gaga for Marcy’s #operaplot!

Marcy Richardson, aka @OperaGaga

By her own admission Marcy Richardson, aka @OperaGaga on Twitter, is a soprano. Oh, and a lover of Handel, contemporary music, and sophisticated musical theater. Marcy also has a shoe fetish, loves aerial pole fitness, and laughs every single day.   

And one more important thing. She is a big winner in the 2011 #Operaplot contest, where you had to distill an entire opera plot into a single tweet. Judge Eric Owens selected five top winners,  including this plot of Marcy’s:   

I should be able to f*ck my maid. Apparently, no one else agrees. #operaplot [Le Nozze di Figaro]   

Marcy Richardson’s pithy (a scant 76 characters with #operaplot), plotty perfection! It’s bold. It’s beautiful.   

It’s blue.   

How lucky are we, then, to have Marcy give us the 4-1-1 on her prize-winning plot!   

Why did you decide to enter #Operaplot? Was it your first time?
I entered operaplot because my good friend and colleague Jennifer Peterson (gaspsiagore on twitter) told me as soon as it started, “You have to enter operaplot! You’d be so good at it!” I was like, uh…what’s that? So I had a few glasses of wine, went home, and just started writing. I was an operaplot virgin before this year. I didn’t even tweet before December! My Facebook status updates are rather legendary I must say, so it was only fitting that I start tweeting.   

Did you feel you had a winner when your plot was complete?
Not really. Non musicians often ask me, “What’s such and such opera about?” if I mention a show I’ve done or would like to be in. I try to give them the shortest and most concise/amusing answer as possible, so I’ve actually had some real life operaplot practice. I just started picking shows I liked and went for it. I loved the plots I wrote for Lulu, Boheme, and Capriccio as well. The Figaro one…I wrote it…I thought about adding more…and then I realized, nope! That’s it. That’s the whole show. And then I kept writing more plots. That one came to me VERY quickly and then I moved on.   

You specialize in singing baroque opera. Have you performed in Le Nozze di Figaro or simply know the opera? 
Yep. I’ve sung both Susanna and Barbarina in Figaro.   

Some have said you’ve elevated the f-bomb to an art form. Any misgivings about dropping it in your plot?
Of course not. I never have any doubts or apologies when it comes to dropping the f-bomb. I tested out using “screw” or “bang” for media’s sake when I was typing, and then I thought, no. That’s just not it. There is no real substitute for the f-bomb. It’s a great f*cking word. I f*cking love it.   

Any unusual reactions since winning the contest?
Nope! Nothing but congrats!   

What prize did you choose and why?
I chose the Deborah Voigt recital. She is a phenomenal artist–I got to sing shepherd boy in concert when she sang Tosca in Vero Beach and haven’t had a chance to hear her since! Though some of the prizes around the country looked really fun, that would not have been possible without free airfare and accommodations for a hustling bitch such as myself.   

How are you going to top this year’s plot or will you retire at the top?
If the spirit moves me and I’m feeling inspired, I’d enter again.   

How did you come up with your Twitter username @OperaGaga?
People often yell, “hey gaga!” to me on the street here in NY, usually when I’m wearing sunglasses–I guess we have a similar facial structure in some ways, light blonde hair, petite, and I’m not exactly conservative when it comes to how I dress. One day my voice teacher (Trish McCaffrey) said, “Hey, Mark and I have a nickname for you! Gaga! We don’t know if it should be MarcyGaga or OperaGaga or what.” I liked OperaGaga for a twitter handle when I was trying to come up with one later, so there it is.   

Where can we see and hear you singing in 2011?
I’m the soprano soloist in the Mozart Vespers on June 27th at Alice Tully Hall and am singing my second Dalinda in Handel’s Ariodante this March in Baltimore with Opera Vivente. Also, don’t forget to look for my Handel CD which I’m producing from my live concert/recording session of seconda donna Handel arias April 29th featuring fellow tweeps Jennifer Peterson (gaspsiagore), Bryan DeSilva (countertenorbry) and the OperaMission Handel Band. Other than that, if I don’t get some more work soon, I guess any interested parties would have to come shower with me and hear me then.   

