instant relationships

How is it that people are able to percive deeply into someone almost the first time they meet? I get somewhat shocked by how fast relationships have formed for me, like with Meg, Maggy, Jane, etc. I do suppose I see into them to though, because I open up really fast. That's not something I do too often.

The moment in time that I'm a bit infatuated with is when I had my first voice lesson with Prof Johnson at SUU. He heard me sing a little, and we started looking at literature. Well, he turned to E la solita storia del pastore by Cilea (from the opera L'arlesiana) and said that it was going to be a perfect aria for me when I was ready, and turned the page. Almost everytime we looked at literature after that, the piece was mentioned, but quickly turned down do to the difficulty of it. Finally I went on my own and listened to recordings of it, and I can see exactly why this piece is perfect for me.

The range is perfect, in so much that my voice resonates really well in all those places. Also, the romanticism that is in the piece is something I thrive on so much. All the little curves and delicacies are heart melting. That and the way he places the high As are magical. It goes to a B at the very end, but that isn't the amazing note. The As are.

Now, the background of the aria that leads up to this point is that the hero, Federico, loves a girl with a less than admirable reputation. His family refuses to recognize any kind of relationship that Fedrico has with her. The amazing part to the aria is that Fedrico goes into a state where he tells his story as if it were already a legend of sorts. One english translation goes like this:

It's the old tale of the shephard...
The poor boy wanted to retell it
and he fell asleep.
There is oblivion in sleep.
How I envy him!
I too would like to sleep in such a way
in sleep, at least, to find oblivion!
I am seeking only peace.
I would like to be able to foget everything!
Yet everything is futile.
Before me I always have
her sweet face.
Peace is ever robbed from me.
Why must I suffer so much?
She, always she, before me!
Fatal vision, leave me!
You hurt me so much!
Alas!

I make so many connections to this text. I have often found myself looking in on my situation from another. And, the sleep motive is genious. When I went to New Orleans for my first year, I was a complete reck. One of the things I tended to do was sleep. Sleep insane amounts of hours. Why? There was so much pain in my life, and sleep took it all away. As this aria says, there is oblivion in sleep. At that point, it seemed like all I tried didn't work, and I found myself always coming back to sleep, especially when I was stressed out. The heroine represents so many, many different things to me at that time. Homosexuality, School, New Orleans, Music, and the list goes on. I had so much opposition to almost everything I was going to Loyola for from friends and family. I always found myself wondering why it was me that had to suffer so much. Childish, I know, but true none the less. It was hard because I almost didn't want my own understanding at that point.

The final note in the aria, "Ahime", is so tasteful. It really sums up all the pain and suffering that he had gone through. That we had gone through.

Anyway, things and ideas have definately changed for myself since then, but I identify so much with these ideas. And having it in Italian as well, it just makes my heart melt. I'm actually going to be performing this aria next semester on my senior recital. I'm quite excited.

Back to the original idea of the post. I really do believe that God draws me to people and those people to myself, even if only through the most basic ways possible.