Lieder (Series of songs tied by a single theme) and Arias (Opera)

Saturday is the day reserved for pure fun. No serious work, no thinking, just window shopping, dinning or a movie, and if I have friends dropping over, nothing can be better than to lay back and relax. This Saturday, I had a special treat, a grand privilege to attend a soprano. I had read about Nicola Beller Carbone's vocal presence, musical sensitivity, diversity of style and dramatic talent combine to make her one of the most outstanding artists of her generation, and this was the opportunity I could not afford to miss. My friends and I took a taxi and reached NCPA at Nariman point to witness the most beautiful opera performance. It was the evening well spent and I was enthralled by the fluidity in her voice as she sang with feeling and exemplary taste, without straining in the final notes of the upper octave. We were given a booklet which had the English translations of her Spanish lyrics and that made it more interesting. Spanish has always been my favorite language and it was a great experience to hear the lyrics in Spanish. I specially love her performance of the song called ‘El Majo Discreto’ (The discreet lover) that was sung in Spanish and it sounded sweet and its translations went something like this People say that my man is ugly It’s possible it may be so, for love is desire That blinds and makes dizzy There are times when I know That if you love you can’t see. But though my dearest is not a man Whose beauty shines and surprises, Yet he’s discreet and keeps a secret I confide in him, knowing he’s reliable. What is secret That my man keeps? It would be indiscreet Were I to tell It takes no little effort to know The secrets of a man with a woman We were zapped by the magic in the voice and the clock ticked by silently and quickly, and long before we realized it, one and hour half seemed like a short span. After the show, we were starved and grabbed the good portion of cheese, toast, fruits and wine. I am still in that spell. The magic lingers on……