Sunday afternoon opera and stuff

Sunday, 4:24 pm

By Kate

Apr

19

2009

I have never been known by my love of opera, but here I sit watching/listening to Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor and I’m loving it. The villain is so deliciously villainy. The heroine is so tragic. And the hero is so...so...emphatically tenor-y. And while the heroine lies on center stage in a full faint, the villain and hero sing all about killing each other with their swords. It’s sort of an afterthought that anyone pays attention to the tragic lady who is being driven mad by her grasping, greedy brother. I hope the villain (brother) gets his! Sometimes, I do like opera!
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So, yesterday I joined the gym. It’s a newish one in town called Planet Fitness. This gym has two major things going for it—there is easy parking and the membership is $10 a month. It’s close to my house, too. And the hours are great. So, I’ve signed up and I have a one hour get-together with the personal trainer on Thursday to get me set up on the weight machines. They’re new and a little different, so I’d like some instruction before I start using them. The instruction comes with with membership, so I’m taking advantage of it. Meanwhile, I can use the stair steppers or bikes or treadmills or free weights.

As I understand it, this particular gym franchise got its start, close-by, in New Hampshire. It was designed for the regular everyday person. No showing off appreciated or encouraged at these gyms. And there is a prohibition against grunting and dropping weights or acting like a prima donna. That cracks me up. I’ve been to gyms where both men and women behave that way and it is annoying. And a serious plea for attention. When I’m at the gym, I’m suffering enough on my own, I don’t need to share someone else’s suffering, too. We’ll see. All I care about is getting to those weight machines.
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Oh my, the operatic heroine just went certifiably bonkers and stabbed her bridegroom while singing beautifully. It’s not easy being an opera star, is it?