He built himself up from his lyrical beginnings and is now treading toward the steelier spinto/dramatic tenor repertory evidenced by one of his tenures as Don José. This review is also dedicated to my mother who was celebrating her birthday. Enjoy my review and let me know your opinions as well.
Antoni Garcia
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Hello, everybody. I know I am seven months too late to share this with you, but I want to share with you my first and, so far, only participation in the audience’s first impressions of the premiere of Richard Strauss’s Arabella at the Deutsche Oper Berlin, which happened on March 18, 2023. You will find my appearance from 01:42 to 01:45 where I stated, in German, “The best performer for me was Elena Tsallagova as Zdenka” from an interview conducted by Anatoly Rudnev. That was just one of the many unapologetically genuine sentiments I had before creating my long-form vlog-style review on my channel of that same opera where I went into great detail as to why Ms. Tsallagova as Zdenka stood head and shoulders above the rest of the cast. There was no irony, let alone cynicism, to be found in those sentiments about Ms. Tsallagova’s vocally precise performance as Arabella’s tomboyish younger sister Zdenka. Therefore, I was grateful to have received the opportunity to be interviewed. I also want to dedicate this to my mother who is celebrating her birthday today. She has inspired me to observe my passion for opera and for good singing with a critically conscientious eye and ear. Additionally, my maternal grandmother was my rock in appreciating opera since my earliest childhood and helping me become the online reviewer that I am proud to be today, thanks to all of the vocal and instrumental concerts we attended together. Together, my mother and my maternal grandmother also gave me the boost I needed as a singer by recommending voice teachers who looked after my voice well during my adolescent years and also aided me in not only appreciating opera but also making me understand both the vocal demands of specific roles and the librettos put to life by the composers’ music. On behalf of everybody at the Deutsche Oper Berlin, I wish my mother the most prosperous birthday ever. And, to everybody at the Deutsche Oper Berlin, please provide my dear mother with the best wishes you can ever give to her with your fine artistic value and, of course, thank you so much for your undying support for me as an online reviewer. Lots of love and music to you all.
Clémentine Margaine, with her increasing forays into the dramatic mezzo-soprano repertoire, rises up to the challenge to tackle one of Verdi’s most iconic mezzo-soprano princesses. Enjoy my review and let me know your opinions as well.
Aigul Akhmetshina, a promising young mezzo-soprano with an exciting future ahead of her, tackles one of her signature roles at the Deutsche Oper Berlin. Please enjoy my review and let me know your opinions as well.
Dramatic coloratura soprano Marina Rebeka tackles her role debut head-on as Aida, accompanied by a cavalcade of fellow star singers, in Calixto Bieito’s garish and messy production. Please enjoy my review and let me know your opinions as well.
Waltraud Meier’s second to the last hurrah as Klytämnestra, the beautiful yet guilt-ridden Queen of Mycenae, was in full swing tonight. Enjoy my review, and please enjoy Frau Meier’s final hurrah to the operatic stage on October 20.
Our tenth-anniversary Team Night Saturn livestream is now available on YouTube with timestamps. Thank you so much, my dear Team Night Saturn colleagues, for giving me the opportunity to host the stream. I also hope that all of you wonderful viewers enjoy watching the entire stream with timestamps, and please let us which is your favorite part. Cheers and here’s to ten more years of Team Night Saturn.
Greetings, anime fans, martial arts aficionados, fighting game devotees, and enthusiasts of all things about anime, martial arts, video games, and fighting tournaments. Antoni here with another written entry. As a follow-up to my previous post regarding my fourteen seven-person anime martial arts team-ups, I thought it would be nice to feature an idea born out of my good friend, Jeffrey Quick aka Ginga1122. He has been wanting his OTP Dudley and Daisy from the 2010 Nickelodeon cartoon T.U.F.F. Puppy to be featured in my anime martial arts AU headcanon consisting of fourteen teams of seven anime characters each possessing different combat styles. Well, Jeff, your wish has come true. Mind you, I have also put Dudley’s and Daisy’s human ages on show. As for the martial arts, they will learn from each group, they will be divided into weeks and sorted according to the individual signature techniques they will learn per anime martial artist. Enjoy. Tokyo, Japan. May 17, 2014, which was the date that “Girlfriend or Foe?” aired on Nicktoons Network. 