忙碌但意外的平静的一天 – 没有激动也没有眼泪。三年后，同一个地方，同一个典礼！
Month: May 2024 (Page 1 of 2)
Yesterday was a bittersweet day for me, the official beginning of the end for an important part of life journey. Indeed you never understand the value of a moment until it becomes memory.
Graduation ceremony is next week.
I can almost hear Andante Spianato playing in the background as the overture for the next act of our life, which I believe will be GOLDEN.
I was finally able to get my hands on this long awaited Turandot recording from my library. Although I still prefer the 1972 legend Sutherland/Pavarotti recording better, this recording was still a “wow” moment for me. Stunningly beautiful! 
Not even an amateur by any standard so just a few personal impressions. In my memory, this is the only “full” version of Turandot I ever heard which by itself brings a lot of freshness to this probably most recorded opera. Kaufmann has been in steady decline in the last ten years, his performance in this CD was OK but reconfirmed that – not sure why his voices is now on the darker side (compare to Pavarotti’s charming). The two female singers are the real assets for this recording, bright, brilliant and touching. This “full” version has more orchestral component and thus gave Pappano more room to shine. He nailed it but he also undoubtedly benefits from the advancement in digital recording as the latest major recording of Turandot – I am never a fan of Maria Callas (just can not tolerate the poor recordings from 50s).
I now have a digital copy so I can play in my Tesla too.
Update 5/11/2024:
I have spent last a few days listening both this version and the 1972 recording and now have a better understanding of the criticism toward Joho. It was hard to imagine the 1972 recording gathered so many super stars that were still relatively new at that time.
My LOVE to opera originated from a performance at Verona Arena. Unlike any other opera, my love to Turandot is special and multifaceted. One is certainly Nessun Dorma, whenever I hear the music I have an imagination of countless of fireworks blooming and shining in the dark sky. I had it as my ringtone for a long time before it was taken over by Canon; the other is due to its deep root from Chinese children song “Jade Flower”, （Là, sui monti dell’Est) repeated countless times; and the other and probably the most important is the character of Liu.
For the entire opera, the only respectable human being to me is Liu (sorry Turandot and Calaf lovers). She is kind and selfless. My heart is always broken when she sings “Signore, ascolta!” for her unrequited love. Her joys of love is the ultimate sacrifice for her love. Joho’s voice is less glamorous than Caballé’s, but soft and beautiful, which to me is a more appropriate reflection of Liu’s feeling: desperate, sad, but at the same time feeling belittle as a slave (thus also the tremble in her voice). I am infatuated with her “Signore, ascolta!”.
因为几大相机厂商很快要为今年的奥运会发布一系列新相机的缘故，佳能的R6 Mark II和尼康的Z8都大幅降价。Z8我一直觉得太大太重，对佳能R6II实在有些动心。
我是个恋旧的人。第一个相机是全机械的Nikon FM2, 一个SLR里面神话般的存在。它陪伴了我们在OSU的最后三年，征战过很多地方。但很快由于数码时代的到来而只能在抽屉里吃灰。之后的DSLR都很自然地延续了Nikon系列。改入佳能就意味着我这些Nikon们要妻离子散。趁着她们还都在，赶紧照张全家福。
Nikon的无反系列其实还不错，可是软件控制和自动对焦和R6II还稍有些差距（除了Z8和Z9, 可这两个太大太重，价钱也不是一个量级的）。我还在犹豫着，还是看看马上要出来的Z7iii和Z6iii怎么样。希望会是期待中的惊喜。等待未尝不是一种幸福。
下面的纽约摄影学院的教材还是领导2000年圣诞节回中国探亲时给我背回来的。多年过去，依然如新。
关于这个话题，心情很复杂。今天先立个靶子，看看哪天写一段吧。