Opera in the park!

Since no one ever reads my opera reviews (except off_coloratura looking to get name-checked), I'll cut right to the chase here: Don Giovanni last night was excellent. Possibly the best opera production I've ever seen at Chicago Opera Theatre (which is high praise indeed) and definitely in my top 5 of all time. It takes Lyric's recent production, rends it to strips, and stomps those into mucilage--and that show had Bryn Terfel in it!

You Chicagoans should take note for a very special reason: Next Friday starting at 7:30 p.m., the opera will be SIMULCAST FREE IN PRITZKER PAVILION. This is really an incredible opportunity to see one of the country's best opera company's do one of history's greatest operas in one of the city's best parks. Still dubious? Well, I here the kids love top-ten lists, so here are my

TOP TEN REASONS TO SEE COT'S DON GIOVANNI IN MILLENNIUM PARK

1. The music is by Mozart, who, you may recall, knew a thing or two about writing a really good tune.
2. The woman sitting next to us for last night's performance said that Mozart must be spinning in his grave. I agree, he is spinning...WITH DELIGHT!
3. The librettist is a cynical, salacious Italian impressario named Da Ponte, whose other collaborations with Amadeus were Così fan tutte and Le nozze di Figaro. Singly and collectively, these operas kick a helluva lot of ass.
4. The entire production is set in a Vegas. In a club. A strip club.
5. It has pole dancers. You will be able to boast to your friends you saw an opera with POLE DANCERS.
6. Every singer is solid. Even Krisztina Szabó, who disappointed us some in A kékszakállú herceg vára (Bluebeard's castle) redeems herself here with a stunning rendition of "Mi tradì quell'alma ingrata". IN SPIKED LEATHER THIGH BOOTS.
7. It boasts easily the freakiest Commendatore I've ever seen. (For those of you not familiar with the opera, this is the vengeful spirit of a character murdered in the first scene. Usually he's depicted as a marble statue. Here, he's a BLUE-FACED UNDEAD CORPSE returned to DRAG DON GIOVANNI DOWN TO HELL. I spent the whole penultimate scene literally on the edge of my seat gnawing away at my hand.
8. What else are you going to do on a Friday night? Stay home and watch Ghost Whisperer? Or Dreamgirls on HBO? You'll find more bare breasts in that, but not more violence or depravity--and it goes without saying that Don Giovanni has a way better soundtrack!
9. IT'S FREE. If you inexplicably hate it, you're not out anything but a little bit of your time.
10. Did I mention it's FREE?

That time of year

The tulips and azaleas are peaking and the Bradford pears are not far behind. Hawthorns are blooming, crabapples are budding, hostas are leafing, and I expect to see irises before too much longer. Spring is icumen in!

Unfortunately, while admiring all those I got myself my first sunburn of the year, and I can tell from the tightness in my face it's a bad one. Also, temperatures and humidity are already approaching summertime levels.

And there's another way in which it's like a taste of summer early: The Cubs are a game-and-a-half out of first place. (No need to mention the team which just put them there, I trust.) Suck it, bleacher bums!

WotD: paper cup

1. der Pappbecher
2. de kartonnen beker
3. el vaso de papel
4. el got de paper
5. le gobelet carton
6. y cwpan/dysgl papur
7. an cupán páipéir
8. 종이컵
9. 紙杯 zhǐbēi

Notes: The inspiration for this post was a visit to Chipotle last Friday. Instead of buying a drink, I almost always ask for "una copa pa' agua". Every single time up until the last, I'd always been handed a paper cup without any comment. But the big itchwoot-shaped cutie who's not normally working the register asked me politely, "¿un vaso para agua?" and made me wonder if I'd been getting it wrong all this time.

The answer, naturally, is "yes". In Standard Spanish, copa designates several things, including a trophy (e.g. Copa Mundial "World Cup"), a goblet, and a snifter; what is does not designate, however, is a disposable drinking vessel. I can only conclude from the naturalness with which I was understood before that copa is a Spanglish equivalent for "cup" in the same way as carpeta for "carpet" or aplicación for "application". At least I realised this before returning to Spain!