Showing posts with label OPERA. Show all posts
Showing posts with label OPERA. Show all posts

Tuesday, May 21, 2013

Free music

While I was in Bedrock, I stayed in the center of town near a huge public square where people congregate day and night for various reasons. There is ballroom dancing, group exercise, and all sorts of stuff going on. It was really noisy. There was loud music from early in the morning until late at night. I heard ladies singing opera-style music. These guys set up their little band on the corner. They brought their own sound equipment. Here they are tuning their guitars, and eventually the guy seated will remove the cigarette from his mouth and start singing. They were awesome. It sounded like a professional recording. I wonder if this is how bands get discovered, by playing free gigs in public squares? It was fairly entertaining, I must say.

I used to live two blocks away from the square. It was not so noisy there.

Friday, June 08, 2012

I hate it when that happens


On Saturday, May 26th, I stumbled upon the local culture and arts center run by the government. They were remodeling the tea room so that it could serve as the venue for upcoming opera performances that would start two days later, on Monday, May 28th.

What a wonderful idea! Listen to the {screeching in nasally tones} opera singers while sipping Chinese tea in an ancient garden setting. I would definitely be back! Why, I could even take pictures that I could share with you, my blog readers!

But I wasn't born yesterday. I had my doubts that they would actually start performing on May 28th, despite what the printed brochure they handed me said. After all, this is the Middle Kingdom. Things said in the most definite, confident and earnest of tones cannot necessarily be relied on...folks here often voice their hopes and dreams as if they were facts. Well, guess what? You can't fool me, I've been here awhile, ya know?

So I went on Friday, June 1st. Surely things would be in operation by the fifth day.

Yet as I exited the taxi and walked towards the culture center, I had a feeling in my bones that this was going to be a bust. I walked in and saw the empty room and empty chairs at the empty tea tables (photo above). The only costumes were the ones on the wall (photos above).

The guy working the tea counter shrugged his shoulders and said he had no idea when they would actually start performing. No idea.

Fooled again.