I love singing. In fact with the exception of horn, I love the singing the most out of every art form because I really believe with singing, there are a lot more emotions and novelties that can be portrayed than with an added element of an instrument. Plus, it just feels natural and easier, thus allowing for more expression I guess(:
I recently had the AWESOME experience of going to the Detroit Opera House with one of my best friends from Interlochen, Meghan Jolliffe, and her family to see Carmina Burana! Actually, I don't
think awesome quite covers it as I was at a loss for words at the end of the performance. All I could envision was minds exploding(: Anyways, here's just a brief synopsis of what made this great night JUST SO MIND-BLOWING!
The setting was beautiful. Not only was it in this huge opera house (and of course we were in the balcony which
is where the cool people sit) with all kinds of fancy architecture and stuff, but the set was this big circle of like a boat-dock looking thing around a central dance floor. In the background then there's a big setup with all kinds of mechanical gears and screens, and the screens change based on the emotions of each movement.
Second, the musical performers. The choir was really excellent in that they were really precise, sang it all from
memory (with 24 movements, thats impressive(: ) and were really animated throughout the whole performance. The soloists were stellar, especially the manly baritone dude and this soprano from a previous act who was going psychadelic on some unknown high note (it was above the staff. Like stratosphere-above(: ) And then along with the usual awesomeness of the performance, apparently Carl Orff, the composer of Carmina Burana, put in the performance notes that there should be some sort of dancers to express the music. Of course, for this performance, the people went all the way and got Cirque de Soleil performers!!! Ahhhhhh they were doing some really crazy stuff with all these hoops and ribbons and breakdancing and flipping etc. and it was really cool how it all enhanced the music(:
Third, the costumes. I don't know who designed these costumes, but it was in a Mad-Hatter style (from Alice in Wonderland) with a black and red scheme and all the people had their faces painted white and black. It was really crazy too cause even though the choir was pretty big, each member had a full coat or dress, hats, shoes, all in the right color scheme! I wonder how much that all cost(:
And finally, the music was just over the top fantastic. I mean, Carmina Burana in and of itself is impressive enough, but with all the added effects and dimensions, it probably went down as one of my top 5 performances ever! If you've never heard the piece before, here's a quick snapshot of it:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QEllLECo4OM
Overall, it was just a fantastic night and a great performance! Thanks, Jolliffe family, for inviting me!
Oh my goodness--I almost fell OFF MY CHAIR when I saw this post! Thanks so much, Markie-Boy, for posting about one of the many amazing experiences you are having at school. Granted, this didn't have anything to DO with school, but because you are at Michigan, in Ann Arbor, you could go with the Jolliffes, so we can count it as a school experience, eh? It sounds like it was over the top, and considering how many performances you have attended, top 5 is saying something! Woot!
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