Gratitude - Day 43

I am overwhelmed with gratitude for having a husband with a tremendous, outrageous, wicked and always surprising sense of humor. (I had to wrestle this wig off his head for my entrance in the Act 1 Finale!)

He actually pulls it off quite well!

I wish each of you the most wonderful finish to 2007 - be safe, but celebrate in grand style!!

Gratitude - Day 42

I'm grateful for my first bonafide, authentic, far-off-the-Ramblas tapas meal. A local friend recommended this place, and I lost track after roughly 20 dishes of assorted meats, salads, and various sundry creations split between the table of 9. We sampled everything, savoring each different flavor and variety of vegetable and sausage, and did not leave the table hungry. It is quite possible, however, that after all the plates were cleared, my favorite remained the simple pa amb tomàquet, prepared by the diner, himself: fresh bread rubbed with garlic and fresh tomato, sprinke with salt and drizzle with olive oil. Perfection.

The meal was the perfect finish to an incredibly delightful evening in the theater: Joan Font (creator of the Comediants, and director of our "Cenerentola" at the Liceu) invited us to his showing of "Tren de somnis" in the Teatre Nacional de Cataluyna. It was truly a special creation, centering around the old silent movies of, primarily, Buster Keaton, with modern score and modern spin. What a discovery to see those old silent films brought to light again. The main topic of discussion at dinner was how MUCH can be done with so LITTLE money and so little 'tools' - the imagination and creativity of a Keaton puts to shame most modern filmmakers who have the entire technological world at their fingertips, but with sadly little creativity.

Where is the age of enlightenment when we need it?

Gratitude - Day 41

I'm grateful I get to see Carlos Chausson again! We met nearly 6 years ago during my very first Cenerentola in Europe (Madrid in June of '01, actually!), and immediately, he befriended this shy, out of place, homesick singer. We later shared the stage in Paris for a challenging, but ultimately beautiful "Barbiere", and my respect and adoration of him was cemented eternally! What a generous, gifted, talented performer and an even kinder, funnier, sweeter human being! BRAVO, amico mio!

I snapped this photo of Carlos before his performance of "Cenerentola" at the Liceu.

Gratitude - Day 40

I'm grateful for being in a city where it's OK to be a tourist. One of the things I enjoy about spending weeks at a time in foreign cities is that eventually you start to feel a bit like a local, as I tend to detest being made to feel like a 'lowly' tourist - however, here in Barcelona, it all seems to be woven into the city's fabric, so on my overtly 'touristy' days, I still feel as though I fit in.

Gratitude - Day 39

So, as I mentioned, I'm finally catching up: I admit I fell a few days behind in posting because of some 'minor' events such as opening night and Christmas - not in actually taking the photos each day, but in physically getting them up on the blog. I'm back in step now, and can say that after a wonderful, memorable Christmas, full of great Spanish wine, food, friends, laughter and family, a great card game was the perfect finish - and I am indeed grateful for that! We started around 1:30 am this morning, and finished at ... well, in true Barcelonian style....4:27 am. When in Rome, right?

Back in the 'old days' of the Houston Opera Studio, a ferocious game of Spades was always waiting to be played during lunch or dinner breaks, between acts, and often after a show with a good stash of beer on hand - we fellow singers played a mean game of cards, and it seemed to be around the card table that deep friendships were forged. It's been a few years since I've had that particular competitive itch of mine scratched, but when Larry Brownlee (a mean game player and happily visiting us from Hamburg for the big day) pulled out that deck of cards, it was a challenge I could not resist. It really was the perfect finish to a wonderful day.

Here, my younger brother Brian makes a great partner - including bidding one daring hand of "nil" with a solitary King of Spades. We actually made the bid!

Gratitude - Day 38

I'm grateful for new traditions. In this case, being in Barcelona, the old and presumably ensconced Catalan tradition is not to have a Christmas Tree, but instead to have a "Tió", which is an adorable, smiling, innocent little log, propped up on two sticks (his legs), and a little red cap. The eager children sing a song around this adorable, unassuming little creation asking it to, well, without knowing how to phrase it delicately, here is one of the various versions of the song:

"Caga tió,
d'avellanes i torró;
tant si cagues com si no
et donaré un cop de bastó.
Caga tió!!!"

I'm not sure I could translate it perfectly, but essentially the local, eager children ask it to 'caga' out their gifts, and if Tió doesn't, they'll keep hitting him with their sticks until he does. I guarantee this wouldn't fly in the States, but somehow, it seems perfectly cheery and downright "Christmas-y" here in Beautiful Barcelona!

With his ever watchful eye, our Tió served as a type of Mascot for our Christmas Festivities, and it seems a great time was had by all. I can say without reservation that it was a definite improvement over last year's solitary event in Paris, so the addition of many friends visiting from different regions of the States, of my younger brother, and of my husband were all the gifts I could ask for - even if they didn't come from our resident Tió!

I've gotten a bit behind on my daily postings, but catching up here, I hope you'll accept my belated wish for a very Peaceful and Joyous Holiday for each of you - we can presumably all use plenty of these sentiments these days!

Bon Nadal!

Gratitude - Day 37

I'm grateful for finished projects. We sprinted to find the final key of this 1000 member puzzle just in time to make room for the impending feast the following afternoon. The myriad pieces transformed themselves into the lush and slightly demented "Garden of Earthly Delights" by the Dutch painter, Bosch. In case you'd ever like an intimate, detailed, near-tedious way to study the countless and occasionally shocking 'happenings' in this scene, I can recommend spending many hours piecing it together, one surprising piece at a time!

(The nice thing is that it was the perfect combination of distraction and relaxation leading up to the opening - I was in truth more grateful for that aspect of it than just in finishing it!)

(posted 12/26 for 12/24)

Gratitude - Day 36

I'm grateful for the perfect dinner celebration after our opening night. "Attic" is a lovely restaurant (the only one on the Ramblas which serves really good food) who took care of our big (and loud!) group perfectly: the tapas and wine were both flowing, and the laughter was non-stop. This is the chandelier hanging in the entry way, made ingeniously out of hanging cutlery. (I could also mention that I'm grateful for creative recycling!)