years ago i went to a few san francisco opera “capture the young people” events at nightclubs so i’m on their digital mailing list. they’re streaming something for 1 day today. i think they recorded it live in 2009? and now they’re making it available to stream from their site for 1 day? i was sorta hoping it was a livestream like the met (which i literally do not know the full name of or where it is. new york? metropolitian? something? ballet? opera? lol) used to advertise in movie theaters, but it’s definitely not a “livestream”
i don’t know anything about puccini. i don’t know any of these operas or what their stories are. i’m just kinda curious lol. edited to add: um, it’s a lot more intense than i thought.
here is what the email newsletter looked like:
HOME | CONTACT US | VIEW IN BROWSER
Streaming online for the first time since its 2009 presentation on our stage, Il Trittico brings together three distinct operas — and the majesty of Giacomo Puccini’s lyricism — to a screen near you this weekend. Conductor Patrick Summers leads an all-star cast including soprano Patricia Racette , contralto Ewa Podleś , tenor Brandon Jovanovich , and baritone Paolo Gavanelli .
Tune in today starting at 10am Pacific to witness Giacomo Puccini’s complete work as the composer meant it to be seen. Grab a snack and find a comfortable spot because this trio of 20th-century verismo masterpieces will only be available until 11:59pm tomorrow.
watch log of opera 1
soooooooooooooooooooooo i put it on and i’m not reeeeeally paying attn only sorta
ok there’s two people. i’m like surprised at how “modern” sorta their costumes are? like not like a corset gown getup. i like her dress.
there’s two people who appear to be an old married couple? they’re talking about are we going to cast off the barge? are they on a ship? they’re talking about how the men are really tired and some wine. they’re singing about wine now. they’re still singing about wine. boy has given up wine. girl is still singing about how wine will make the men stronger. boy is like “kiss me my love” and girl’s like “nah” and now a bunch of other dudes are coming out from a hole in the stage. i guess the stage is the deck of a ship?
i sorta looked away for a second
everybody is drinking wine. there is a lot of wine. wine bottles everywhere and glasses and everybody drinking. there are a bunch of dudes and one lady
now they are all taking turns dancing with the lady, they’re all variously making fun of each other for being really fucking terrible at dancing. ooh now she’s dancing with some hottie.
OH SHIT SHE LET HER HAIR DOWN WHEN SHE STARTED DANCING WITH HIM OHHHHHHHH OOOOOO LONGING LOOKS
AHAHAHAHA THE BOSS CAME UPSTAIRS they split apart guiltily OOOOOOOOOOOOO
i looked away for a second again
so like now there’s another couple who look really raggedy and tired. i guess they’re friends visiting the boat?
girl 2 and girl 1 are having a heart to heart. “better to rule in a hovel than serve in a palace/ better to feed on a beef heart than to eat your heart out for love” is a BIG MOOD
ok the two ladies left. now it’s two dudes. “our lives are meaningless. all our joys end in grief” is ANOTHER BIG MOOD. today i am learning that opera is a bunch of BIG MOODS strung together. i sorta knew that from the extremely little opera i’ve seen? it’s extremely dramatic because it’s literally drama i guess? lol? “everything is stolen from us. our days begin in darkness. you’re right: it’s better not to think.” hahahahahahahhhhahha it’s my livejournal this is awesome. now dude stopped singing to (mime?) taking a long drag on a cigarette and the audience is clapping. “follow my example,” his friend says. “get drunk!”
