No, I am not making reference to the often heard cliche of Hannah Montana. I am literally referring to the other side of me that I feel that most people don't know. Most people think of me as this adventurous, outdoor, sporty type person, but while I do love to do these type of things, I also have another love.
I sometimes think I was born in the wrong generation. I think I would have fit in well in the early 1900 when people dressed up to go out. When people wore white gloves and attended the theater. I love going to the theater and NO, I am not talking the movie theater. I am referring to the theater of other art forms. Last week I spend time seeing 6 plays at the Shakespeare theater in Cedar City and 2 plays at the Tuacahn Ampitheater in St. George. This week however, I have been up in Logan for the Opera Festival and I have seen productions of Carmen, Cavalleria Rusticana and Pagliacci (all sung in Italian with English subtitles), Mikado and Camelot.
It is thanks to my Aunt Ruth that I get to do this each year (I'm going on 9 or so years...) and she always gets the best seats; 4th row center. I turned around during the second intermission of Carmen yesterday and realized that kind of crowd I was in. There was a sea of white heads surrounding me. Out of the hundreds of those in attendance, I very well could have been the youngest.
This didn't bother me. I actually kind of revel in it. Then I noticed that 5 rows directly behind me sat Dieter F. Uchtdorf. It is through attending the Opera over the years that I realized how much the apostles also love the theater. While sitting in this same theater over the years, I have also seen Elder Maxwell, Elder Nelson and Elder Perry in attendance. While at a different theater, I also ran into Elder Oaks. Now I can add President Uchtdorf to that list.
Another performance we attended while here was a show dedicated to the music of Rogers and Hammerstein. I grew up watching musicals and am very familiar with the music of The Sound of Music, The King and I, South Pacific, Oklahoma, Carousel etc. I once again had that feeling that I was born in the wrong generation when toward the end of the program, the conductor turned and had the audience join in singing with the artists. Yes, I knew the words and I joined the sea of white heads in singing along to the wonderful music of Rogers and Hammerstein.
So while many of you think that outdoors and adventures is the only thing I am about... think again. There are a lot of sides to me that most don't seem to know.
*sigh* I wish I could sing in Italian with English subtitles...
ReplyDeleteThat is why it was an instant bond with you. So many commonalities. I saw the shows @ the Tuacahn and loved them. Love musicals. So excited to go see "Joseph & the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat" at the Scera soon. I always say I should have been around during the Motown glory days. I could have been one of the Supremes - R E S P E C T. Sigh...
ReplyDeleteAmen!!! What could we do to bring those great days back???? We recently went and saw Hello Dolly at the Hale Center up in West Valley and I had a really hard time not singing along. I'm jealous that you got to hear The Mikado. That is my all time favorite opera.
ReplyDeleteHa! Just adding to our list of things.....while the opera is not quite my thing, I LOVE classical music live, so I go up to the Deer Valley Festival every year to hear the Utah Symphony play in the great outdoors....and I have a tradition of going to the Shakespearean Festival annually, along with the usual schmattering of other concerts and performances here and there.
ReplyDeleteAnd yes, in reply to NZ, I have thought about going back......if you are going and still have the invitation open, we should talk some SERIOUS business about a trip......I would absolutely revel in it!
It's funny that you say that's the "other side" of you to most people, b/c that's the ONLY side of you to me! Whenever I hear about you doing outdoorsy things that always makes me think, "huh..." b/c I think of you as my theater-going, musical-loving pal. I wish I was there to see you and go to the opera again with you! Love you!
ReplyDeletehey jessie, i love reading about all of your adventures. sorry you missed the reunion but it was cool i saw you at the race (well, atleast the backside of you at least :) i liked trying a little bit of your world. anyway, thanks for your comments about photography. they mean so much. i'm trying really hard to learn this and i need all the confidence boosters i can get, so thanks! and you should definitely get into it, then you could take the classes and teach me a thing or two. you should talk to cody about what camera he got. it is still a point and shoot but you can still change all the settings like you would on a slr. it would be much more convenient to haul around. i want both now :)
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