Prima la musica, poi le parole

Various

• Maybe I am a sentimental fool, but it made me smile to see that Jodie McGuren has been cast in the small (very small) role of Kätchen in Werther. I've always remembered how excited she was during Operatunity Oz just to have a chance to sing in the empty Opera Theatre, and then on the follow-up show, it was lovely to see that she'd been given a full-time chorus position. Because of that, I always notice her in the chorus and somehow she just seems to radiate positive energy and joy in singing. So I think it's great she's been given a solo part, however tiny, and I plan to clap especially loudly for her. 
• As has been pointed out in the comments, Bruce Beresford has been speaking again about his plans to direct Carlisle Floyd's Of Mice and Men for Opera Australia. He reckons he'd like Anthony Dean Griffey (for whom Previn wrote the role of Mitch in Streetcar) for Lenny. Which I wouldn't say no to, of course: Griffey is wonderful as Mitch on disc and he was a pretty compelling Peter Grimes in last year's Met HD broadcast. My vote's still with Stuart Skelton though. I actually found his Mitch even more affecting than Griffey's — seeing him live probably helped that, admittedly — and I fully expect his Grimes this year to be at least the equal of his American counterpart's.    
• Speaking of Stuart Skelton, my constant YouTube trawling has dragged up one single solitary clip of the man in question. Alors, here are a couple of snippets from a Carmen somewhere (the clip details don't say where). There's more Carmen than Don José (bien sur) but it's much better than nothing. (Also, after the lumpish, wooden Don José OA had last year, I think Stuart is brilliant proof that it's entirely possibly for, shall we say, a larger gentleman, to move and act convincingly on stage, to be a physically committed and responsive member of the cast. Lumpishness, I suspect, has very little to do with size.)
• Moving from tenors (!) back to my natural territory — sopranos — it occured to me that, even though I tend to consider my diva obsessions as solitary pursuits, there may actually be more people than myself interested to read the Parisian response to Our Cheryl's season of Butterfly at the Bastille. To that end, some links — all in French, of course — Franck, naturellement (blog post) |  Devil Dave (blog post) | Forum Opera (review) | Altamusica (review) | Anaclase (review)| ConcertClassic (review). As was discussed in the comments a while back, an oh-so-Parisian strike meant the actual opening night (with the A-cast Butterfly) was cancelled, so that Cheryl in fact opened the production: hence, presumably, all the press. And if you don't fancy reading all the French: they liked her. There's little abject diva worship — that's my department — but it's a pretty positive response overall.   
• Well, if Stuart Skelton gets a YouTube link, then Cheryl definitely does. She's remarkably hard to find: neither of the two clips which come up in a search on her name actually contain any footage of her. But I tracked her down eventually, in four clips (here, here, here and here) from a 2001 La bohème at the Vlaamse Opera. They're focused on the Musetta (Rebecca Caine) but there's quite a bit of Mimi too, and she's fabulous. Bonus: the Rodolfo is Julian Gavin.

For Your Consideration

A couple of weeks ago I posted some of my casting hopes for the operas rumoured to be in Opera Australia's 2010 season. Discussion in the comments quickly turned to dreams of 2011 and beyond. I always enjoy 1. fantasy programming and 2. listmaking, so let's keep it up. Here's a selection of the items on my OA wishlist, along with a few thoughts about who I'd like to see singing in them. Add your own in the comments and maybe somewhere, lassù in ciel, the operagods will hear our pleas and smile upon them. (Either that or we'll just jinx ourselves, but I think it's worth the risk.) 

Katya Kabanova — Cheryl Barker in the title role. It seems the next logical step after her Jenufa and Emilia Marty, not to mention her successes as Katya elsewhere. Stuart Skelton for Boris (his page at Melba says he's headed for an ENO Katya, so why not here, too?) and of course Elizabeth Whitehouse as Kabanicha. [Other overseas successes I'd like to see Cheryl reprise here: the title role of Salome, Tatyana in Eugene Onegin and even, yes, Hanna Glawari in The Merry Widow, just for the novelty of seeing her in a comedy.]   

Idomeneo — My favourite non-Da Ponte Mozart opera. I'd like to see Catherine Carby (Idamante), Steve Davislim or Simon O'Neill (Idomeneo), Rachelle Durkin (Elettra), and somebody brand new and exciting as Ilia. [Alternatively, La clemenza di Tito with the same cast and Sian Pendry as Annio.]  