lol ok now there’s like a scene transition, this other couple is leaving. or just talking about leaving. “shall we go as well? i’m damn tired.” “when will we be able to buy a cottage? there we could rest” lol. “you’re obsessed with the countryside!” the first lady says cheekily while… taking an actual drag on her cigarette? like i can see a little puff of white smoke come out of her mouth? surely it’s not an actual cigarette? like maybe it’s like an herbal thing like the cigarette smoking man in the x-files? “there we’ll wait for death, the cure of all cures” DAMN OKAY
ok they left and now it’s just the main character lady. “my dream is quiiiiteee diffferennntttt!!!” main character lady says. “i was born on the outskirts of town, and only the air of paris exhilirates me” but like wooOoOoOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO. oh wait the other couple isn’t gone yet so she’s sorta talking to them i guess. “if only Michele would only give up this life, this worn-out life of wandering!” belleville. oh hottie other boy is named luigi and also from there. “we have it in our blood” “we can’t break loose” ok so there’s like a “we love the countryside” trope here. “we can’t live on the water. we need to walk on the sidewalk” this is like the opposite of part of your world from the little mermaid, except exactly the same. “there you have a home, friends, parties, intimacy” now they’re talking about like going to work and carriages and bustling sundays and couples strolling in the bois du boulongue, which i don’t know what that is. now she is singing really high about “this restlessness, this strange nostalgia!” which i can totally relate to lol. now they’re singing together “everyone who leaves belleville longs to go back, never to leave again” it’s like kinda pretty lol. “there a thousand voices call out … the eternal allure of paris!” lol
ok the other couple is leaving (after the “i dream of a little house with a garden. just four walls, with two pine trees for shade. the old man stretched out under the sun, and the cat at our feet. there we’ll wait for death, the cure for all our cares.” GODDAMN AGAIN lol
ooooooo now it’s just lady 1 and the hottie luigi from the same hometown on the stage. she finishes drinking from a metal camping cup with a flourish and puts it on the glass and then lays down oooOooo i think they’re gonna fuck you guys? ooooOOOO sexyyyYYYY timmMMMeesss… he’s literally fondling her boob right now. ok she got up cuz “he” could come out at any second! “why do you increase my torment?” HAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHHAHAAH oh snap “i melt when i think of your kisses last night” HOW TORRID! OH THE SCANDAL! rofl ok now they’re talking about like “i’d rather die than see you bound toh im” and “i wish we could run away forever in love” lol
HAHA OLD MAN CAME BACK. ok he’s the boss of the ship. luigi is telling him “boss i want to say two things. thank you for letting me come this far, now drop me off at rouen” “rouen? are you crazy? there’s no work there” “fine i’ll stay on with you” lady is super pissed off cuz she just asked luigi “promise me you’ll never leave me” and then he went and told her husband and his boss “i wanna leave lol” at least i think that’s what she’s super mad about? ok boss is leaving. “where are you going?” “to tend to the lanterns” hey! i spent a lot of time turning the lanterns on and off when i played sea of thieves the other day lol.
okay confirmed that’s what she’s mad about. she’s standing in classic “i’m really fucking pissed at you” pose with her back turned to him and her arms crossed and said “why did you ask to be let off at Rouen?” “i can’t bear to share you with him!” “you’re right. ti’s torture. i feel even more than you it’s torture! you’re right, it’s agony, but when you hold me, it’s all worth it!” this is sooOOO dramatic. OH MY GOD HE RESPONDED “it’s like stealing something from life!” lol "we steal our joys between ecstasy and fear… " “in an anxious embrace” but he’s like kneeling and like are they gonna perform oral sex on stage? ok they didn’t but like that’s where it looked like it was going for a second lol. “will you come back?” “in an hour.” “i’ll leave the gangplank down, just like i did last night” hahahahahaa “do you have rope shoes?” what does that mean? shoes made of rope so they’re quiet? now they’re talking about using the same signals. what is going to happen to them? are they gonna get found out and like duel the boss to the death? because like obviously they are not going to be allowed to retire happily to the countryside, i kinda feel like everybody’s gonna die, maybe on a shipwreck? dang opera is sexy lol
“i wouldn’t hesistate to use my knife and give you a ruby made of blood!” and then an incredibly dramatic kiss. he leaves. but he turns back! oh another kiss, nicer this time. ok he’s exiting stage left and the horns are like “bummmm.”
