THIS IS 45

Oslo, Norway, November 21, 2009 (Day 6)

Frognerseteren in Holmenkollen. Great day to see the view from the top!

Ampy, Sander, Amanda and Simon at Frognerseteren

Joe and Amanda at Frognerseteren

Frognerseteren

View of the fjords from Frognerseteren

Vigeland Sculpture Park is part of Frogner Park. There are 212 bronze and granite sculptures created by Gustav Vigeland. Shown here is the Wheel of Life, crafted in 1933-34. The wheel is more or less a wreath depicting four people and a baby floating in harmony. It is a symbol of eternity, and implies the overall theme of the park: man’s journey from the cradle to the grave.

The Monolith is composed of 121 human figures rising towards the sky. This is meant to represent man’s desire to become closer with the spiritual and divine. It portrays a feeling of togetherness as the human figures embrace one another as they are carried toward salvation.

The Monolith Plateau is a platform made of stairs that houses the Monolith totem itself. 36 figure groups reside on the elevation bringing with them the “circle of life” message. Man is depicted in a variety of typical human situations and relationships.

View of Frogner Park from the Monolith Plateau

Access to the Monolith Plateau is made via eight figural gates forged in wrought iron. The gates were designed between 1933 and 1937 and erected shortly after Vigeland died in 1943.

At the end of the 850-meter-long axis lies a sundial, forged in 1930

Oslo, Norway - November 20, 2009 (Day 5)

Today we enjoyed the Munch Museum where we saw another one of Munch's The Scream paintings as well as Madonna, Dance of Life, numerous self-portraits and many other fabulous works of art. My favorites though were paintings that I would not have initially even thought of as Munch paintings: his winter motifs and his winterscapes like Winter in Kragerø.

Winter, Kragero

The Scream

Dance of Life

Madonna

After the museum, Joe, Ampy and I went to Taste of China and had dim sum. The restaurant was in the "other" part of Oslo meaning the part of town that is more ethnically varied. The food was delicious and we really enjoyed lunch. After lunch, we went to the market to buy fresh vegetables and then the supermarket for other stuff.

Tonight we are going to relax, have homemade hamburgers, drink a little wine and hang about the house. What a lovely day!

Oslo, Norway - November 19, 2009 (Day 4)

Today we had another leisurely morning before going to The Viking Ship Museum and The National Gallery.

The The Viking Ship Museum displays the Viking Age Oseberg ship, the Gokstad ship and the Tune ship alongside sledges, beds, a (horse) cart, wood carving, tent components, buckets and other grave goods.

Joe in a Viking hat

Amanda and Joe in front of a Viking ship

Joe in front of one of the Viking ships

The National Museum of Art, Architecture and Design (The National Gallery) is the national museum of art of Norway. Among its collection is one of the versions of Edvard Munch's THe Scream. Besides many paintings by Munch, other Norwegian painters represented with paintings include Dahl, Gude, Arne Ekeland, Tidemand, Christian Krohg ("Albertine To See Police") and Lars Jorde ("Landscape, Jutland). Non-Norwegians with paintings in this art museum include Goyen, Bol, Pieter Elinga ("Letter Carrier"), Claude Monet ("Rainy Weather, Etretat"), Modigliani, Van Gaugh, Renoir, Cezanne and Gauguin. One of my favorite's was Winter Night in the Mountains by Harald Sohlberg.

Joe at University of Oslo

Amanda and Joe at University of Oslo

Amanda and Ampy on the way to The National Gallery

Amanda and Joe in the park near the Royal Palace

Bogstad Gård was the home of wealthy merchant and industrialist Peder Anker, and the count and countess Wedel Jarlsberg. It is a working farm that has animals, a play area for children, great walking trails, a historic park and exhibitions. We just walked a little on the grounds and went to the shop.

Last night we went to the Underwater Pub where on Tuesday and Thursday nights professional opera singers come and sing a few sets. We had a fun time and the singers were actually pretty good.

Oslo, Norway - November 18, 2009 (Day 3)

After what seemed like days, we finally arrived in Oslo to see our friends, Ampy and Sverre, and their three kids (Simon and Sander - twins, age 4 and Sophie - age 2). We had a lovely dinner last night and then slept for 10 hours. Today has been great! Neither one of us felt jet lagged at all. We had a leisurely morning and then went to the Nobel Peace Center by the waterfront. It currently has an exhibit of American civil rights history, Martin Luther King, Jr. and Obama in recognition of Obama's recent winning of the Award. After the Nobel Peace Center, we went to a little restaurant on the water and had $100 pizza for lunch. Yes, $100! Eating out is extraordinarily expensive so Ampy said we would be eating at home most of the time. The weather is cold (about 41 degrees) and rainy but we love the change! Here are some pictures from our first day:

At Olivia's for lunch

Ampy at Olivia's

Statues along the waterfront

The Nobel Peace Center

Amanda and Ampy outside the Nobel Peace Center

Standing in front of City Hall which is across from the Nobel Peace Center

and where the actual award is given

Picture of me - A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum

Here's a picture of me with the production crew after our first performance of A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum. It was actually the final dress rehearsal night but we had an audience so I consider it our first performance. I am the Stage Manager and it has been a blast! Love the theater and musical theater, in particular!

Charlie's Halloween card - Isn't he absolutely adorable?!?!

Our adorable nephew, Charlie, in his Halloween costumes

Love this Halloween house!

Happy Halloween to all our friends and family!

Joe in Elixir of Love

Joe is in the back right of the picture

Joe is currently performing in L'elisir d'amore (The Elixir of Love), which is a melodramma giocoso in two acts by the Italian composer Gaetano Donizetti. Felice Romani wrote the Italian libretto after Eugène Scribe's libretto for Daniel-François-Esprit Auber's Le philtre (1831).

This sparkling folk tale is one of Donizetti’s most popular operas. Lovesick Nemorino falls madly in love with the young landowner Adina knowing well that she is out of his league. Luckily, the scheming Dr. Dulcamara has just the cure to what ails him. Russian soprano Ekaterina Siurina sings the minx Adina and John Osborn is Nemorino. Internationally renowned Italian bass-baritoneAlessandro Corbelli plays Dr. Dulcamara, and Liam Bonner is the flamboyant Sergeant Belcore. Directed by Annabel Arden, this delightful production takes place in a rustic Italian town square.

The shows is performed in the Brown Theater at the Wortham on October 23, 2009 at 7:00 p.m. (season opening night); October 28, November 4 and November 7, 2009, at 7:30 p.m. and October 25 at 2:00 p.m.

For more information on the opera and production, please see the HGO website: Elixir of Love.

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum

My latest endeavor in musical theater has been as a stage manager for the fall musical at Houston Community College. They are performing A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, which I had never seen before now. I had no idea it was so funny! The music and lyrics were written by Stephen Sondheim and the book was written by Burt Shevelove and Larry Gelbart. It is inspired by the farces of the ancient Roman playwright Plautus and it tells the bawdy story of a slave named Pseudolus and his attempts to win his freedom by helping his young master woo the girl next door (who happens to be a courtesan). The plot displays many classic elements of farce, including puns, the slamming of doors, cases of mistaken identity (frequently involving characters disguising themselves as one another) and satirical comments on social class. I had never been a stage manager before and I'm having fun. It's the perfect combination of my love for charts and details with theater and music.

The show runs from November 5th to November 14th - Thursdays and Fridays at 7:30 and Saturdays at 2:00 p.m. in Theatre One on the HCC - Central Campus. Tickets are $5.00 for students and seniors and $8.00 for general admission. For more information or reservations, call 713-718-6570.