This was Anne-Sophie Mutter 13 years old playing Meditation from the Thais opera by Jules Massenet with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra under Herbert von Karajan. After 30 years she plays it again. The first version was stunning, but the one below brings me to tears every time I hear it. In thirty years she has managed to pull out the essence out of the notes.
I know that daily life can puff away all your dreams. But when you think that it is not worth going on anymore, and you feel the pull of letting go and giving up, know that you give so much joy. This is your life and mine. Nothing is true but life and love.
These guys have 66 videos of their cover versions uploaded on youtube, and there isn’t a single stinker among them. Just spent a happy morning listening to them sing and play in their bedroom.
He asking the audience:
Do you actually understand French?
Seriously, if nobody understands, we better stop.
She:
What are you doing?
He:
They don’t understand.
She:
And now?
He:
We could start from the beginning and I translate simultaneously into German. Would that be ok? Yes, that’s how we do it.
She in French, he translating into German:
I have tried for so long
to start a relationship with you.
But you don’t see me.
You have been always indifferent
since we met for the first time.
Why?
He:
Why so, wherefore, why?
Please tell me the reasons!
She in French, he translating into German:
Why don’t you realize what I feel for you?
[long glance to him]
I look into your eyes,
my God, they imprison me,
but they are blind and therefore cannot free me.
He:
God, what kitsch!
She in French, he translating into German:
Even so, I love you.
We are destined for each other.
He:
Oh God, what do I have to translate?
She:
At night, I dream that I kiss you.
He, pretending to translate:
The weather could be better.
She:
No, you always react like that.
How can I show you my feelings?
He:
Listen to me! We don’t fit together.
She:
Even so, I love you.
He:
I live in Schwartau and you in Paris.
She:
Even so, I love you.
He:
That’s very far apart, it would never work.
She:
Even so, I love you.
He:
And we don’t speak the same language.
She:
Believe me, I understand more than you think.
You don’t give me any chance.
Just came back from Kiss me Kate at the Komische Oper in Berlin (same production as above). They had free drinks and snacks during the intermission. How can I not give a glowing review?
They normally do Operetta at Komische Oper, and it was refreshing to see a musical done in a different mold than the unadventurous productions that tour the world. I loved it!
I was telling the Fresnian princesses that Fresno (and especially the Tower District) reminded me of a friendly village, where you constantly bump into people you know. Joy replied that not Fresno is the village but Lecram, who knows so many people around town.
It was wonderful to tag along the Malay pirate. To be well fed, entertained, and generally spoiled rotten by him. Thank you very much, Lecram :)
And it was wonderful to meet you all in Fresno and spent time with you. A big thank you!
The highlight was the big “meat burning feast”, which not only had ample food and drink but also a special performance by Suicide Lounge. Two thirds of Suicide Lounge arrived early to help set everything up, and Nate even brought his new love, a shiny five-string bass guitar. Have you checked out Nate’s MySpace Page yet, and his website? He is a man of many talents. He plays the bass guitar and piano, acts, and draws. Tarkus of Darkness became a favorite of little man and me, and all sorts of stories roam through my head that involve a cute little dragon desperately trying to look scary.
Fresnian princesses, court jesters, knights and other merry folk were arriving in the late afternoon. Throughout the evening it became evident to me that I was the only one without any special artistic talents. I remember that RP (sitting next to me) asked me if I play any instruments. My lame reply was that I know how to operate my stereo… yawn.
One of the first bottles to be opened was the great Costco find “Gnarly Head”. It was very nice, strong flavored, not gnarly at all, with a hint of… je ne sais quoi… lol, oh boy.
Then we all went inside the pirate’s garage theater to listen to Suicide Lounge. Joy, Nate, and RP called it a rehearsal. The rehearsal blew me away. It was a wonderful experience to listen to them up and close. The mix of songs was perfect and very entertaining, and the three of them – each of them very talented – play so well together. They make it look very easy, and you can see and hear the fun they are having making music together.
If you haven’t done it yet, go to their MySpace page and listen to their rendition of Lush Life.
Meanwhile, at the back of the room, a cuddly seal was looking for company. I think Dr. Jones will get very envious, APJ ;D.
Nate and RP also gave a very funny version of Creep.
When the “official” program was finished, Joy sat down at the keyboard, playing and singing, and I managed to shoot the picture below. Doesn’t she look fabulous? I wish there would have been more light on her face, but instead of photoshopping, I thought I post it as is.
