*image is used courtesy of hotblack(Morgue stock photography).

Lately I have been taking Blackstrap Molasses(unsulfured). I tend to feel tired a lot, because I am low in iron. Well this stuff has changed me! I put about 1 TBS of molasses every day in my milk and after 1 week I felt a HUGE difference. I now sleep a lot better and feel a lot more relaxed.

I think it tastes great. It is like a better version of chocolate milk and really a great way to wake up in the morning. It tastes a little like black licorice and if you hate that, I am not sure if you will like it at all. Also, if you do not like milk, you can have it in your coffee or your oatmeal.

There are so many nutrients in Blackstrap Molasses that you really cannot go wrong taking it (unless you take an extreme amount). They say to take 2 tsp to 1 TBS a day.

Every single person that I have known that started to take it feels so much better after a short amount of time. Honestly, I sleep so much better and feel a lot more focused than before.

I think this works the best if you are a vegetarian because more often than not, you are not getting enough iron. I do not eat as much meat as I should, so the molasses really helps me a great deal.

I got a bottle of it for almost $6.00 at a GNC here in NY and it has lasted me a few weeks now and I share with my fiance (he does not take as much as I do). You can buy it a lot of places but make sure it is unsulphured.

How many mg should you take? Well, take a look below.

Recommended Dietary Allowances for Iron for Infants (7 to 12 months), Children, and Adults [1]

Males Females Pregnancy Lactation
AGE (mg/day) (mg/day) (mg/day) (mg/day)
7 to 12 months 11 11 N/A N/A
1 to 3 years 7 7 N/A N/A
4 to 8 years 10 10 N/A N/A
9 to 13 years 8 8 N/A N/A
14 to 18 years 11 15 27 10
19 to 50 years 8 18 27 9
51+ years 8 8 N/A N/A

Go ahead and try it, let me know how it works out for you!

References
1. Institute of Medicine. Food and Nutrition Board. Dietary Reference Intakes for Vitamin A, Vitamin K, Arsenic, Boron, Chromium, Copper, Iodine, Iron, Manganese, Molybdenum, Nickel, Silicon, Vanadium and Zinc. Washington, DC: National Academy Press, 2001.

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I spend a lot of time at the 49th street station here in NY because I temp at a company near there and for the past few months I have been noticing some really cool things happening to the advertisements in that station. ( Click on the images to make them larger).

The word ” moustache”.

Yes, moustache has been written in the shape of the moustache, in the place of a moustache and then it is topped off with beautiful curley q’s, on a lot of the huge advertisements in the subway station. I do not condone defacing public property but in a weird way it makes the advertisement so much cooler. I actually look at the advertisements a lot more and it makes me really remember them; when normally I would have forgotten the second I walked away.

Moustache Maker, I would love to see you in action!

I always envision a girl writing it, I can’t see a guy drawing the curly q’s but at the same time, people can shock you, it is NY.

I feel like Amelie in the french movie Amelie, when she gets the guy’s photo album of his collection of taped back together photo booth pictures. I feel curious like Amelie and wonder what makes Moustache Maker do this? What is Moustache maker like?

What really made me happy was finding out that Moustache Maker has respect for The Dahlia Lama. When he was visiting NY and selling tickets to watch him speak, there was a huge advertisement of the wonderful Dahlia Lama. Moustach Maker did not even make a mark. She respects Dahlia Lama. I wonder if she bought a ticket?

It always looks like she takes the time to make it nice. I really feel like Moustach Maker’s marking puts everything together in the advertisement. I am not sure if the designer or the company would feel the same but I love it. Maybe she can copyright it and then the advertisers would pay her money to use it on their advertisements? I want a percentage dammit!

How does she do it? I wonder if her friend’s huddle around her when she does it, or if she just knows what time to go and does it when nobody is around?

I guess when you live in NY, you are used to seeing advertisements defaced and believe me, most of them are disgusting. Yes, I think I have seen enough of a man’s private parts sketched out on them. I do NOT think it is funny anymore. Yes, I get it, I get it. Enough, be more creative!

Sometimes you see somebody that is a wannabe Moustache Maker and they draw the word goateeon the chin but it is sloppy and it just looks like crap. Completely different feeling. I guess in life there will always be the people that have the ideas and the people that try to do it and they fall short. Yes, that is why being original means something. It is a rarity nowadays.

