The Best Clown of All

  

Thank you, Mr. Gelb for starting my New Year with the verismo gift that keeps on giving:  Roberto Alagna, Aleksandra Kurzak and George Gagnidze transforming the Met stage for Pagliacci. Just a few moments before the clown makes his appearance, Sir David McVicar  and his double-faceted production of Cavalleria Rusticana brings a 1900’s piazza in Italy to life, with Roberto showing us the selfish, vile and obsessive side of Turridu . The set is dark , the mood is dark and Roberto is spot on as the cad in question. The imaginative twist that McVicar gives these two often- paired short pieces is his use of the piazza where both take place. The Old World feel of Cav places us in a different time, a different mentality and practically an alternate universe with faithless love and death as the mirror image themes of both Cav and Pag. Roberto grounds us in the feeling of the place and George, as Alfio , the cuckolded husband, as his anchor.

Flip the coin and you’re in an ebullient world of color. The piazza  in Italy is now post WWII. Roberto makes his effervescent entrance atop a travelling troupe’s truck amid a blast of confetti, in blue. The darkness remains in essence, ghosted from the Cav set, as a psychological pall over the piazza.

George in the meantime has fleshed out the nature of the scene in an inappropriate wig and suit that scream tacky but so work. 

Moritz Junge did a raucous, ebullient set of costumes that reflected a post-war scrabble for travelling entertainers.

George, long known to Met audiences from ( among other roles) his brilliant Scarpia in Tosca must be foul.  He betrays Nedda in his jealousy and carries the bitter end of this two-act opera to fruition.

Roberto is at his acting and singing apex as Canio.  Adding to the electricity on stage is Aleksandra’s portrayal of Nedda. 

Nedda does it all: she passes the hat (literally), she performs in pantomime and carves out the ingénue with lively pacing. Aleks grasps the nuance behind the character and gives us an imaginative interpretation of this Jill of all trades.

Roberto as Canio is something we’ve been waiting for since the interruptus two years ago when he was pulled out of the role and saved the Met’s production of Manon Lescaut. His poignant delivery of one of the most famous arias in opera melts the soul and hammers the heart.  The list is very long of all the iconic arias that Roberto has gifted us with and treasured by the entire lyric world. Vesti la Giubba strikes home, with a fervor only Roberto can grant.

For those of us not so hip on lyric terminology but immersed in the operatic for the intensity that comes with a mammoth stage, costumes that excite, voices that prolong the experience long after the last note dwindles on the airwaves and music that echoes through the ages, Pagliacci per Roberto et Cie. is a must see.  Bravo, Mr. Gelb, Sir David, Roberto, Aleks, and George along with the euphonics of the Met orchestra and the ever-present talent of the chorus. Long may this clown live in our memories.

Authors/composers:

Cavalleria Rusticana, Pietro Mascagni

Pagliacci, Ruggiero Leoncavallo

Conductor,  Nicola Luisotti

Ellen Christine , Rehearsals, Turandot, Roberto, Orange

Sitting on stone bleachers in a Roman amphitheatre.  The chorus is rehearsing Act 1 of Turandot, and the pigeons are singing along with them.  The stage director leads the children's chorus to center stage, and the music of Puccini permeates the old stones.  Piano only.  And voices.  Voices filling the crevices in the rock.  Voices bouncing off the worn stone bleachers, worn smooth by the recurring 8000 people or so who fill the seats year after year, as they have for centuries.
The sun is setting in Orange and the second rehearsal is in full swing.  Roberto Alagna sings in half voice, with his family in the front row.  We can only imagine the alchemy that is being wrought.
  Act I of Turandot opens with a Mandarin  singing up, way up high, on the topmost level of the set.  Calaf/Roberto hides among the pillars of the courtyard, and  the chorus is spread out across the entire stage. The stage director at Choregies, Charles Roubaud, uses the space in a conceptual format, every stone, every inch as part of the environment,  to better allow the magic of this extraordinary opera to happen. The inherent grandiosity is conveyed by using  the different levels of power, and the height, the majesty of this amphitheatre.
The "hands that speak" are the hands of Michel Plasson, a wizard of a conductor.  He is here for the run-through before the orchestra arrives on Sunday.  It is Friday, and he seems happy that everyone is so well prepared.  The hard working chorus responds to those hands, to his language, and the Wall of Sound begins.  Ebb and flow, ecstasy, pain, excitement, fear : all basic human emotions conveyed here via voice, extracted as it were by the very evocative hands of Maestro Plasson.

