Massachusetts Theatre

While I was in Massachusetts, I had the good fortune to see two theatrical productions, which were both of a very high calibre. Given that Massachusetts is the birthplace of summer stock theatre, perhaps I shouldn't have been so surprised by how excellent both pieces were.

The first show I saw was The Sound Of Music starring Sarah Pfisterer and Patrick Cassidy. This was a production put on by the Reagle Music Theatre, which is an impressive and long-standing company that takes up permanent status in a high school auditorium in Waltham. Hardly a place that I'd go searching for top-notch theatre, even if the high school auditorium was a fantastic facility. But, the show had been recommended, so we came for the 2:00 matinee on August 13.

It was a positively gorgeous and incredible production. For one thing, it wasn't so saccharine that my teeth started to rot, so already it was doing better than the original cast album with Mary Martin.

Busy The Next Few Days

I will soon be in the magical land of Massachusetts, which is apparently the equivalent of Mecca for fans of the New England Patriots. I feel too old to really be a part of the phantasmagoric football tour, but I'm accompanying the rest of my family, with the promise that there shall be some excellent seafood. Hurray.

I started watching an anime called Juuni Kokki (the Twelve Kingdoms). It came highly recommended by one of my friends, and I have to say I got sucked into it too. More on that when I'm feeling more review-y.

The Twelve Kingdoms

Just found out the cinema broadcast for the Metropolitan Opera. As usual, I'm delighted to see a mix of old favourites, antique curios, and some newer operas. They are as follows:

Anna Bolena- Donizetti
Don Giovanni- Mozart
Siegfried- Wagner
Satyagraha- Glass
Rodelinda- Handel
Faust- Gounod
The Enchanted Island- Various
Ernani- Verdi
Manon- Massenet
La Traviata- Verdi

Götterdämmerung- Wagner

This is the first season the Met has broadcast where I can honestly say that I want to see each and every one of the offerings. I'm especially excited for Jonas Kaufmann as Faust, Anna Netrebko as Anne Boleyn, and the last two parts of the Ring Cycle with Deborah Voigt.

But somehow, I'm even more excited for something that's happening here. My university, home to the only student opera company in North America, is putting on The Light In The Piazza. I'm a little bit curious as to what criteria it meets to be classified as an opera, but otherwise I've been listening to the Broadway cast album obsessively and figuring out what I want to do for my audition.