.  The red velvet.  The men in tuxedoes and women in fashionable gowns.  The old, elaborate costumes on exhibit. The balcony where you can go during the two intermissions.  The little shop (it was a subway-level shop, with a tiny one near the box office; now there's only a big one near the box office.) The xylophone gong.  The restaurant with meals served during intermissions.  The proscenium sculpture.  The caption screens in front of each seat.  The way the chandeliers dim and rise before curtain.  The huge curtains.  That deep stage.  Oh, and the operas themselves--sets, costumes, over-the-top stories, and all that singing without microphones.

 there it was, La Boheme, as wonderful as I recall.  Mama loved it.  I loved it.  We both cried.  And the kids liked it, which is pretty good for a three-hour show sung in Italian, with lots of romance and kissing.  They had my little birding binoculars and monocular, which helped entertain them.  I enjoyed it without them.  The garret set, with the chimneys of Paris in the back.  The stove lit by a play.  Mimi's costume.  The amazing cafe set, with its two levels and dozens of extras.  Love those extras (including a children's chorus), in rich period clothes, doing what we termed "operatic mannequin challenge" during Musetta's song.  The donkey and horse who are part of the first act.  All that snow and fuzzy light of the third act.  And back to the garret again.  I wondered if Mimi's muff ever accidentally rolled off her hand and off the roof of the garret!  I'm sure somewhere in its 100+-year production history, it's happened.

We talked over the opera in our room at the Empire Hotel across the street and the next morning at Smith's for brunch (mmmm, lemony pancakes with whipped ricotta!!)  We had hoped to stay and do town, but all that wonderful aforementioned snow was already falling and with totals upped to around 7", we headed home.

Listening to Maria Callas as Mimi . . . .

The Sounds of The Secret Garden

We had box seats on the side, a little obscured, but so close.

With Sis over her fever but only just recovered, we ventured into the city last night for a very
special treat, The Secret Garden in concert at Lincoln Center--the same stage Bud performed on last week!  It was an all-star cast and we were definitely looking forward to it.  And, mercy, it didn't disappoint.  Wow, just wow.  So incredible.  Each song better than the next.  Sierra Boggess and Ramin Karimloo in "Girl in the Vallery," Ramin Karimloo and Cheyenne Jackson in "Lily's Eyes," Sydney Lucas in any song, the same for Karimloo and the man playing Dickon (whose name escapes me.)  I even liked Telly Leung in his small role as Fakir.  And even though she hasn't performed in much since her Tony win 25 years ago, Daisy Eagan received several cheers and much encouragement, especially when she lost the last note of "Hold On" to  tears (for a discussion of the importance of her role as the child lead at the time of her own mother's illness and death, see here.)  There were several cheers, even a few showstoppers,  and a standing ovation from the full house (which included Lea Salonga and Lin-Manuel Miranda, whom we spotted during intermission.)   I went from smiles to tears and back again several times.  So did Mama.  We've always loved singing the score to one another but had never seen it together; to see it with this cast, even "just" in concert, was so special and amazing.  Bud loved it and Sis soldiered through, definitely enjoying.  We sang the soundtrack all the way home, with one kid awake at any given time, til midnight.  And I'm still humming the songs today . . . . (you can watch some of it here.)

Our Weekend

We're doing pretty well.

My optimism about a "normal" week, even a new normal, was dashed when Sis developed a fever Thursday afternoon and so missed school on Friday.  This means, out of almost two weeks, we had one day that resembled our previously normal schedule.

Last night, we ate Vietnamese and watched Men in Black, not up for much else (we got Vietnamese because she doesn't really like it and wasn't hungry anyway.)

Her fever has broken, but she's still feeling pretty wiped.  So, we're home.  There's been a lot of "Phineas and Ferb" and chicken soup.  Right now, I'm introducing her to "Glee."  I'm not sure it will take.

Bud is at an all-day kung fu workshop.  He'll practice with his team, have lunch, hang out, and then go to a performance at a local community center later this afternoon.  It'll be a fun day for him and his team friends.    Mama's at IKEA to get a new bookcase; we're rearranging the basement some since there aren't any cats down there; Mojito now lives on the first floor exclusively, sleeping on the dryer (preferably running) and wandering around the living room and kitchen looking for attention (this makes us happy that he's no longer hiding down there.)  Albus and Hermione own the house again.  We smile more about Mr. P than cry, though there are a few tears everyday.

If all goes well with Sis, we're headed into the city tomorrow afternoon to take Ma to dinner for her birthday and then . . .

We have tickets to The Secret Garden at Lincoln Center!!!!  It's a concert in honor of the 25th anniversary of this great Broadway show (which Mama saw with Daisy Eagan; I saw it on tour in Houston.  We both love it.)  Several of the Broadway stars we've seen recently are in it--Sydney Lucas (Fun Home), Sierra Boggess (Phantom of the Opera), Ramin Karimloo (Les Miserables), Telly Leung (Allegiance), and, yes, even Daisy Eagan!!

It's funny that we'll be in the same theater Bud performed in a week ago.

So, pretty good.

Practice, Practice, Practice

To reverse the joke, that's how you get to Lincoln Center!!!

Last night, Bud performed with his kung fu team at a Chinese New Year celebration at David Geffen Hall.  Originally, only the older members of the team were going, but Bud was added pretty much at the last minute.

We never dreamed that he would ever be on the Lincoln Center stage!!  What a wonderful and amazing experience!  I don't know if it dawned on Bud until we got there just how big a venue and event this was; the couch didn't seem to know Lincoln Center at all and so maybe they were all spared some of the anticipatory jitters.

So, he spent most of Saturday with his team, practicing, practicing, practicing.

Waiting

We're here!

Checking it out

Dress rehearsal--he's the red/white blur in the back right

And yesterday, we went into Manhattan for rehearsal and the performance.  We had lunch, checked into our hotel, the Empire, across the street, met up with  his teammates, and then Sis and I went back to the room (grabbing Starbucks coffee on the way), where we met up with Ma, Gong, and Goo.  We went back to Lincoln Center around 6:45 and took our seats in the back of the first tier (which was better than we expected.)  As we got closer to time, I got more nervous about the whole thing (because I knew how big Lincoln Center was!)

Backstage

Heading to their room

Meanwhile. Bud and his team got a very truncated rehearsal and a ton of waiting time in their green room, where they chatted, ate sandwiches, and made friends with other performers from a Chengdu dance team (our group was the only American-born group of performers.)I understand it was kinda tense at times backstage and acts rehearsed, chairs were moved, kids got a little stage fright, and adults spoke sternly to each other in Mandarin.  But our team hung together tightly and made the most of it.  They watched the internal monitors to know when it was their turn, about an hour into the evening.

View from the stage

Dress rehearsal--he's the red/white blur near the photo's middle

Wow.

Am I a proud mom!

The finale of their routine--he's the red/white blur in the back row, very middle

The program

Their section of the program was about ten minutes, but it was a well-done routine and they looked great.  (There was a glitch with the music, but the team waited it out.)  Bud did his 9-chain and his Tong Bei form--beautifully!  The team got lots of cheers.  And I got all choked up.  Later, he said he could hear some of the applause.

Leaving by the stage door on 65th

We opted not to stay for the rest of the show and so met the team in the lobby for congratulations and photos--Bud was both extremely excited and pretty exhausted.  And hungry.  So we said goodbye to the group and our family went out for a celebratory seafood dinner at a place called Ed's Chowder House.  It was delicious.

Bud's eyes were drooping over his souffle and we headed upstairs to bed.

Wow.

As his teammate's mom said, "This was a real bucket list item.  Except it probably wasn't even on their list yet!