Looking forward 2014

What a year 2013 is! If 2012 is my year of learning machine learning, 2013 is my year of learning Scala and listening to operas. It's a bit rocky (two job changes), but never boring. Now I can hardly wait to see what I can make of 2014.

Opera High

Noticing that I had been in a kind of super euphoric state for more than two weeks, my best friend started to worry I would crash land from my opera "high" after the holiday season end.

"How about doing something to deflate it a little bit", my best friend sheepishly suggested.
"Like what?" I said. "Cara Speme" was humming in my head.
"How about doing something you used to do before the holidays? What did you do at work then?"
"Well, I was doing Scala programming", I said.
"OK, how about reviewing some Scala stuff?"
"But I don't want to review Scala, I want to go to La Scala, to listen to operas!!!" I protested.

My best friend sighed, "yeah, we all do".

Sta nell’Ircana

Three different versions of one of my favorite Handel arias: Sta Nell'lrcana. My personal favorite is Coote's interpretation. (Though I think Handel's personal pick would be DiDonato. Her embellishment would definitely be approved by the composer.) Her slower tempo shows a more ambivalent Ruggiero, who is mustering all the courage he can to help him making the decision to pursue his duty, knowing he may die soon. I also like the syncopation. It's almost like you are hearing his heart beats. I can hardly wait to hear Coote in person in January.

The young Alice Coote. This was her breakthrough role. The comments on youtube are so much fun to read.

Santa Cruz Sunset

Santa Cruz Sunset from Jiunjiun Ma on Vimeo.

My Two Favorite Mezzo-Sopranos

Alice Coote and Joyce DiDonato are my two favorite mezzo-sopranos (how lucky we Handel junkies are to live in a time of Handel revival, with so many great mezzo-sopranos singing the trouser roles). Interestingly, I noticed both because of their great performances in Handel's Alcina (with DiDonato singing Alcina and Coote singing Ruggiero in a totally different production). I once jokingly thought if I would ever see them in the same Alcina production. Well, that hasn't happened yet, but I was more than happy to discover that they did perform one opera together, that is Massenet's Cendrillon (with Coote singing Prince Charming and DiDonato singing Cinderella). And their youtube videos are all very fun to watch.

P.S. Two performances of Coote and DiDonato singing of "Cara Speme" below. Each sang to their own strength and each gave a wonderful performance. 

Here is Coote's recent Met performance of Cara Speme. Coote dark timbre makes her a perfect mezzo-soprano for Mahler's work. Her BBC Prom performance totally changed my thinking about Mahler's vocal work.

Joyce DiDonato plays Francesca Cuzzoni

I can't stop laughing when I watch this video, just too hilarious.

Ano Nuevo State Park

First elephant seal encountered. 

According to our docent, when you can see their belly buttons, they haven't reached adult hood yet.

Elephant seals are extreme distance swimmers but are very clumsy in land.

For some reason, it feels like they are singing opera duets.

A young female, a sleeping beauty.

Cannot afford a safari, this is as good as it gets.

Ano Nuevo Island.

Afternoon in Shoreline Park

Our Lady of Peace

Every time I drove by Mission College in Santa Clara, I noticed this giant statue, but I had never stopped to take a look. Today, after a heavy lunch, I decided to walk from my company to the statue. The statue was located in a small park. I was surprised to see so many flowers brought by people underneath the statue. There was a lady walking around with a rosary in hand. A couple embraced each other in the shade. The whole atmosphere indeed felt very peaceful. 

Evening Walk Around Shoreline Park

My First Time Lapse Video

The video is only 8 seconds but it took me 20 minutes to shoot. It was freezing cold in Shoreline Park but I couldn't get back to my car to fetch warm clothes once the shooting started so I had to jump around to keep warm. That 20 minutes felt soooooo loooooong. However, when I saw the final result, all pain was forgotten.

Joyce DiDonato's "Drama Queens - Larger than Life"

Joyce DiDonato speaks to Classic FM