When I am tired from my evening temp job and I am walk through the hustle and bustle of Times Sq. getting thrown into tourists’ NY photo memories as I pass by, it is nice to go downstairs to the 49th street N train stop and see, the Moustache Maker’s work.

Makes having a moustache almost hip.

Almost.

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So, I have a wonderful cat named Kocour, which means cat in Czech. I guess I am attempting to be a little like Audrey Hepburn’s cat named Cat in Breakfast at Tiffany’s but with a Czech twist!

The past few days have been pretty hot and humid here in NY and we decided to shave Kocour’s fur. Before anybody starts to freak out and call the ASPCA, I have to tell you that he really likes it. Imagine wearing a coat through a humid, NY winter. Exactly.

No, we did not shave his tail, face or legs and he never tried to scratch us, not once.

We did not have the best shaver, so it was getting clogged pretty quickly. Jacob was sweating profusely, I had fur stuck ALL over me because I was holding him, and there were clouds of cat fur everywhere around the bathroom.

Yes, he still needs some sort of fade because we did not get that cute “lion cut” that a lot of people seem to give there cats. We need more skill for that. In time Kocour, in time you will be the king.

Also, I have more good news.

Announcing this reminds me of when we told Jacob’s dad that we had great news. He was glowing and then we said, “We are getting you a dog! ” He later said, ” I thought you guys were going to get married.” So before, we disappoint anybody…

We got a kitten.

My cat, Kocour is almost 2 years old and I started to notice he looked sad and lonely and his spirit was fading from his eyes and he made this sad cry. Yes, maybe you will think I am some weird cat lady but honestly, since we got the new kitten, he is so happen and if cats could smile, well, he would be damn smiling.

The first day we got the kitten, we kept him in the carrier and let Kocour smell it. If anybody knows me, I can be a little OCD when I get paranoid about things, good for learning music, but bad if you want to research diseases that you think you have.

Well, I read all sorts of things about introducing a kitten to your cat. I read one comment somewhere in the internet universe that said they had a male cat and they brought a bunch of kittens home and they woke up the next morning and all the kittens were dead.

Yes, dead.

Well, all but one but I think they caught him in the act and so it was pretty much, half dead. Anyways, I did read some great articles but do you think that I remembered those. Hell no.

I kept seeing a vision of my cat, with his crazy shave, holding a limp kitten in his mouth.

I did not want anything to happen to this kitten, I worked very hard to get this kitten. A lot harder than I expected.

The first time we tried through a rescue agency. I went with Jacob to look at some cats and he said that he wanted an older cat and that he did not want a kitten. We saw a 3 year old (which we later figured out was actually 4 years old) and it was labeled as a lap cat, that was what I was looking for. I was not sold but Jacob convinced me and we took the cat home. The rescue woman said that it had some stomach problems but not too bad and it may not eat because of that.

LIAR! That cat would have eaten ANYTHING that I would have put in front of her face. She had a deep meow that sounded like a baby crying, which was cute until you realized that it was probably from acid creeping up her throat from her stomach. She pooped anywhere but the litter box and as far as lap cat. NO WAY. Mean, mean kitty.

When I was at the store and asked to hold the cat, they said she was scared. LIARS! I never saw them put the cat in the carrier because we were somewhere else. When we got home, we realized that she was MEAN! In NO WAY a lap cat.

I would try to pet the cat and she would bite me and hiss at me. I tried to make her calm down but no matter what she was so mean! I even cried because I thought that I could train her to be a good cat, impossible.

The worst part of it all was….it farted NON-STOP. Jacob couldn’t even eat breakfast because he was so nauseous. Kocour HATED her. Understandably so.

I contacted the woman that I got the cat from via email and phone. She never returned my call but finally sent me an email. She basically told me that I need to be more compassionate. I told her that she labeled the cat as a lap cat and she was far from that. We went back and forth with heated emails and finally she sent an email asking to communicate with Jacob from now on. Yeah, anybody that knows me, it takes a lot to push my buttons and they were pushed.

Jacob agreed to deliver the cat back to her. He spent 2 hours trying to get the cat in the cat carrier, he had to call our friends downstairs to help. I am sure eating breakfast again in his apartment was enough motivation to get that cat out of there.

Well, the next time I went to choose a cat, alone. I decided that I wanted a kitten because I read (from my online OCD searches) that a kitten is your best bet for an older cat.