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Learn more about Marcy, the soprano, at her website. Or follow her on Twitter at @OperaGaga. Read all five winning #operaplots and runners-up at the Omniscient Mussel here.

my favorite #operaplots: a 21-plot salute!

Last week, Twitter was more fun than a barrel of baritones because of the 2011 #Operaplot Contest organized by “The Omniscient Mussel.” Each day of the contest, I savored reading all the opera plots appearing in my Twitter feed, noting my favorites, promising to revisit them after Miss Mussel posted her first comprehensive list of plots.

When The List emerged yesterday evening, I trawled through the entire thing like a kid on Christmas morning tearing the wrapping off gifts, reliving some of my favorite plotting moments last week while experiencing new levels of merriment caused by plots I hadn’t yet seen.

Originally, I was just going to select 10 favorites and post them on this blog. Well, that proved impossible! Thankfully, I can select nearly as many plots as I like, which in this case turned out to be 21 (though I was trying to limit the list to 20, so when I liked more than plot from a single plotter, which often happened, I limited my selection to only one plot per user.)

Congratulations to these talented plotters and best of luck in the overall contest judged by Eric Owens. Winners are expected to be announced on Wednesday. And I’m sorry I couldn’t recognize everyone that I liked. I really enjoyed so many of them, and appreciated everyone’s contributions to #operaplot.

Acis and Galatea
Low on a plain sang lonely sheep-herd. Layee odl layee odl layee odl oh. Skull crushing rock his girlfriends giant heard. Layee…#operaplot — Tim Regan (@Dumbledad)

Attila
Now who’s that super foxy slave girl, gonna kill the King of the Huns with his own sword? ODABELLA! Your daaaaaamn right. #operaplot — Daniel John Kelley (@funwithiago)

Don Giovanni
Guess who’s coming to dinner… #operaplot — Adam Rothbarth (@foundsound)

Götterdämmerung
Look, Wotan, the bottom line is it’s not the end of the world if you…oh, wait, scratch that. #operaplot — @SamNeuman (Sam Neuman)

Hansel und Gretel
Cannibalistic old lady lures welfare kids with promise of junkfood. Years of advice concerning strangers with candy confirmed. #Operaplot — Bryan DeSilva (@countertenorbry)

Il Barbiere di Siviglia
Count A. in Seville: unlocked the ‘Rosina’ badge. #operaplot — Matthew Guerrieri (@sohothedog)

Il Ritorno d’Ulisse in Patria
Ten years, he doesn’t call, he doesn’t write, then this guy who shows up and kills all my boyfriends is him? I don’t believe it. #operaplot — @bachtrack

Il Tabarro
Is that a tenor under your tabarro, or are you just happy to see me? #operaplot — Claudia Friedlander (VoiceTeacherNYC)

La Bohème
Oooh, I’m such a sensitive, poetic, bohemian tortured soul…but I can’t see a dying girlfriend when she’s staring me in the face. #operaplot — Catrin Woodruff (@catrinwoodruff)

La Fanciulla del West
In a cabin in a canyon selling liquor for a dime sits a bible toting schoolma’am and her bandit quitting crime #operaplot — John Gilks (@johngilks)

L’Elisir d’Amore & Tristan und Isolde
Dear Tristan, You’re an idiot. My love potion worked just fine. – Nemorino #operaplot — Eleni Hagen (@EleniH83)

Madama Butterfly
Breaking News: Geisha girl, mother of one, stabs self after recording first episode of new radio show: His American Wife #operaplot —Patty Mitchell (@Pattyoboe)

Nixon in China
Crooked American goes to the Orient with his wife. No, this is at the beginning of the opera! #operaplot — London Opera Meetup (@LondonOperaMeet)

Norma
Her name was Norma. She was a priestess, with a secret Roman lover and two kids kept undercover. Don’t fall in love. #operaplot — Amanda Watson @amndw2)