L'Italiana in Algeri — How fabulous would Jacqueline Dark be as Isabella? 

Les dialogues des Carmélites — The Sydney Conservatorium is producing Les mamelles de Tirésias this year, so a Carmélites would complete the trio for me. I think Leanne Kenneally could make an amazing Blanche de la Force. And maybe we could poach the WASO's principal conductor, Paul Daniel, whose account of this opera for Chandos is fantastic. [Poulenc-wise, I'd be just as happy to see Yvonne Kenny in a revival of La voix humaine, still the finest performance I've seen her give. [Although, very quietly, it's heretical to say so, but I can't help thinking Cheryl might be even more devastating in the role. I never said it, you never read it, nothing happened.]]

The Turn of the Screw — With anyone. I just want to see this opera. Although, the Governess would be a good role for a singer I'd love OA to import, fantastic Chandos regular Sarah Tynan. Closer to home, I can imagine Tiffany Speight pulling it off nicely as well. Quint? No idea. In an ideal world, I'd like Mark Padmore but that — sigh — will never be. 

 

Gloriana — I know, not most people's favourite Britten opera, but surely all Britten is good Britten and it would definitely be something different. Besides which, I have an idea. Since she's such a splendid Penelope Rich on disc, and has a history of moving from one role to another within a single opera — not to mention all the regal bearing one could ask for — I'm suggesting Yvonne Kenny for Elizabeth I. It might just work. 

Béatrice et Bénédict — Another gorgeous, girly role (and en français...swoon) for Jacqueline Dark. I see Aldo di Toro as her Bénédict and Joshua Bloom, who has already sung the role for Chicago Opera Theater, as Don Pedro. I know Opera Australia has a production in repertory: it was last seen in 2005 providing sets and costumes for Il signor Bruschino and was recently loaned to Houston Grand Opera for their B&B. 

La fille du régiment — Emma Pearson and Brad Cooper as Marie and Tonio. Two rising stars I'm dying to hear again.

Thaïs — It's a wild, extravagant dream and no doubt a vain hope, but I still think this would be a fabulous vehicle for Cheryl Barker and Peter Coleman-Wright. The production recently seen at the Met was by John Cox, who was responsible for last year's Cheryl'n'Peter Feature, the divine Arabella so who knows, maybe he'd like to do a smaller scale one for us? (Probably sans Lacroix, darling, Lacroix!) [Or, another off the beaten path C'n'P vehicle: Jake Heggie's The End of the Affair, which premiered in Houston in 2004 with Cheryl, Peter and Teddy Tahu Rhodes. I've no idea if it's any good or not, but the sheer Antipodean bias of its original cast suggests it's at least worth considering, especially given the success of Streetcar and OA's stated intention of continuing to explore American opera.]

And the list goes on. And on. But that's more than enough from me. Over to you!

 

Dawn

Don't you just want to hit me sometimes? I know I do. It took me until just two weeks before the concert to take myself in hand and realise that, while she has never been my favourite soprano in the world, I really had very little excuse for not taking the opportunity to hear Dawn Upshaw live in concert. I mean, honestly: what was I thinking? Dawn and I have had all kinds of artistic differences over the years, but facts are facts: she's a hugely important singer with a massive following, beloved of many people whose opinions I respect, and she was singing in the city where I live.

There's a bit of heresy in the above, and I suppose you noticed it. Giving Dawn Upshaw anything but awestruck praise is not, in certain circles at least, the done thing. That's as may be, but it's been my misfortune (althought that's perhaps too strong a word) to hear her almost exclusively in repertoire for which few have ever claimed her to be ideal anyway.  And reprehensible though it may be, I've just never made the effort to seek her out in the music she's made for, the music often quite literally made for her: the contemporary works composed specifically for her, and other bits of repertoire which, by all reports, may as well have been.

So you get the picture. I've never been a Dawn Upshaw fan — far from it — but to paraphrase Britten's comment about Verdi, I've always accepted this as more my failing than hers. But for all my personal bias, lurking in the background is always a willingness to be converted. I can quibble and moan all I like about this singer or that, but loving sopranos — not disliking them — is still what I'm best at.  With that in mind, I shoved my silly objections into a corner and booked myself for her Valentine's Day appearance with the Australian Chamber Orchestra.

