ARTS: Welcome to the Treeleaf Opera House

[Shosho]

Greetings everyone and welcome to the TREELEAF OPERA HOUSE!


I am very excited to hear about all the singers at our zendo. On this side of the Arts & Music Circle,
we will get together to experiment with our voices and our drama skills, hopefully by organising
miniature operas/musicals.

Now, don’t let the word “opera” scare you. Think of our Opera House as the perfect-imperfect Opera
House: the primary objective is to have fun, so it really does not matter what skill you currently have,
you’ll only need yourself (and the occasional prop or two :p ).

It would be amazing to collaborate with any of the instrumentalists from the Music Hall side of
the circle, so if you still want to be involved in the Opera House but aren’t so much interested in the
singing part, do come along!

So this is an invitation to all of you interested! Tell us about your own experience
with singing (even if you only sing in the shower!).

Here’s a little more about me: I’m a soprano recitalist who is highly interested in Baroque music. My latest
performances include repertoire from various periods (such as Händel, Villa-Lobos, and Britten). I’ve always
loved to act and I’m especially good with villain characters [evilgrin] (which doesn’t really correlate with my
personality! [monk] ).

WELCOME!!

Gassho,
Shoshо̄

sat

[Hensho]

Well, I'm totally in.

I am a mezzo soprano, sitting solidly as a happy amateur because I came very late to the party, and I'm just glad the party is still going! At the age of 44, I began studying voice with a wonderful teacher who helped me develop my skills well enough to become a professional cantor. Sadly, the pandemic has shut down all my gigs, so this idea of yours is really intriguing. I miss singing very much. And the opera is shut down, too, so I can't even go to hear beautiful live singing any more.

I'm excited to see what this perfect-imperfect Opera House will be. I hope others join!

Gassho,
Hensho

satlah

[Ryumon]

I've long been a music lover, but I've never really gotten into opera. Part of it is because of the length, part of it is because of the cost of attending operas. Also, all those boring recitatives; I could probably enjoy Mozart operas if they only had the singing parts. :-)

(To be fair, I did go through a period when I listened to a lot of baroque opera, and I particularly enjoy the French, such as Lully and Rameau, and the less "operatic" operas like those by Purcell.)

However, I could listen to Bach cantatas all day long, and I do have a love of voice in classical music.

Gasso,

Kirk

sat

[Shosho]

Hensho: I'm excited to see what this perfect-imperfect Opera House will be. I hope others join!

Welcome, Hensho! This will be a great opportunity to bring the opera house to your practice room! Really hope
we can gather a few ideas for mini productions.



Ryumon: (To be fair, I did go through a period when I listened to a lot of baroque opera,
and I particularly enjoy the French, such as Lully and Rameau, and the less "operatic" operas like those by Purcell.)

Welcome, Ryumon! Purcell's Dido and Aeneas was my first opera [happy] and I distinctly remember it being
a lovely story, 2 acts too long! I completely feel what you mean, the cost and lengthy recitatives are a huge
turn off for interested new listeners.
______________

I am hoping to take all these past experiences, mine and all of yours, and engage in organising a production that
is short and sweet. ;)

WELCOME!!

Gassho,
Shoshо̄

sat

[Kokuu]

Treeleaf Opera House! How wonderful!

My singing voice is terrible but I really look forward to listening to what you all come up with here!

Gassho
Kokuu
-sattoday-

[Shosho]

Welcome Kokuu! This is sure to be an interesting journey!

Even if you don't want to partake on the singing, there will be plenty of opportunities to learn about singing
technique and singing in correlation to expression and channelling of emotion.


Gassho,
Shoshо̄

sat

[Kokuu]

Even if you don't want to partake on the singing, there will be plenty of opportunities to learn about singing
technique and singing in correlation to expression and channelling of emotion.

That sounds really useful, Shoshō! I wonder if we might be able to look at that in relation to chanting and maybe even produce something along those lines?

Gassho
Kokuu
-sattoday-

[aprapti]

i never have sung opera, but i do sing in two choirs, one sings monthly the Byzantine Divine liturgy and the other sings songs of solidarity.. That is when they sing but for now we don't sing at all.. sars-CoV 2, you know.. :nightmare: At home i chant sutras before and after my zazen.

so i like to see what will be done in this house..

gassho2

aprapti

std/lah

[Tosei]

I sound like a mortally wounded Venusian hippo, but I love opera and beautiful voices, so I’m around to murmur appreciation, declaim wonder, and fill up any seats that need to be filled.

Gassho,

Tōsei

ST

[Ryumon]

I should have mentioned above that the singing that moves me most is Schubert’s lieder. Not opera, but certainly influenced by opera.

Gassho,

Kirk

Sat

[Shosho]

Kokuu: I wonder if we might be able to look at that in relation to chanting and maybe even produce something along those lines?

I'm wondering the same! Exciting stuff lies ahead. This could mean an original Treeleaf production!

At the top of my head, the poetry circle could lend us a hand to write a script which we then could use to sing arias. Chanting in harmony is the chorus!


Aprapti: i never have sung opera, but i do sing in two choirs (...) At home i chant sutras before and after my zazen.

Welcome, Aprapti! We could use your help for potential chanting in harmony!