  In Act II the need for a relief from the tension created by a  cold, cruel princess and the effect she has on her kingdom is provided by the Courtiers Ping, Pang and Pong. Their names may sound like characters from a Gilbert and Sullivan operetta, but their vocal arrangements are  so harmonious, they provide the presence needed. The audience is now set up for the tender plea of Liu. Drama mounts in the duet between Calaf and the handmaiden, Liu , as the crowd onstage swarms, and the entire scene crescendos: Turandot!  On an almost bare stage, with no costumes, the performance evokes all the needed sentiment.  When  Calaf runs off, we can once again breathe. Roberto's presence onstage is so evocative that we as one , the audience, follow his every move. For the end of act notes, the conductor summons first the chorus, and then the children's chorus.  As he tells them how sweetly they are singing, he manages to tweak their performances with just the right point needed to achieve perfection.
Rehearsal continues with a reprisal, as Calaf/Roberto and Ping/Pang/Pong do their thing.  Roberto is saying to Maestro Plasson that it will be "little by little", close the the footlights under the hot sun.  This is a huge role for Roberto; as they say in French a "prise de role": his debut in this role.  Yes, he's sung the music before, but never AS Calaf in the opera itself. He has lots of time onstage, and lots of high notes (les aigues).  Mr . Alagna will be working very hard.
Be still my heart!
Oh, gosh, I just got a "Hello, Ellen!" from the stage, as he faces me (on the bleachers) and we have a little exchange about his Twitterfeed today.  (He posted a picture of himself, shaving, in one of my hats.) And me, trying to concentrate on the rehearsal!
Back to M. Plasson: watch this man's hands!  Ping/Pang/Pong are onstage on top of a set of BIG bookcases/bookshelves.  The books on the shelves are storybook size.  think of the piano keys at F.A.O.Schwartz for scale.Plasson guides them through their reveries with his will, his cajoling, and his mega-professional attitude.
 Now at the top, and along the stage itself,  with the chorus, and we are immersed in the court music that Puccini composed for the $54,000 Question Show. The power of their voices in this amphitheatre is something that needs to be experienced in person: the walls resound with  magic music.
Calaf/Roberto is 40 feet below the Emperor, who is seated on high, god of the heavens, and he repeats his request to have a shot at the Princess and her game of chance: Filio del Cielo!
Doves fly in and out of their crevices.
Now we have the children singing, as they prepare us for  the magnificent presentation of the magnificent and darkPrincess, who deigns to join the Court , encased in her globe. A globe that protects, and defends, pushed by her slaves to center stage.  Lise Lystrom begins her aria as the sun is setting over the Theatre Antique. The Princess commands the stage, as the doves call to each other . Now  it's time for the triple threat: either Calaf answers her riddles correctly, or he dies.  The intricacy of the riddles is surrounded by trickles of music that set both the mood, and her attitude. Puccini was brilliant.  As Calaf divines the answers one by one,  slaves partially close the globe, her last sacred place. Extracted as it were from her isolation, the Princess makes a measured progression into the real world. The confrontation between the now conquered Princess and the conquering Calaf leads us into the sublime "Nessun Dorma". Just kill me.
Half and hour for a break, and then everyone straggles back in for the rest of the rehearsal.  We will be here until midnight.Night time has now fallen, and on the stage, the chorus  are choreographed carrying lanterns that seem as firefies in the dark. At last,  Nessun Dorma, with Roberto still using only a portion  of his golden voice, in a lower register.  This will protect his vocal chords and save the killer notes for the performances.  There will be three: the full dress and tech rehearsal (la General), and the two performance dates themselves.
What comes next is the death of Liu, in the last piece of music actually written by Puccini himself.  He died just after completing this portion, but he left his masterpiece in the capable hands of Toscanini.  Maestro Toscanini did have the opera finished for  it's first performance  in the 1920's. There's as much drama surrounding the creation of the piece as there is in the opera itself, but we won't cover that ground here.
Liu's death is followed by the inevitable: Turandot in Calaf's arms in sweet surrender. Still trepidatious, but won over by Calaf's intelligence, persistence and charm. The final magical notes fill the amphitheatre, the chorus fills the stage once more, and the Emperor holds forth on high. But wait a minute: it's seduction, Roberto-style, in slow motion. Turandot and Calaf circle each other, as Calaf/Roberto gently lifts her hand to his lips.  He kisses it.  We all sigh.  He places her hand on his cheek.   We all sigh. He caresses her cheek.  We all sigh. And,  they fall into each other's arms.
My heart stopped.