I ended up finding a kitten that was adorable. I was in the store holding if for more than 2 hours. I know, 2 hours. It would just lay in my arms.

I wanted to choose the perfect cat for Kocour and me and Jacob. So, I dealt with the dorky preteen kid that kept asking to hold my kitten, begging his mom if he could have a cat, ” No, you are allergic to cats”, and his dorky friend that said he looked like Jacob, because he saw his picture on my phone. Yeah, right.

I signed up to get the kitten and I had to wait to get the kitten, 2 weeks. I took a picture of him on my phone and I looked at it all the time. I was excited. a few days later, I got a call from the woman at the rescue agency, he DIED, yes, he DIED. He was vaccinated too late (Parvo). I was so sad. Yes, Jacob chose the farter and I chose the one that died.

I went back one more time the following week and held a few kittens. I was there for over 2 hours. Watched a HUGE, mean cat, jump from a woman’s lap and hide under the PetCo shelves, she tried to get him and wrapped her arms in a sweater. He scratched her. Finally, they had to disassemble the shelf because he was pretty angry under there. One of the other rescue workers even said, ” I definitely do not want to be there when he comes out.” The woman interested in adopting him still did. I was shocked but if anybody deserves some wings at heavens gate, it is her. She said she was drawn to him because it looked like he was sThat cat looked a moody, street cat with a bitten ear and if he was a cartoon character, he would be smoking a cigar.

The whole time the kitten was loving me and giving me kitty kisses with his nose and his head (except when street cat was scratching up his future owner).

So, now we have the kitten at home. He has no name, so if you can think of one let me know. He is a sweetheart. Some days Kocour and him are the best of friends and when the kitten poops in Kocour’s litter box, the worst of enemies. The kitten still is learning how to cover his poo. Yeah, I can see where the problem lies.

I am going to try and not become the cat lady.

No guarantees.

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I was reading articles online and came across this article on Fortune’s website. This is such an amazing idea.

“Bill Gates, Melinda Gates, and Warren Buffett are asking the nation’s billionaires to pledge to give at least half their net worth to charity, in their lifetimes or at death. If their campaign succeeds, it could change the face of philanthropy.” -Fortune

Read the article here.

Here is their website: The Giving Pledge

Watch this video of Bill and Melinda Gates speaking about this great idea.

I have always believed that the more that you help people, the more you will get in return. It may not always be of monetary value but it is definitely makes you a better person. Oprah is proof of that. Read about how what she has given all her employees in this article. I wish I worked for her! Read about Generous Oprah Here

ALSO CHECK THIS OUT:
“The number of taxpayers making estate tax filings that year was 38,000, and these filers had gross estates totaling $229 billion. Four-fifths of those taxpayers made no charitable bequests at death. The 7,214 who did make bequests gave $28 billion. And that’s only 12% of the $229 billion gross estate value posted by the entire 38,000.” -Fortune

I know.

I think this is a great idea. I am very curious to see if this will work but if it does, what a beautiful thing this will be for the world. The truth is that when you die, you cannot take the money with you. Maybe you want to leave money for your children but when you have so much, I really doubt they will notice the difference.

I am still amazed that anybody would even consider getting all the billionaires together to discuss this. I guess getting an invite from Buffet and the Gates is not too shabby and the chances of people passing up that invite is pretty slim. Great way to be sneaky. Great reason to be sneaky!

One last thing, if you do have the money, donate your money to help find cures for mental illness. Since I am an advocate for the mentally ill, I am putting that out there! Help save lives.

Bravi to you all!

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I just got Waldemar Matuska’s CD on iTunes and I am in heaven! He is definitely one of my favorite singers of all time! He is very animated which makes all the difference in the world.

Watch the video below where he sings with Hana Hegerova and Karel Gott (he studied opera) and you will know what I mean (they are also AMAZING).

Here is a little about him(from Wikipedia):

Waldemar Matuška was born in Košice, Slovak Republic, former Czechoslovakia, and spent his whole childhood in Prague. His mother was a singer in the Vienna operetta theatres. He worked as a glassmaker and performed on various musical instruments with many different bands. In 1960 he recorded his first song Suvenýr (Souvenir). Later he became an actor in the theatre Semafor. On the stage he performed with Karel Štědrý, Jiří Suchý and, starting in 1961, with Eva Pilarová. He won the Zlatý Slavík (Golden Nightingale) music poll twice, in 1962 and 1967, and placed second several times.