For all my excitement about the City Recital Hall's new pick-your-own-seat booking system, I didn't realise until I arrived that I'd placed myself right in the front row: far closer to the Feet Of than a non-devotee such as myself really deserved to be. But front row seats at Angel Place, while a little hard on the neck, aren't nearly as atrocious as those at the Concert Hall. It was an excellent place to be, with only the heads of the wind players out of view.

Since this is not a Proper Review, and since this is an opera blog, I hope you'll indulge or forgive me if I pass with indecent haste over the non-vocal portions of the evening. There others far better than I at praising such things, although I will say that after a fine but not astounding performance of Mozart's Symphony no. 29, the Sinfonia concertante was something else entirely and very nearly the musical highlight of the entire evening, due in no small part to the talents of principal violist Christopher Moore (whose haircut bears, shall we say, scant resemblance to the photo accompanying the above-linked bio). The newly commissioned piece, James Ledger's Restless Night was weird but enjoyable enough, its most notable feature in a sense being that it was composed to celebrate Richard Tognetti's twentieth anniversary with the ACO: a milestone difficult to credit given Tognetti's preturnaturally freshfaced appearance. I'm certain there's a portrait of him ageing rapidly in somebody's attic. (Either that, or the anonymously donated Guarneri was actually from Mephistopheles.)

And so, to Dawn. I'll save you the suspense. This is not a Road to Damascus story. It is, however, a story of softening, of a shift in feeling and of a genuine upswing in respect.

Watching Dawn Upshaw is not like watching your average singer. There is something unusually personable about her manner on stage, a sense that what she's engaged in is not so much performance as a sharing of music among friends — friends who include the orchestra, the audience and the singer herself. She moves with the music around her, whether she's singing or not. Her deep involvement with, and strong connection to, the whole artistic and performing process are obvious and immediately engaging. She is a serene, generous and seemingly wholly un-selfconscious presence — every tap of her toes, every hint of a tear, every radiant smile is genuine, with not a whiff of affectation.

That same sincerity is present in her singing, and I think perhaps it took the live experience to make me understand that. Her voice is what it is. She'll do anything with it, she'll take it to extremes if necessary, but what I suspect she'll never do is use it in a way that's artificial, in a way that's not true to her own sensibilities. And there, in recorded form, is perhaps the problem I've faced with Dawn over the years: her sensibilities and mine have not always aligned, but in her own, sweet way, she's never ever going to give way. Neither should she.

Her first item was Golijov's Three Songs for soprano and orchestra. This tour marks the Australian premiere of these songs, although they've been available on disc since 2007. Nevertheless, I would imagine they were unfamiliar to many in the audience. For me it's a different story: these songs are my old, old friends — just not in Dawn's voice.  I met them several years ago, courtesy of the gorgeous New Zealand soprano Patricia Wright. I heard her sing them via radio broadcast and then later in live performance, and was privileged enough to be given a recording of that broadcast by the diva herself. I loved those songs and listened to them again and again. I'm sure you know how that kind of musical imprinting works. These songs were written for Dawn Upshaw and her performance of them is all that's radiant, true and beautiful, but the fact remains that that tiny corner of my heart marked "Golijov Three Songs" will always be the property of Patricia. However, it was marvellous to hear them live once again, and to be reminded of their particular magic. "How slow the wind" remains my favourite of the three, and Dawn's delivery of it was quite devastating. 

She has a wonderful way of quietly but unshakeably taking possession of whatever she is singing. The Golijov songs seem hers automatically, by virtue of having been written for her, but the sense of ownership was at least as powerful in her next item, a selection of Bartok's Hungarian folksongs. I said the Sinfonia concertante was nearly my highlight of the evening. It was beaten out by Dawn's inspired performance of these varied, mesmerising and exquisite songs. There were translations printed, but my programme remained on the floor: you didn't need a word of Hungarian to grasp the spirit and emotions at play. The extraordinary malleability of her voice, and its capacity for such a wealth of colours, was especially evident here, and I understood more than ever before Golijov's oft-quoted comment about her "rainbow of a voice". From deep, melodious moans of agony to infectious Gypsy brilliance, she encompassed all the wide-ranging vocal and emotional demands of these songs with total and thrilling commitment.