Photos courtesy of Helene Jeanneret

Ellen Christine at the Choregies d'Orange

The Romans came to Orange, France, and decided to build a Theatre.  I haven't found out why, as yet, but it's an extraordinary place, where the acoustics hit you like Phil Spector's Wall of Sound. It doesn't matter if you like opera, but it helps.
The Choregies d'Orange are in rehearsals this week for Turandot, with Roberto Alagna and Lise Lindstrom.  It's an incredible production, with a vast chorus, all from the South of France.  Imagine! This huge stage, with the original architecture behind the performers.  The French have put a glass roof over the stage, for historic preservation, but I'm sure it helps the acoustics even more.  When Puccini's music is being sung by 100 chorists, the heart stops, the blood chills, the spirit lifts, and you are in Heaven.
Having never been to Orange, I'm enthusiastic, to say the least.  More like a kid in a candy store.  It's fascinating to be present for all of the rehearsals.  The singers are in half-voice most of the time, but even one note that hits you like an arrow between the eyes is enough to get you ready for the production. The veritable smell of the greasepaint, the roar of the crowd, is the bug that bites and keeps you coming back.  Maybe it's different when you're backstage most of the time in your line of work, and you get to see the first pieces fall into place.  Maybe it's different when you are used to hearing the director yell up and down the theatre.  But hey, this is some theatre.  To talk to each other, they need walkie-talkies, because the stage is about 100 meters wide.  The stage director moves the crowd around, placing them in their precise positions every 5 minutes.  The sound and the lights are up behind us, in the arc of the stone seats.  a friend of mine told me that the plebians had straw-filled cushions to sit on, and the VIPS had cushions and retractable domes, to protect them from the sun and the wind. Rehearsals are until midnight, so the wind is capable of whipping through the stadium, as the birds fly in and out of their nests.  Lodged high in the stone walls, the birds fly almost on cue, sometimes in a flock, sometimes one or two little wings beating their way home.

With everyone in place, and the stage director happy, the chorus lances into the last act.  Get a copy of Pavarotti singing the role of Calaf, and you will have the touchstone performance.  Those of us who live for the golden tones of Roberto Alagna can't wait for the sacred moment of Nessun Dorma.  For this note, have I flown 3000 miles.  For this opera I have traveled this distance, to hear those incredible tones in this incredible place.  This is opera.

Christmas Present 2012: Roberto Alagna

It’s Christmas 2012, it’s NYC, and our Christmas present this year is Roberto Alagna! Faust is once again at The Metropolitan Opera, and Robertino is here for two glorious performances: last night, and next Wednesday, the 28^th of December. With his whirlwind press tour for the newest CD “Pasion”, behind him, and a jam-packed (until 2016) schedule ahead, this beloved tenor will have a brief respite from life for a sojourn of one month in New York City. Not that we take care of him here: he’s suffering from a sore throat, and today was in the emergency room for an ankle damage. It must have been that cartwheel in Act I last night!

Last night, Roberto demonstrated his consummate professionalism as he regaled a cheerful Christmas audience in spite of a sore throat, and as we have just learned, an ankle injury. Dancing, and playing the flirt in the part of the young Faust, Roberto demonstrates his acrobatic abilities as well as his winning ways.

This new production, by Des McAnuff places the opera in WWI-WWI-II era, with brilliant costumes by Paul Tazewewll. The excitement in the house is palpable: Roberto is in the house. The Met Opera shop is 4 deep at the counters, as Roberto’s CD “Pasion” flies off the shelves. And Carmen is playing on the big screen, in honor no doubt, of his presence.

Stepping into Faust’s shoes once again (Mr. Alagna was here in 2005 in the previous production, complete with top hat and cane) as a dandy, he brings to the Met stage his buoyant personality, and emotive portrayal of a man gone mad with self-doubt and guilt.

