oboeinsight

I was doing a bit more searching on #operaplot blogs (I will try to put together a list of links sometime this weekend to other opera lovers who were involved in the fun) and I ran across a 2009 article about how Miss Mussel began this event in the first place:

I started this contest a month ago on a whim. I was writing programme notes for the RNCM and tweeted that I was having trouble with word creep… one of those mundane details Twitter disparagers claim not to be interested in. @pattyoboe, an oboist blogger from California suggested I should tweet the notes. That seemed impractical but then I thought, what about opera? Tweets are the perfect antidote to convoluted plot summaries…so I launched the contest with a single Tweet. I only had about 50 followers at the time but word got out and by the time the contest ended three days later, the whole world (ok, the whole opera world) knew about it.

GEE … how about that!?

So never mind a prize. I feel sort of like a winner already.

Or is that whiner? Hmmm.

Yep. #operaplot is nearly over for 2011. Eric Owens has already read some of his faves. I wasn’t included. But I’m not crying. The fun is in making the stuff up … right?

Well, sort of. It would be fun to win some year!

One thing I’m well aware of: I don’t know all that many operas! Some of the ones I tweeted were actually not ones I knew; I just studied up. But next year (if Miss Mussel does this again) I want to only tweet those I’ve heard.

So I finished up with my goofy little entries. This year Miss Mussel reported there were many more entries. I’m not counting on a prize at all. I didn’t feel all that creative for some reason. But of course I still entered my allowed 25. I’m going to guess that if this happens again next year the allowed entries will be lower. Poor Eric Owens is going to have a lot of reading to do! (I’d simply quickly cross out all that don’t hit me right away if I were him.)

Side note: Eric Owens plays oboe. Sadly I don’t believe that helps me in any way. Oboe makes no appearance in my plots!

So here are my entries, exactly as I had to post them to keep them at 140 characters. See if you can figure ’em all out. (Some operas appear more than once, as you will see, I’m sure!):

APRIL 11
• Donnie G, puddin’ n pie, kissed the girls & made ’em cry. A statue came to talk a spell & Donnie G. went down to hell. #operaplot
• The evening’s young but I am not; I’ll drink this potion down. The Devil with this #operaplot! Nowhere to go but down.
• 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Does Judith find our marriage heaven? Can’t believe she fell for me, now she sees her destiny. #operaplot
• “Hey there, wanna join my Bible study after that beer? Then maybe later we can ride off into the sunset.” #operaplot

APRIL 12
• The words? The music? How to choose? Will one man win, the other lose? To supper now, I’m too confused. #operaplot
• Dear Miss Manners, Mom is a total drama queen. She hates the guy I love (a real prince) & told me to stab him w this knife. Help! #operaplot
• This crazy opera’s one wild ride, but hey what do I see? Composer didn’t write the music for act number 3! Holy Cow! #operaplot
• Holding court for him’s no jest, he’ll mock each soul in sight. But now the curse is in the bag & he’s in for a fright. #operaplot
• “Batter my heart.” “Better: batter on chicken! Weather or not, it’s time now to act. Besides I’m hungry! Food is the bomb!” #operaplot
• Ah telepods you rotten things! Transported, now I cry. That’s one experiment that failed – I’ve turned into a fly. #operaplot

APRIL 13
• Breaking News: 337 year old woman found! “She’s as cold as they come,” attorney Kolenaty said. Breaking news update: Dead. #operaplot
• The trail’s scent might be quite strong but things are looking grim: his sense of smell has disappeared due to a barber’s trim. #operaplot
• Cinderella, dressed in yella, gave a bracelet to a fella. She wins out & sisters lose & nowhere do you see glass shoes. #operaplot
• A burning bush & rules on stones, all sung in 12 row order tones. A golden calf, a cloud, some fire & love for God Moses’ desire. #operaplot
• “Dear stepdaughter what’s the matter?””Put his head upon a platter!””Dance for me the deed is done (now I wish she’d been a son).”#operaplot

APRIL 14
• Candle, key, cold hand: poetry. Momus (he acts jealously). We live, we love, we fight, we cry, we part, I’m back & then I die. #operaplot
• Breaking News: Geisha girl, mother of one, stabs self after recording first episode of new radio show: His American Wife #operaplot
• OK, so like it starts with this guy singing to a TREE. OMG! I mean … A TREE?! He loves his tree! & everyone has weird names, 2. #operaplot
• Farming&fishing&drugs, oh my! Craps, 1 man killed: people cry, a storm, more death & she leaves town, Porgy goes 2 track her down.#operaplot
• Shave & a haircut –– no nose! #operaplot

APRIL 15
• Captain doesn’t really fly.A girl leaves Erik for the guy.The captain leaves,he misunderstood!She takes a leap.It all ends good.#operaplot
• They cannot mask the love they have, but they will not succumb. His killer pardoned, he will die. It’s all so very glum. #operaplot
• Mom kills dad; I’m quite mad. Dead brother lives? Gee, what gives? I tell my brother: kill my mother! Task is done, I die stunned.#operaplot
• Makes sense to me: Kill the 1st 1 I see. Oh no it’s my son! This won’t be fun. But things wind up fine though Electra will whine. #operaplot
• She dances with veils in quite the mad state, the next thing you know, his head’s on a plate. #operaplot

So there you have it. And now I am done … wasn’t that fun?

By the way, there is still time for you, if you haven’t tweeted any entries yet. The contest closes down at 11:59 PM EDT. Go here for the rules & faq and here for so much more!