Sunday, October 16, 2005

Saturday Night is Alright for Coloratura

We went to a lovely party last night here in Hamilton. Claire had met a fellow who works at a restaurant attached to a local church and struck up a conversation about how new we are to town. This was on Wednesday and he invited us to his birthday party on Saturday. This was a Unified Church- for the non-Canuck, the United Church has existed in Canada since 1925 and is essentially a liberal Protestant denomination. It is very open to gays and lesbians... so, of course, the choir is fantastic!

And so was the house! This fellow and his partner have designed the house I want- vintage Victorian wallpaper, bookshelves to the ceiling, and a beautiful 1950s style oven! Everything was unique and still tasteful. The food was Thai and the guests were from the church. After dinner, a member of the church played Happy Birthday to you on the bagpipes in the front yard and people sang inside on one of the two pianos.

And then, get this, one of the choir members, who also sings opera, performed songs from various operas with the church organist accompanying her on the piano. Her voice was just incredible- it could push you right au-dessus the rest of us poor saps on the mortal plane. I think she was a mezzo-soprano, but my ear isn't good enough. My favorite number that she performed was the Habanera from Carmen. Opera buffs tend to criticize Carmen as being too popular, but the melodies are gorgeous and the storyline is hauntingly perverse. And, if you've never heard opera sung from a few feet away- and outside of a Fellini film who has?-it's just amazing.

So, we had a wonderful time and made some new friends. I don't know if I'm ready for church, but I'd like to sit in and listen to the choir.

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