Tag: music

Alyssa’s Senior Show

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A couple of weeks ago, I ventured back to Sarah Lawrence to watch Alyssa’s final show before she graduated. Those who’ve been keeping up with it will know that my friend Alyssa has been hard at work creating and now promoting her magnum opus album in the SLC music program. 

For the event, Alyssa was putting on a real show, the closest thing that an undergrad can have to a Vegas act. Projected behind her was all of the artwork she had for each song and standing beside her for the beginning of each song was one of her friends wearing a dress that she made herself. 

Each dress represented the song that she was singing, acting as an extension of her work. I wore a beautiful light green dress that she made for her song Evolution, doing a twirl and a curtsy. Alyssa is probably the only person for whom I would do this.

Alyssa, a true renaissance woman, created the dresses that go with the songs, created the art that goes with the songs, and created all of the songs. This was done in part to promote her new album The Train (all bangers, no skips, swear to god).

People bought her merchandise, also handmade, afterwards. She was charming and graceful in between each song, wishing the crowd a Happy Passover and explaining the inspiration behind the album that she’s been working on for over a year now. The event was a hit with plenty of turn-out and made for the perfect send off to her time at SLC. 

The merch

I’ve been watching Alyssa’s music career from the wings since the beginning, first through her performances at Sarah Lawrence and then throughout the city. I’ve heard The Train more times than I can count and can probably sing along when asked. I’ve had some very fun times with this album, as have many other people. 

Congratulations to my mega-talented friend on her final performance at Sarah Lawrence. Now, she is on to new things and I’m ready to hear the music that she makes out of all of it.

The Tragic Queen,

Raquel

P.S.: Check out my previous blog post about my recent trip The Botanical Garden in Queens

Carmen

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Great news people: I have once again gone to the opera.

Having gone and blogged about it four times, I know that this comes as a shock to you all, but nonetheless I did it. 

This time I went with my friend ​​Claire to see Carmen. Even if you haven’t seen Carmen, I can assure you that you have heard the music, as it has one of the most iconic scores of any opera, something that I didn’t know until I was sitting in my seat.

Despite it being a French opera taking place in Spain, The Met decided to set the production in the midwestern United States. I did not expect to see a production of Carmen in which the titular woman was wearing turquoise cowgirl boots and jorts while gyrating against a semi truck, but no judgment.

Perhaps there was some commentary in the sense that the story takes place outside of a gun manufacturing factory and they were commenting on the mass gun deaths in the US and/or the American military industrial complex. Either that or I just put more thought into it than they did. 

In the end, the story taking place in the midwest meant that when Carmen dances for her love interest she did so on top of a trash can at a gas station, which was a daring artistic choice. 

We then proceeded to witness the most toxic relationship known to man. There was a lot of “I have to be with you,” “I can’t be with you,” “you don’t love me,” “I can never be with you” “I can’t live without you” going on in the story. Then one of them died. 

In all honesty, as a chronically single person, that’s what just about a lot of you guys’s relationships look like to me. Carmen holds the record for quickest and most pointless death in an opera. 

At least she didn’t sing for half an hour about how she was dying. She didn’t even see it coming. 

For the opera, I kept it casual by wearing a floor length ball gown that I purchased at a consignment shop last semester. When I bought it, the sale’s woman to ask what I was buying it for. I answered “the opera.”

She asked, “oh when are you going to the opera?” and I had to admit that I had absolutely no idea. 

Sometimes, you have to buy the dress for the event that you have no prospects for. Likewise, I recently purchased a dress for the ballet, but have no idea when I’ll be going. I will keep you posted on how that’s going. 

Unfortunately, it would appear that while that conversation was taking place, the sales woman forgot to remove the plastic chip at the bottom of the dress, causing numerous people to stare at it at the Met Opera House. I tried to tell them with my eyes that I did not in fact shoplift my ball gown, but that is hard to communicate visually. 

The music was beautiful and so was the singing. Yes, I was occasionally distracted by the juxtaposition of a woman belting it in French, acting sexy against the chain-link fence of a weapons factory, while wearing a lab coat, but I still had a fantastic time at the opera. 

The Tragic Queen,

Raquel

P.S.: Check out my previous blog post about my royal portrait