#The rest of opera I just don't get? Maybe it was the production I didn't jam with. If anyone has a production recommendation I'm willing to

[gluecookie]

Watching il trovatore and honestly. Not my jam. I did love the song Misere tho, loved it since I heard it for the first time in a night at the opera by the Marx brothers.

[blue-thief]

oh the wonders of realizing due dates are actually farther than i expected

@marcsnuffy this is all basically just based off how this guy is made up of twelve billion contradictions esp when we're considering gender expression.

i've gone over this before, but he's the type of guy who would read dazai, dostoevsky, kafka, etc in a male manipulator kind of way. this type of guy also goes in hand with the type of guy who watches fight club, american psycho, etc with zero self awareness (i'm not much of a film nerd so i can't really speak about his taste in films specifically).

his dad probably had a collection of old films he worked on, and kaiser watched them all on some old cd or cassette player in hopes of finding some with his mom. even though his mom showed up in more dramatic films rather than tougher serious ones, these ones hold a special place in his heart. he's not in denial about this, but he never brings it up to anyone. around the time he was a tween, he snuck into a movie theatre to watch one of his mom's films.

i believe it was mentioned that his parents started off in theater, and once kaiser became rich enough, he took time to see live productions at least once a month. his goal is to catch up on shakespeare since he never got a chance to learn about him at school (i had to check r/askeurope to see if shakespeare is taught there 😭😭).

as much as it's funny to imagine hamilton fan kaiser, i don't think he'd be drawn to musicals that much. he doesn't mind them, but they aren't usually on his radar. he's considered going to the opera though. for the sake of affirming to himself that he's now financially stable.

he canonically reads psychology textbooks, and i think he has read jordan peterson's books. (SCREAMING CRYING THROWING UP BECAUSE I HAVE PROBABLY WALKED ON THE SAME FLOOR AS JORDAN PETERSON ON MULTIPLE OCCASIONS GET ME OUT OF HEERREEEEEE) i don't think he'd care or agree with jordan peterson but he definitely has read him, maybe even bought some of his works shudders he also read the dictator's handbook + the art of war and has used this in ways that are disastrous for everyone involved

beyond the dazai, dostoevsky, kafka, etc vibe, i don't think there's much fiction he'd be drawn to. at some point, he decided to check out f. scott key fitzgerald, saw jay gatsby, and went "he's just like me fr" (again, zero self awareness)

as for music, i think he would listen to three days grace in particular (i have listened to exactly ONE three days grace song and that is "i am machine" and all i could think was "he would listen to this /neg" then added it to my own liked songs playlist). he might have stumbled across panic! at the disco and he probably vibed pretty well with a fever you can't sweat out. he would not care for any other panic! at the disco album. he also wouldn't care for ryden so he wouldn't read throam. but i need this guy to somehow read throam because throam!ryan ross is literally him.

he probably heard primadonna girl by marina but didn't care at first. it wasn't until he accidentally stumbled across oh no that he was like "i need to listen to the rest of this". he only ended up caring for the family jewels and electra heart, and electra heart is more feminine than most things he would allow himself to listen to, but this is just his way of going "whoa look i'm a feminist i like women i'm listening to a woman and sings about woman stuff". relates to the persona of electra heart once again because AGAIN. THIS GUY HAS ZERO SELF AWARENESS 😭😭 HE NEVER REALIZES THE ART HE CONNECTS TO IS TELLING HIM THAT HE SHOULD NOT BE THE WAY THAT HE IS 😭😭😭

but yeah. electra heart is his limit to willingly admitting to feminine art but this guy is subconsciously drawn to taylor swift but more like in the sense that he's fascinated with her presence in the cultural zeitgeist. which is a strange form of being a swiftie, but his relationship with famous women is strange considering his relationship with his mother. if his mother got big enough that she worked with americans on american projects, there's a chance that she would talk about/be publicly acquainted with a lot of young famous women for the sake of white feminism yk. he consumes their art just through cultural osmosis but his understanding of their personal drama and stuff is weirdly detailed

also these are all totally definitely absolutely not examples of me projecting 😁😁 because i AM self aware and i am better than michael kaiser in every way possible 😁😁😁

[mygreatadventurehasbegun]

Top 5 popular movies you still haven't seen, top 5 movies with the worst costuming, top five comedies, top five movies other people generally dislike that you enjoy

Top Five Movies I haven't Seen:

Vivacious Lady- though I found it at my library yesterday, so I'm watching it tonight or tomorrow!

