Operas with Zoey
I have been to see quite a few operas and musicals this semester. When I can get tickets for $6, it is a no-brainer, especially when JonPaul is so gracious to let me go out for the shows. I have seen Jesus Christ Superstar, Cats, and Phantom of the Opera in Hungarian. Although the website says there are subtitles in English, the subtitles were in Hungarian! Why there would need to be subtitles in Hungarian when the words of the English musicals have been changed to Hungarian so the whole thing is already sung in Hungarian I will never know. I asked down at the box office and they said the English subtitles were ‘broken’. Yeah, right. Luckily, I know the music of all these musicals very well so I could follow just fine. It was just weird hearing them sung in Hungarian!
I already talked about seeing Salome and Carmen, but by myself I also went to see Bánk Bán by Ferenc Erkel, István, a Király by Levente Gyöngyösi and János Bródy, and Les Enfants Terrible by Philip Glass. Bánk Bán was just okay. I know it is supposed to be a Hungarian staple, but the story just wasn’t good, the costuming was blah, and the sound cut in and out a lot. For that reason I was a little leery going to see another Hungarian opera, but István, a Király, a rock opera about the crowning of Szent István, was actually really cool. I kept thinking about it, and really wished I had brought Zoey because I think she would have really liked it. The set design, costuming, music, and main actors were all really great. Les Enfants Terrible was a little different since it is an opera with dancers. There is a ‘voice’ and a ‘dancer’ for each character. I wasn’t excited about the story, but the set design and the dancers were great. I also love Phillip Glass, but the libretto was just okay. I guess I just loved the dancers!
Zoey went to see the ballet Giselle with me and had been asking to go to the opera. I took her to see Edgar by Puccini, which I wasn’t sure I really wanted to see in the first place because I heard it wasn’t the best Puccini piece. However, I couldn’t let the opportunity to not see a show go to waste, so I took Zoey. I read her the story before we went and tried to explain everything so she would know what was going on. She said she really liked it, although I am not too sure!
Zoey said she wanted to go see more operas with me, so I took her to Les Contes d’Hoffmann by Offenbach. I thought this was better than Edgar, but Zoey fell asleep during the first act! She stayed away the rest of the time though, and I told her it was just fine for her to fall asleep.
We got a cake, wine, and water during the intermission so Zoey would get a second wind. She didn’t fall asleep again, and said she wanted to see the next opera with me too.
Since she wanted to come to the next opera, I took Zoey to see La Bohème by Puccini. I was really excited to see this because I had not seen it before. Once again, Zoey fell asleep, but this time during the third act.
To wake up we walked outside to the little stall and got a hot chocolate and mulled wine. Hot chocolate in Hungary is really like liquid chocolate and is really thick and rich. And really yummy!
Although I am not sure if Zoey really likes attending the opera or just likes spending one-on-one time with mommy, I am glad to get some time with her.
On our way home we saw this sign in front of our street, which I hadn’t seen before! I keep trying to get good pictures of the Christmas lights down our street, but they just don’t turn out well. The photos don’t do justice to how pretty the streets are when lined with all the Christmas lights.