Ring Cycle
Hello and welcome with Wagner’s Wonder Tour’s!! We’ll take you from Rhinemaidens to Utter destruction in just 15 hours… #operaplot — Rhian Hutchings (@rhchhutch)

Susannah
Oh Susanna, don’t you cry for me, I’m a man of God who loves your bod, in New Hope Tennessee. #operaplot — Ralph Graves @RalphGraves

Tales of Hoffmann
Dude, you hooked me up with a robot, a hooker, and a hypochondriac?! That’s the last time you’re my wingman. #operaplot — Brendan (@indybrendan)

Tosca
A hectic concert schedule and a dangerous police chief keep this diva on the go. She’s parapetetic. — Rachel Alex Antman (@Verbiagent)

Tosca
“We had a jumper. No time to talk her down.” — Police captain following area woman’s suicide. “Can’t prosecute for murder now.” #operaplot — Marc Geelhoed (@marcgeelhoed)

The Turn of the Screw
Mix one part Mary Poppins and one part Sixth Sense. Turn until screwed. #operaplot — Brian M. Rosen (musicvstheater)

Wozzeck
Keep yourself / Full of beans / And avoid / Bloody scenes / Give your captain / Burma-Shave #operaplot — Sarah Noble (@primalamusica)

my 2011 #operaplot entries

If you aren’t on Twitter, you might not be aware of a cultural tsunami building there (or should that be counter-cultural?), 140 characters at a time, called #Operaplot. The energy and excitement on Twitter are palpable.     

Every #operaplot entrant is accorded 25 tries to grab the judge’s attention with a winning summary of an opera’s plotline in a single Tweet. All entries must be in by midnight this Friday.     

This is my first year actually participating in the contest. I joined Twitter around the time of last year’s contest–too late to enter but not to late to enjoy all the entertaining entries.     

So, here’s all my entries thus far: (There’s 21 one of them below, which means *shudder* I only have FOUR ENTRIES LEFT!!)     

Who stabbed a horny guy with bad breath? Tos-caa! Who mourned her beau and leapt to her death? Tos-caa! #operaplot (Tosca by Puccini)     

You can tell by the way she looked at him they’d been to bed, but their fate was grim. Ah-ah-ee-dah. Buried alive! Buried alive! #operaplot (Aida by Verdi)     

Here’s a story of due donne. Boyfrenzi no trusta, not a lick. So, dey getta 2 mustaches. Duets great but silly plotta make asick. #operaplot (Cosi fan tutte by Mozart)     

I love to die at weddings. And I died after my wedding. I killed the groom. I left the room. I sang of gloom. I met my doom. #operaplot  (Lucia di Lammermoor by Donizetti)      

Isn’t it queer? Aren’t we a pair? You with a knife in your chest. Me with red hair. Send in the clown. Don’t bother. He’s here. #operaplot (Pagliacci by Leoncavallo)     

     

Master? Viper! Hush. Coward! Silence! Daddy? Fool. Monster! Revenge! My Lord? My angel. Beat me. Hisst. Ta-ta-ta-ta. Repent! No! #operaplot (Don Giovanni by Mozart)     

Don O walks with me. Don O talks with me. He tells me I am his own. We share no joy–the silly boy. To think! He’s fully grown! #operaplot (Don Giovanni by Mozart)     

A is 4 Aida and Amneris. I is 4 the temple Isis owns. D is 4 the dungeon for Radames. Locked in A, Aida’s arms, Morir, he moans. #operaplot (Aida by Verdi)     

Fair-haired mare ensnares a herr and his frère. Back in the lair. Stares. Glares. An affair? A temper flares. A rapier. Despair! #operaplot (Pelléas et Mélisande—Debussy)     

Oy vey, Moses! Seeink Yahweh in that schmattah? Take my sport coat—Brooks Brothers—but leave the Rolex. Brink me a tchatchke!  #operaplot (Moses und Aron by Schoenberg)     

Come here, Gilda. Can’t dig your new squeeze, daughter. I may be a hunchback, but I ain’t no drag. Papa’s got a burlap bag. #operaplot (Rigoletto by Verdi)     

