Thinking about packing for Denmark and there is 3 days to go!

I was going to listen to live opera this evening Giuseppe Verdi : Forza Del Destino

Guardian Unlimited | Arts reviews | La Forza del Destino: "The cheers on opening night showed that some opera-goers, at least, were delighted to find the art of coarse opera alive and well in this production of La Forza del Destino. It originated at La Scala, Milan, in 1999, and was acquired by the Royal Opera as part of a package to bring Riccardo Muti back to the house after 20 years' absence. Muti agreed to appear at the ROH only if he could conduct this production."


snip
This is the kind of evening that gives Italian opera a bad name, with dramatically implausible performers shouting at the tops of their voices while acting as if trying to get the attention of an audience somewhere in the next county.

I feel better now - I wondered if I was losing my powers of concentration -
I lost interest in it after about 30 minutes and went to ITV and the X factor ITV - Homepage
Google News Search: X factor

The competition is hotting up in the X factor, with Cassie, Steve, Rowetta and G4 all crowding in behind Tabby as the punters fancies. ... THE X FACTOR NEXT ELIMINATION BETTING ODDS

17:00 This was great I put BBC Radio 3 on as I got up from my afternoon nap and took a bath Jazz Record Requests 6 November 2004 With Geoffrey Smith.

17:55 Opera On 3 Verdi's La Forza del Destino Act One and Two Leonora's planned elopement with her lover Don Alvaro goes horribly wrong when her father is shot trying to prevent it. The dying man curses his daughter, and this begins a disastrous sequence of events for everyone. The Force of Destiny, one of Verdi's most complex and tuneful operas, returns in a production new to the Royal Opera House for the first time in nearly 30 years. Antonio Pappano conducts, and Salvatore Licitra makes his house debut in one of the most difficult tenor roles in the repertoire. Presented by Stephanie Hughes. Continues at 7.45pm. Verdi: La forza del destino (Acts 1 and 2) Don Alvaro ...... Salvatore Licitra (tenor) Leonora ...... Violeta Urmana (soprano) Don Carlo di Vargas ...... Ambrogio Maestri (baritone) Padre Guardiano ...... Ferruccio Furlanetto (bass) Preziosilla ...... Marie-Ange Todorovitch (mezzo-soprano) Fra Melitone ......Roberto de Candia (baritone) Marchese di Calatrava ...... Brindley Sherratt (bass) Mastro Trabuco ...... Peter Bronder (tenor) Curra ...... Liora Grodnikaite (mezzo-soprano) Alcalde ...... Jonathan May (bass) Un medico ...... Thomas Barnard (bass) Royal Opera Chorus (Chorus Director Renato Balsadonna) Orchestra of the Royal Opera House (Concert Master Vasko Vassilev) Antonio Pappano (conductor) Supposedly live but felt DEAD ! Whilst listening I had planned to write more for my novel POV and a big scene and a new point of view are falling into place but still in my head not written down.... All the links in the Viking blog are part of this research process and include a lot of unblogged stuff too. my serious general blog BLOOG 2 is going well too - I intend to keep GENEALOGE more limited in subject to family history and genealogy.