Tannhäuser

This afternoon Alex and I went to Tannhäuser at the Chicago Lyric Opera. Its a four and a half hour epic by Wagner. Its this blend of myth and Christianity, lots of talk about purity, restraint, sinning, and penance. Seemed like the message was- passion of any kind is a sin, only repentance and drudgery will save you from hell.

My mom use to take me to the opera when I was little, I vividly remember seeing Carmen when I was around 8. It was seeing those grand productions when I was growing up that got me interested in acting. I hadn't been to the opera since so it was very cool to see one as an adult and a full fledged performer. The Lyric is huge, beautiful, and we had great seats. Because it is so big(or maybe because it was an opera) the acting was very presentational with big gestures and trope expressions. The singing was, of course, incredible but the narrative didn't really go anywhere. The whole thing struck me more as spectacle rather than story.

It was great to spend some quality time with Alex, talk improv shop, and catch up during the two long intermissions. Over the past year we've gotten a lot closer, especially after the recent Chicago departures, and its been really wonderful. Alex is a kind, generous, inspiring guy and it was great to get some one-on-one time with him in such a unique(at least for us) atmosphere.