Today’s the day, folks! I’m off to the opera to witness La Traviata—but first, let’s do the pre-game. After my morning workout (which was clearly heroic), I made my way to the CBD to meet Mel for lunch at Jimmy’s Falafel on George Street. The owner—Justin Hemmes himself was there! No, we didn’t ask for selfies. (But now that I think of it, why didn’t we? I could’ve used those brownie points.)
With hours to kill before the opera (because who doesn’t want to be early to sit in a dark room for three hours?), I wandered into the State Library of NSW. There, I got lost in the world of Pix magazine, some Peter Kingston exhibits, and of course, their permanent collection. My personal favorite? A painting of Mrs. F. O’Brien from 1841 by Maurice Felton, a naval surgeon-turned-artist. Another interesting fact: she tragically died at 21, and the portrait was made posthumously from a plaster mask of her face. That’s some serious dark art vibes.
Next up, I checked out an exhibit on Muslim women in sports. Highlights included Dolly’s Bootcamp, run by sisters Dalal and Aziza, who are out here crushing it in their women-only gym, and Dr. Zeynab Alsheih, who got banned from competing in a headscarf at the US Open Karate Championship in 2014. Let’s just say, it was all inspiring and empowering.
After that, I popped by the Art Gallery of NSW to finish what I started (aka avoiding the part where M and D started dramatically sighing and whispering “We’re dying here”—typical). I ended up discovering a few hidden gems, and I’m glad I stuck around for those.
Finally, it was time for the main event—Giuseppe Verdi’s La Traviata. And wow. It was magnificent. Lorina Gore, playing the Parisian courtesan Violetta Valery, and Ji-Min Park, playing Alfredo, absolutely nailed their performances. I also couldn’t get enough of Luke Gabbedy’s deep voice as Giorgio Germont. No, I didn’t sob uncontrollably like Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman to the aria “Di Provenza il mar), but I did get teary-eyed twice: once during Amami Alfredo (Love me, Alfredo) and then at the very end when Violetta was dying. Let’s just say it was a rollercoaster of emotions—and I’m still recovering from it all.
Whew, what a day. Definitely worth the tissues!
