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Who am I and why do I think I have the credentials to write about opera? I have no music degrees, a BA in Psychology and a Masters in Human Resource Management hardly qualify me academically to review operas. HOWEVER, I have a great ear. I can't sing, but I can hear, and I can feel, and I LOVE opera passionately.
I've seen operas in the great opera houses from the Mirinsky (Kirov) Opera in St. Petersburg Russia to the legendary Teatro della Scala, to Covent Gardens where the woman sitting next to me told me that she recently saw Renee Flemming who was "good for an American singer, you know what I mean". And of course the pinnacle, the top of the world, the Metropolitan Opera.
I never forget how lucky I am - just to live in my beloved New York is amazing. Art, energy and passion are everywhere. And opera here is incredible - from Caffe Taci on Broadway and 110th to the Met and New York City Opera just a little further down on Broadway.
Opera is not a medium just for the rich and the gray haired. It is for all of us - at least for those of us for whom passion is as necessary as food and water. It fills us with passion that is hard to contain. Whether it is a new opera, such as Vera of New York at Symphony Space, or watching the surprise and smiles on the faces of the dinner guests when the incredible artists at Caffe Taci sing O Sole Mio or have the incredible good fortune to see Placido Domingo sing yet another role at the Met, opera is passion.
My intention is to tell you what is coming up in New York opera, not just at the Met, but throughout the City and surrounding areas. I want to let you know where the up-and-coming artists are performing, and to review those operas that I am fortunate enough to see.
I am Charlene, and it's nice to meet you.
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