What an intense opera, Elektra by Richard Strauss... And, yes, it was amazing...a workshop production/house concert of Elektra with a 2-keyboard orchestra on Aug. 15. Thanks to our wonderful hostess (unpictured)! The opera begins with an orchestral scream--really more of a wail--as a foretelling of the unwinding of the classic Greek tragedy. I don't think it's too much of a spoiler to say that death stalks the characters and the gods reap their vengeance by the end.
In the picture, left to right front row: Maestro Kent Nagano, soprano Emma Rosenthal, moi, soprano Raeeka Shehabi-Yaghmai, soprano Lisa Houston, tenor Ross Halper, and soprano Shawnette Sulker.
Back row, left to right: stage director Jessica Clarkson, baritone Sepp Hammer, mezzo-soprano Heather McFadden, soprano Jamie McDonald Lee, mezzo-soprano Jennifer Boesing, and bass Richard Mix. Not pictured: mezzo-soprano Meghan Dibble, pianists Monica Chew and Jerry Kuderna. What a talented bunch, a great show: yes, we rocked! (And no, we're not in costume any more...This is at the post-show party.
And, in case we didn't get enough rocking from Strauss and co., the Bay Area awoke to a 4.0 tremblor on Monday morning (6:49 a.m. on my clock), a long one! Epicenter a little over 2 1/2 miles from me, on the ever-active Hayward fault, but luckily no damage here or anywhere else.
What I'm reading: The Evil Librarian by Michelle Knudsen (whom I met in L.A.--wonderful writer!), Clariel (Abhorsen series prequel, by Garth Nix), and Clockwork Dagger (Beth Caton).
What I'm listening to: Renata Tebaldi and Montserrat Caballe (so it should be who, really...)
What I'm working on: Bartok songs, songs by Hans Winterberg, recently released from archives where they had literally been hidden from the world, "L'altra notte" by Boito, "Letzte Rose" by Flotow, "Non ho cor" by Handel, and "Sombre foret" by Rossini.
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