As his popularity grew he started acting in movies and writing songs for movies. Waldemar and Eva Pilarová left Semafor and joined the ensemble of the theatre Rokoko. But Pilarová soon returned to Semafor, and Matuška began singing with Helena Vondráčková, Marta Kubišová, Jitka Zelenková and others. He participated in other projects besides the theatre, mainly duets with Hana Hegerová and Karel Gott.

ENJOY listening to one of my favorite songs,Kdyby tisíc klarinetu

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(Image used courtesy of taliesin turtlehawk2002@yahoo.com)

NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness) NYC Metro will be holding an education event on June 26, is “Mental Illness and the Mind-Body Connection”.

It is FREE and it will be at New York State Psychiatric Institute, 1051 Riverside Drive NY, NY 10032.  It is from 1:00 to 5:00 PM and the registration will be from 12:30PM to 1PM.

They will be talking about alternative medicine interventions and techniques that compliment traditional treatments for psychiatric disorders.

Keynote speakers will be:

Dr. Richard Brown
Read about him here
&
Dr. Patricia L. Gerbarg
Read about her here

You will get a chance to experience COMPLIMENTARY alternative medicine techniques such as, yoga, aromatherapy, acupuncture, nutrition and healthy eating, fitness training and exercise, massage therapy, and stress management.

Sounds wonderful, doesn’t it?!

I hope I can learn something for my sister AND definitely for myself! I need it because being in the arts is no easy task. I need all the relaxation tools I can get!

If you are interested in attending please RSVP with Rene Malera at NAMI in these 2 ways:
1. Emailing intern@naminyc.org
2. Calling our Helpline at (212) 684-3264

Hope you will get a chance to attend this wonderful FREE event!

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Times Square is bustling with people at all hours of the day. I know because I walk through there every day to get to my temp job. I have to admit it is not my favorite part of the city and when people come to see it for the first time, I am never the first to volunteer to show them that area of New York. Unfortunately, my fiance gets stuck with that.

As I was walking to Theatre for One , many people were more focused on the lights of Times Square, passing by this wonderful black box. They had no idea what a wonderful experience they were missing.

That wonderful box is Theatre for One. It does exactly what it’s name says. You walk into a small theatre and you get a solo performance that lasts a few minutes long. You can see a picture of how it looks on their website: Theatre for One.

It is FREE and they only ask for donations. I was happy to hear that they have extended it for May 29th, 30th and 31st.

So,  definitely take advantage of it!
Here is a video of it (the music is Phyllis Chen’s composition “Carousel” -my favorite, you can even see a little of her in the video!)

Theatre For One from Theatre For One on Vimeo.

I was excited to see that, Phyllis Chen was performing there. I have known her for a few years now and she never ceases to amaze me!

As I was waiting in line, there was one of the performers keeping the energy up in front of the box.

He was a really outgoing, amazing magician.

As we were waiting in line there was a woman that was definitely a bit rough around the edges and she was loving his show. She kept saying, wow, that is “F&*()&*()& amazing.” I looked at her a few times because there was a little kid (about 6 years old or so), waiting with his mother in line and she was throwing profanity out like there was no tomorrow.  I KNOW.

It actually was pretty awkward and the magician was a good performer because he hid his annoyance pretty well. She even tried to get him to tell her how he did his tricks, in a pretty loud and obnoxious way. OK? Really?

I was glad when I saw that I was next in line (she was two behind me, but you never would have guessed, considering she was hovering at the front, bothering the magician).

Also, as I was waiting in line, a young teenager had just proposed to his girlfriend in front of LOTS of people. Random strangers were taking their picture and some people were screaming with excitement. I wish I could say that they were all together but I don’t think so.

The old me would have screamed ” Ahhh!!”, the new me was thinking, “Oh my God, they are both just babies.”

Don’t get me wrong, I am a hopeless romantic but…wow.

The truth is that at that age I would have said, ” I will love him FOREVER, you don’t know what you are talking about, you do not understand how deep this love is, he is THE ONE. I love him more than YOU know how to love. He is perfect. I hate you for doubting my love!”

Then, we would have broken up a week later.

