city opera is the new mgmt.

I had a rather cultural weekend. My eyes and ears were exposed to both Tyler Perry's Meet The Browns and New York City Opera's production of Giacomo Puccini's Madama Butterfly. And while Angela Bassett didn't kick her triflin' baby father in the balls, I did get to witness Cio-Cio San laying the beat-down on her maid Suzuki and Goro the matchmaker...shortly before she committed ritual suicide. And to think that some people call the opera boring!

Once you get through the background and lame dudes singing in Act I, Butterfly makes it rain flowers! And as Kanye West said that "A little rain never hurt no strippers", I say that a little rain never hurt no Cio-Cio. In fact, as the swirling petals mingled with the music, I wanted to believe just as much as Cio-Cio that Pinkerton was coming home. I felt myself on stage frolicking about in my three-year old bridal garments and dressing my son Sorrow in an American-flag robe that The New York Times would call silly. I felt it all. The hope. The desperation. The waiting...

And then the morning after. Not only did my triflin' baby father leave me for three years to go nuzzle up with some white chick, but now they want to go all Rumplestiltskin and steal my baby! I can't go for their guilt-free exotification and enjoyment of my mixed-race child. Sure. You can take away my baby, but I'm going to take away my life. This Butterfly ain't gonna fly no more!

Now that's what I call catharsis-- the type of catharsis that Angela Bassett just can't deliver. There may be a possibility that you too can indulge in the Cio-Cio experience...but I've been told that Candide presents your best chances of pretending to be cultured and classy like me. Upcoming performances:

• Madama Butterfly, Giacomo Puccini: Running until April 6th (details)
• Falstaff, Giuseppe Verdi: Running until April 5th (details)
• Tosca, Giacomo Puccini: Running until April 5th (details)
• Candide, Leonard Bernstein: April 8-April 20 (details)
  

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But City Opera aren't the only folks throwing a party! Now that I can let go of my college memories and let MGMT get popular, I feel a need to notify you faithful readers (all two of you?) that they'll be performing in NYC on April 8th at the closing night party of the Gen Art Film Festival. Check the deets, check two rare older tracks recorded before I was legal below, and then check them performing LIVE on April 8th.

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dl: MGMT - Just Becuz (YSI)
dl: MGMT - Kids (Afterschool Extended Dance Megamix) (YSI)
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- BUY IT - SITE IT - SPACE IT - WIK IT - HYPE IT -

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BLOGGER NOTE: Though I missed my opportunity to catch the "deeply moving" performance of Shu-Ying Li as Cio-Cio, I did get to send my friend this ultra-creepy video directly from the New York State Theater.