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10 THE GAMECOCK ♦ Wednesday, November 5, 2003 CONTACT ITS • THEY SAID IT 1 u u SHEL SILVERSTEIN: “Put something silly in the world/ Story ideas? Questions? Comments? That ain’t been there before.” E-mail us atpamecockmixeditor@hotmail.com OPERA REVIEW USC group brings a bit of culture to Columbia with its rendition of Donizetti’s opera Don Pasquale’ “DON PASQUALE” Opera at USC ★ ★★ out of ☆☆☆☆☆ BY KIT CURTIN THE GAMECOCK ■>* . . Gaetano Donizetti was an Italian composer known for his speed in composing operas. He could produce an opera every few months, and wrote more than 50 in the course of his ca reer. However, because he wrote quickly, not all of his operas show the same level of ingenuity. Critics often said that his work sounded like that of other com posers. In the case of “Don Pasquale,” such a comparison is obvious. ; The work sounds similar to the operas of Mozart or Rossini. Though somewhat uninspired, the music remains pleasant, well suited to its subject matter and has its moments of brilliance. “Don Pasquale” tells the story of Ernesto and Norina—a young couDle that hoDes to marrv — and Don Pasquale, Ernesto's tyran nical uncle. When Don Pasquale decides to marry in hopes of hav ing a son who will disinherit Ernesto, he throws Ernesto out of the house. This puts Ernesto in a finan cial situation that makes mar riage impossible. Norina and Pasquale’s doctor, Malatesta, de vises a plan to destroy Pasquale’s wedding plans and unite Norina and Ernesto. Dr. Malatesta offers his submissive sister, Sofronia, to Pasquale. Sofronia, however, is really Norina in disguise. After they are married, Sofronia transforms herself into a brash, controlling wife who wastes Pasquale’s money. She makes Pasquale’s life so miser able that at the end of the opera, he is glad to divorce her and is de termined to give her away to someone he hates. Luckily, he hates Ernesto and lets him have her. In the end, Ernesto and Norina marry, the old man is shown to be the fool that he really is, and the audience leaves amused and sat isfied — although possibly still confused about the difficult-to-fol low plot. Opera afUSC’s performance of this light-hearted work sparkles with talent and humor. Director Donald Gray put to gether a professional-sounding performance. The title role was sung by Jacob Will, a member of USC’s voice faculty with an in ternational reputation. Will lived up to his name by delivering a highly polished and comically acted rendition of Pasquale. Jaeyoon Kim, a doctoral student at USC, sang the role of Ernesto, Pasquale’s nephew. Kim has a voice to be relished, and his aria to Norina in the final scene was one of the opera’s most memorable. The roles of Dr. Malatesta and Norina were double-cast. During Sunday’s performance, graduate students Raphael Rada and Meredith Nutter performed these roles. Rada has a rich, powerful voice, and Nutter sang the role of shrinking-violet-turned-shrew with elegance and attitude. Conductor Neil Casey led the orchestra in a clean and focused performahce. The orchestra did not overpower the singers and re sponded sensitively to what was happening on the stage. Opera at USC consistently pro duces some of the best opera in the area. If you have never heard a USC opera, you are missing out on one of Columbia’s cultural treasures. Opera at USC will be perform ing “La Boheme” by Puccini on Feb. 6 and 8. Whether you’re an opera buff or just curious, plan to come and hear USC’s talented singers and musicians. Comments on this story?E-mail gamecockmixeditor@hotmail.com The Beginner’s Guide to Opera BY MEG MOORE THBKAMBCOCKjp Unlike a musical, which com bines a play with a musical score, a opera is a stage drama that is design to be sung. Opera music does not ac< the story, but is the story. Develop* Italy during the late-16th centu opera has been engaging au diences for more than 400 years — the first opera was Jacopo Peri’s “Dafne" (1594-98). Incorporating mu sic, words design, genre is a plex art form able to convey characters’ moods, thoughts and actions simultaneously. An ooera usually begins with an overture, an or chestral prelude that introduces the themes. The piece then combine! recitative numbers and arias to narrate. A recita tive section centers on a speech-like affirmation of a J character’s feelings and gen erajly features sparse ac- ^k accompaniment. Arias are then traditionally used to ■ W reflect upon the thoughts H presented. Operas have evolved from fragmented ■ works into pieces con- H taining continuous musi cal expressions. Since the genre’s inception, opera has become more exper imental as composers vary and adapt the con- ■ ventional structure of their compositions. ; rW?'.'