And of course, we had to do a group “Zonthar” shot… lol
Lecram says that I am a romantic idealist, always hoping for happy endings. Which is not true. I am actually an optimistic realist, that’s what I am, but I do hope for happy endings, and that’s why I am going to try my luck at telling a fairy tale…
Once upon a time, there was a one-inch-too-tall beanstalk with a hunched back. She boarded an overbooked fire bird with only three lavatories, one of them “out of order – sorry, for any inconvenience caused”. The crossed-legged beanstalk managed to hold on for eleven hours and forty minutes, an accomplishment of epic proportions.
She arrived in the land of the free … over the mountains, where the seven dwarfs dwell. The gate keeper asked her 1) why she had come (to cook, clean, and make beds at the 7 dwarfs’ house would have been the wrong answer), 2) if she planned to meet friends (yes), 3) looked at her suspiciously and asked to see her return ticket.
And then the beanstalk made a mistake. To the question: “Do you have any foodstuffs?” she answered “Just one apple”. That’s when she heard the tired bureaucracy of the gate keepers creak, sputter, and slowly get into gear. If you know your fairy tales, you know why they are suspicious of apples in the land over the mountains. The beanstalk had to write down “1 apple” on the blue form, which was put into a green plastic folder and given to gate keeper number two. Eventually… a small eternity later… gate keeper number five said “And by the way, we have to keep the apple”. It wasn’t poisoned, I swear. A sweet, juicy, perfectly rounded apple is now rotting in the bin at San Francisco airport, next to dried squid, porcini mushrooms, and French cheese.
So, that’s not even a happy start, but the apple smuggling one-inch-too-tall hunchback saw the funny side of it, and just gleed in anticipation to be able to blog about it one day.
Since this is a modern fairy tale, it also has a soundtrack. The lyrics are slightly creepy, that’s why the romantic idealist … eh, optimistic realist prefers the Spanish version, which she doesn’t understand.
And look, at the edge of the city on the seven mountains really stands a hotel by that name. The beanstalk likes the city on the seven hills very much, maybe because in places it looks so similar to the land she is coming from.
When she rounded the corner, away from the “Old Shanghai” souvenir shops, it felt like home, because there was the loud, colorful chaos of hundreds of people shopping for seafood and leafy vegetables on much too narrow sidewalks.
The next day, the hunchback put on her Bond girl sunglasses and turned up at the subterranean coffee stand for a conspirative meeting with the seventh gnome, who turned out to be a Malay pirate in disguise. They measured each other with a short glance over their 007 sun glasses, and then set off to their dangerous mission.
They took the F-Line to an area with an abundance of rainbow flags, men with toned asses, and men’s knicker shops.
The hunchback liked the city even more, because she was born in a city with a gay mayor. And although he is not better or worse than non-gay mayors, his ass is at least something to look at, and maybe, one day, the rest of the land of the free will see the virtue of that. See, I am an optimistic realist to the core.
The Malay pirate had even more surprises up his sleeves. He brought the beanstalk to his Bonnie-and-Clyde car, and drove her to his wind-swept hide-out at the skeleton coast.
It even had a pool.
But his cover must have been blown, because the place was full of tourists, eager to spend weak Dollars.
So, this fairytale has a Malay pirate in disguise with evil grin…
… and a one-inch-too tall beanstalk, but where is the princess? She turned up the next morning together with her French prince. The Malay pirate had been commissioned to film her while she was speaking about her play about “falling in love and being dumped” (where is the romantic idealism… eh, optimistic realism in that ?!?!?). The French prince Julian doubled as signal man, motioning Mia to start walking along the side-walk and telling her story into a secret-agent wireless microphone. The French prince had to wave his hand four times, and passersby were clearly getting suspicious.
But eventually, his beautiful princess did turn up, and he didn’t even have to carry her glass coffin and get rid of the poisoned apple… the gate keepers did their job well.
I haven’t seen Mia’s play, and I don’t know if it has a sad or happy ending, but reality has a beautiful princess and her French prince, and young girls taking pictures of themselves with big, red hearts in the background, which validates romantic idealism, don’t you think?
Lecram promised me that I would appear in the credits as his third assistant, which makes me swell with pride…lol.
In the evening, the Malay pirate and his third assistant had a wonderful Indonesian dinner, and you can gauge for yourself who had more wine and took the blurrier picture. Although I think Lecram cheated by using the grainy mode. It got rid of all my wrinkles, so I am ok with the grainy mode.
We boarded the Bonnie-and-Clyde car and the Malay pirate promised to take me to the land of abundant fruits. On the way, his companions where cheering us on.
“It’s a little bit risqué. So, if you need at any time… want to cover your eyes, you may do so. Here I come. Ready or not! …”
I would have loved to put the video of Shirley Bassey performing at Prince Philip’s 80th birthday bash here, but unfortunately embedding is disabled. So you have to click HERE to watch it.