26-year-old Dudley Puppy and his 24-year-old wife Daisy Spaniel-Puppy were enthusiastic to set foot in Tokyo for fourteen weeks of total martial arts immersion. Joining them were their seven children: 4-year-old twin sons Damien Callum Puppy and Darren Carlton Puppy, 3-year-old triplet sons Dennis Edward Puppy, David Elmer Puppy, and Devon Ezekiel Puppy; and 2-year-old twin daughters Dorothy Grace Puppy and Dominique Glory Puppy. The Puppy family set into their new apartment with their bags unpacked and itineraries ready for fourteen weeks of intense martial arts training. Damien, Darren, Dennis, David, Devon, Dorothy, and Dominique were still very young toddlers trying out what their parents were about to get themselves into. Nevertheless, they were about to soak in new skills that would help them grow into the valiant fighters that their parents were. Dudley and Daisy, given their occupations of working as agents and combat specialists for the Turbo Undercover Fighting Force or T.U.F.F. for short, saw in their little children’s eyes that they were just as excited to learn the techniques that their parents were going to learn. Therefore, they agreed that their children needed to start out young for them to grow well as fighters. Time waited for nobody. Dudley and Daisy prepared themselves for some intense training, while their seven children were going to be as immersed as their parents were. The journey has just begun, learning various techniques and trying to remain in one piece. Week 1- The Splendid Seven of Nerima: Feral Beasts Roar (Sesshoumaru, Shuran, Inuyasha, Hakkaku, Ginta, Ayame, and Shunran) Dudley’s and Daisy’s first mentors were a septet of Yokai martial artists renowned for their feral brutality in international martial arts tournaments. They were excited to train under them, as their children also heard great stories of Sesshoumaru’s deadly chokes, Shuran’s brute strength, Inuyasha’s rampaging brawn, Hakkaku’s undying charm, Ginta’s unwavering charisma, Ayame’s determined fierceness, and Shunran’s gorgeous elegance. Their parents reminded them that they were famous for winning against opponents stronger than they were. One example was during the winter 2004 Austrian Alps martial arts tournament. Day 1- Mixed Martial Arts with 33-year-old Sesshoumaru from Inuyasha (Kimuras) Day 2- Professional Wrestling with 32-year-old Shuran from Inuyasha (piledrivers) Day 3- Pankration with 32-year-old Inuyasha from Inuyasha (tracheal grip chokes) Day 4- Muay Boran with 31-year-old Hakkaku from Inuyasha (upward headbutts) Day 5- Lethwei with 31-year-old Ginta from Inuyasha (downward headbutts) Day 6- Kyuk Too Ki with 29-year-old Ayame from Inuyasha (Superman punches) Day 7- Shaolin Kung Fu with 28-year-old Shunran from Inuyasha (nerve strikes) Week 2- The Radioactive Rebels of Shinjuku: Vicious Cyclones Cometh (Shido, Ban, Ginji, Kyuzo, Heihachi, Satella, and Akemi) After dealing with an enormous number of thrashings from the seven Yokai warriors with attitude, it was off to Shinjuku to encounter Dudley’s and Daisy’s next set of mentors. If they thought that their previous training week was ferocious, the second week was going to be more lethally taxing. Shido Fuyuki, Ban Mido, and Ginji Amano were famous for trapping their opponents using various joint locks and chokeholds. Kyuzo and Heihachi Hayashida possessed lightning-fast kicks. Satella Harvenheit and Akemi Takaishi used their strikes as weapons of mass destruction. Dudley and Daisy would need stealth to endure this week. Day 8- Japanese Jujutsu with 34-year-old Shido Fuyuki from GetBackers (guillotine chokes) Day 9- Brazilian Jujitsu with 34-year-old Ban Mido from GetBackers (arm triangles) Day 10- Judo with 33-year-old Ginji Amano from GetBackers (leg wheels) Day 11- Kajukenbo with 30-year-old Kyuzo from Samurai 7 (check kicks) Day 12- Qwan Ki Do with 30-year-old Heihachi Hayashida from Samurai 7 (spinning back kicks) Day 13- Nippon Kenpo with 30-year-old Satella Harvenheit from Chrono Crusade (ox jaw strikes) Day 14- Shorinji Kenpo with 28-year-old Akemi Takaishi from Shootfighter Tekken (palm heel strikes) Week 3- The Quicksilver Quantums of Adachi: Missiles on Fire (Masaru, Tatsuya, Ryuichi, Mario, Hiroto, Sakurako, and Kuniko) The previous week went as fast as any of the chokeholds, kicks, and strikes that Dudley and Daisy endured. Their seven children still cheered for their parents and continued to be well-fed with the finest international cuisine that Tokyo had to offer. There was no time for rest, as Dudley and Daisy proceeded to visit martial arts mentors famous for their military