Well, between the theatrical performances of the foul mouthed lady and the starry-eyed teenagers getting engaged, I was finally the next in line to watch the performance I came to see. Unfortunately, my friend, Phyllis Chen, got out to take a break.

Right at THAT moment.

I know, my luck. BUT the magician was going to go in and put on a show while she was taking a break.

Luckily, the people there said that I could watch him and then watch Phyllis right after when her break was over. So, I walked into watch the magician’s performance.

I felt a bit overwhelmed because it was really amazing inside. There is a lot of plush deep-red material on the inside and there was a board between me and the performer. It reminded me of a lot of the old movies with a carnival feel to it.

Suddenly, the board between us was pulled away.

There was the magician.

I felt bad for the magician because I was so nervous and excited being in this new space that I could not focus on the card game. I can guarantee that he was doing some great magic tricks but it was hard to for me to focus for so many reasons. He was nice enough to sign the numbers with his fingers for the card that I was supposed to be looking out for. I am pretty sure my confused stare said everything. He had great energy (which I noticed outside) and intensely expressive eyes.

Well, I may have been nervous but I was fascinated by the whole experience. I loved how a gritty blues song was playing in the background as he was performing his tricks and I loved how intense his energy was. That is rare in performers, especially the real intensity; fake is a lot easier to come by.

So when Phyllis’ break was done, I got a chance to hear her perform. Something that I was waiting for with excitement. When they pulled open the wall between us, she was sitting on the floor with her toy piano in front of her and her music box on the piano. She was playing my favorite piece that she has composed, “Carousel” (you can hear it in the video above). It is so beautiful! It was such an intimate moment and my eyes got watery. It was pretty emotional to have my own little performance in such a small space. It proves that a performance is just as good for one or many.

I was definitely more mentally prepared for her performance than the magician but I will try and go back again and see it this week. Maybe this time the magician will not have to sign the card I am looking for.

When she finished her piece, I stepped out of the theatre into the busy Times Square and darted from the crowd to find my train.

Despite the hectic rush of people in Times Square, everything stopped when I was in that little theatre.

It was just me and the performer.

Please, go and see this if you have the chance. You will not only have performances as you wait in line ( it is Times Square) but when you walk into the black box, it will be an experience that you will never forget.

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Marina Abramovic.

She is amazing.

I have never been a fan of performance artists in general because I always felt that people were trying too hard and it never came from a genuine place and they were just there to shock you.
My friend, Phyllis Chen, introduced me to Marina and I am now sold. I have learned that in any type of performance, if it comes from a genuine place, beautiful things can be created. Also, if they want to shock you and it comes from a genuine place, then you are more intrigued than shocked.

A few weeks ago I had the wonderful opportunity to see Marina Abramovic at MoMA. In The Artist is Present exhibit.

In the exhibit she sits in a long, red dress in a chair across the table from a random audience member (that has waited in line for this gift). I went with my friend, Phyllis Chen. Phyllis and I are both very sensitive with energies and we were in heaven watching everything unfold in front of us.

First of all, if you do not know who you are, it will be very clear when you sit in front of Marina. Also, if you really pay attention you can see who is an energy giver, taker or completely oblivious to it all. Marina became a mirror as each person sat down.

I knew who each person was based on her (often subtle) reactions or shifts in energy.

There were the 80′s style teenagers that were still searching for who they were, sitting in front of a woman that had to constantly fight for and therefore knew who she was (which can be extremely intimidating). I am not sure how I would have done at that age, sitting in front of Marina. I can only imagine the fear…actually, I would still be very scared to do it today.

There were so many different types of people that sat in front of her. It was amazing to see the turn out and huge range. There was one woman who was a biker chick. She was definitely tough and you could see that she had a rough life. She held it together for a long time and afterward, she was shaking and started to cry. I really feel that it is a mirror and everything that you have locked away suddenly shows it’s face (if you are open).

Also, there are the energy takers, they take as much as they can from her and she cannot turn away and can only give to those in need. That is art in itself. Many people were re-visiting this exhibit(many times) and I saw her take a deep breath on one gentleman before they started(after she glanced up and saw who he was). It was a long journey in this sitting and she was so giving. He did not get up until the journey was finished. They both were crying.

