carol's kitchen

Friday, August 26, 2016

AN AFTERNOON AT THE OPERA

Opera in Vallejo? Preposterous, but true. It’s not the San Francisco Opera or L’Opera de Paris, or anything even remotely like them, but it’s a living, breathing phenomenon playing here in our far-flung little town and I doubt anyone can walk away unmoved.

Isn’t being moved the reason we go to the opera?

All you need to do is open your mind and allow yourself to feel the wrenching pain of Verdi’s heart-breaking melodrama, Il Trovatori, playing now at a ramshackle (but improving) theater in town, performed by good singers and a little orchestra, who managed to transport us to exactly the place where the composer and librettist wanted us to be — in the deepest, darkest depths of despair.


I experienced a variety of emotions — starting with pleasure at having found a parking spot across the street on Broadway (try that in New York or Paris), where I was greeted by the theater’s owner, who opened the front door for me. I handed over $25 to the amiable ticket seller, and chose a seat in the front row.

There were only a handful of us in the audience, and all but two had grey hair (this is not an opera for sissies). No curtain, no mise en scene, no frills, but pretty good costumes, which allowed us to believe we were in an earlier time in history, except for one fellow’s trousers which looked like his regular street pants.


A sceptic by nature, I was braced for the worst, but that never happened. My emotions were stirred from the very first notes. To begin with, I felt doubt and denial, but by the time that memorable Sunday matinee performance played its final chords, I’d experienced the whole gamut of emotions, including surprise, acceptance, astonishment, horror, misery and utter despair.

My thoughts went out of control as the opera unfolded. I resolved to write my last will and testament as soon as I got home, and talk to my family about my final hours, or days, or whatever. I recalled the horrible doctor who described my demise as an agonizing scene with bloody needles and tubes. All sorts of terrible images went through my mind while I witnessed the murder of one’s children, torture of enemies, mothers burning alive at the stake, suicide, fratricide, and the pain of unrequited love.


You’d think it’d be difficult to imagine the soprano who played Leona as a beautiful young virgin maiden, or that her lover could be played by a man who looked old enough to be her father, or that the mother of the hero was young enough to be his granddaughter, but none of that mattered.
The music did its job in spite of all obstacles.

Only the violinist, who played like Jack Benny, brought me back to reality from time to time, but, it was a difficult piece to perform. Nevertheless, the orchestra and singers learned the score, the lyrics, the arias, the staging and movements; they changed costumes and lighting and remembered their entrances and exits. They did their job well enough to put me through the wringer for nearly three hours, and then mercifully released me back into the sunshine of the day.


I recommend Il Trovatore, performed by the Verissimo Opera Company, at the Bay Area Stage Theater in downtown Vallejo.

Wednesday, August 17, 2016

BY ANY OTHER NAME...

VALLEJO SHAKESPEARE IN THE PARK

Speaking as a New Yorker, having attended the renown, elaborate Central Park theater performances, I want to praise our very own Shakespeare in The Park people for their magnificent work.

I went to see their production of TAMING OF THE SHREW last week in a noisy outdoor amphitheater in Martinez, with bed sheets hanging from a wire as a back drop and a small tent behind serving as the backstage, in modern dress, with a bench and a chair and no other props. 

We sat on cement steps under the warm sun, and were as enchanted as those New York thespians in their fabulous park with all their fancy la dee da.  The acting was superb, especially the lead, Petruccio, president of the Vallejo Rotary Club, whose power blew us away, and his brilliant co-star who also produced, Dalia Vidor.  But, they were all good, every single one of them.

The play was so well produced, directed & performed we were utterly captivated and forgot where we were.  Theater is magic. Thanks to Vallejo Shakespeare in the Park!

Monday, August 01, 2016

WE'VE BEEN HAD - AGAIN!

Why does Vallejo need FUSE to find and train someone for the important job of marketing our city to potential businesses?  Why can't we hire people who are already trained?  Why can't we hire a highly qualified, experienced professional who has references, a resume of successes and verifiable accomplishments, important connections and a proven track-record working with other cities to do exactly what we need?  Surely these professionals already exist.  We might even have such people among us.

If I needed a heart surgeon I would seek out the best, most experienced one I could find.  I would not go to Truoro University and ask them to find a pre-med student whom they would then train to become a doctor, and specialize in heart surgery to operate on me - and watch over him and give him refresher courses while he did it. 

As I watched the presentation Tuesday night at City Hall, I kept thinking what a fine sales person the FUSE organization sent, offering vagaries, non-specifics, and avoiding direct questions with slick language that told little more, as far as I could tell, than how good they are in selling themselves.  That alone should have told us what they were about.  How many times did Councilman McConnell ask the same question about who pays the cost of the refresher-course training hours after the person is hired?  Three! The same number of times the question was avoided; the third time received a head-shake when he offered the obvious answer.  (The answer is "Vallejo does.") 

If I was looking for a job I might go to FUSE, but I wouldn't be on the buying end.  Why should the city of Vallejo pay $60,000 to find someone for us ?  Why should we be benefactors for FUSE?  I don't see what they can do for us that we can't do better ourselves.

My brilliant City Council and Mayor voted unanimously in favor of FUSE, while expressing "hopes" about what the FUSE trainee should do.  "HOPES" not requirements or expectations, but HOPES.  The wise men of Chelm have spoken again.  Good luck, Vallejo.