precision. Tales were told of Masaru Aoki’s toughness, Tatsuya Kimura’s focus, Ryuichi Hayami’s accuracy, Mario Musicanova’s leverage, Hiroto Amagiwa’s maneuvering, Sakurako Yukihira’s directness, and Kuniko’s agility, and those tales came to full-fledged fruition. Day 15- Kamogawa Mixed Martial Boxing with 32-year-old Masaru Aoki from Hajime no Ippo (uppercuts) Day 16- Kamogawa Mixed Martial Boxing with 32-year-old Tatsuya Kimura from Hajime no Ippo (hooks) Day 17- Otowa Mixed Martial Boxing with 31-year-old Ryuichi Hayami from Hajime no Ippo (jabs) Day 18- Luta Livre with 31-year-old Mario Musicanova from Geneshaft (armbars) Day 19- Pancrase with 30-year-old Hiroto Amagiwa from Geneshaft (leglocks) Day 20- Musti-yuddha with 28-year-old Sakurako Yukihira from Detective School Q (roundhouse kicks) Day 21- Adithada with…
Greetings, anime fans, martial arts aficionados, fighting game devotees, and enthusiasts of all things about anime, martial arts, video games, and fighting tournaments. Antoni here with another written entry. If you know me, based on the title, there are four things I am most passionate about. One is the number seven because it is the number of high fortunes, wealth, prosperity, abundance, sanctity, hope, and faith. Two is anything divisible by seven, and my first passion should be indicative, especially for those of you who have been paying attention in your mathematics classes when you were very young. Three is anime because of the variety found in the choice, interesting storylines, and the cool factor some of the shows possessed. Four is martial arts tournaments because it is enjoyable to see fighters using various combat styles duking it out in the arena and having it soaked in blood and guts. Combine my four passions in life and you get fourteen team-ups consisting of seven anime characters and the martial arts they specialize in. My philosophy revolving around my seven-anime character martial arts teams may affirm the importance of discipline, camaraderie, self-confidence, respect, cooperation, balance, and self-defense. Those attributes are exceptional and should be implemented as habits. However, I also argue that nothing should be held back when launching a series of brutal attacks against various opponents. Those supposedly squeaky-clean characters from the early to mid-2000s Disney Channel sitcoms and cartoons can get their insipid pansy behinds to bail out and get lost, for these fourteen septets of anime martial artists are in the house to tear some butt while looking great in doing so. Therefore, no opponent is safe. Think of this entry as a more organized line-up of the fourteen seven-anime character martial artists featured in the previous entries. Some team-ups are the same, while others are a little more switched up for credibility’s sake. As always, the characters featured will be from anime that I watched on Animax, Adult Swim, Hero TV, and even on the internet, with the ones featured from Inuyasha, Baki the Grappler, Shura no Toki, Shootfighter Tekken, Hajime no Ippo, Fullmetal Alchemist, Solty Rei, Ultra Maniac, Wolf’s Rain, Texhnolyze, Geneshaft, Chrono Crusade, Samurai 7, Kiddy Grade, Hungry Heart, Full Metal Panic, GetBackers, and Cardcaptor Sakura. Let’s get ready to rumble. Osu! Hajime! The Splendid Seven (Sesshoumaru, Shuran, Inuyasha, Hakkaku, Ginta, Ayame, and Shunran) When these seven powerful Yokai martial artists take center stage, their opponents would want to either head for the hills to save their skins or try their luck in overcoming them. This is thanks to the combined forces of two dog Yokai brothers, Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha, three spiky-haired brothers, Shuran, Hakkaku, and Ginta, and two auburn-haired sisters, Ayame and Shunran, and their brutal moves. Sesshoumaru’s ground and pounds, Shuran’s piledrivers, Inuyasha’s tracheal grip chokes, Hakkaku’s elbow strikes, Ginta’s flying knees, Ayame’s uppercuts, and Shunran’s nerve strikes make them unstoppable as a mighty team. Sesshoumaru (Inuyasha) – Mixed Martial Arts Shuran (Inuyasha) – Professional Wrestling Inuyasha (Inuyasha) – Pankration Hakkaku (Inuyasha) – Muay Boran Ginta (Inuyasha) – Lethwei Ayame (Inuyasha) – Kyuk Too Ki Shunran (Inuyasha) – Shaolin Kung Fu The Radioactive Rebels (Shido, Ban, Ginji, Kyuzo, Heihachi, Satella, and Akemi) No natural disaster can equal the damage that Shido Fuyuki, Ban Mido, Ginji Amano, Kyuzo, Heihachi Hayashida, Satella Harvenheit, and Akemi Takaishi can accomplish. When combining Shido’s guillotine chokes, Ban’s arm triangles, Ginji’s leg wheels, Kyuzo’s check kicks, Heihachi’s spinning back kicks, Satella’s ox jaw strikes, and Akemi’s palm strikes, opponents are in for an exciting thrill ride full of spins, rolls, and