I always viewed myself as having a more refined sense of culture than most others in my own generation. This over inflated sense of pretension was quickly destroyed when I visited the opera in Vienna. Before the first act was over, I quickly realised that the opera was not for me. Chris and I stood up, walked out the back and straight to the coat check girl and asked for our jackets.
"There is still another act" she said to us in a kind but also strangely patronising tone (this was clearly something that she had been required to inform other less informed patrons in the past).
"We know. Give us our coats." was our response.
We took our coats, walked out into the cold evening air of Vienna and quickly found somewhere to get horrendously drunk.
We were backpacking at the time, so I use that as my excuse for my lack of interest in the finer musical arts.
Since that time, my interaction with the finer musical arts has been limited.
This was all about to change though as I was going to spend an evening at the symphony.
A symphony playing music from cartoons, but it was still the symphony!
I had finally, after many years, managed to go and see a performance in the Sydney Opera House. This most iconic of Australian landmarks had been so close to me for so long and it was only now that I was taking up the opportunity to enjoy its proper use. Like most natives to a country and city, I had experienced surprisingly little of where I lived whilst yearning to see the world.
I don't think I could have chosen a better moment either.
Seeing the symphony playing the music to the Pixar cartoons was incredible. Combining cartoons with the symphony had clearly worked as a method of gaining some much needed popular support for the symphony, but no one seemed to be concerned with this. I liked Pixar as well, so there really weren't many problems at all with this marriage.
The emotional impact of the songs took me by surprise and I struggled to keep myself composed when they played the music to "Up" with the montage of the Carl and Ellie's life being played on the big screen in the background. By the end of the song and the montage, the music of the symphony faded to the sounds of most of the audience either crying or gently sobbing.
"There is still another act" she said to us in a kind but also strangely patronising tone (this was clearly something that she had been required to inform other less informed patrons in the past).
"We know. Give us our coats." was our response.
We took our coats, walked out into the cold evening air of Vienna and quickly found somewhere to get horrendously drunk.
We were backpacking at the time, so I use that as my excuse for my lack of interest in the finer musical arts.
Since that time, my interaction with the finer musical arts has been limited.
This was all about to change though as I was going to spend an evening at the symphony.
I had finally, after many years, managed to go and see a performance in the Sydney Opera House. This most iconic of Australian landmarks had been so close to me for so long and it was only now that I was taking up the opportunity to enjoy its proper use. Like most natives to a country and city, I had experienced surprisingly little of where I lived whilst yearning to see the world.
I don't think I could have chosen a better moment either.
The emotional impact of the songs took me by surprise and I struggled to keep myself composed when they played the music to "Up" with the montage of the Carl and Ellie's life being played on the big screen in the background. By the end of the song and the montage, the music of the symphony faded to the sounds of most of the audience either crying or gently sobbing.
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