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New York's Opera Society chapter 3

Author: GianniTruvianni
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Chapter 3
An Introduction of My Opera Friends

I tried to walk as fast as I could, always remembering that I was wearing a tuxedo which I did not want to break or get sweaty in before the opera but on the other hand I did not want to keep my "opera friends" waiting.
My "opera friends" included my ex-girlfriend, Amanda Johnson who was a “wanna be” soprano in the style of Maria Callas, (a singer who really met my dislike), her fiancée Arturo Gomez, a Colombian who aspired to be a conductor in the same category of James Levine (who was going to be handling the conductor’s baton for the evening), my high school friend Barbara Radniecki (who was of Polish descent and entertained dreams of being a great mezzo-soprano) and her boyfriend Brad Naggy who was the only one in our group not to posses any musical ambitions or talent. His goal in life being to become a lawyer and it was because of this that we jokingly referred to him as the black sheep in our group.
I, as always was the first to arrive at the place which we called our “meeting spot at The Met”. The reason I was always first to get there was because I was the only one in our group who was not in a couple and did not have to wait for anybody to get ready.
Second to arrive was Barbara accompanied by her boyfriend Brad. Barbara was a girl who was of medium height and weight with green eyes and blonde hair in a color which was not completely natural as it was so fair that it was almost white. I had always considered her to be nice looking but not pretty, given that her facial features were a little rough. Hers was that look which I considered to be typically Polish.
I would even venture to say that Barbara was arguably the hardest working member in our group and to a large extent the one who we turned to when we were in need of sound advice. She at one time had had to make a hard choice between being a soprano, something she had the voice for but chose to be a mezzo instead given that she felt her voice would never let her be a great soprano but only a “mediocre soprano” as she put it. She like Amanda and myself also sang at the Metropolitan Opera House as a chorus singer.
On that occasion Barbara wore her "opera dress" a long black dress open at the top with no sleeves and long slit in the front which exposed her white pantyhose. I noticed that she had a tendency to wear high heals perhaps to look taller than she really was.
Brad, her beau was blonde with green eyes and was even taller then myself standing at 6 feet 2 inches or 1 meter 91 centimeters. He was very well built given that he went to the gym quite often and lifted weights. He also trained karate and aikido. One might say he was the sportsman in our group, in many ways resembling the Belgium actor Jean Claude Van Dame. He wore a black tuxedo and was as tanned as Barbara and I were. I really don’t know what he did for a living he had mentioned it once on some occasion but I was not really paying attention though I am sure it was some job in a bank.
As I saw Barbara and Brad approaching I cried out "hello there, long time no see. Brad yelled out "hi what's up "to which I replied "not much happening here". Upon seeing me Barbara said "hi, how are you?". "Barbara, have you ever heard of a dish called bigos?" was what l said to Barbara, I could tell by the look on her face that my question had taken her by surprise, "of coarse I have, it is Polish and my grandmother used to make it for me all the time when I was a child, how come you know it?" was her answer and question "a Polish waitress recommended it to me at the Polish restaurant on 77th street" was what I said which brought a slight smile to Barbara’s weary face who said "Oh you mean "Pani Beata's". My grandmother used to be a good friend of the owner (we all knew Barbara's grandmother had passed away a few years earlier) .Did you enjoy the food there?" to which I replied with a cynical smile on my face "not as much as I liked the waitress". Brad who had been listening interjected "since when do you notice waitresses?". Suddenly before I had a chance to reply to Brad's weird question we spotted Amanda and Arturo who were walking hand in hand toward us.
Amanda was a typical W.A.S.P. not only because of her completion which was white as apple blossoms but in every other way. She had long blonde hair which more often then not she kept tied in a bun, however on this particular occasion she kept in a pony tail with a red bow on top. She was wearing a long white see through dress with a petticoat underneath, her dress looked very sexy in contrast to her skin which had gone a dark brown from the sun. Amanda’s dress also had two wide straps that covered her very large breast. l could see that she was not wearing a brassier given the dresses shape did not allow her to wear one as her back was exposed. She was 182cm, (just 4 centimeters shorter then myself) which made her taller then her boyfriend who at 177cm was not short.
Arturo was born in Medallin, Colombia and came from what the English called a “well heeled” family. He lived in New York were he shared a loft with Amanda on the Lower east side of Manhattan where he also worked part time in one of the CD stores though I don’t exactly remember which one. He once commented to us that even though his job did not pay well it did help him practice his English as it required him to assist customers in making their purchases of classical music, something he kept an encyclopedic knowledge in. Arturo might have been the most ambitious in our group as he was looking to someday take the job which was at present being held by James Levine as artistic director of the New York Metropolitan Opera, however for the time being Arturo like the rest of us was in his last year of studies and limited himself to conducting our school performances.
Its hard for me to talk about another man’s looks but what I will say about him was that his skin tone was slightly darker than mine and the rest of my opera friends. He also possessed fine facial features making him what I would imagine as being quite handsome for the ladies to gaze upon, a real Jose Carreras look a like. His eyes were brown with the same color hair. He like Brad and myself also had put on a black Tuxedo.
Amanda greeted us by saying "Hello, how is everybody after a long hot summer of not seeing one another?". This comment came as a remark to her having spent the whole summer in Colombia getting to know the people, we all knew would become her future in-laws as it was before embarking on this journey that Arturo had proposed to Amanda, who did not require much convincing to accept his proposal of marriage.
Brad laughed and cried out in response to Amanda’s question "were all fine, now tell us how did you 2 lovebirds spend your summer in Colombia", This combination comment question made Amanda giggle as she responded in a most joyful manner "we had the time of our lives". Barbara then joined the conversation by saying "how did you find your prospective in-laws? Were they everything Arturo said they would be and more?” "yes I am glad to say that they truly were" was Amanda’s reply. I then asked Arturo "what did they think of your future esposa (wife in Spanish) to be?" To which he just lightly chuckled as he did very often and simply said" she too was everything I said she would be and more". Amanda smiling with her lips closed as she turned her head towards Arturo then to the rest of us and said "we hit it off remarkably well I don’t think I have ever been so cordially received in all my life, from the get go, they welcomed me as a member of their family". We could see that they were both truly pleased with their relationship and that their trip to Colombia had been to their complete satisfaction.
It was Brad who then in a semi-joking tone said as he often did to remind us of what we needed to do "not to change the subject or anything like that but shouldn't we be going in or are we going to spend the whole night feeling happy for Arturo and Amanda?". Brad had a way of entertaining us with the things he said which were not always intended to be witty but in a way managed to express our sentiment and I might add that on this particular occasion, he had hit the nail on the head for our spirits had truly been raised by the news Amanda and Arturo had brought us.

About the Author

My name is Gianni Truvianni, I am an author who writes with the simple aim of sharing his ideas, thoughts and so much more of what I am with those who are interested in perhaps reading something new. As for the details regarding my life I would say that there is nothing that lifts them above the ordinary. I was born in New York City in 1967 on May 21st and am presently living in Warsaw, Poland because my wife happens to be from this particular country that was also the birthplace for my only daughter. My daughter being the star of “Little Opera Singer” which was my first ever completed story.