Like a 1920’s melodrama serial, this production begins with a black and white palette. The visage of Faust covers the enormous scrim of the Met stage, and like the Veil of Turin, speaks volumes before one single note of music is played. Robert Brill, set designer, Peter Munford, lighting, and Sean Nieuwenhuis, in charge of video design, collaborated on mood, before all else. The black and white overtones are dissipated in the opening scene as the lugubrious metal framework of the set is awash in fog. Lost souls wander aimlessly across the laboratory setting. Two definitive spiral staircases mark the boundaries between life and death. The elder Faust, in homburg and greatcoat (Wait! Could that be Roberto????) tells us by stance, posture, pose, of his exhaustion. One single red rose brings a spark of hope to the monochrome. Faust, aged, stooped is soon joined onstage by Mephistopheles. Sung by the fantabulous Rene Pape, our favorite devil, Meph is a cartoon icon of a bad boy. From this point onward, the costumes of Mephistopheles and Faust, the Younger, will mirror each other – the dichotomy of the psyche defined in the language of costume.

The rear of the stage is set with a screen that projects the faces of Marguerite, and at times, hope via a floral bower, or despair, as marked by the grey passage of time itself. As the young Faust emerges from the mists of time, the scene shifts onstage to a WWI pastiche: soldiers crowd everywhere, mingling with the bevy of fashionably dressed “camp followers”. Brian Mulligan, baritone par excellence, plays Valentin to the hilt, delivering a “Avant de quitter ses lieux” to a bravo’d, heavy applause. I did say a very enthusiastic crowd.

Mephistopheles uses chicanery, sorcery and cheap thrills to wheedle the wills of men, and bend them to his vision. Where Faust is flirtatious, Roberto gives us all the vigor such a cad could carry. Where Faust is touched by the raw innocence of his “conquest”, Marguerite, Roberto gives a seductive, moving, perfect “ Salut, Demeure chaste et pure”. He carries the entire house with him on a perfect note, heart -stopping and ethereal.

Our Marguerite, Malin Bystrom gives her Jewel Box song with a delighted, girlish enthusiasm. This is Ms. Bystrom’s Met debut, and she has moments that sparkle, like the tiara she gleefully models in the mirror, and yet falls into the arms of Roberto with trepidation.

A pink glow falls on the set, and changes us from severe “chaste et pure” to the warmth of a burgeoning love affair. Roberto does his thing: seduction in progress, by a master of the genre.

Although the Met here announces that “Mr. Alagna is not feeling very well, but he will attempt to finish his performance”, Roberto dives into the swordfight that kills Valentin with brio.

The danse macabre that may indeed translate into Walpurgis (we were missing the usual feminine demonic hovering ballerinas) proceeds the final denouement of Marguerite. The fires of Hell are now poison apple green , and her “pure radiant angels” is a relief from the demonic activity and the loss of Faust’s soul. Marguerite climbs the stairway to heaven, and our once- again aged Faust succumbs.

Throughout this well-directed, very smooth pacing, Rene Pape lords over the world weary reality that is Gounod’s Faust with aplomb. He is witty, slimey/suave and superlative in his white leisure suit. Both he and Roberto man it up in suit after resplendent suit, complete with spats and bon vivant boutonierres. The adept millinery department of the Costume Shop at the Met give us hat after hat, all phenomenons of height and drama, very WWI. The chorus is covered in perfect period ensembles that run the gamut in inspiration from “ Alice Blue Gown” to Irving Berlin.

Well done, and a Merry Christmas indeed!

Faust runs through January 19^th

Roberto Alagna on Facebook

Sounds silly, right? Isn't everybody on FB? Not at all:http://www.facebook.com/pages/Roberto-Alagna-The-Passion-official-FB-page/134460906620631

is the official , official, by his sister, his personal press corps, page. The fans, the groupies, the admirers of RA have been waiting for this for a long, long time. Grousing, complaining, wheedling, hoping. And now we have him. All to ourselves, on Facebook. Marinella has put up exclusive shots from his recent productions. Those of you who don't know Roberto Alagna are in for a treat. The golden boy of the lyrique stage who has changed the face and the attitude of opera forever is a superior talent not to be missed. Fans and followers know and love the inflection of his voice, the precise tonality, and the eloquent phraseology. For those of you out there who don't follow opera: come on board. It's not long-hair anymore, exclusive to the rich and richer. The opera world is enlarging it's popular appeal, by including contemporary facelifts to the classics. Architects are among those now designing sets at The Met. Prada, the fashion house of Miuccia, is designing costumes. Peter Gelb is taking his Met by the horns and mounting an entire new "Ring". Come and see! And hear. Wherever you are in the world, go hear an opera, and bathe in the exquisite music that is ours to own and enjoy.

