Akhnaten at the Met

The Met

William and I left for NYC from Maryland in the morning. Along the drive William mentioned he was interested in a performance - tonight - at New York's Metropolitan Opera House. It is no surprise to me, as William has long held great interest in our African Egyptian ancestors. So along the drive back to NYC, the opera house was called and BOOM! We had tickets for tonight's performance of Akhnaten. BOOM, SCORE! 

William at the Met

 Attending a performance at THE Met was a first for both of us. We were there early, and parked at a lot near the theater, which thrilled me to pieces because it was a COLD night for walking. Entering the huge and impressive building was exciting and nearly overwhelming. Talk about your 'bright and shiny'!

Looking down from gallery heights

We picked up our tickets at the Met box office, after which I felt my usual imperative to visit the gift shop. 

Tiny corner of the HUMONGOUS gift shop

Talented Toys...

Splendiferous opera jackets and such...

Necklace for that special evening at the Met

I only bought a couple of items, not shown here; a beautiful Black ballerina on point and a jewel festooned cloth heart.

Dollies for your Doll...

If you want to blow your nose as well as your cool...

The production was so magical. The music is by Philip Glass whose music can at first seem quite repetitive, but it has the result of making you feel you are meditating and it draws you in. 

The screen in front of my seat

A cool thing was that there was a screen in front of every seat. The screens also explained the general set up of each act, and provided translations in English and German, etc.  By the first intermission, William and I were thoroughly in love with the production, and we chatted about all the symbolism. For example, in the production when the old pharaoh died, the weight of his heart was compared to the weight of a feather on balanced scales. William explained to me the pharaoh's heart was a light as a feather after death because he lived his life well and was granted entry to heaven... or something like that! 

Our view from the operatic peanut gallery

We were shocked that not every audience member was as enchanted with the opera as we were. A disgruntled looking woman sitting nearby, at the first intermission, left and never reappeared. What

The dressing of Akhnaten

Egyptian god put a feather up her rump? Perhaps she was shocked by Akhnaten's initial appearance, when he stood naked at the top of a long stair well, slowly walking downwards...  At that point in the opera he was newborn to life, and at the bottom of the stairs, his servants ritually dressed him in elaborate golden robes. Now way up in the dress circle, we couldn't see he was naked -  I reckon all the more reason to spend the $300 for front row seating. Nevertheless, at a later time I looked on line for a closer look at the astounding costuming for this amazing opera. The round orbs that covered his gown were the golden painted heads of dolls! I have got to some day re-see this opera from a closer vantage point.

Garbed in Golden Robes with Orbs

 Another amazing and beautiful aspect of this unique production was the juggling. Yes, I said juggling. Numerous cast members would juggle balls that somehow magically melded into the story and how the eff they juggled like that without ever dropping anything was stupefying to watch.   When the elaborate opera ended, the crowd went wild. I can't imagine any other opera production being quite as mesmerising as this one. I have GOT to see Akhnaten again another time. 

Encore!

Here is the Met's trailer for Akhnaten. Every time I see it, I am sucked into the hypnotic production all over again.  Note the juggling - be amazed! 

Visit with My Big Brother

Soaking up some morning sun in the back yard, with Diane and William

The morning was pleasant and comfy! Had great conversation with Diane who was a police woman so knows much fascinating stuff and has interesting opinions. When William and I were properly coffee'd and fed, we were off to visit William's dad, my brother.

Juan, out on the patio at his living facility

Juan and William played their usual games of chess and for the first time in  long while, William was victorious. That is actually a little worrying as Juan usually beat the b'Jesus out of his competition. We pretty much spent the whole day with Juan, mostly on the patio and the poor man was worn out by the time he took to his room again. William and I went out and fetched a nice Chinese dinner for the three of us, and then we bade Juan goodbye and took our leave.

The Maryland Family Visits

The Baltimore Gang

As luck and filial devotion would have it, William invited me to go along with him to visit his Dad in Maryland. Love taking road trips with William, he's great company. Our first stop was in New Jersey to get gas and I was blown away by the insane gas station! It was more like a Bev Mo' with every kind of alcohol you can imagine.

Yikes! I have never seen the like before and I've been to freakn' Las Vegas which is more the sort of place I'd expect to find more booze than gasoline or potato chips.







We bustled on south to Baltimore, where we popped in on Kirk, Nicole and their kids. My grand-niece & nephew are really into the theater arts these days. Sydney was off watching a friend of hers in a high school production - I can't believe she is in high school. And James-Allen and his dad were off buy a half ton of food for the Baltimore branch of the Leyba-Millers. My niece Bea, her hubby Avon and daughter Ain came on over too and we feasted everyone's favorite chow from local restaurant establishments.

They moved into their town house about a year ago. The last time I visited them their stuff was actually being packed for their move. Love their new place - OK, am not fond of the stairs, which are necessary in a 3 story house, but that's OK. I work out at the gym with Kirk & Nicole's stair cases inspiring said exercising.

Soon it was quite late and we had to leave for the final leg of our drive. We arrived at the home of my sister-in-law Gloria and her sister. They were quite sweet to let William and I invade their beautiful home. It was my first visit there, and I enjoyed meeting their little Yorkie Terrier dogs. By the time everyone turned in for the night I was totally knackered & ready to sleep.