Encore!

I'm on duty again!

Always the understudy.  I've done this enough times now to be given 'main player' status, but alas, that title still eludes me.

And, this time, much to my disappointment, there's no cake!  I can only hope that that will be substituted by great music?

I'm at another of my Dad's musical evenings.  A very different settings to the last time.  No twinset clad permed haired ladies tonight.  We are in a local community center with a mixed audience.

And we are off to a good start with the opening joke and a lovely gentle waltz.  I've had a look down the playlist and my favourite Humming Chorus track is there. Looking forward to that.  I also see quite a few numbers (can you call them numbers?) by the great Bellini.  Apparently he died very young, 34 years old I think, I should have paid more attention when Dad was talking about him.  But before he died he managed to write 30 Operas.  Imagine!  He also had a drink named after him.  A Bellini.  I don't know much about his music, but I am very well acquainted with his drink. In case you don't know it's made with Prosecco and peach snaps!  I didn't know that the drink was named after a composer.  (Maybe he didn't either!) You learn something new every day...

He, Bellini, is appearing six times tonight on the playlist.  Imagine if one of his drinks appeared for every one of his tracks that was played? Jeez... I might miss my cues and then I'd loose my very prestigious job as assistant to the Maestro.  Can't have that.Most of the composers on the list tonight are, if their surnames are anything to go by, Italian.  And so are most of the artists too.  So the Italians don't just make great ice cream. Or great sparkling wine.

I really should take up Italian, Dad is struggling with the translations of the titles of the tunes!  He normally has a friend who attends these evenings and translates the song titles for him.  But if I did it, the translation that is, then I'd be double jobbing.  Can't have that either.  I'll have to introduce him to Google Translate.  There's a few French names on the list also, this could get confusing.  Probably best that there's no Bellini's on the menu after all.

There is a good turnout this evening.  We have an Opera boffin here, another one besides my Dad, who has very kindly explained where the Humming Chorus fits into the story of Madam Butterfly.  I'm no going to tell you where it fits in or why 'cos then I'd have to put a spoiler alert on this blog on the off chance that you might go and see the Opera.  But I will say that it's tragic!!  There's a track here also from an Opera about Ann Boleyn, sung by Maria Callas.  Two tragic women in the one track.  They could have done with being introduced to Bellini...

And in the middle of my favourite track, the translator turned up.  Hurrah.  Or should that be 'Evviva'!!  (I used Google translator for that).

Sure what else would you be doing on a wet and windy Tuesday evening?  Let me think?

Prosecco anyone?