I have been getting a good dose of the arts lately – orchestra concert last week, Phantom of the Opera this week, and plans to enjoy Seattle’s art walk/gallery night next week. I do love living in the city…
The orchestra concert was fantastic. Shane has been developing a taste for classical music, being the sophisticated man that he is, so when our friend La Verne informed us that she would be playing with Orchestra Seattle downtown one evening, we jumped at the chance to attend. The “headliner” was a Chinese violinist who totally blew me away. In an instant, he could go from touching the strings with such perfect, light gentleness to playing them with a force that was almost violent with power and emotion. I enjoyed the music so much that I was nearly inspired to go home and pull out the flute I’ve neglected for the last 12 years. But I thought about it some more and chose not to attempt to relive my junior high band days – those were rather dark times for me… I’ll leave the music-making to the people with talent.
Last night was “Phantom” night. Emily and I headed over the Paramount for some good musical drama while our husbands headed over to Safeco for a baseball game. And I have to say, those guys missed out. What a show! The staging was absolutely incredible. Falling chandeliers; extravagant costumes; a candle-lit, smoke-filled scene to replicate the Phantom’s eerie underworld… This was a top-notch production, no holds barred. And I was so impressed by the caliber of the singing. The woman who starred as Christine Daae hit notes that made my ears ring (in a good way). The only drawback was that the sung dialogue was a bit hard to decipher at times, but the emotions behind each scene were so evident that it was easy enough to follow the plot. I do say, I should try to make it to the theatre more often. Rather.
And next week is gallery night, which should round out the art appreciation kick that I’m on. Good, good stuff happening in Seattle these days.