lady is alone on stage. boss came back. he has a cute lantern. two lanterns. he’s putting them out. are you going to bed? no not yet. now they’re talking about luigi. “two men are enough – there’s not much to do” “you could have fired tinca. he’s awlays drunk” lol but they’re all always drunk?. oh… “he drinks to drown his sorrows. his wife is a whore! he drinks to keep from killing her!” angry music, throws gloves down on the top of the stairs. yikes. she changes the subject “all this talk bores me” she says. “why do you love me anymore?” he said and the music turned plaintive. “you’re wrong – i do love you. you’re a good, honest man. now le’ts go to bed” “you won’t sleep” you know why!" “the night sare cool now…” now i bet he’s gonna beg her to sleep with him… oh wait no this took a turn “last year there were three of us. our baby’s cradle”–“don’t talk about it!”–“you stretched out your hand and rocked his cradle, gently, slowly (all on the same note) and fell asleep in my arms.” “i beg you michele, don’t talk about it!” damn this got sad. =(((((((((((((((((((( what happened to their baby? =((((((((((((((((((((((((((
so like is that a trope in opera? there’s like one lady and the olderr man husband boss is a bass, and the younger hot man is a tenor or something? “my hair is grey” “stop, michele!” “it’s an insult to your youth” ok? “be stil, michele. i’m tired. come to bed.” “but you can’t sleep! you know that you won’t sleep!” i think he’s abbout to accuse her of being a whore! oh, no, it’s just “i don’t know. but i know that you haven’t slept in a long time”
maybe she’s not using her CPAP machine
ok now he’s begging her to “stay here beside me!” and wooing her. i dunno man forcing her to process trauma about losing a baby when she clearly doesn’t want to cuz she keeps singing at you begging you to please stop is not gonna like make it easier to get her to sleep with you again lol? “come back! be mine again!” etc. “stay here beside me! it’s a beautiful night!” triumphant trumpets and strings. “we’ve grown older. i’m not the same … you’ve changed to” she says. “you odn’t trust me. what are you tinking of?” you’re kinda incriminating yerself here lol. he keeps just answering “i don’t know” lol. ok now she exits down the stairs in the middle of the stage. just boss dude now.
HAHAHAHAHAA the first thing he says is “SLUT!!!” and puts his face in his hands. lol! yeah well fuck you too you stupid bass! nobody wants you! you’re old news! let’s all go fuck luigi! oh he can hear his wife and luigi singing to each other off the stage. now he’s rly mad. i think they’re all gonna die lol. he still hasn’t said anything at all this whole time besides yelling “SLUT!!!” lol, he’s just moping around on stage. oh he’s getting ready to say something. “nothing but silence. she hasn’t undressed, she hasn’t gon to sleep.” now he’s listing his men trying to figure out who took her away from me. he listed the 3 other men on the ship with luigi at the end .he just said “COME AT ME” without the bro but like obviously the bro is there. “join our yokes together until we find peace in death!” horns of finality. clapping. dramagic pause to wait while clapping. gathering his hat and coat. walking to exit stage left? nope just sitting and lighting a match for his pipe. OH SHIT IT’S LUIGI COMING BACK FROM STAGE LEFT! “i’ve cuaght you! who are you looking for?”
OH SHIT ok luigi took out he knife, boss michele got it, he yelled “admit it you love her!” luigi yells this several times and then MICHELE KILLT HIM DEAD OH WOW THAT HAPPENED FAST??? HE CUT HIS THROAT OMG
oh hello lady coming up the stairs
is he gonna kill ehr and then kill himself? he’s literally standing ther ehiding luigi’s corpse from her rofl. like he’s standing with her back to her, and holding luigi partially upright in front of him. she’s saying i’m sorry.
"you once told me… we all have a cloak… that conceals something… sometimes a joy
“see what’s under my cloak! LOOK!” he says with uglyface and PULLS BACK HIS CLOAK AND SHOVES LUIGI’S DEAD BODY TO THE GROUND! SHE SCREAMS! HE PUSHES HER ONTO HIM! THE CURTAIN FALLS!
i’m so confused. well i guess i’m not confused, it’s just that it all happeend SUPER fast
ok is it over? now there’s a different couple that came on stage and they’re bowing? who were they? now the other couple that tried inviting them out to dinner are bowing. now luigi alone and ppl are cheering. now the lady alone and ppl are really cheering. she did a really pretty curtsey! now old boss man and everybody is cheering a lot! he’s gesturing toward the conductor now i think. now they’re all holding hands and doing a big bow. i am really really overwhelmed that everybody is smiling so sweetly. this is super jarring. “look judy we’re okay! it was just pretend!” hahaha
50 minutes.
well i paid a lot more attention than i thought i was gonna lol. i’m gonna raid ZG now. guess i’ll watch the other 2 operas later. lol