Opera

Bravo!!
First of all, let me just say that starting the class off with a cartoon made my day:) I think that we need more laughter in our lives. I also enjoyed revisiting an old Sesame Street clip that I did in fact remember from when I was little. It's funny to think about all of the information that sesame Street packs in for kids in a fun way...come on, an orange singing opera...how cute is that!!?
It is incredible to me how quickly our class flies by... we have already watched so many interesting clips and heard many unique pieces of music. After spending almost two hours on opera alone, I left the class wanting more which is a very refreshing feeling!!
I think something that stood out to me the most was learning about the sexual connotations behind most of the lyrics. When I think about the 1800s it seems very conservative and refined, but in reality a lot of the songs are talking about passion and sexual expression. It was also interesting to know that most people only get married in order to have sex...imagine if we had those standards now?
My favorite clip that we watched was of Cecilia Bartoli, her voice was incredible. I loved how much facial expression she showed as well. It was interesting to learn that she studied the castroti and the belcanto method, which almost made her sound like she was gargling. I don't feel quit as anxious about our opera paper anymore. I'm looking forward to exploring the stories we are going to be re telling and learning more about this soulful and dramatic art.