Happy Easter. Bite me. #operaplot (Cavalleria rusticana by Mascagni)     

1 rake, 2 acts, 3 soprani, 4 ta’s, 5 padre mio’s, 6 nò’s, 7 classes of conjugal conquests, 8 roles, 9 vile’s, 10 heavenly appeals #operaplot (Don Giovanni by Mozart)     

Madame Butterfly

 

CC – gotta go. bt IL B bac W d roses, d warm n sunny Cson wen d red-breasted robins r bZ nesting, ASAP posbL, my lov – BF #operaplot (Madama Butterfly by Puccini)     

In Seville, this skank I drilled, say “Sit on it and rotate it.” Tried to skate it. It was fated. Set my GPS for hell. Yeah well. #operaplot (Don Giovanni by Mozart)     

*Cough, cough* Darts in the bodice? *wheeze* Fitted waistline? *rasp* Puffed sleeves? *gasp* I can do a lace yoke. *death rattle* #operaplot (La bohème by Puccini)     

Anna Bolena at the Met 2011

 

Anna anna bo banna, marries a fat man-a, Percy kisses her hand-a. Die, Anna! Jane jane bo bane, Anna’s death is your gain, Jane! #operaplot (Anna Bolena by Donizetti)     

A tisket, a tasket. A stout knight in a basket. They tossed him in the River Thames and foxed his fat white ascot. #operaplot (Falstaff by Verdi)     

Prison Break: A new Fox series! Starring Don Florestan as the Spaniard, Leonore disguised as a youth, & Gary Busey as old Rocco. #operaplot (Fidelio by Beethoven)     

And now. The end is near. Dear Fyodor I’ve lost my marbles. Your voice is really high. It’s like a girl’s. Go lift some barbells. #operaplot (Boris Godunov by Mussorgsky)

Countess Adèle. She’s real swell-ah. Break me off a piece of that Countess Adèle. I’ll even don a wimple for a piece of Adèle. #operaplot (Le Comte Ory by Rossini)     

      

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 And of course, I’m having a blast reading everyone else’s plots. And that means I’ll be recognizing my favorites on this blog next week, once they are all categorized. So, whaddya think, cats and kittens? Do I have a chance to win with any of these plots?

hunkering down for #operaplot 2011

I don’t know how I missed the Omniscient Mussel’s  Save-the-Date post regarding #Operaplot 2011. But I visited Miss Mussel’s website, and there it was.

Operaplot 2011 will take place between April 11 and 15 (the same days I’ve been called for jury duty–I don’t how I’m going to be affected just yet by that eventuality).

In case you’re not familiar with #Operaplot 2011, the basic premise is that you Tweet plots to an opera–any opera–between April 11 and 15 always finishing with a hashtag and the word operaplot (#operaplot). Describing the entire plot of an opera in 140 characters is the basic idea. Miss Mussel will be sharing more guidelines soon, which may differ slightly with last year’s official rules.

Last year, I didn’t enter. I was new to Twitter so I merely enjoyed the entries filling my Twitter feed. I’d like to enter this year–we’ll see what happens.  Anyway, to warm up your #operaplot chops, here’s a few opera headlines to decipher.

1. FATHER’S CURSE TRIGGERS EVENTS ENDING IN KIDS’ DEATHS
2. EVIL MAGICIAN MAKES WRITER’S THREE ROMANCES DISAPPEAR
3. BOY WINS GIRL THROUGH TRIAL OF FIRE AND WATER
4. AGING NOBLEWOMAN BLESSES YOUNGER RIVAL’S NUPTIALS
5. HERO’S DEATH BRINGS DOOMSDAY

I’m not going to provide the answers this time. However, anyone who can answer all five correctly will be entered in a drawing to win this handsome (if I do say so myself) Operatoonity mug.

Please send all answers to galemartin08@gmail.com rather than leave them in the comments.