drops as if they boarded an intense roller coaster ride to oblivion. Where these seven lethal combatants are going to take their opponents is far from bright and breezy, as it will be full of destructive turbulence. Shido Fuyuki (GetBackers) – Japanese Jujitsu Ban Mido (GetBackers) – Brazilian Jujitsu Ginji Amano (GetBackers) – Judo Kyuzo (Samurai 7) – Kajukenbo Heihachi Hayashida (Samurai 7) – Qwan Ki Do Satella Harvenheit (Chrono Crusade) – Nippon Kenpo Akemi Takaishi (Shootfighter Tekken) – Shorinji Kenpo The Quicksilver Quantums (Masaru, Tatsuya, Ryuichi, Mario, Hiroto, Sakurako, and Kuniko) There is nothing more fulfilling, let alone more purposeful, than ensuring that a true martial artist combines brute force, military precision, quick self-defense, and benevolent character and turn these attributes into a unit. Fortunately for Masaru Aoki, Tatsuya Kimura, Ryuichi Hayami, Mario Musicanova, Hiroto Amagiwa, Sakurako Yukihira, and Kuniko Touya, they are living proof that they have what it takes to live like true martial artists and more. Masaru’s haymakers, Tatsuya’s hooks, Ryuichi’s jabs, Mario’s armbars, Hiroto’s leglocks, Sakurako’s roundhouse kicks, and Kuniko’s double flying kicks can easily incapacitate their opponents. Masaru Aoki (Hajime no Ippo) – Kamogawa Mixed Martial Boxing Tatsuya Kimura (Hajime no Ippo) – Kamogawa Mixed Martial Boxing Ryuichi Hayami (Hajime no Ippo) – Otowa Mixed Martial Boxing Mario Musicanova (Geneshaft) – Luta Livre Hiroto Amagiwa (Geneshaft) – Pancrase Sakurako Yukihira (Detective School Q) – Musti-yuddha Kuniko Touya (Detective School Q) – Adithada The War Emperors (Yoshiki, Mamoru, Kuranosuke, Tsume, Kisuke, Mitsuhide, and Shinosuke) Virile power and heavyweight muscularity are the best lexical descriptions that encapsulate Yoshiki Takaishi, Mamoru Takamura, Kuranosuke Takeda, Tsume, Kisuke, Mitsuhide Kuroda, and Shinosuke. Each of these tall, mighty, powerfully built gentlemen is capable of making their opponents submit regardless of brute strength and/or unparalleled skill, with the arena cheering them on. Yoshiki’s bearhugs, Mamoru’s liver punches, Kuranosuke’s rear naked chokeholds, Tsume’s fireman’s carries, Kisuke’s double leg takedowns, Mitsuhide’s underhooks, and Shinosuke’s overhooks can reduce mighty giants into mere mortals. Yoshiki Takaishi (Shootfighter Tekken) – Kapu Kuialua Mamoru Takamura (Hajime no Ippo) – Kamogawa Mixed Martial Boxing Kuranosuke Takeda (Inuyasha) – Shoot Wrestling Tsume (Wolf’s Rain) – Vale Tudo Kisuke (Inuyasha) – Shootfighting Mitsuhide Kuroda (Shootfighter Tekken) – Combat Sambo Shinosuke (Inuyasha) – Shoot Boxing The Kings of Formidable Fists (Baki, Ryoma, Takeshi, Kiibo, Alexander, Ichiro, and Ippo) Boxing or Mixed Martial…
Ladies and gentlemen, fellow artists, actors, singers, voiceover artists, reviewers, online personalities, television personalities, academics, friends, family members, and all my loved ones, I present my torrid yet rewarding odyssey of losing weight. From 2019 to this year, I have hurled obesity out of my door for good. The journey has been arduous, but I feel happier and healthier. Sure, my lightest weight this year was 10 stone 5 pounds (145 pounds or 66 kilograms), as my last photo is evidence of my recent achievement. However, I was complacent and ballooned back to my heaviest weight this year of 12 stone 2.6 pounds (170.6 pounds or 77.4 kilograms) last July. At least this recent blunder served as a sobering reminder that I had to keep picking up the pace of my weight loss progress by doing way more exercise than last year, let alone the previous months. There have been fringe benefits, though. As of this month, I have gone down to 11 stone 9.4 pounds (163.4 pounds or 74.1 kilograms), thus maintaining my overall 5-stone 8.3-pound (78.3-pound or 35.5-kilogram) weight loss for two years straight. My blood pressure is no longer high, but I must reduce my relatively high uric acid levels. Several clothes that were once too tight to fit ended up either loose on me or comfortably fitting. I walk and run faster than I ever did on my journeys from home to the university and many other destinations within Berlin. Many of my loved ones have been remarking that I look good and should maintain weight. These are phenomenal, but I know I can do more to be the slimmer man I should be. The numbers that I am looking at range between a 6-pound (2.7-kilogram) to a 3-stone 5-pound (47-pound or 21.3-kilogram) weight loss to maintain my healthy weight range. I remain steadfast in my resolve to continue losing as much weight as possible. Thank you all for your constant encouragement throughout my journey thus far, and I will continue to live as healthily as possible. That is a promise I shall gladly keep to you all.