Roberto Alagna has added a scintilla of rockstar to the opera world. He's the face and the voice the world wants most to see and hear. RA has led an entire corps of actor/singer onto the lyrique stage, and opera will thank him for it for generations to come. No more a "stand-and-deliver" operatic performance, geared to the audience of yore; opera is now raw drama, burning passion, glorious joy. The actor/singer of today , with Roberto Alagna at the avant-garde of these new performers, give us a different point of view. Opera is changing, and those of us who have always loved music, are deeply greatful . Even if we are led, kicking and screaming into the future.

Les Chaussures de Roberto Alagna

translated, to French, for his European cadre, by Google translate

Ellen Christine: Ok, donc 1 chose: quand a été la 1ère fois vous êtes venu àNy?

Roberto Alagna: Il a été, pour la première fois à New York a été pour le concours Pavarotti ... .. car nous avons fait la première éliminatoire (sic) pour le concours ici en 85 ... ..

Ellen Christine: Je pensais que c'était à Philadelphie, non?

Roberto Alagna: La finale a été à Philadelphie, mais le début était ici, à New York.

Ellen Christine: Donc, vous étiez un bébé.

Roberto Alagna: j'étais un bébé ... je ... à cette époque je ne me souviens pas, il était de 23, ou 22..

Roberto et Ellen: quelque chose comme ça, ouais.

Ellen Christine: A propos de New York et vous: parce que vous avez tellement d'énergie, que je pense que New York est une ville bon pour vous parce qu'il est à égalité avec votre énergie.

Roberto Alagna: I love New York, mais je vais vous donner un secret:

Ellen Christine: Quel secret?

Roberto Alagna: J'ai un secret à New York: parce que je connais un endroit dans Central Park, c'est juste une petite surface, 1 mètre, (en italien) carre mètres. Et dans ce carré, c'est le silence total, et quand je suis plein de musique et tout dans ma tête, j'y vais, et je reste là pendant 1 heure, 2 heures, en regardant le ciel ou regarder les arbres, et tout, et en une heure, je nettoie mon cerveau, totalement propre.Mais I love NY parce que j'aime cette énergie de la ville. En fait, j'aime ces contrastes. Vous pouvez vous sentir beaucoup de contrastes, des contrastes différents à New York. J'aime ça. Et vous pouvez être surpris tout le temps, partout.

Ellen Christine:Chaque coin

Roberto Alagna: Oui, tous les coins ... j'adore ça.

Ellen Christine: Et tes fans français, tes fans espagnols viennent vous voir ... tout le monde vient vous voir à New York.

Roberto Alagna: Parce que le Met est très important. Aujourd'hui, pour moi, c'est le premier théâtre dans le monde. Et j'aime venir ici pourquoi: non seulement parce que vous avez ce public magnifique et ce beau théâtre, mais au même temps vous pouvez retrouver ici votre famille, je veux dire mes musiciens de famille. Vous savez, chanteurs. Parce que quand vous venez ici tout le temps ici vous avez beaucoup de productions dans le même temps, tout le temps.Nous sommes en bas, dans la cantina, et nous rencontrer et parler avec les autres et c'est très agréable de se rencontrer après 2 ou 3 ans ... .. pour revoir au Horovtowsky, et son épouse et les enfants, pour rencontrer Sandra, Simon, tout le monde et j'aime ça, parce que vous vous sentez comme une vraie famille.

Ellen Christine: Donc, vous allez manquer NY quand vous nous quitter pour une année entière?

Roberto Alagna: Tout le temps, toutes les fois ouais, sûr, sûr. NY me manque tout le temps, parce que je suis en amour avec la ville, et j'ai beaucoup de belles souvenirs d'ici. J'ai passé beaucoup de temps avec ma femme, avec ma famille, et ma fille. J'ai beaucoup de belles memoirs.

Ellen Christine: Votre fille etait ici avec vous?

