Animal Wednesday - The Ride of the "Walkure"....oops..."Hummingbirds"!

I thought this would be the perfect post for this Animal Wednesday.....symbolic of my "taking wing" tomorrow morning and soaring Eastward to attend KJ's YART Fair!  It seems amazing that I will be seeing many of you in person - and soon!

HAW to everyone!

Love,

♥ Robin ♥

San Francisco Opera's "Werther"

Well, seeing this opera again (after a 25 year absence) was a delightful surprise!  When it last played here, I was so young and the complex intricasies of Life, Love and Fate - hadn't really touched me.  So, when I sat down in the Opera House to witness the first rehearsal, I thought I would be bored and unmoved by the story....  HA!  What astonishment to find that I now can relate to this sad, yet powerful story. 

"Werther" (pronounced: Ver-tear) is a French Opera (Jules Massenet)...but based on a story by the brilliant German writer, Goethe.  This is a modern, hi-tech production - lasers, videos....but with just enough period authenticity to draw you in and hold you fast.  The cast....amazing...led by the astounding Mexican Tenor, Ramon Vargas.  Well sung, well acted, well conducted....all one can ask for.  The plot (in a nutshell): Boy Meets Girl, They fall in love - but - she is already engaged to another.  Girl marries her Fiance.....Boy kills himself.  Girl realises she really did love him.  Too late!


Here's a brief clip of some of the singers..



And a few photos....

At Sunday's Matinee...I stood up and gave the cast and the conductor a standing ovation.....something I rarely do......ah, Mon Dieu!  Tres Belle......Tres Triest......Tres Magnificque....

My Dates for the Willow Ball

Oooh....I am a lucky girl.....all three men who I invited to be my dates - accepted!  And, I am thrilled to be sharing a fourth man, John Fowles, with my dear friend, Amanda.

Here are "my guys"...

Franz Lizst......oh-so-famous, oh-so-talented, oh-so-handsome Hungarian pianist and composer.  He has agreed to play a few selections on the piano for us....Willow, please make sure my "Franzchen" has a beautiful sterling silver

candelabra with some Lilac-coloured candles (my favourite) atop the piano....

I had planned to hire a driver for us....but Franz, (ach Du, mein Leiber Mann), has insisted on driving us in the Bentley. What's a girl to do...but agree!

Konig Ludwig II von Bavaria...... not only handsome and rich, but a lover of Opera....and especially Wagner Operas.  He was solely responsible for the building of the Bayreuth Festspiel Haus. He loved taking sleigh rides on snowy moonlit evenings in the Bavarian Alps... and....a lover (like me) of Swans!

Last, but most certainly not least, Anthony Minghella.  Famed director of "The English Patient", "Cold Mountain", "The Talented Mr. Ripley" and "Truly, Madly, Deeply" (to name a few).  He also directed a stunningly beautiful production of "Madama Butterfly" at the Metropolitan Opera.  Charasmatic, humorous,
intelligent...

Oh....well, there is one more lovely man....who has promised to dance a tango (or two) with me and also partake of some champagne and (perhaps) some pate....John Fowles - noted English Author - and lover of Fate and all things mysterious....he wrote (among others)..."The French Lieutentant's Woman", "Magus", "Daniel Martin", "The Ebony Tower"....  John, being the lover of women that he is.....also agreed to take the lovely Amanda....so we are going to "share" him....  Amanda, when I am dancing with John, I know any of my other fellows will be thrilled to dance with you!

I guess I seem like a "wild child" with four men....but now that I am newly-single....  I need to live a little and PARTY! 

Only six more days....

Love,

♥ Robin ♥

Ay-yi-yi-eeda Update!

No Opera posts from me for week or so....but, our season is rolling along.....now juggling three very different operas ....."Aida", "Werther" and "The Marriage of Figaro".  Here are a few of those "backstage Aida glimpses" of some of our cast - as you would NOT see them if you were sitting in the audience, watching a performance,  Hope you enjoy these!

Love,

♥ Robin ♥

Below, some photos from the Final Dress Rehearsal....

This last one is the entire Chorus (and our Chorus Master) practicing their Curtain Call.  (Mind you, this does NOT include the Principal Singers nor the 100 + Orchestra...)

The Raven Versus the Pig!

This is too funny..... Raven-Sisters, we all KNOW who is going to win the egg-eating contest, don't we!

HAW!

