Conversations with Calliope- Mozart on the Beach

(Portuguese Street Tile)

JOE: Good morning Calliope.
CALLIOPE: Good morning Joe. What news today?
JOE: I continued my creative restoration program yesterday.
CALLIOPE: How?
JOE: Carol and I spent the afternoon at her cousin's cottage on Canisus Lake, one of the New York State Finger Lakes.
CALLIOPE: And you relaxed all day?
JOE: For the most part. However the afternoon was punctuated by a musical surprise.
CALLIOPE: Tell me.
JOE: Zack, a thirteen year old grandson of one of Carol's cousin's friends, began talking about his interest in opera. It turned out to be more than an interest.
CALLIOPE: How so.
JOE: He had amassed quite a bit of knowledge about opera, favored Mozart, particularly La Nozza de Figaro and Die Zauberflaut. In mid discussion he broke into song favoring us with several arias from each of his favorite operas.
JOE: How a mature baritone voice could emanate from a thirteen year old boy astounded me.
CALLIOPE: I wish I had been there.
JOE: Some of your more musically inclined sister muses would have been impressed.
CALLIOPE: Perhaps one of them had a hand in drawing him to opera.
JOE: Perhaps. In any case it was a pleasant surprise, bordering on a peak experience.

Why Do Birds and People Sing?

I was sitting on the porch a few minutes ago writing my morning pages in my journal and thinking about what to write here this morning. I heard a robin singing its intricate song and thought of the blue jays and cardinals I had heard earlier this morning. I got to wondering why birds sing. There are a variety of practical purposes. They greet each other, define territory, attract mates and warn of danger. But do birds also sing for the fun of it? Do otters slide and dolphins lead ships for fun also? I don't think anyone has discovered a way to ask them yet. But I think they might just like to play sometimes. I also thought of the Metropolitan Opera which I attended last week. There are much simpler ways to communicate information than song. Arias often do not contain very many if any words. My favorite is the one sung by the Queen of the Night in The Magic Flute and also hummed by my friend Joe as he walked down the street last week. Song seems a good way to communicate feelings and sometimes is just for fun.

(Metropolitan Opera House, Curtain-Adventure of the Seas)

Going to the Opera

When I was a child, my parents dragged me to an opera outdoors on the lawn, "Opera Under the Stars." I don't remember which opera it was but in protest I faced the other way so I would at least not have to look at. Saturday I went willingly. I knew one of the cast members in the New York Metropolitan Opera production of Il Barbiere di Siviglia. It was simulcast live from the Met to hundreds of theaters around the world. Not only did I tolerate it, I thoroughly enjoyed it, finding the singing wonderful, the plot line easy to follow and the antics funny in addition to watching Michael perform. When I was a child I never thought I would live through an opera voluntarily. I have come to enjoy a few operas, especially The Magic Flute and Carmen. Now I can add another one. I have been thinking that I might want to explore other operas as well. It is amazing to me that my childhood aversion could turn into and interest. I don't know whether it will ever become a passion as it does for some people. But the process of change is always interesting.