Russian Roulette

Last night there were two conflicting events that I wanted to attend: a ward activity and Armide, the University of Michigan's spring semester opera. So I went to the ward activity first and then ran over to the Power Center to slip into the opera during intermission. The timing worked out perfectly - I found a seat mere seconds before the second half started. I know practically everyone involved in the opera, so when a bunch of unknown actors stepped out on stage I was a little bewildered. I whispered to the lady next to me, "Excuse me, can you tell me what show this is?" "Uncle Vanya."

Oops. Turns out Armide was playing across the street at the Mendelssohn Theater. I just got on auto-pilot and went to the Power Center because every time I've been in the audience at the school's operas since I came here in Fall '07 it has been at the Power Center, and every time they've performed in Mendelssohn I've been in the opera.

For a moment I contemplated getting up and running across the street to catch the opera, but then I realized that watching a Chekhov play performed in Russian (with supertitles) by the world-famous Maly Drama Theater of St. Petersburg was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, so I decided to stay. And I'm really glad that I did. A few summers ago I went on a play-reading binge and read several of Chekhov's plays, but I had never seen one performed. The performance was absolutely fantastic - funny, sad, moving, and thought-provoking - and the acting was phenomenal. When it was over I ran across the street to the Mendelssohn Theater and caught the end of a panel discussion with the cast of Armide, so at least I got to see them in some form.

This is not the first time that I just randomly stumbled into a very cool performance. On a high school trip to Europe I wandered into a cathedral on the Grand Canal where a string quintet was rehearsing this heavenly Vivaldi piece and it was unforgettable. My favorite movie-going experience of my life happened later on the same trip when a friend and I happened to walk past a movie theater in Vienna minutes before a one-time-only screening of The Third Man (the theater was located right next to the iconic ferris wheel and afterward we went and reenacted one of the movie's great scenes). One time I took a random day trip to Ontario, and I somehow ended up seeing a spectacular production of the Gershwin revue My One and Only at the Stratford Festival. And there was that time in São Paulo when I wound up seeing a film and a Q & A panel at the Latin American Film Festival.

What do all of these experiences have in common? They all happened while I was traveling. When I accidentally saw the Russian play last night it made me wish that I would be more adventurous when I'm at home. Surely in a place like Ann Arbor I could be having great unexpected experiences like that on a semi-regular basis, right?

*****

Speaking of going to see shows in Ann Arbor, The Gondoliers opens on Thursday and I'd encourage you to come see it. The show is funny, it's in English, and it's got great music. I just got an email a few minutes ago from our publicity officer with a link to this preview on AnnArbor.com.

If you still can't get enough of me after The Gondoliers, you should come see my final dissertation recital on Tuesday, April 6th:

If you can't tell from the poster (designed, like all my awesome posters, by my sister Amy - although I drew the flag in MS Paint, dream blog-style), it's an all-Brazilian affair. This is music that doesn't get heard all that often, but it is as colorful, varied, and beautiful as the land that it comes from. I'd be so happy if any of you who follow my blog could be there.