Deception- A Bette Davis/Claude Rains melodrama where he's the antagonist?? Yes, please!!

Pearl- After watching X a couple weeks ago, I definitely need to see Pearl! I had heard of it, of course, and was originally going to just watch that, since I heard good things...but X was available for free, briefly, and then I discovered that Pearl is a prequel! And it looks like such a cool horror flick.

Lawrence of Arabia- It's been on my list for a long time...but it's so damn long, that it's tough to find the time to watch it!

Deathtrap- It looks like such a fun mystery thriller! And it would be nice to see Christopher Reeve playing someone other than Superman.

Top Five Movies with the Worst Costuming

Little Women (2019)- I mean, I've written about my loathing for this movie and its costumes so many times, it's no surprise that this is number one.

Beauty and the Beast (2017)- Honestly, this isn't a critique of the entire film's costumes...just the two ball gowns, which clash so much with the rest of the fantasy 18th century clothing, and it makes me sad.

Phantom of the Opera (2004)- Another one where the costumes aren't atrocious...but you can tell that they just didn't have much of a budget. So when you compare them to the stage production, everything pales in comparison...especially because the lighting/cinematography is so bright and washed out that you can see everything. The costumes might have looked better if there were more shadows or darkness.

I honestly cannot think of two more movies where the costumes annoy me, so I'm going to make the last two TV Shows!

Reign- I have never seen this show...but...I'm gonna go out on a limb and say that that is not how they dressed in the 16th century.

When Calls the Heart- this show is supposed to be set in the early 1900s.

Top Five Comedies:

The Philadelphia Story

How to Steal a Million

Clue

Drop Dead Gorgeous

The Princess Bride

Top Five Movies you enjoy that other people Generally Dislike

Phantom of the Opera (1943)- I feel like if you're a Phantom purist, you probably don't like this movie, as it changes too much from the book...and I've seen a lot of general "meh" reviews on the movie...I DON'T CARE, I LOVE IT SO MUCH

Drop Dead Gorgeous- Now, I don't think people dislike this movie, in general, but I can totally understand if people don't like it...this one is interesting, because I feel like if you grew up at a very particular time, you love this movie. But I feel like most people who watch it for the first time nowadays don't love it, because there are moments that...have not...aged well. The "r" word gets thrown around a lot...there's one side story where a white girl keeps referring to herself as Asian-American...I can see why it's not for everyone. But as a MN girl who was a teenager when this movie came out, there's no way I cannot love it.

Seven Brides for Seven Brothers- Another movie that maybe hasn't aged that great...I feel like this one has a lot more "general dislike", and I totally get why...I just like it for the fun musical numbers and tone, while totally agreeing that on first viewing, there are definitely some issues...I mean, it's about a bunch of brothers that kidnap the girls they have crushes on. I mean, if you examine it, you can talk about how the character of Millie generally takes no shit from her brothers-in-law, and teaches them how to be decent people...but I mostly watch it for the choreography, lol.

Little Women (1949)- I wouldn't say this one is generally disliked; it's just usually put down lower on the list of LW adaptations. People who love the 1933 version call this one a tired retread, people who like the newer adaptations think this one is boring. But there is something about this one that I just love...and it is probably my personal favorite (while admitting that the 1994 film is the best film overall)

Tuck Everlasting- I don't think this film is necessarily hated, but I know it's very different from the book and it changes a lot/leaves stuff out, etc. And I think most people give it an "it's ok, I guess" review, and then promptly forget about it. But I saw this movie before I knew the specifics of the book, and I really enjoyed it. I still watch it every once and a while, and it gives me a bit of nostalgia...and I do think it's a very pretty movie...really nice cinematography and set/costume design.

