Opera Musings

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[operamusings]

As promised, I am doing another holiday give away this year! (and recycling an old GIF because time, or rather, lack thereof). Don’t worry I ship internationally! Also, I want to add a 6th gift but I don’t know what people would want. If you have suggestions, let me know!

RULES 

You must be following me.

1 reblog per day. Likes won’t be counted. Each reblog counts as an entry.

You must reblog before 9pm EST on December 11th. I will pick 6 winners, and each person wins 1 prize. 1st winner picks first prize, 2nd winner picks second prize from what’s left, etc. 

I will ship internationally!

If the winners do not reply within 24 hours, someone else will be contacted.

WINNER WILL RECEIVE

$20 gift certificate for the Met Opera

Joyce DiDonato’s In War & Peace

$20 gift certificate for Spotify Premium

Jonas Kaufmann’s La Dolce Vita

Opera Mug

Good luck!!

[operamusings]

As promised, I am doing another holiday give away this year! (and recycling an old GIF because time, or rather, lack thereof). Don’t worry I ship internationally! Also, I want to add a 6th gift but I don’t know what people would want. If you have suggestions, let me know!

RULES 

You must be following me.

1 reblog per day. Likes won’t be counted. Each reblog counts as an entry.

You must reblog before 9pm EST on December 11th. I will pick 6 winners, and each person wins 1 prize. 1st winner picks first prize, 2nd winner picks second prize from what’s left, etc. 

I will ship internationally!

If the winners do not reply within 24 hours, someone else will be contacted.

WINNER WILL RECEIVE

$20 gift certificate for the Met Opera

Joyce DiDonato’s In War & Peace

$20 gift certificate for Spotify Premium

Jonas Kaufmann’s La Dolce Vita

Opera Mug

Good luck!!

[reconditarmonia]

CDs for Sale

Hello Tumblr!

I have SO MANY CDs and honestly I rarely listen to them because I’ve ripped them all to my computer. Below the cut is an enormous list of CDs that I would like to send you for a little over the cost of shipping.

Feel free to message me with questions! (Also, I recommend skimming the entire thing because categorization is hard.)

Keep reading

[reconditarmonia]

Last chance (for now)

[amyguarino]

Screw you, Mozart.

[operamusings]

non-opera post

So the election is finally over. I wanted to come here and write something up the night it happened, but to be honest, I was too broken and hurting and tired to muster the energy to do anything but stare blankly at an empty screen.

I’m not going to go on a long tirade about who is to blame, what is to blame, what could have been done differently. There are a million posts already like that, and I have no interest or energy left to argue with people.

And I won’t say that things will be okay. I can’t say that because I personally am terrified of what is to come. The liberal and progressives who are telling everyone that this will be survivable - I think that comes from a really gross place of privilege. We don’t know what it’s going to be like, but from what we have seen and what we are seeing right now, things are not looking good. Nobody can promise that everyone will be safe or that everyone will come out of the other end of this unscathed.

But I will say this. There are real allies. There are good, genuine people who will continue to fight for what’s right. Search for those people, keep them close, support them, support each other. I would not have made it through this week without the love and support of my friends and family. We cried together, we commiserated together, we got angry together, and slowly we are working up the energy to start fighting again. Together is the only way through this shit storm. 

Finally, the real reason I’m writing this post is this: if you ever need a safe space to talk, to cry, or to vent, my inbox is always open. I’m sorry for posting this in the opera tag, but since 99% of you follow me for opera, I figured that would be the best way for people to see this. I haven’t really been around lately, but I will try to log on more. I can’t fix your problems, but I can listen. And I can give you lots of hugs, albeit virtual ones, and a safe space to be open. That’s all I can offer now. 

[operamusings]

Did you end up going to the performance of Rosenkavalier with Renée Fleming and Susan Graham?

I did!! Sorry for responding so late! I’m now finally getting around to asks.

It was magical and beyond anything I could have ever hoped for. I cried. A lot.

[jkimisyellow]

best part: tax deductable for singers

[operamusings]

Holiday Giveaway!

I know I’m not around that much anymore, but I plan to do my annual holiday giveaway!

Any particular requests for the giveaway? CDs? DVDs? Posters? Gift cards? Games?

[operamusings]

[operamusings]

[tornamiadir]

Often I find myself at a loss on how to comment on a Massenet post, because of Too Many Feels. I hope this gif will rectify the situation.

[operamusings]

[verdiprati]

Survey/Giveaway

In case you missed it: I’m doing a really informal survey plus a fun-opera-swag giveaway for anyone who follows my blog in any sense. The giveaway closes at midnight EDT on August 3, so hop to it! 

[verdiprati]

Third anniversary celebration: three questions and three giveaways

On August 1, 2013, I saw a live opera performance that changed my life. Not long afterward, I discovered the opera fandom on Tumblr and I made my tentative entry here. 

At first I thought Tumblr would be a good way to sublimate some energy for a few months and I assumed I would fade out after that (hence the title of my blog, referring to a temporary enchantment). But 1,359 posts later, I’m still here. 

In the past two years I’ve honored the anniversary of that life-changing night at the opera with a gif and a video clip. This year I’d like to do something different.

Despite being sort of niche and often very wordy (ahem), this blog has accumulated more followers than I ever expected, and I often find myself wondering what brings people here. I suspect that likes and reblogs don’t tell the whole story. 

So, for the next three days I’m running a small survey for my followers! Just three questions and they’re pretty open-ended. Think of it as an invitation to chat with me. “Followers” is loosely defined: you can be a Tumblr follower, a lurker who reads my blog on the web, or even someone who doesn’t follow me directly but enjoys seeing my posts when they’re reblogged on other Tumblrs.  

PLUS: GIVEAWAYS!!! Anyone who fills out the survey may enter optional drawings for a CD, a DVD/Blu-ray, and opera/concert gift certificates.

CLICK HERE TO TAKE THE SURVEY AND ENTER THE GIVEAWAYS!!!

The giveaways will be open to any “Verdi Prati” follower who responds to the survey by midnight EDT on August 3, 2016.

You have three days, three questions, and three chances to win some opera swag. Go!

[operamusings]

me [before the concert]: I'm so exhausted I'm about to fall asleep. And I'm pretty stuffed up emotionally. I don't know if it'll be a super amazing experience. At least I'll be able to enjoy high quality music.

me [45 seconds into the first piece]: *internal sobbing* I HAVE SO MANY FEELINGS

[operamusings]

Take a curtain call photo of Renée and send it to me or I will torment you for the rest of your life by saying “remember that time you chose your pajamas over … [Renee Fleming singing Strauss live with the Met Orchestra]”

@verdiprati, giving me the most terrifying and effective pep talk ever after I complained about not wanting to get out my PJs and go into the city

[operamusings]

Pretty sure I said that I would sell my soul for another Grahming Rosenkavalier, and now that it's happening, even if it's in concert form, I guess the opera gods or opera satan can come claim my soul.