Roberto Alagna: Oh, bien sûr, de nombreuses fois.Je me souviens avec elle quand elle était petite, nous sommes restés ce moment-là dans la maison de l'Essex, Central Park South et quand elle était petite, pour essayer de dormir, je descendis vous le savez, de faire une tournée avec les chevaux,

Ellen et Roberto: (les voitures)

et nous avons fait le tour, et après qu'elle est allée dormir, je l'ai mise sur mon bras, et au lit.

Ellen Christine: Excellente idée!

Ellen Christine: Allez-vous au Canada et à Moscou cet été?

Roberto Alagna: Oui, cet été je serai au Canada, à Toronto, avec un répertoire de très belles et d'une soprano nouvelle. Je ne la connais pas, mais j'aime aussi des surprises dans ma profession aussi, et après que je vais retourner àMoscou. J'ai chanté plusieurs fois là-bas, c'est un public magnifique.

Ellen Christine: Et le reste du temps, vous serez en France?

Roberto Alagna: Je vais être en France, en Espagne, à Vienne, à Londres, en Allemagne, partout.

Ellen Christine: Encore une fois je vais vous demander, de la part de Solange:pourquoi ne pas vous rendre en Belgique?

Roberto Alagna: Non, je suis allé à Bruxelles l'année dernière, et j'ai chanté un beau concert. J'ai chanté Roméo et Juliette en concert, et il était beau, avec un grand succès et tout. Le problème: je ne peux pas aller à Brux et de dire: OK, les gars, je voudrais chanter. Ils doivent m'appeler. Si elles m'invitent, je viens.

Ellen Christine: Votre sœur a de le faire?

Roberto Alagna: Non, non, vous savez, parce que: nous avons une mentalité avec ma sœur. Nous n'avons jamais demander à quelqu'un pour un projet, ou quelque chose comme ça. Tout le temps nous répondre aux demandes.

Ellen Christine: Il me semble que, peu importe le rôle que vous faites, vous êtes toujours en pointe. Dans le temps, a l'epoque, politiquement. D'une certaine manière de gérerà choisir des rôles qui sont si parfaites pour l'époque et et que le temps de l'année, et dans le monde. Comment choisissez-vous vos rôles?

Roberto Alagna: Je dois être en amour avec les roles et avec la musique. Je dois être dans l'amour. Quand je suis amoureux, je viens de profiter tant à rester sur scène pour chanter la musique, tout vient naturellement et parce que j'aime chanter, c'est ma vie.J'ai chanté toute ma vie.

Ellen Christine: Tu aimes à mourir, aussi!

Roberto Alagna: Parce que, je aime mourir parce que je sais quand je mourrai, je sais après je vais à nouveau éveillé. Je n'aime pas mourir pour jamais, mais sur scène, vous le savez, parce que c'est très émouvant. J'adore ça.

Ellen Christine: A propos du film sur Wagner?

Roberto Alagna: C'est un film très étrange, car en fait, je pense que ces gens, je pense que le producteur, n'a pas d'argent. Et tout le temps qu'il m'a appelé pour me faire une autre scène, et une autre scène. Et je ne sais pas ce qui s'est passé. Il m'a demandé de faire en premier, c'était juste une apparition , et après qu'ils ont fait une autre scène, et maintenant un autre. En fait, je ne sais pas, j'ai filmé peut-être une demi-heure du film ... je ne sais pas si ils vont faire quelque chose avec cela, mais ...

Ellen: Nous l'espérons, parce qu'elle était belle

Roberto Alagna: J'espère que non, parce que je ne sais pas si ce sera un bon film.

Ellen Christine: Nous n'avons pas de soins. Nous ne sommes pas des soins aussi longtemps que vous y êtes. Il peut être un bon film, il peut être un mauvais film, mais la pièce que vous étiez en était merveilleux ...il était évocateur.

Roberto Alagna: Vous savez, venir me voir à l'opéra. Il vaut mieux!

Ellen Christine: je fais, je fais tout le temps!Vous avez tous ces fans, je les appelle le cadre de français ... vous savez les francaises: Maraise, et Martine ... tout le monde vient vous voir.

Roberto Alagna: Vous savez qu'ils sont tellement bons. Ils viennent également lors de la tournée. Au cours de la tournée, il ya beaucoup de concerts (concerts petits). Ils sont tous les soirs la. C'est tellement émouvant de voir ça.