She finished with a single song, according to Tognetti (who spoke between items) a sort of programmed encore: Richard Strauss' "Morgen". It's one of my favourite songs in all the world, sitting alongside Strauss' "Beim Schlafengehen" and "Allerseelen" as the piece of music most likely to turn me into a puddle of tears. It's also a song which I've heard sung by many of my most beloved singers, including live performances by both Yvonne Kenny and Cheryl Barker. In spirit, Dawn and this heavenly song are perfect for one another, and her performance of it was as moving and as beautiful as one could wish for. But I can't deny that I prefer a different voice for it, a voice more inherently Straussian, and yes, ideally, since it's a song I tend to take so personally, a voice with particular personal meaning for me: Cheryl, or Yvonne, or Barbara, or Lucia. Dawn's singing did not in any way diminish the perfection of the song, though, and I ended up as misty-eyed as she did — how could you not?

And that was that, though I was hoping for an encore and would gladly have listened to her for longer. I didn't emerge as a Brand New #1 Fan, I didn't buy a CD or queue to have it signed. But nor did I emerge feeling exactly as I did when I arrived. I've read praise of Dawn Upshaw for years and years, but it's only now, having shared in the gifts and beauty which have made such an impression on so many people for so long, that I can begin properly to understand what it's all about. She is not a singer I see myself going crazy for, but for the first time, I can see how and why a person might — and there's no doubt that I will cherish the memory of this performance for a long time to come.

Various

• Please note an important addition to the Opera in Australia Calendar: at 3.30pm on Saturday 21st February, Glenn Winslade and Amanda Thane, along with a number of their students, will present a concert of popular arias, ensembles and songs at St Andrew's Anglican Church in Roseville, with all proceeds going to the Victorian Bushfire Relief Fund. Entry is by donation.  
• A couple of cast changes have quietly appeared on Opera Australia's website. Three very good OA names are now in the cast list for Melbourne's season of Sondheim's A Little Night Music: Jacqueline Dark, Jane Parkin and Andrew Moran. The show comes to Sydney next year: I had neutral feelings about this, but with those three involved, my excitement level rises a bit. Matthew Robinson (Freddy in this year's My Fair Lady) has also been added to the list. Taryn Fiebig, however, is no longer listed. She's also gone from the upcoming Sydney season of Massenet's Werther: Sarah Crane will now sing Sophie, which, I must confess, strikes me as a better fit. Taryn is still listed for Dido & Aeneas, Acis & Galatea and The Mikado later in the year.
• My recent praise for Jennifer Larmore's performance in L'Italiana in Algeri have put me in touch with the proprietor of a fabulous new(ish) blog dedicated solely to reviews and adoration of the lovely Ms L: All Hail Jennie!  An admirable sentiment. Every mezzo-soprano deserves such bloggish devotion.

Birthday girl

A slightly belated Happy Birthday to the one and only Renée Fleming. To mark the occasion, here's some Mozart. I love her.

Oh, what the hell, you only have a birthday once a year. Here's some more, audio only this time, from her Mozart disc, Visions of Love  — still quite possibly my favourite Mozart arias disc by any soprano, ever. 

She's wonderful, isn't she?

Guardami

I'm quite good at buying opera DVDs. I am less talented at actually watching them. Lately, however, prompted by an influx of new acquisitions and the demise of practically all quality television, I've been working through the backlog. Work is hardly the word for it. Opera on DVD is my friend.

L'Italiana in Algieri was my first. Slightly odd production, not unattractive but not spectacularly charming either. Kooky furniture strewn across a rather vast and barren stage, probably not the most hospitable set in which to sing. Not that you'd know it, because Jennifer Larmore is magnificent and hilarious. Sometimes Jennifer looks like Catherine Zeta Jones. Here she's more reminiscent of Dawn French taking off Catherine Zeta Jones. And in the midst of all the comedy, she just happens to be able to sing the hell out of the role: stunning. Her male co-stars are variously delightful: Bruce Ford very little and cute (and virtuosic to boot) as her Lindoro, Simone Alaimo stuffy and slightly mad as Mustafa and best of all, Alessandro Corbelli an irresistible Taddeo — barely recognisable as the portly, bald Suplice of Laurent Pelly's La fille du régiment. 