Start thinking about your entries for #operaplot 2011. (And those of you with nearly inactive Twitter accounts need to rev them up to be ready for April 11).

post-party expression

Now that my favorite composer’s birthday has come and gone, and I personally made an unprecedented amount of hoopla over it, it might be reasonable for me to be suffering a little post-party depression.

Instead I feel happy (and spent–in a good way–I did post four times yesterday–a personal best not soon to be repeated)! Not to mention that I bolted upright at three in the morning with the title for a post I hadn’t yet written–one of the aftereffects of posting daily I suppose–the subconcious mind never stops working.

Just so you know, I am not a one-track train. Besides opera, I am an avid fan of the NBA and was a sports mom for a decade. I love my gardening during growing season, birds, and books–reading them and writing them–and also, keeping it real,  “Dancing with the Stars.” (Per my daughter, I don’t really like DWTS–I merely have settled into the irony of liking it.)

Regarding Mozart‘s birthday, I needed to set aside time to give him his due on this opera blog. And you can say what you want about Twitter and deem it a time suck or a worthless pursuit, but besides #operaplot week, it was a most uplifting day on Twitter yesterday. More than a hundred people joined the #mozartchat list, sharing little known facts about Mozart, quotes about Mozart, and loads of links. Dozens of  links to wonderful pieces of music were shared yesterday–on and off the #mozartchat list.

Yes, a whole echelon of folks managed to communicate meaningfully for a day on Twitter without no mention of Kanye West, Justin Bieber, or Kim Kardachian.

Thanks to everyone (you know who you are) who chimed in with an anecdote, a YouTube clip, the title of a favorite piece, or a bit of Mozart trivia. You made yesterday a fitting and memorable tribute to the late great W. A. Mozart.  Oh, and fun! Fun is good, too.

fave Mozart works–the Twittersphere has spoken (part one)

In honor of Mozart‘s 255th birthday, folks on Twitter poured forth with favorite compositions. So all day today, I’ll be sharing their picks with you.

The first comes from @proxli, aka Terry Moore, who cited Sinfonia Concerto K. 364 as a favorite.

Here’s a great version featuring Issac Stern(Violin), Pinchas Zukerman(Viola), Zubin Mehta(Conductor), New York Philharmonic Orchestra 1980

First we have part one:

And part two, since you simply CAN’T stop after hearing part one:

Wordle I do without you, my opera Tweeps?

Thanks to TweetStats, I was able to create a Tweet Cloud representing my sphere of influence on Twitter. This was all done scientifically, of course, and not through anything I controlled. I merely added my Twitter address, and TweetStats calculated this cloud for me.

What’s amazing to me is that I’d never known anyone who appears in this cloud before 2010. I’ve met every single one of them through Twitter. Every opera company, every non-profit associated with the operasphere, every performer, or opera buff in this cloud, I never knew existed before I began Tweeting. 

Now, thanks to Twitter, I’ve met so many new, interesting and accomplished people and made dozens more contacts within the world of opera.

In the spirit of the season, I want to wish you all a wonderful holiday and let you know how grateful I am to have found you all on Twitter.

Maybe Twitter is really the bluebird of happiness!

W.A. Mozart and Jane Austen

Today on Twitter, in response to yesterday’s post in which I suggested literary counterparts for great opera composers, I got some great feedback on my choice of Kafka as a counterpart for Mozart. 

One Twitterer mentioned that though they are both geniuses, Kafka’s genius is random but Mozart’s music is as precise as math, which I thought was great feedback. 

Jane Austen

Though not everyone agrees with putting  Jane Austen and Mozart on the same continuum, after I read the writer’s ideas on the matter– Austen’s world is about order & decorum, sense vs. sensibility, which ties in w/ Mozart’s math, I thought they were worth posting. The writer also suggested that Mozart parallels Austen in terms of being loved: Mozart festivals, Austen films & books (P&P w/ zombies, etc.). 

So, how about it? Which rings truer to you? Mozart as Kafka or Mozart as Austen. Or is there a better literary counterpart? And why is it so hard to use such a framework as this for W.A. Mozart?