Victoria adventures 06
Feb. 19th, 2026 10:30 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
yuuagoOn Wednesday, I went to the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria. Not my first time going up there, but it's the first time bothering to take the bus - I've been very tired lately and I just couldn't be arsed to walk it. ;V
One of the feature exhibits, which happened to be my favourite, was on Asian inkwork (mostly Chinese and Japanese). Very cool, some really beautiful stuff there. Super glad I went. Some of them had poetry incorporated into the inkwork, and there were translations to go along with them - I appreciated that.
They also had a small exhibition of prints by Albrecht Dürer. Fascinating stuff. So detailed! There were magnifying glasses available to take closer looks. Necessary, as some of them were quite small.
Anyway. In the evening there was the thing that I came to Victoria for... the Pacific Opera Victoria performance of Tosca!
I've never seen an in-person opera performance of this level; my previous experiences were all small-scale productions by small companies. So, this was a real treat.
The performance was amazing! The singing, the costuming, the everything. I was already familiar with the story as I've seen a recorded version, but in-person was so much better. I had a great seat, too. (And actually remembered my glasses this time, hooray). 100/10, no notes.
One thing I loved that I didn't remember from the recorded version was that there are some moments that have great comedic timing. Like yeah, sure, it's a tragedy, but in the earlier parts there's the stuff like Mario going in for a smooch and Tosca being like "Not in front of the Madonna", haha.
And now I'm like... turning over the general premise of this opera in my head, trying to shove certain favourite characters into it. You know, "The enemy pressures the protagonist to sleep with him in exchange for the love interest's freedom while the love interest is tortured in a nearby room" dealio. It's a little challenging to make anything a 1:1 fit, but man is it fun.
Anyway, the opera was lovely. I'm glad that I made the decision to come see it in person; very good decision. I could see myself doing so again; we'll have to see what comes up in the future.
One of the feature exhibits, which happened to be my favourite, was on Asian inkwork (mostly Chinese and Japanese). Very cool, some really beautiful stuff there. Super glad I went. Some of them had poetry incorporated into the inkwork, and there were translations to go along with them - I appreciated that.
They also had a small exhibition of prints by Albrecht Dürer. Fascinating stuff. So detailed! There were magnifying glasses available to take closer looks. Necessary, as some of them were quite small.
Anyway. In the evening there was the thing that I came to Victoria for... the Pacific Opera Victoria performance of Tosca!
I've never seen an in-person opera performance of this level; my previous experiences were all small-scale productions by small companies. So, this was a real treat.
The performance was amazing! The singing, the costuming, the everything. I was already familiar with the story as I've seen a recorded version, but in-person was so much better. I had a great seat, too. (And actually remembered my glasses this time, hooray). 100/10, no notes.
One thing I loved that I didn't remember from the recorded version was that there are some moments that have great comedic timing. Like yeah, sure, it's a tragedy, but in the earlier parts there's the stuff like Mario going in for a smooch and Tosca being like "Not in front of the Madonna", haha.
And now I'm like... turning over the general premise of this opera in my head, trying to shove certain favourite characters into it. You know, "The enemy pressures the protagonist to sleep with him in exchange for the love interest's freedom while the love interest is tortured in a nearby room" dealio. It's a little challenging to make anything a 1:1 fit, but man is it fun.
Anyway, the opera was lovely. I'm glad that I made the decision to come see it in person; very good decision. I could see myself doing so again; we'll have to see what comes up in the future.
Yuu. Fic writer & book lover. M/Canada.
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Date: 2026-02-20 03:15 am (UTC)I can also report that POV just announced next year's lineup, and it's gonna be lit: Il travatore (Verdi), Hansel & Gretel (Humperdink), and The Magic Flute!
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Date: 2026-02-20 04:12 am (UTC)That looks like a pretty good lineup for next year. :D
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Date: 2026-02-20 04:46 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2026-02-20 05:46 am (UTC)NGL, I definitely wish performing arts stuff was easier for me to get to. 'course, there is always video, but it's just not the same....
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Date: 2026-02-22 09:21 pm (UTC)I'm glad Tosca was so great!!! Sometimes the opera is a hit-and-miss but I'm happy this one was such a hit.
ALSO - You know, "The enemy pressures the protagonist to sleep with him in exchange for the love interest's freedom while the love interest is tortured in a nearby room" dealio. 👀️👀️👀️ that is so whumpy it sounds direct from fic. Good job Puccini and/or librettist.
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Date: 2026-02-22 09:36 pm (UTC)The AGGV is always a good time; every time I've been there they have some cool stuff on view and lots of thought given to how things are presented.
re: Tosca plot, LMAO yeah, that is my thought too. Actually, the first time I heard about this opera, it was a thread on FFA about like... whumpy plots or something of the sort. And I was like, "Man, I gotta see this". Luckily for me the library had a copy that I could immediately devour. Anyway, it certainly appeals... if I ever end up writing SE->NO(/DK) involving this sort of trope it will be 0 surprise.
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Date: 2026-02-23 08:18 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2026-02-23 02:08 pm (UTC)