Afterward, there was a sweet woman that sat in her seat and had so much brightness in her face and was so giving. She reminded me of the kind of woman that would be excited to work in her garden or just sit and watch people on a summer day. I was so happy that the woman gave Marina a break. It has to be hard sitting there for hours on end like Marina does, I am in awe of her.

No matter who sat in front of her, it was always interesting. Whether it was Marina’s reaction or watching their reaction afterward. It made me curious as to how it would feel and maybe even curious enough to take a seat on that chair across from her. Maybe.

Watching Marina’s various performance pieces being re-performed at MoMA was exciting but replicating the soul and the life of Marina is a tough sell. Some were pretty good but most of the time, that fire way missing in their eyes. I have to admit, I would not be able to pull it off to say the least!

Much of her art deals with nudity and I have always been extremely uncomfortable with that. The weird thing is that I actually was not uncomfortable with her exhibits because the way she expressed it. With her, nudity just was, nudity. No pervert focus, just something we happen to be under our clothes – naked. Will I be performing exhibits in the nude anytime soon? No. But I respect the way Marina has done it.

Going to Marina’s exhibit, Marina showed me that I really need to dig deep to really grow into a true performer. In my field, I have to sing, act and express what has been written before me. Marina, can just sit there, not speak and express so much MORE and manage to intimidate the whole room with her artistry. I really admire her for that.

I am constantly searching for ways of becoming a better performer and person. I feel like both of those (most of the time) are intertwined. Marina, knows how to be. Maybe it is time that has made her get to this zen point? Maybe it is years of fighting to be heard that made her really KNOW who she is? I have no idea but she makes me want to be a better performer in her presence and it stays with me even after I walk out the doors of the museum.

Brava Marina Abramovic.

The exhibit is going on until May 31st. I may be brave enough to sit in that chair. I may not.

We will see.

I will see how I feel when I get there.

Here is some of her work:

Video of her sitting at MoMA.
Some video of her work(*there is nudity in this video).
Marina Abramovic.

Here is a review of her exhibit:
The Artist is Present Review.

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Daniela’s birthday is this Saturday. She will be turning 40 years old. This has always been a difficult day for me because she has been mentally ill since she was in her teens. She has now been mentally ill for most of her life, it is a horrible thing to really face. I always wonder if she can still remember how it felt.

When I was a child, I used to hate seeing her suffer and would often pray that she would die so that she would be set “free”.

As I got older, I started to really look at what her eyes were telling me, especially when she was more lucid. There were times I would see the flash of Daniela in her eyes. Sometimes she would even jump around the room and start to joke with me. For that moment, I had my sister back.

The truth is that they never really go away but the illness becomes a fog around them and we start to (choose) to let them completely go.

I will always miss seeing her as a cheerleader, jumping around in the deaf cheer-leading squad, showing me how to put on make-up, and protecting me from harm, but I sure as hell am going to take the time to remind myself that she is still there.

Yes, she can be violent and hard to deal with at times but she is still my sister and I love her despite that. Actually, I love her more because the truth is that she is suffering more than many of us can imagine. She is often violent with the people that she loves the most. After it passes, she feels horrible. She signs that she has a broken brain. She knows that she will not be loved as much. She knows the routine.

It has to feel horrible knowing that you hurt the people you love (because you are ill) and they start to turn from you. Mental illness is already so lonely. Often times they hate themselves for their illnesses…having one more person hate them, does not help the situation at all.

As Daniela gets the season one Wonder Woman DVD I sent her, she will be going back to that time before she was ill. As she sits in front of the T.V. maybe it will take her somewhere else? Maybe she will feel a wave of being “normal” again; catching up on Wonder Woman before her cheer rehearsal.

I will never know.

I do know that I cannot believe she is turning 40.

I also have to admit, I wish I could have helped her have the life that she deserved; but I am happy enough that I can give her the love that she deserves, so she does not feel so alone.

Happy Birthday Daniela. I love you.

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Many people that know me, know that Puccini’s opera, Tosca, is my favorite opera of all time. I got a chance to see it last night at the Metropolitan Opera House last night, live, for the first time in my life.

It was breathtaking.

While I was getting my Master’s degree in Opera, I started to lose the love and passion for music. It took 2 years after to really start to come back to why I loved it, why I chose to take this difficult path. We go into this field for one reason and sometimes we are fed so much information, not always accurate, often conflicting and after awhile we are left with a bitter taste in our mouth.

