#hopecel

i'm in love with the way you've phrased this

actually over all i think verdi is just fine, i don't feel terribly strongly about him one way or another. i'm impressed at the sheer volume of his output, and at how much of it retains enough relevance to get a couple productions every year. like traviata and aida and stuff play every night no matter what but you still get productions of d sides like attila and simon boccanegra cropping up every so often too, which in and of itself is kind of impressive. but tbh i think there's something about verdi -- and i haven't been able to put my finger quite on what yet -- i'm just kind of not getting, like what about his operas makes so many other people (including friends of mine whose opinions i generally think very highly of and frequently agree with) go nuts for him.

i'd say that like. mid-career to early late period verdi is probably the sweet spot for me. early stuff like nabucco i enjoy musically but think it's a bit thin dramatically and, barring individual arias or ensembles like va pensiero, not particularly standing out in terms of their music, instead just kind of blending into the general bel canto texture. but by the 1850s he really hit his creative stride, imo, and the best of his works both in dramatic cohesion and in music came around this time. rigoletto (1851) is far and away my favorite of his works, the music is so damn good and the story is genuinely affecting and not too drawn out by tiresome or contrived bullshit as i think can often be a stumbling block in his operas. la traviata and il trovatore are also from this era and i think they're probably among my next favorites, but they're really not even close for me. late period verdi i think gets too big for its own good most of the time, especially when he starts getting infected with wagnerianism...apologies to all the verdi fans out there, but i find otello mostly dull, forza confusing, and don carlo a total mess 😭 like you can practically feel how many revisions they tried out to make don carlo work. it's like the love never dies of verdi operas.

credit where it's due, though, la forza del destino has a killer overture. verdi is one of those composers i wonder if they'd've been better off as primarily an orchestral composer as opposed to an operatic one...in verdi's case, probably not, but still, curious to consider.

all in all i think there's definitely stuff to like about verdi for me (and some stuff in his operas that i think are stupid as hell) but too much of it just doesn't feel...memorable or interesting enough for me to really distinguish it from the crowd, if that makes sense? so i wouldnt' say i hate him but there are definitely much bigger fans out there of his that could probably give you (and me, tbh) a better rundown on what there is to enjoy from him.

that said he's the only composer i own a finger puppet of so. jury's out really idk

(also once again saw your header when clicked on your blog to write this ask - a Masterpiece)

WAIT THERE'S ONLY ONE MORE SEASON?! naaaaAAaAUurrrrr I hope they make it work........or the last divorce is real explosive. Like really pull out all the stops for the last one.

"At eighteen and a half she sits on his lap and he has his eyes closed, as if he can run away from this."

Do you mean the never ending tumultuous mother/daughter coded relationship for Lestat/Claudia? Or how Claudia becomes a mini Lestat in her own way thus being the consequences of his actions. I think the second right? Sorry if I’m wrong 💜

Hear me out. I think if Klaus lived, we’d have more of that S5 characterization in Hope very far removed from her legacies personality. Klaus would be her number one supporter in her wrongdoings or not-so-wrong since Hope was studying who Klaus was and following his footsteps lol. (Applies to Marcel too) Quoting my friend here @occulthours kidnapping your mother and blackmailing your father to come to you is a very Mikaelson move.

Klaus is a nightmare to just about everyone but he couldn’t even face Hope after she saw one of his many lil murderous tyrants I don’t he’d ever grow to be a real aggressor to Hope. While he snapped and “fought” with Marcel he never killed him or did anything damaging too long lol. Klaus is just twisted like that.

I do think if Hope felt like Klaus was being wrong she’d hold him accountable. Hope seemed more upset about the abandonment than Klaus ever being a “monster” yes it was confusing but all she wanted to do was talk about it and for him to be there. Hope was at her happiest in that season surrounded by her family at Freelin’s wedding. Babygirl ain’t give a fuck about what he did. Hope had her daddy and some champagne it was all good 😭(I’m laughing as type this.)