*This last one was tough, cause I don't have that many "unpopular opinions" when it comes to movies...at least for films that I like (obviously really disliking LW '19 is an unpopular opinion)...so some of my choices were sort of "middle of the road".

[glassprism]

Hi GlassPrism! I would like to ask you about the "prototype" Romanian non-replica performance. Maybe you wrote about it before, then sorry. I don't understand the hype around the show. Why did it reach the international level, while the other non-replicas did not? And it is in Greek, were Norwegian (not in their language)? Why the countries dont do self a show? Can it be because of the costume designer (I often see his name highlighted, so I'm think about him)what is your opinion,how do you see?

Quick clarification: the Romanian non-replica, which ran very briefly in 2015, featured Romanian performers and was performed in Romanian; the Norwegian production, which from 2018-2019, had mainly Norwegian or at least Scandinavian actors and was performed in Norwegian; and the Greek production ran in 2020 and has returned for a run in 2023, and has so far featured mainly British and Australian performers and is being performed in English. So the only production to not perform in the country's native language are the Greek productions, for reasons I'll make clear below.

Anyway, as to your actual question: budget and availability seem to be the biggest reasons, as with similar questions of this nature. In an interview with the producer of the Norwegian production, Karianne Jæger, she is asked specifically why she didn't go with the original design. Her explanation was that, "In the beginning that was certainly an option, but it became evident we couldn't do that in this venue. Folketeatret is a protected building and thus it is impossible to make changes to stage and scenery. So we knew we had to look for other options." She also explained that Norway "is a "young" musical theatre nation" and that, coupled with a relatively small population, means that doing a big mega-musical can be problematic in terms of budgeting - they would have to have a lot of initial capital to get the musical set up, and then run for several months with sold out houses just to make a profit.

So that is likely why Norway didn't go for the original design or try something totally new (which can also cost time, money, and effort). As for why they chose the Romanian non-replica and not something else, Jæger explained, "we knew we had to look for other options. That option became opera director Stephen Barlow, who had already done a new version of the musical in Bucharest, Romania back in 2015."

So it seems that it was simply a matter of Barlow and the rest of his creative team being available, and Barlow and his team being willing to do it because it gave them the opportunity to have another shot at the production: in an interview with Andrew Riley, the designer, he says that he was only given a few weeks to do the designs for Romania, so joining the production in Norway allowed him to go in further detail and expand on his concepts. I will also say, though, that Stephen Barlow and Andrew Riley are both based in London, where the Really Useful Group, which helps license the show out, is also located, so it is possible that RUG knew of that creative team, trusted them to do their job right, and suggested them to the Norwegian creatives as an option for their show.

And as for the Greek production, the musical theatre industry in Greece is even smaller and newer than Norway, so they were probably just as limited (if not more so) in budget and availability as Norway, and that's probably the biggest factor in why they went for the Norwegian production - it was available, they could literally just move the sets and costumes over, and they could then get a bunch of the cast members from the West End who already had experience in doing the show (albeit in a different production). You can't really say that about, I dunno, the Hungarian non-replica or the Prague non-replica or whatever, and again, creating their own version still costs time, money, and effort, and requires a good deal of skill and experience.

So that's what I think, I hope it explains it!

