taxi

Taxi

April 2008

My iTunes: Nacqui all' affanno from Rossini's La Cenerentola performed by Vivica Genaux

So after looking through the recent posts of a few other bloggers who are doing Project: Yellow, I started thinking about what I subconsciously associate with the color yellow. Have you ever seen the children's flashcards that teach them colors or numbers by showing them something familiar? Yellow would be something like a banana or a taxi. I didn't have any bananas lying around, but I did find this picture of a taxi.

I snapped this the last time I was in New York City. I had been zooming in to take a picture of something farther away, and this taxi drove by. I just pointed and clicked and hoped something came out. This is what I got -- lucky me!

I'm planning to take my grandmother down to Washington D.C. to see Washington Concert Opera's production of Rossini's Bianca e Falliero. My favorite opera singer (who also happens to be my voice teacher) is singing the role of Costanza, and I'm really excited to hear her perform. I've been to her jazz performances before, but opera is her true specialty. The cast also includes Vivica Genaux, who sings this recording I'm listening to on iTunes, and Daniel Mobbs, who played Mercutio in the production of Romeo et Juliette that I was just in. I'll bring my camera with me to D.C. and see if I can find some yellow things to catch my eye. (I might follow Anna's example and put up multiple pictures tomorrow; one for project yellow, and one of my and my teacher at the opera!)

10 days until surgery.

cityscape

Cityscape

March 2008

My iTunes: Je Veux Vivre from Gounod's Romeo et Juliette

I'm getting an early post in today, just to be sure it's up! We have rehearsal tonight starting at 6:00, so it'll be a full day!

This is a shot I took just before going into New York City through the Lincoln Tunnel a few months ago. I liked messing around with it in Photoshop and just used it in a presentation I put together for a group here on campus. It reminds me of Heroes, the TV show.

busy street

Busy Street
November 2007

My iTunes: It's Beginning to Look Like Christmas by Bing Crosby

Now that Thanksgiving is over, it's official -- the Christmas season has begun. (Someone tell Walmart that Christmas decorations before Halloween is a little too early.) I can listen to Christmas music and start decorating with impunity. This is also the beginning of the busiest season in New York City. This is one of the shots I took a couple weeks ago when I went up there -- if you think the streets are busy then, just see what they look like now! One of my friends went up to New York to see the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. I can't wait to hear all her stories!

signs

Signs
November 2007

My iTunes: Giovinetti Che Fatte All'Amore from Mozart's Don Giovanni

Here's another shot of the signs from the vendor in New York. Only now you're not dictated to see only black, white, and red = )

old fashioned lights

Old Fashioned Lights
October 2007

My iTunes: Don Giovanni by Mozart

As you have probably guessed if you've spent any time reading this blog, I really enjoy shows. I like the whole feel of them, especially the old-time theaters. They just seem classy, and not so trashy as newer places. I liked these old lights, which were on the outside of the theater where I saw Hairspray this weekend. Last night, the Washington National Opera opened Don Giovanni. It is my goal to go to an opera there sometime in the next year. My voice teacher is in the production this year, so I thought of her last night as they were performing, so now I'm looking at my pictures of theaters and listening to my recording of Don Giovanni. Perhaps I'll get to see it one day. And really, any chance I have to see my teacher perform, I will take if at all possible! She is completely amazing and has such a beautiful voice. She is very gifted, and I am very blessed to have her!

broadway

Broadway
October 2007

My iTunes: Good Morning Baltimore

I still think that it's really cool that I've been to Broadway -- it's one of those things that you always hear about, and even though I've spent most of my life living 3-4 hours away from New York, I'd never been until this year. It's a great place!

crosswalk

Crosswalk
October 2007

My iTunes: You Can't Stop the Beat from Hairspray

I took this shot in New York when I was on the third floor of the M&M's building. With my digital photography class, I've really enjoyed playing around with the images and doing fun things with them. I thought it would be neat to make this one look like a poster. What do you think?

hairspray

Hairspray
October 2007

My iTunes: Welcome to the 60's from Hairspray

As I mentioned in yesterday's post, I saw the Broadway show Hairspray in New York on Saturday. The Phantom of the Opera will always be first in my heart as a Broadway show, but Hairspray is definitely up there in a list of my favorites! The music is really upbeat and fun -- every time I hear it I just want to dance and sing along. And since I'm from the Baltimore area (and my family actually all lived in Baltimore during the 60's, when the show is set), it's really fun to hear music about my hometown.

The show isn't only good music, though. It is staged around a very poignant social commentary on segregation and racial stereotyping, which, quite sadly, are still present in America. I really hope that as people watch the show, it causes them to think about their own stereotypes and confront the relevant societal issues rather than just saying to themselves, "Oh, that is a thing of the past -- it happened in the 1960's, but not today!"

One of my favorite parts about the show happened during the end of the song "You're Timeless to Me," which is sung by the two actors (yes, both male -- the show is written to have men playing Tracey Turnblad's father and mother, to great comic effect I must say) who play Mr. and Mrs. Turnblad. Typically the song closes with the two singing "You're timeless to me!", but the actors had gotten into it so much that the man playing the father couldn't stop laughing, so the two had to ad lib and repeat the ending of the song all over again. It was fantastic and the audience just loved it!

So, if you ever have the opportunity, go see Hairspray or another Broadway show -- they're fantastic!

bright lights, big city

Bright Lights, Big City
October 2007

My iTunes: Good Morning Baltimore from Hairspray

Perhaps it's shameful that someone from the Baltimore Metropolitan area had never heard any of the music from the musical Hairspray until yesterday, but let me tell you: it was one amazing show! The music was phenomenal, the set was fantastic, and the story line was really unique. The cast did such an excellent performance yesterday! I enjoyed this show so much more than the last one I went to see (Rent). I definitely recommend watching it!

More on the trip to NYC and Hairspray tomorrow...

at your service

At Your Service
October 2007

My iTunes: What'll I Do by Allison Kraus

New York at night is a really neat place to take pictures. "Bright lights, big city." The lights are so diverting with their bright colors. I like how this picture demonstrates how photography really is an art because the photographer dictates what you view. By utilizing framing techniques and then playing with the picture on the computer, your focus is entirely shifted from the backdrop to the middle (or fore) ground.

Imagine yourself, New York City, and a limo at your service...