Tosei: I sound like a mortally wounded Venusian hippo, but I love opera and beautiful voices, so I’m around to murmur appreciation, declaim wonder, and fill up any seats that need to be filled.

Welcome, Tosei! I am sure that Venusian hippos can also improve. ;) We will need a lending ear at any point—stick around!


Ryumon: I should have mentioned above that the singing that moves me most is Schubert’s lieder. Not opera, but certainly influenced by opera.

I 100% agree that lieder can be seen as a recitalist's opera—I know I do! My favourite is: (the string quartet version is also top-notch)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DgvM0g4fGBE&ab_channel=chellist

______________

Great to see everyone's interest in this part of the circle!

A post is coming with the first prompt to get us singing.

WELCOME!!

Gassho,
Shoshо̄

sat

[Horin]

Can't wait to hear an opera version of the hannya shingyo [emoji6]

Gassho

Horin

Stlah

Enviado desde mi BLA-L29 mediante Tapatalk

[Seikan]

At the top of my head, the poetry circle could lend us a hand to write a script which we then could use to sing arias. Chanting in harmony is the chorus!


Challenge accepted! I'm sure that we could collectively assist with something here if needed. :)

As for singing, well... I love to sing, but really it just makes my family wince in pain. ;). Better for me to stick to putting words on a page.

I am definitely an opera fan though. Boito's Mefistofele is a favorite along with the more quirky and modern Einstein on the Beach by Philip Glass. However, I probably listen to more music with vocals that doesn't fall into the opera category: Carmina Burana, various Requiems (Faure's is sublime), etc. And I get all teary-eyed listening to Dawn Upshaw performing the second movement of Gorecki's third symphony. ;)

Looking forward to hearing what you all come up with here.

Gassho,
Seikan

-stlah-


Sent from my Pixel 4a (5G) using Tapatalk

[Shōnin Risa Bear]

Something like this perhaps [monk]


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B6Loyexw3uk

Caveats: The Internet breaks down files and streams into packets, queues them at whatever channels happen to be open (some are cables, some are satellites), ships them to their destination, where they are assembled in their previous order, with each packet checked to be sure it is what was sent, in what order. Thus, when two people are singing, one of them may hear a perfect duet, while the other may hear them as much as a second apart. And so on for all those listening in. Plus the more obvious difficulties that arise when Zoom picks up a voice on a device's speakers because someone is not using headset or earbuds. It's for such reasons, I suspect, that the Netherlands Bach Society is currently fielding on YT performances that were recorded before the lockdowns began. :eek: I wonder if any of our engineers know about ways to carry off ensemble efforts. _()_

Sorry for over 3 sentences _()_

gassho
doyu shonin sat and lah today

[Ryumon]

Caveats: The Internet breaks down files and streams into packets, queues them at whatever channels happen to be open (some are cables, some are satellites), ships them to their destination, where they are assembled in their previous order, with each packet checked to be sure it is what was sent, in what order. Thus, when two people are singing, one of them may hear a perfect duet, while the other may hear them as much as a second apart. And so on for all those listening in. Plus the more obvious difficulties that arise when Zoom picks up a voice on a device's speakers because someone is not using headset or earbuds. It's for such reasons, I suspect, that the Netherlands Bach Society is currently fielding on YT performances that were recorded before the lockdowns began. :eek: I wonder if any of our engineers know about ways to carry off ensemble efforts. _()_


It's not about the packets, it's more about latency, the time it takes for data to go from a computer, to a server, to another computer. This makes it impossible to play music in sync. There are no solutions to this.

The only thing that can be done is to recording individual instruments and singers, then edit them together. A friend of mine did this last year:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CEBsmxAfGiY

Gassho,

Kirk

sat

[Shōnin Risa Bear]

Possible incomplete thought in my post: the arrival times are constantly variable because of the multiple latencies, which is variable over the different routes. Multiple servers take part, as nodes. Hence cannot be predicted. This was said to be a feature, not a bug -- if Cincinatti was taken out by a nuclear weapon, the file would try Houston instead, to get to Atlanta. At least, so they told me two decades ago ... I might be out of date, which would NOT be surprising. :eek:

_()_

gassho
doyu shonin sat today (no lah yet)

[Ryumon]

Possible incomplete thought in my post: the arrival times are constantly variable because of the multiple latencies, which is variable over the different routes. Multiple servers take part, as nodes. Hence cannot be predicted. This was said to be a feature, not a bug -- if Cincinatti was taken out by a nuclear weapon, the file would try Houston instead, to get to Atlanta. At least, so they told me two decades ago ... I might be out of date, which would NOT be surprising. :eek:


Yes, data travels different paths, according to what is the most efficient at the time. But the latency begins at the point where a computer or devices connecting to their ISP, and that can be quite variable. Then the response time of their DNS server. Then the response time of the next upstream server. And so on. It's the IndrasNet.

Gassho,

Kirk

sat

[Koutoku]

I love opera. Elina Garanca and Sumi Jo are my favorite female singers. I can't sing but looking forward to listen to what you come up with.

Gassho,

Koutoku
SAT

[Tai Shi]

Excuse my spelling, please. My favorite opera is La Böhm, Puccini which I saw performed when I was 19-years old at La Scala. Plácido Don Domingo was the tenor lead. I was vagabonding in Europe from September 1971 to May 1972.
Gassho
sat/ lah
Tai Shi