[bxllafanficc]

¡Skate/sing your hearts out! (Yuri Plisetsky x reader)

(part four)

Part one. Part two. Part three. Part five. Masterlist

Summary:After last year's cancellation of Figure Skating Grand Prix, Yuri Plisetsky finds himself unable to bring out his inner skater after a year of doing nothing but enjoy life like a regular teenager. That's when you enter the picture; We Are Voice Grand Awards's currently hottest competitive vocalist come first place two years in a row. Just like the other competitors of Grand Prix, it turns out that Victor and Yuuri faces the same issue. With an arrangement between Victor and Yakov, they agree to travel to Japan and hire you as a mutual coach for Yuri and Yuuri to help bring back the emotion into their performances like before, maybe even more intense than ever. Yuri however, who's never experienced issues with his coaches before, for some reason finds this one particularly difficult to coexist along with in their (reasonably) odd partnership. Warnings: none

*Your POV*

Your eyes scanned through the fully stocked room that came to be yours a couple of days ago. Fairly large and a great window where the sun came to welcome you each morning. Not even the blinds could stop it. Now it was fairly dark inside since the sun was about to go down. You reached for the light switch and scanned through all your products and belongings for things that you could possibly move somewhere else.

The grunt of the Russian skater behind you caused you to turn around. As you did, he stopped and returned your stare, as if waiting for you to announce something. There was a lot that you needed to clean up. If you had known that you'd be expecting a roommate, you'd already have done so. Guess Victor forgot to mention that too, eh?

The visible twitch in the corner of your left eye was impossible to force back. Just at the mere thought of unintentional (?) screwups of the one and only Victor Nikiforov. Now, just because he was your childhood friend, it didn't mean that he wouldn't receive a massive ass-whooping if he as much as repeated the same mistake three times the same day now the few remaining hours of the day. If only you could get that message through.

And, you kind of did. Just not to the man you intended. Yuri at the receiving end of your stare was just about to open his mouth to say something, what you assume, sour when he noticed the twitching of your eye. Surprisingly, it shut him up before he started. He kind of shielded himself behind one of his bags and eyed you carefully.

Shit, wrong Russian dude.

"Sorry, that was meant for Victor." You let out a sigh and helped him with one of his bags out in the hall. You got a simple nod from the boy just before you passed him in the doorway.

He's been acting all quiet and confused ever since you tended to his wounds. Was something you said unclear? Maybe you should make sure the two of you were on the same page. 'Later...' you thought.

Yuuri and Victor hurried to the entrance of your room with a couple of more bags.

"So what do you think about it, Yuri? Pretty special eh?" It was Yuuri who spoke up, probably just as an act of friendliness. Though, you could understand how a punk like Yuri might take it as teasing.

"I'm not staying here. There's- there is no way I'm sharing a room with another person. I should have my own room. Why can't Victor and (Y/n) share a room and I get my own?!"

Ah, there he is. You were starting to get worried that he might actually turn nice. Then you'd have to call an ambulance just to ease Yakov's mind if he ever found out.

"With that thief? Nuh-uh. He already owes me an entire bottle of lotion, a mascara and a lipgloss. And for some reason, my throwaway razors are gone too. I'm not endangering any more of my stuff to him!" You shot a glare at Victor but he intentionally pretended not to hear nor see you. Seriously?

"Just lock them up or something, I don't care. Maybe I should just sleep on the couch. Give me one reason why it's worth sharing this room with you."

You didn't really know why you felt so opposed to the thought of him sleeping on the couch. You should be relived that you wouldn't have to share room with The Russian punk. But you still mumbled the one sentence after taking a brief moment to carefully word out your reason.

"What did you say?"

"... I have a cat."

The silence following almost made you feel like the scene of these weird soap operas that streamed on tv once in a while. But you did have a cat. A beautiful sacred Birman with the eyes of an ocean. And you knew about Yuri's fascination with them. Victor mentioned it somewhere along the lines when discussing his arrival days ago. And if you had to give him one reason, then that would be the one. It's probably the only reason too.

"Where." It wasn't a question. It almost made you giggle but you kept a straight face. Victor who knew the reason behind your words, almost cracked under the pressure.

"He's probable sleeping under the blanket on my bed, as always-"

Yuri pushed Victor aside with a stern 'move' and headed for your bed. A little anxious, you followed him through the entrance, afraid that he would be like one of those crazy catpeople who never stopped bothering their cat. You worried because you were one of those people. But because your cat was rather clingy too and you always had a bunch of stuff to do daytime, it kind of evened out the contrast. Two crazy people were too much, you figured.