Sticking with TDK (there was a sale...I may have gone a little mad) I also enjoyed the Jonathan Miller production of Le nozze di Figaro from Florence. It's the kind of production which reminds how good straight but lively traditionalism can be, especially with an engaging and vocally strong cast. Patrizia Ciofi is, as we know, an ideal Susanna, especially if you go as mad for that peculiarly lovely voice of hers as I do, and she keeps the offputting facial expressions to a minimum. Eteri Gvazava is a subtle and heartbreaking Countess, one in whom you can still see the Rosina of a few years ago. Giorgio Surian is less distinctive as Figaro, but good, solid fun just the same, and Lucio Gallo is an excellent Count. But the surprise for me was Giovanna Donadini, a Marcellina who actually made me laugh out loud.

Just one more will be enough for now, so I might as well stick to my TDK haul. Another Mozart, but different every respect: the 2003 Salzburg Festival production of La clemenza di Tito. In a sense, I can review this simply by listing the cast. Michael Schade, Vesselina Kasarova, Dorothea Röschmann, Elina Garanca, Barbara Bonney and Luca Pisaroni. Led by Nikolaus Harnoncourt. And it's (musically) just as fantastic as the names suggest: maybe more so. My admiration for Dorothea Röschmann grows and grows, and the transformation from radiant Pamina to complicated Countess to this ferocious, seductive Vitellia is a bit mindblowing. Vesselina is captivating and drop dead gorgeous, something which comes across much better on film than in photos. Elina's Annio is velvety perfection, and Barbara Bonney as Servilia? That's luxury casting and then some. Surrounded by so many fascinating women, Michael Schade nevertheless lives up to his title role status, with a compellingly neurotic Tito. His singing is superb, soft edged and smooth yet full of electricity, and dramatically he achieves the near impossible, turning an unbelievable character into a believable one. The fractured, occasionally explicit modern staging won't be to everybody's tastes, but it has a certain appeal; and however you feel about the liberties taken, I think you have to admire the extent to which this production injects some kind of life and recognisable human feeling into what can so easily be a dreary, static piece of emperor-worship.

Tosca, sei tu

A nice appearance by Antoinette Halloran on this evening's Spicks and Specks. (People are already searching for her and landing here. Hello Googlers. You might like this link. And it's Antoinette, not Antonia. And no "O'" before the Halloran.) From this we learnt, among other things, that: she's lovely (we knew that already); she's recently engaged (congratulations!) to a fabulous tenor; and, most notably (to me) she's singing Tosca next year.

Since Tosca is already on my OA Futures list, with Cheryl Barker slated to star, I'm going to go ahead and assume that, as with Butterfly, Cheryl will open the season and Antoinette will take over later in the run, allowing the company to give this warhorse an appropriately lengthy season.

Antoinette's status as Australia's Puccini Soprano seems assured now, though I hope she won't completely abandon the non-Italian repertoire. Her Stella in Streetcar remains my favourite of her performances; a hint in the comments here that we'll see her in Floyd's Of Mice and Men is therefore welcome news. 

Wishing and hoping

With the bare bones of Opera Australia's 2010 season starting to filter through, my thoughts turn immediately — and maybe yours do, too — to casting wishes. 

Top of my list is Catherine Carby for Octavian, a swoonworthy prospect, especially since, if the reports are true, she'd be singing opposite Cheryl Barker's Marschallin. And after her Queen of the Night, I'm very keen to hear Emma Pearson in something else: Sophie, perhaps, or the title role of Manon. José Carbo's website already lists his plans (Lescaut, Count Almaviva) for next year, so there's no need to wish, although even more roles for him would always be welcome. Given the tenor drought, I'd like to think that both Aldo di Toro and Carlo Barricelli will be returning: my first thought is Aldo for Des Grieux and Carlo for Cavaradossi, in the Tosca we're told will star our Cheryl. The list as it stands suggests no obvious star parts for Jacqueline Dark, so I'm hoping that one (or more) of the operas I haven't found out about yet will contain something for her — preferably something beyond this year's string of (gorgeous) bit parts. Similarly essential is Jonathan Summers: my vote's for Scarpia, at the very least. More would be better. Peter Coleman-Wright's website, like José's, saves me the trouble of wishing — I'm increasingly excited about his turn as Harry Joy in the world première of Brett Dean's Bliss. Patrick Togher promises a 2010 return by Joshua Bloom: if it's in something already on the list, my guess is the revival of Le nozze di Figaro — speaking of which, how about a wildcard newcomer as Susanna? About time we had some fresh lyric soprano blood. (Or failing that, maybe Sarah Crane! I love Tiffany Speight as much as anyone, but she deserves a chance to branch out.) I don't know La fanciulla del West well enough to have any particular wishes about it, although it would be nice if Anke Höppner, who is WA Opera's Minnie this year, was also ours. Perhaps the hardest of the bunch to cast is Partenope, although if past seasons are anything to judge by, the heroine will be Emma Matthews and/or Rachelle Durkin — though I'm not sure I wouldn't prefer a third, as-yet-unknown soprano in the role. Maybe even (gasp!) an import. I would like Dominica Matthews in the contralto role, however, since I wasn't able to hear her Orlando. 