-? Comments on this storyiwm gamecockmixeditor@h(^m — iryur ruuLiuu gatheredfrom http://www.bbc.co. uk/radio3/classical/ opera/operaguide. shtml. PHOTO SPECIAL TO THE GAMECOCK Opera at USC’s production starred Jacob Will as title character Don Pasquale and Meredith Nutter as Norina. tr Forget crowded malls — just shop eBay BY CARRIE GIVENS THE (iAMECOCK Does USC’s parking problem make you late to class? Well, problem solved — you can buy . your own Bell 47G helicopter for the low price of $75,000. Since you can land it on the roof of most campus buildings, you will have no problem finding a park ing space. EBay can be the ideal shop ping experience. No crowds, no rude sales associates and no ear ly closing times. You can sit for hours at the computer shopping for literally anything and ev erything — including a heli copter. To begin shopping, all you have to do is go to www.ebay.com and sign in. First-year international busi ness student Marisa Niparts is a veteran eBay shopper. She says, however, that she really only use eBay for big purchases and electronics. In fact her laptop, speakers and keyboard all came from eBay. Niparts brags that she has probably saved around $1,000 us ing eBay because “people who sell computers on eBay often buy them in bulk, so they end up selling the computers cheaper.” Although she continues to use eBay, Niparts admits that “once the keyboard she bought had two i’s and no o.” However, despite this experi ence, she has had no problems. Niparts warns new eBay users to “try to buy from an experi enced seller, read comments from buyers and always use PayPal.” Ben Meekins, first-year chem ical engineering student, agrees that a buyer should always check the seller’s reputation. Meekins, who likes to use eBay because “it is handy,” bought a new bumper for his truck off eBay. He said he saved at least $200 because he bought it as a stock part and did not have to pay labor. Both Niparts and Meekins sug gest that eBay shoppers should wait it out and check back to the auction frequently. “Often people will jump in and outbid you at the last second,” Meekins says. But Niparts has found a way never to be outbid. “If you really want it,” she says, “you should just hit the ‘Buy Now’ button.” Not everyone’s experiences with eBay have been favorable, though. Third-year Baccalaureus student Matt Wilkinson used to shop on eBay. He says that he “sent a check to the seller, who said the item was broken going to the post office ... then a year later she cashed the check.” “Also, it takes too long to get the items you buy,” Wilkinson warns. However, eBay, described as an “online flea market,” is a great outlet to search for quirky gifts. Currently, for $1.3 million, you can purchase the town of Cornudas, Texas. Meekins claims that he “has seen a soul . in a bottle and a guy’s virginity for sale.” Wilkinson also recalled that a couple of years ago, a man put his kidney up for sale. However, “eBay had to remove it because you can’t really sell your or gans.” Comments on this story?E-mail gamecockmixeditor@hotmail.com CD REVIEW Canadian band expands its borders “EVERYTHING TO EVERYONE" Barenaked Ladies *★** out of BY SHAWN ROURK Till-; CAMKCOCK Barenaked Ladies have been around since the early ’90s, bring ing their unique brand of music to the mainstream as the ambas sadors of rock from Canada. Their latest release, “Everything to Everyone,” is an album that will likely not change the world, but it will make some people say, “That’s a good Canadian band, eh?” Their album contains a diverse collection of songs, each different, yet they work well together as a complete work. Most of their songs are still playful in nature and some what' obscure at times; however, the band has pulled together some great songs for this work. The group samples a number of different sounds on the CD. For ex ample, it adopts a more folk feel on songs such as “Have you seen my love?” and “For You.” The songs are some of the slowest on the al bum and, coupled with the open ing song, “Celebrity,” show off the band’s ability to create some very laid-back tunes. The songs may be somewhat slower — with the exception of a few parts of the first single, “Another Postcard” — but the al bum remains upbeat. “Another Postcard" is a playful song about ♦ BARENAKED, SEE PAGE 11 PHOTO COURTESY KRT CAMPUS Keanu Reeves takes on the agents of the virtual world as Neo in “Tne Matrix Revolutions,” the final film In the series. Reeves aims to expand roles post-’Matrix’ BY DAVID GERMAIN THE ASSOCIATED PRESS BURBANK, CALIF. - From featherhead to virtual-reality sav ior of humanity. What an odd set of bookends to the career of Keanu Reeves. For more than a decade, no matter the far-ranging roles and genres he tided, Reeves was in escapably identified as the most excellent but nitwitted dude Ted of 1989’s “Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure” and its sequel, “Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey.” Now Reeves, 39, faces life after Neo, the most-solemn messiah of “The Matrix” trilogy, a demigod prophesied to lead the remnants of humanity to victory against Earth’s machine conquerors. What does Reeves do for an en core? The same thing he’s done all along: Mix things up. In December, Reeves plays sec ond fiddle to Jack Nicholson in the romantic comedy “Something’s Gotta Give,” as an emergency-room doctor wooing an older woman (Diane Kepton). Already completed is a rol«l as an orthodontist in the low-budget comedy “Thumbsucker,” and Reeves now is shooting the occult comic-book adaptation “Constantine.” A practitioner of Buddhism, Reeves carries the monkish im age of the loner, the cipher, a per sona that nicely complements his “Matrix” character. Neo’s appeal l ♦ REEVES, See PAGE 11