Das Rheingold!
There are two new dreams and a new found object.
On Thursday, I had the pleasure of going with the Kid Chimera to see the Wagner opera, Rheingold.
This is the kind of thing I've been sort of in suspended animation for. I've been in a funk for a long time and my cultural consumerism plummeted the longest time. Going to the opera was just what I needed. On the way, blessed with the spirit of beauty, I was taken in by the setting sun over the industrial park and railroad tracks near kinzie.
Breathtaking. I love industry, even if it's killing us. I think it will eventually, well, not save us, but liberate us. I think the next evolutionary leap for mankind will involve technology. I don't know if we'll all be cyborgs (if you think about it, many of us - those who rely on PDAs for their schedules, address books, etc - are already kind of cyborgs, in the truest sense of the word), but I think we'll all be inextricably tied to technology in a symbiotic relationship.
I should mention that I've drank a bloody mary since I started typing this.
I beat Jason to the Lyric Opera by about a half hour. There was a McDonald's across the street and though I resist the notion of the megapoly of McDonalds's, I was a little hungry. I've been conducting a continuing private campaign of vegetarianism, or at least conscious omnivorism, so I ordered a Filet-o-Fish. It should be noted that the actual beef content of a McDonald's hamburger is probably quite low, but I'm pretty sure they destroy a lot of our earth to herd their cows.
Anyway, I noticed that there seemed to be quite a few people who looked like they could have been from the orchestra pit or associated with the production in some way.
I had hoped, when I took those pictures, that I might be close enough to the stage and orchestra pit that I might be able to verify that those people actually were associated with the production, but Jason's free tickets (procured from his porn star/opera extra friend) were pretty crappy - as in: we were in the very last row on the main floor.
The guy in the middle picture above, the fuzzy one, was walking behind me as I entered the McDonald's. He was wearing a Pittsburgh Steelers down jacket, which looked very conspicuous juxtaposed against the huge diamond stud in his ear and well-coiffed hairstyle, which was a mature salt and pepper. I held the door for him and bid him in front of me. After we entered, he said, "cool hair!" He continued on in a semi-affected English-type accent, "And I suppose it's no coincidence that your hair matches your glasses?"
"No, it's not a coincidence."
"Well I think it's just great."
"Thank you."
After McDonald's, I waited outside the opera. We'd had some conversation about whether we were going to the Civic Opera House or the Lyric Opera House. I think I've concluded that the building is the Civic Opera Building, but that the opera hall itself is the Lyric Opera. I could be wrong.
As I waited for Jason, I noted the detailing on the entryway and, well, they just don't build 'em like this any more.
It's a shame, really. Mies Van Der Rohe had to go and ruin architectual ornamentation for the rest of us. And stupid Ayn Rand had to go and popularize it even further with her stupid fictional character Howard Roark.
Anyway, here's a pic of me and Jason at the opera.
I'm on the right.
The opera was pretty good in terms of set design, choreography and lighting. I did feel that the story dragged. I don't know if it was the translation or just the nature of the beast, but it seemed like the language was so straight-forward it left little to the imagination. I guess it was written for an audience with a limited education and attention span, and so keeping things short and to-the-point was necessary for Mr. Wagner.
The best part was in the beginning, with the Rheinmadens "swimming" behind a scrim using some bungee cords. It was quite beautiful.
On Thursday, I had the pleasure of going with the Kid Chimera to see the Wagner opera, Rheingold.
This is the kind of thing I've been sort of in suspended animation for. I've been in a funk for a long time and my cultural consumerism plummeted the longest time. Going to the opera was just what I needed. On the way, blessed with the spirit of beauty, I was taken in by the setting sun over the industrial park and railroad tracks near kinzie.
Breathtaking. I love industry, even if it's killing us. I think it will eventually, well, not save us, but liberate us. I think the next evolutionary leap for mankind will involve technology. I don't know if we'll all be cyborgs (if you think about it, many of us - those who rely on PDAs for their schedules, address books, etc - are already kind of cyborgs, in the truest sense of the word), but I think we'll all be inextricably tied to technology in a symbiotic relationship.
I should mention that I've drank a bloody mary since I started typing this.
I beat Jason to the Lyric Opera by about a half hour. There was a McDonald's across the street and though I resist the notion of the megapoly of McDonalds's, I was a little hungry. I've been conducting a continuing private campaign of vegetarianism, or at least conscious omnivorism, so I ordered a Filet-o-Fish. It should be noted that the actual beef content of a McDonald's hamburger is probably quite low, but I'm pretty sure they destroy a lot of our earth to herd their cows.
Anyway, I noticed that there seemed to be quite a few people who looked like they could have been from the orchestra pit or associated with the production in some way.
I had hoped, when I took those pictures, that I might be close enough to the stage and orchestra pit that I might be able to verify that those people actually were associated with the production, but Jason's free tickets (procured from his porn star/opera extra friend) were pretty crappy - as in: we were in the very last row on the main floor.
The guy in the middle picture above, the fuzzy one, was walking behind me as I entered the McDonald's. He was wearing a Pittsburgh Steelers down jacket, which looked very conspicuous juxtaposed against the huge diamond stud in his ear and well-coiffed hairstyle, which was a mature salt and pepper. I held the door for him and bid him in front of me. After we entered, he said, "cool hair!" He continued on in a semi-affected English-type accent, "And I suppose it's no coincidence that your hair matches your glasses?"
"No, it's not a coincidence."
"Well I think it's just great."
"Thank you."
After McDonald's, I waited outside the opera. We'd had some conversation about whether we were going to the Civic Opera House or the Lyric Opera House. I think I've concluded that the building is the Civic Opera Building, but that the opera hall itself is the Lyric Opera. I could be wrong.
As I waited for Jason, I noted the detailing on the entryway and, well, they just don't build 'em like this any more.
It's a shame, really. Mies Van Der Rohe had to go and ruin architectual ornamentation for the rest of us. And stupid Ayn Rand had to go and popularize it even further with her stupid fictional character Howard Roark.
Anyway, here's a pic of me and Jason at the opera.
I'm on the right.
The opera was pretty good in terms of set design, choreography and lighting. I did feel that the story dragged. I don't know if it was the translation or just the nature of the beast, but it seemed like the language was so straight-forward it left little to the imagination. I guess it was written for an audience with a limited education and attention span, and so keeping things short and to-the-point was necessary for Mr. Wagner.
The best part was in the beginning, with the Rheinmadens "swimming" behind a scrim using some bungee cords. It was quite beautiful.
posted by Brian at
1:41 PM
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