After seeing the ad for the New York City Opera Thrift Shop numerous times in the opera playbills, I finally decided to stop by and check out their merchandise.  The City Opera's thrift shop, located at 222 E. 23rd Street, offers (but is not limited to) the usual variety of secondhand men's and women's clothing.  The extensive selection of women's wear occupied much of the store.  Prices were reasonable and reflected the quality of the garments, many of which were from high-end designers.  Menswear was limited to three racks tucked in the back of the shop, separated into tops, bottoms and jackets.  Women can easily find a great outfit (especially for the opera!) while men will have to do some scavenging.

 

A walk past the fashion options and up to the second floor reveals various pieces of home furnishings, wall art and a large variety of literature.  Hidden in the corner was a box full of old opera recordings -- a steal at $1 each, but only on vinyl.  A couple of framed, vintage opera posters caught my eye, but the price range of $40-$75 didn't agree with my wallet.

New York City Opera's thrift shop is not only a great place to find secondhand goods, but also an easy way to support City Opera.  If you want to donate stuff, they'll cover the cost of your taxi ride there, or if it's large enough, you can schedule a free pick-up.  All donations to the thrift shop are tax deductible and all proceeds benefit New York City Opera.  This really is an ingenious fundraising idea on their part!

 

In other news, I have been readying myself for City Opera's Candide for quite some time. Even before being offered this student correspondent position, I've had my eye on the production.  Not only is Candide one of my favorite novels, but Leonard Bernstein is one of my favorite composers and his not-quite-opera, not-quite-musical adaptation of Voltaire's classic is one of his many masterpieces.  When I first heard "Make Our Garden Grow," the glorious finale, I was blown away; and hearing other pieces from Candide, especially "The Best of All Possible Worlds" and "Glitter and Be Gay," I was immediately drawn to it.

 

So when the staff from marketing mentioned that they had set up a window at the Barnes & Noble at Lincoln Triangle, I vowed to check it out.  The window display, featuring some costumes, sketches, and various knick-knacks from the show, was very well put together.  There were many pieces, worthy of taking a good look at and the vibrancy of the display certainly caught my eye.  If you're in the area, it's definitely a great photo-op!

I loved so many things about Tosca; the storyline, music and staging of the opera worked together magically to create an amazing production.  And it’s definitely going on my list of favorite tragedies.

 

This night out to the opera started with dinner at Café Fiorello, across Broadway from Lincoln Center.  I'm a huge foodie, so pre-theater dinner is usually a must when attending shows.  Fortunately, my cousin offered me dinner at this (relatively expensive) restaurant in exchange for taking him to the performance. 

 

I read a synopsis of Tosca and familiarized myself with the plot before the performance, and definitely thought it was intriguing.  Seeing it live, and set to Puccini's music, however, was so much more fulfilling.  On the other hand, I felt that some of the acting was not as convincing as it could have been.  Still, the simple yet effective sets were enough to convey the intense emotion of each of the characters.

 

The second act was, by far, my favorite of the three.  A long red stripe across the backdrop and along the floor says so much for Tosca and Scarpia.  The end of Act II, with Tosca against the red background, saying, "And before him all of Rome trembled," was so emotionally compelling and truly brought out the feminist in me.

 

Puccini's work is definitely the overall highlight for me.  The orchestrations aptly set the mood for what was going on onstage.  I love when music is that powerful, and Puccini’s ability to create powerful music was extraordinary.  The progression from major chords expressing Tosca's joy to minor ones showing her grief in Act III is a phenomenal example of such ability.  Unsurprisingly, he has become my one of my favorite composers!  I'm sure that after seeing Madama Butterfly, I'll be a Puccini fanatic.

Before I start on my first experience at New York City Opera and the production of King Arthur, I'd just like to give everyone a couple of notes about myself.

 

My appreciation of performance art (until now) consisted largely of musical theater, mostly Broadway shows and community and high school theater.  Through grades 3-12, I sang pretty much every male voice part (oh, voice changes!) and was part of the New Jersey State Honor Choir.  While I had never been to an opera until last Saturday, I have long-appreciated the voices that come out of opera -- performers like Pavarotti, Fleming and Bocelli are only a few opera singers who can be considered some of the most amazingly talented musicians of all time.  Needless to say, I was very excited about the opportunity that New York City Opera had offered to me.

 

My experience started with a visit to the marketing department in the dungeon-labyrinth offices beneath the State Theater.  There, I met with a member of the marketing staff to choose dates to attend this season's five operas and pick up my tape recorder and digital camera.  (Thanks, New York City Opera!)  Shortly thereafter, we took a short tour of the theatre -- enjoying part of a dress rehearsal and some behind-the-scenes stuff.  It was definitely a great way to be introduced to the theater and New York City Opera.

One Saturday, I caught the final performance of King Arthur with my friend Heather, who is also new to opera.  We grabbed dinner at the Whole Foods salad bar in Columbus Circle -- college student life and the Upper West Side restaurant prices don't mix -- and then headed over to Lincoln Center.  We were seated in the fourth ring, which I'm not used to (there's often no more than one mezzanine in a Broadway theatre) but they certainly weren't bad seats.  I've been seated up in the top tiers of venues like Radio City, NJPAC, and Carnegie Hall, and this experience was no different.

 

 I thoroughly enjoyed the opera as a whole and was entertained throughout the performance.  With that said, I was completely lost during much of it.  I skimmed through Wikipedia's article on the opera prior to attending, but I guess I didn't take much of that with me.  After Act I, I realized that I probably should have read the program notes.

 

I'm used to musical theater, which is much easier to follow.  I'll be sure to do my research on my next opera, Tosca, before attending.

 

I'm not a huge fan of Baroque music, especially when it is set to words as it would be in an opera like King Arthur.  I don't think the Baroque style is nearly as exciting as other classical styles.  That is, of course, not to downplay Henry Purcell's talent -- it's simply not my cup of tea.  Still, I would've liked to hear the chorus a bit better.  Heather, a percussionist and self-proclaimed orchestra lover, thoroughly enjoyed watching the percussion section of the orchestra, especially the tambourine playing.

 

There are parts of this production that I absolutely loved.  Mark Morris' choreography is often described as witty, humorous and innovative; his work with King Arthur is no exception.  The maypole dance scene was the most intriguing (and first) maypole dance I had ever seen.

 

I thought that the wintry first scene of Act III was brilliant -- the freezer idea was an ingeniously modern way of creating a "frozen universe," and the warm sun-like lighting afterward to melt it was the perfect contrast.  When it came to the forest scene, though the plush animals had no voice parts, their actions were extremely entertaining and the scene as a whole was complete genius.  Additionally, the final scene was also very enjoyable.  Though I find no significance in the throwing of paper airplanes, it was fun to see them stuck in the curtain and darted at cast members' heads.  (If you do know of a reason for the paper airplanes, please comment!)

 

Overall, my first opera experience was a great one, and I'm looking forward to the next.  I'm sure I will enjoy Puccini's Tosca -- I've heard many arias from Puccini operas and am aware that his are some of the best loved.  I adore the intermezzo from Manon Lescaut, which my friend Heather recorded with the New Jersey All-State High School Orchestra.  Naturally, I'm very excited for the next performance. Thanks for reading and watch out for my coverage of Tosca!