♥ Robin ♥

Autumn Arrives Early

September usually ushers in our best weather of the year....call it "Indian Summer" or "Early Autumn".... it generally is the warmest, bluest-sky time to visit San Francisco. Of course, as many of you know who follow my blog....this year has been different. No Spring..no Summer....

And today, more than a month before our rainy season usually begins....it rained. By the time I left my shift at the de Young, the rain had faded into drizzle... but all around me are the unmistakeable signs that Autumn is here. I was trying to capture not only the brilliant purple beauty of the flowers, but also the carpet of them already lying on the ground.... darn, I didn't quite nail it...

But, I did nail Mr. Squirrel, having his afternoon repast in Golden Gate Park, after a long day of burying nuts and other edibles to keep his tummy full during the long Autumn/Winter months.

I am ready for this most magical of Seasons! How about you?


Love,

♥ Robin ♥

Animal Wednesday - Horses Just Want to Have Fun

A fellow horse-lover sent this to me......and I HAD to use it for Animal Wednesday! I hope you like it as much as I did! It shows that ALL animals do like to play..and can act just as silly (and adorable) as "humans"!

HAW!

♥ Robin ♥

Sunday Morning at the de Young Fountain

Months ago, I photographed a Mother Duck and her thirteen ducklings in the fountain adjacent to the de Young Museum.... I often think of them when I am volunteering and hope that all of them survived to become adults...

Yesterday, I was thrilled to see a pair of Ducks (not knowing if the female was "My Mother Duck") swimming about and feeding (with feathery "butts" upturned) in the fountain. No babies, of course, as Autumn is gently approaching....

You have to look closely to see the "duck butts".....

I also snapped a photo of one of the beautiful Lotus flowers that encircle the fountain.

Although we in San Francisco have virtually had no Spring or Summer, I welcome the advent of Autumn, my favourite time of the year. I feel myself moving into a gentle, "floating" phase of life - after months of emotional pain....I am slowly learning to accept life as it comes. I am learning to feel happiness and joy again.

Love,

♥ Robin ♥

A Tribute to B

Many of you know that yesterday, our beloved Annie made one of the most difficult decisions of her life.....she let Mr. B's spirit soar free. He was one of the SPECIAL Ones.... sweet, comic, full of kitty idiosyncrasies...... one of which was - curling up in the sink!

He loved going outside (with his Brother, Spike), his "Step-brother", Max, and Zeus...his doggie "Cousin".

He was afraid of thunder and whenever he heard it - be it in the distance or close by, he would run for "cover"....be it a closet, a cupboard... Once, when visiting Ann and the Boys in Taos, I was in the middle of a bath....the storm began, B ran into the bathroom, stared at me....then stared at the cupboard where Anne keeps toiletries and other supplies, stared at me again, clearly saying: "Stupid Girl! Get out of that tub and open my sanctuary at once"! I did....

Here they are....the "Tuxedo Twins"....B (on the left) and Spike (on the right). Beautiful cats, full of spirit.

Annie, you were the very best Mum to B....he knew it. Spike, Zeus and Max know it too. And so do your Blogging Family.

B, I miss you and will keep you in my heart forever.

♥ Robin ♥

Ole! Mole! HAW!

I promised to post a "real" Animal Wednesday.....and here it is! OLE!

HAW!

Love,

♥ Robin ♥

Pendulums..

Yesterday was a very emotional day for me . My Ex rang and for the first time in many months, we had a long conversation. It felt good to hear his voice and to really talk......but is also felt unsettling. I was reminded of pendulums..... swinging back and forth...a reminder of things past and things future....yet the actual swinging of the pendulum is the Present.

It is the beginning of a new Season, my favourite, Autumn....and after a months-long Spring and Summer of eternal cold and grayness - in every way imaginable, perhaps "C's" call was the subtle swinging of the Pendulum towards a better future for me. He and I will not be a couple again...but, being able to talk and even laugh together is a positive move. We shared 17 years.....and though we have been apart 18 months, there is a lot of history - most of it good - one cannot erase that.

I have learned to "stand alone", live alone and function as an independant woman.... something I never did before in my life. I have said before, but it merits repeating, that I could not have done it without YOU....my "Blogging" Family.... you have been there for me, helping me all the way.

So, off I go to another "Aida" rehearsal this afternoon.... I am glad I will have something to keep my mind from wandering and re-living yesterday's conversation... it is already a Pendulum swing in the Past.....and I am moving forward to the Future - a stronger and hopefully, happier person.

Love,

♥ Robin ♥