My fiance had to deal with my loss of love for music and depressed state of mind for a long time. Bless him, serious!

Last night when I was watching the performance. For the first time in OH SO LONG, I remembered why I loved it so much. The music swept over me, deep into my soul. The first few chords were played in the orchestra and I was crying. The tenor started to sing and I was crying with his vulnerability. I was completely there. Tosca is my favorite opera and will always be. It reminds me why I love music. Puccini (the composer) was a genius.

We were lucky that we got to see such an all star cast. James Levine (conductor) was sick and so was Karita Mattila (she was supposed to sing Tosca) and originally I was so upset but the conductor Fabio Luisi did an amazing job and Patricia Racette showed us that Tosca was one firecracker! The staging really was not as bad as people say, I actually liked it. Am I now officially blacklisted in the opera community?

Bryn Terfel was Scarpia. ANYBODY that knows how Bryn Terfel performs knows that he would do an amazing job at that. Well, he did. He played a man that was definitely addicted to women/sex and there was no way that he was not going to conquer the body of Tosca. He was cold and yet sometimes soft -showing that he KNEW how to seduce a woman. It was pretty risky because in one of the acts, there were 3 prostitutes surrounding him. Yes, he was definitely in “character”. There was one scene in which one of the prostitutes was on his couch and she spread her legs open and he went in for the kill with his face. Yes. I KNOW. He stopped right before. Opera sometimes needs to be risque to wake up this generation of audiences. I can guarantee a lot of people in the audience did NOT expect to see THAT at the opera.

I was sitting next to an old man, that was in his 80′s FOR SURE and when that scene came up he laughed. I have to admit. That grossed me out a bit. You should have heard that laugh. ha ha. Well, he wasn’t always 80…

There was another singer that I had NEVER heard of that I will never forget, Jonas Kaufmann. He even had Jacob’s energy up (he is VERY picky). His voice was so beautiful that no matter how quiet he made his voice, you searched through the orchestra to find it and there it was. A beautiful piano note, batting it’s eyelashes at you. I am serious, it was exactly like that. He is a vulnerable performer(which is rare) and he knows how to use that beautiful voice of his. It was nice to see that fiery acting as well. I haven’t seen a guy let that kind of energy off since I saw Rolando Villazon sing. Hallelujah!

Patricia Racette did an amazing job as well. I really wanted to see Karita Mattila sing and I was upset about it but I was very impressed with Racette. She was a fiery Tosca and her voice had no difficulty being heard. I felt nervous for her because I think that Tosca is a hell of a role that comes with a lot of pressure. I am glad that I was there to see her first Tosca at the Met. Pretty cool. It definitely will not be her last.

If you haven’t been to the Metropolitan Opera House, you have to go. You can get $20.00 tickets, you sit pretty far up there but you can bring binoculars if you would like. Here is a picture of the opera house. The chandeliers hang down inside the opera house and when the performance starts it raises up to the opera heavens(well, to the ceiling of the opera house):

The old man that I was sitting next to was a real character. He hung his cane on the seat in front of him and when people came back from intermission he kept saying ” Watch out for my cane, watch out for my cane, watch out for my cane..” I thought, YES, OK. I get it, you like your cane. Then a heavier man went through the aisle of seats and the cane got stuck to his belly. OH, so that is why he says it all the time. Luckily, the priest that was sitting next to the heavier man, sent it back his way. I guess that requires another Hallelujah.

See, the opera is not that boring!!

Go and see an opera.

Look at what the opera is playing and then youtube the singers. See which singers you like and then you can go and see a performance and feel that electricity. Check out what the opera is about and let yourself be transported. I really do believe that you can tell when somebody has that “it” factor or not VERY easily, whether you have a musical ear or not. Come on, you can tell who sucks on American Idol, right? Opera singers are disgusted with me now. I am actually disgusted with myself. I am definitely going to be black-listed now.

If you have a chance to see this production of Tosca, GO! It made me remember why I love opera so much. The music will sweep over you and you will forget your worries for those 2 hours.

Tosca.

What an AMAZING opera. I really feel like I saw a historic production. How often do so many wonderful singers get together and light up the stage? Rarely ever.

I can still see and hear it right now.

It was an awakening for me.

Here is a NY Times review by ANTHONY TOMMASINI of the production that we saw:
Read the GREAT review

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