Musicals and Operas

[Dave_LF]

Now that I've had a little more time to let it stew, I have a couple more criticisms to add. I think the portrayal of the neighborhood was perhaps a bit too Sesame Street. An looting incident notwithstanding, without preconceived notions, you don't really get the feeling that it is a dangerous or threatening place, and it's not altogether clear why the characters are so eager to get out. And I think the ending was a bit too pat, with several of the conflicts solved in a single stroke by what amounts to a miracle. I'm not at all convinced that Usnavi made the right choice either, especially with the benefit of hindsight that tells me what's going to happen in the years following the story. But it makes you think about that, which can't be a bad thing.

[Alatar]

Thanks again Dave! Hoping to direct this in Ireland next year. Will be a challenge for some of the reasons mentioned above!

[Dave_LF]

Wow; yeah, I don't know anything about directing, but In the Heights does seem like it would be a challenging one. But a big accomplishment too! Just make sure to get a good choreographer for Carnaval del Barrio.

[Alatar]

So its official! I'll be directing "In the Heights" for a November production.

[yovargas]

Coooooool!

[Inanna]

WOW!

[Primula Baggins]

OMG. I mean that sincerely. SO COOL, Alatar!

[Frelga]

Congratulations and good luck!

[Voronwë the Faithful]

Not necessarily in that order.

(I'm sure you will do an awesome job!)

[Alatar]

So first casting was yesterday. What do you do when of the 12 parts you need to cast, 3 of the best candidates are your immediate family? Punish them for being related to you? Or open yourself up to accusations of nepotism?

Sheesh

[Jude]

That's tough.

Can you get someone else to do the casting, and return power of veto just in case they accidentally hire someone unsuitable?

[Alatar]

What I did was made sure I had a large audition panel. When it came to the parts that my family were up for, I asked that the rest of the panel give their opinions first. Luckily they all agreed that Clare and Cliodhna were the best in their respective roles so it wasn't officially my decision. That won't stop people thinking it though.

As for Conor, even though he did a good audition and was the only person auditioning for that role, I told him I had to hold off on casting it till we get more guys. Which is hard on him.

[Inanna]

This *is* a tough one.

[IdylleSeethes]

Congratulations Alatar. You've done really well since I was last here.

Since I'm here, a few words about our transition in relation to the arts and entertainment. We moved into the least populated county (15,000) in the state 5 years ago. Most of the land is government owned. Most of the rest is agricultural. We named the place "Lostwithiel" which is Cornish for "tail end of the woods". There is no cable. There is no broadcast TV due to being nestled in the hills. We have both worked remotely from home for decades. Internet has been difficullt and in spite of actually using less than 20GB per month our current 80GB per month plan leaves us nothing for entertainment. This has to do with the nature of the internet in weak signal areas.

It seemed like cultural deprivation was inevitable. We were rescued by a high school era friend of Jan's. After college Jan's friend left for Europe to be an opera singer. After a few decades and marriages, she married an American artist who had an art school next to Monet's Garden. She ran the art school and had the key to the garden for use by the students in the evenings. We spent a month in Brittany and Normandy last year and among other places, visited her old haunts. When that part of her life ended, she hooked up with a conductor who retired from the MET earlier this year. They are always travelling the world for his work. Even though we live in the woods, we are only 20 minutes from the center of the IU campus. Our second year here, the conductor started visiting the IU campus to conduct both orchestra and opera students. The Jacobs School of music is claimed to be one of the top 3 programs in the country, so the level of ability is very high among the students. There is a constant stream of musical entertainment of this kind throughout the school year. Most of it is free. Our only disappointments have been the performances of the work of doctoral graduates in composition. There is an unstated rule that they can neither be lyrical nor pleasant. One was a compilation of movie soundtrack fragments from the last 20 years. I don't think his professors knew this.

There is also a link between the area and more contemporary music. John Mellancamp's studio is just down the road from us. He, Stephan King, and T Bone Burnett, worked on a rock opera that was first performed at IU and then travelled the country. His connections have also provided a stream of older well known musicians from rock and country. Earlier this year, Dylan performed. We aren't real country music fans, but we saw what was probably one of Merle Haggard's last performances with Willie Nelson there to support him. Willie doesn't seem like he will last much longer, though. The auditorium also stays busy with plays. The artist''s village that is nearer to us has its own playhouse for visiting shows and current films. The town is building a 2,000 seat music venue that should open next year.

So, in spite of our perceived remoteness, we seem to have done very well culturally. We may undergo another transition next year. The main node of a fiber line is being buried about 10 houses from us, which is several miles in actual distance, and we are expected to be one of the first customers.

[Alatar]

First Promo for "In the Heights"

https://www.facebook.com/martin.mcnelis ... 1169505011

[Dave_LF]

Hey, I recognize that guy!

[Maria]

There is no broadcast TV due to being nestled in the hills. We have both worked remotely from home for decades. Internet has been difficullt and in spite of actually using less than 20GB per month our current 80GB per month plan leaves us nothing for entertainment. This has to do with the nature of the internet in weak signal areas.

Blu-rays and DVDs are how we cope with that problem. Our computers seem to gobble up our quite limited bandwidth every month. Continuous program updates, I guess.

The nearest fiber node is less than a mile from us, but we haven't been able to even find out which company owns it, much less try to convince them to extend to us.

[IdylleSeethes]

Maria,

We do have those and a projector system. We are currently working through the Morse prequel Endeavour, which always includes at least a little touch of opera. Instead of coming to IU this fall our friend is headed to Europe soon, but there is hope for next year and there are dozens of worthwhile concerts anyway.

An older fiber link runs within 1,000 feet of our home. When I found who owned it, they said I could connect for a really good monthly fee plus installation. Installation was estimated as $12,000 to $20,000. The company never bought rights to the electrical poles, so they want a new customer to bear the cost of an entire string of poles. The new company, bought rights to the area.

I actually don't miss TV at all, but Jan has been fully retired for a year and a half, and would like to be connected a little more to the outside world. Our friends frequently talk about whatever the current TV fad is and we are always completely in the dark.

A separate factor is that living in the country means there is plenty to do in the daylight hours, so we actually look forward to the long winter nights by the fireplace.

Unlike you, we have no livestock and our gardens are exclusively flowers, which is enough to keep an older couple busy.

So, the plan is to stock up for the winter on blue rays and DVDs. We have about 100 hours of new content already, but are still looking at the Acorn catalog.

John

[Inanna]

We don’t watch TV at all, either, so I know what you mean about being blank when friends start discussing TV shows.

[Frelga]

My RL friends don't watch TV, either, so I'm good.