{{ Finally }}

I've always wanted to watch this movie. The first time I saw it was in 2005 when I was in France at Bigeon's house. I didn't understand..anything since there were no subtitles. A few years later I found out in music appreciation class which movie it was and wanted to watch it again from the beginning to end, with subtitles this time.

I stayed up last night watching it. It is a beautiful film.

Three Broadway Divas at the Orpheum

Yesterday I watched my first performance at the Orpheum with Ryan. The Vancouver Symphony Orchestra provides a deal for full-time university students to see shows for $10.00! You just apply online or by phone for a student access pass and with this, you can see almost all the performances for a very good price. 

We went to see the Three Broadway Divas. They were doing two shows, one on Friday and one last night. We were sitting in A section seats: lower Balcony Row 7 Seats 153 & 154. These seats would have cost us almost $70 each, and that's the student price! What good deals we got! 

First and foremost, the Orpheum is a beautiful building! I didn't expect it to be so classical looking. It definitely has character. Once I walked in, I felt like I was in a different world filled with music and fine arts. I will definitely come back again to see a classical music performance.

 

The three divas were Jan Horvath, Debbie Gravitte, and Lisa Vroman. I don't think the photo above has Lisa Vroman in it though. All of them had unique voices but my favourite would have to be Gravitte's. Not only was she such a charismatic host for the show, she had a beautiful, rich voice. She sounded the best when she was singing in the middle range. She did a wonderful job on Don't Rain on My Parade. Horvath was very good in Broadway Baby and especially in Don't Cry For Me Argentina. Her voice was fairly quiet most of the time, but at times she just belted out and surprised everybody. I was not a huge fan of Vroman's excessive use of vibrato though she did a beautiful job in I Could Have Danced All Night. There is no doubt that she is a magnificent professional singer and that her voice can go quite high, but perhaps her voice is more suitable for, in my opinion, opera. 

I was disappointed that they did not perform For Good from Wicked, but other than that, I enjoyed the performance very much! It was well worth the $10 I paid for. I absolutely love broadway musicals. I am nuts about Broadway songs. I think I'll have to go see a musical performance sometime. 

The Three Broadway Divas are touring all over North America. Gravitte and Horvath are performing in all the shows and the other singer changes from show to show. 

VSO Access Pass for students is absolutely magnificent! There are many shows in February that are worth going to!

photo via VSO

Carmen at Queen Elizabeth Theatre

On the 27th, Mother and I went to an opera show at Queen Elizabeth Theatre. Georges Bizet's Carmen is the most performed opera in the world. It is widely loved and I guess because it is so well known, people expect a lot out of it. 

Carmen is Bizet's last work and it is based on a novel by Prosper Merimee. It premiered at the Opera Comique in Paris in 1875 and did not receive the popularity it does today. 

This is my first time going to Queen Elizabeth Theatre. We didn't have great seats so I feel like both the vocal and the orchestra weren't projected out to where we were sitting. 

   

Carmen's voice didn't strike me as much as Don Jose's, who was played by David Pomeroy. His voice was full,  warm and rich. I was very impressed with his performance. During the intermission, I overhead people commenting on how they had liked Pomeroy better in a previous opera performance. I would love to see him in other operas. 

Micaela was played by Mariateresa Magisano. In the first number, I didn't think her voice was very engaging. The main reason was that I couldn't really hear her in the first song. As the show went on, I was more and more impressed. Her voice was so pure and so heavenly. There were moments during the performance that I felt teardrops appear by my eye ducts. Her voice made me sit up in my chair and lean forward with my eyes wide open, asking myself how this is humanly possible. 

But each to their own. I really enjoyed Pomeroy and Magiasano's performance in Carmen. I wish to see more performances.

Images via Vancouver Opera