"Well, we'll go off now and let you two bond now. Don't forget that we're having afternoon tea in an hour!" And with that, Victor and Yuuri was out of the picture. For awhile.

A round uneven pile under you blanket made Yuri stop at the end of the bed. You stood beside him as he lifted the blanket, revealing the fuzzy ball that was your cat. Round eyes stared up at the both at you and the cat stretched it's back, making a 'u' position.

"His name is Magnolia. You'll have to apologize to him for interrupting his sleepy time though." You half expected Yuri to scoff at your statement, thinking you were taking the animal too seriously. But the baby voice he used to communicate with Magnolia next almost had you taking a step back.

"Hi, Magnolia... 'm sorry, pretty boy. You'll have to forgive me, I'm afraid." He kept on talking to the sleepy cat as he extended a hand for him to smell. Magnolia yawned and gave the hand a sniff before sitting up, eyes intensely staring into the boy's soul. You could tell by the hesitation of Yuri's petting hand that he really wanted the cat's approval. He cat kept staring him straight in the eyes which usually means bad. Though, the purring heard from his belly said the opposite. You finally relaxed a little. Magnolia is very picky with who gets to touch him and you were expecting a bite, honestly.

"He's always been so stare-y... I've figured that he only stare at people he like or something he finds very interesting." You crouched down beside Yuri and rested with your arms at the bedside.

"Like owner, like cat, I guess then. I feel like he has the exact same piercing gaze you gave me earlier." Yuri grinned smugly at you and turned back his attention to the ball of fur who stood up, stroking its back to your chin. A little heat rose to your cheeks and you hoped Magnolia covered it up well enough with his body. It was kind of true. And you couldn't really deny it. You always did watch things a little to intense. But just because you found people very interesting, always seeking to improve your understanding and emotional range at any given time. So you shrugged your shoulders and coughed a little when the cat made sure to get his butt all up in your face too. This habit, you had noticed, was a trait almost every cat held within them.

"You're going to object or what?" Yuri caught your attention again and Magnolia moved away from your face just in time. So he was expecting some kind of denial.

"You're not wrong... You've just got the wrong idea of it."

"What do you mean?"

"You should probably start getting yourself settled here. We only have one hour."

"You didn't answer me." Yuri's remark left unanswered as well as you stood up and threw a bag at him. A light 'oof' slipped through him as the heavy thing hit him right in the stomach.

"Hey!"

You grinned and opened another bag, pouring the internal onto the floor. Tons of clothes splattered on the floor. Everything in-between black training clothes to underwear and a pajamas with cat prints. A keychain with a chibi cat and a stuffed animal of a tiger fell out on the floor lastly on top of the pile. Yuri quickly made his way to the clothes and gathered them in his arms, trying to hide them away. It was worth taking an extra look at the blush staining his cheeks. You wondered if you'd just met a fellow catmerch fan as instense as you. No, this was far crazier than you! Especially as you recognized the keychain being a print of his own cat that you'd seen on a social media Yuri Plisetsky fanpage once.

"Y-you can't touch my stuff! Nor see it!" His voice was a good blend of anger and a thick stain of embarrassment.

Maybe it wasn't ideal poring someone else's belongings onto the floor. But you knew that look that Yuri bearded only moments ago. The cat had taken him as his loyal servant and Yuri wasn't intending to move until he had satisfied Magnolia's every need. If you let that happen, it would take the entire hour you had to clean up the room. And you clearly didn't have that time.

"Just hurry up and help me then if I'm not allowed to touch it!"

"Fine! And move your stupid clothes and stuff over to your half of the room!"

(A/N: Shoutout to my cat who gave me the entire butt-in-face idea through experience. I really owe you one, you little jerk<3 Also, what have you thought of the story so far? I bet you Victor has planned a familiar exercise for tomorrow's day of training. Just a little helping hand to get Yuri back into shape, y'know;))