Ellen Christine: Nous sommes vos groupies!

Roberto Alagna: Ouais, ouais, mais vous savez,c'est plus que cela aujourd'hui. Je pense qu'aujourd'hui nous sommes de vrais amis. Ils savent que .... C'est bien.

Ellen Christine: Ils seront heureux de savoir parce qu'ils vous aiment et qu'ils aiment votre musique.Je vous remercie

Roberto: merci Ellen

original English transcription at: http://www.allny.com/blogs/fashion/

with the link to the video

thank you, Michele Peglau for the shot of Roberto backstage

Meeting Roberto Alagna

Somehow, in the 1960's, we all became groupies. We'd head backstage like detectives, seeking out our heroes of the rock music world, or the theatre world, or the poets of our young dreams. We'd stake out hotels, lobbies, even sometimes airports (remember the Beatles:::???!!!), to catch a glimpse of a mythic guitar player. Life was good. Backstage was where it was at. No waiting in lines at the front door, to get into a concert; we knew doormen, bouncers, body guards. We got in. It was a life behind the velvet ropes, all through the New York disco years, too. While the b&t hordes (that's bridge and tunnel to those who don't remember) flaunted polyester and gold chains to be admitted to the hallowed grounds of Studio 54, or some other club of reckoning, we tromped past the crush, with a wave to the doorman, and waltzed in. Everywhere. No lemmings we. Never followers, rather we forged ahead of the pack, and found an empty seat on a sagging sofa in the dressing room, and camped out with our heroes. While some were there for sex, others were just there to revel in the glory of the moment, and the glow of someone so talented that magic music emanated from their very souls. Ah, life was sweet.

On Monday night I had a flashback moment. A group of French opera lovers came over to see Don Carlo at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City, with their much loved Roberto Alagna singing the star role. Apparently, they go everywhere to see his performances: Monte Carlo, Vienna, anywhere a plane, train, or car will take their Roberto- loving selves. Adorable, really. They're all friends from Facebook , so thank you! technology.

Imagine the Met, fraught all year with new construction, so that everything is in a different place. Finding the Stage Door, and sailing past the waiting fans was different, when in the wake of the French Cadre. They knew where, and how, and almost made it into the vestibule, when the guard couldn't find all their names on the list. My job, at that point, was to use all those years of groupie experience, and make it happen. As the translator (ahem), I informed the guard that they had flown all the way from France, and were friends of Roberto. Definitely not as much resistance as backstage with the Rolling Stones.

Roberto was in the vestibule , just in front of his dressing room, already showered, changed, dressed, and as charming as he could possibly be. The sea of short , frosted hairdos stretched in front of us, as we waited for our turn at the altar of Roberto. He , with Marcel (secretary, bodyguard, personal assistant,manager) by his side, talked to everyone. Signed everything. Posed for any and all pictures....Roberto is a one man pr firm, spreading good will and smiles to all.

Yes, I even got my picture taken with the sainted one.....and as soon as my friend downloads it and sends it to me, I'll get to relive that instant.

Not quite like the 70's, but pretty darn close, I'll tell you.

Poster thanks to my Facebook friend, Solange Van de Vyvere ,who graciously gave me permission to use this latest creation of hers.

Roberto Alagna Time!

to get us completely psyched for the 1010-1011 opera season at the Metropolitan, the Met has now begun it's outdoor DVD extravaganza. Easy: get to Lincloln Center, and grab a seat early. Bring a picnic lunch/snack/bottle of champagne, and get set to enjoy another superbly performed opera on the biggest screen you could hope for. The Met has been programming these video recordings of their latest season for a few years now, in cinemas around the country. Last summer, they instigated this glorious festival so we could all enjoy opera under the stars. No, it's not live, but the performers are the stellar line-up we all know and love. Contemporary operas, new productions, and old favorites are among the selection from last season.

Last night, the festival kicked off with Karita Mattila in Tosca. Monday night it's Renee Fleming in Der Rosenkavalier. And HOORAY, on September 6th, Labor Day evening, it will be our beloved Roberto Alagna in the new production of Carmen.

It's not the same as being in the Opera house itself. It's not the same as seeing it at the movies, with the intermission interviews. But it's wonderful. It's huge. And it's the Met!!!

See you up there!