I could go on like this forever and ever, of course, but I think I should stop myself there for the moment and turn the game over to you, Australian readers. Assuming the operas on the list are confirmed, who would you like to hear in them? And, if it's not the same question, who do you suppose has been cast? 

Tatiana

Reader, I bought it. The Met Onegin on DVD, that is. And I think I'm in love...

Die Zauberflöte 2

A second Zauberflöte tonight. I went specifically to hear Emma Pearson for a second time as the Queen of the Night, so naturally, she was ill and didn't sing. So that's that, then. I'd like to hear her again, but my diva devotion only stretches so far, and a fourth performance is, I fear, beyond me. But I'll be very surprised if she's not back here soon. Meanwhile, her replacement tonight was Teresa La Rocca, who coped reasonably well given the circumstances, but hadn't Emma's commanding presence or dazzling air of evil. I wouldn't mind hearing her again, though, in something less high-flying. 

Other Emma is still the best thing about this Zauberflöte, and her "Ach, ich fühl's" should have brought down the house. I clapped as long as was practical. Catherine Carby remains an inordinately fabulous Second Lady, how dare she sing this supposedly minor role with such relish? Even the tiny details are brilliant, like the malicious way she lingers on the "t" of "Nacht". Orchestra sounded somewhat better than last time too, inevitable after I said such mean things. 

A couple of other tangentially related notes:

You might like to know that the Sydney Opera House box office is now charging a $5 "counter fee" for all in-person ticket sales. Delightful, no? You can avoid the fee by booking online or by phone, although of course D-reserve isn't available online and E-reserve/standing room is only available in person. So the already overpriced cheap seats are now even more expensive. Wonderful. 

And I just have to say, while generally speaking it annoys me to find I like something that's being heavily promoted, I love the fact that right now it's impossible to turn a corner at the opera house, or in fact in Sydney generally, without seeing my diva of choice on a poster, or a pamphlet, or the back of a taxi, or the side of a van. She's everywhere!

Looking forward

As hinted at, I'm marking my half decade of blogging with the unveiling of two small side-projects. I actually meant to do this at the beginning of January, but somehow that didn't happen. Anyway, allow me to direct your attention to:

The Prima la musica Opera in Australia Calendar
I realise February 2nd is a funny time to launch a calendar, but it beats waiting until next January. Inspired by the Opera~Opera listing and the NYC/Philly Opera Fanatic's similar service, this is an attempt to get as many Australian operatic events as possible listed in one place. It's a work in progress. So far I've listed the full seasons of the national and state opera companies, plus a few of the smaller Melbourne and Sydney companies, along with operatic/vocal events from the state orchestras, Musica Viva, the ACO, the ABO and the Sydney Conservatorium, and a smattering of other recitals, concerts and vocal competitions. I'm still waiting for various organisations to publish their 2009 concert schedules online, and submissions (via email or the comments section) are welcome. As are corrections: I've done my best, but there are bound to be errors.

Opera Australia Futures

Another derivative project. Hat tip this time to Brad Wilber and Gert. Rumours, speculation etc. about future seasons at Opera Australia. Again, submissions, additions, corrections and so on eagerly received.

Permanent links to both of these pages have been placed in the sidebar. I'll try and post notification here of major updates to either of them. 

Allez-y!

In just a few minutes, a certain Australian diva storms the Bastille as Robert Wilson's Alien Butterfly. I predict she'll take more than just seven prisoners. 

In bocca al lupo, Alien Butterfly!