I went to the Metropolitan Opera today.... (sort of)

Cafe Society
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So, I saw in the paper that one local theatre was going to be ‘broadcasting’ The Magic Flute from the Met in NYC on Saturday at 10:30 AM. I was wishy-washy about it, as it was a condensed version and sung in English, but decided to go. I figured there’d be me, a senior citizen or two at tops, and maybe three other artsy types.

Ha.

First theatre sold out, so they added another. (Grumble, I think–I ended up in Room #2, and it was definitely not surround sound.)

Other than that… Wow! What a show! What fun! Seeing it on the big screen in HD was about 80% of the way to being there. (Coulda been louder too; I like my opera at a good volume.) Live is best of all, of course. Even my husband enjoyed it when I dragged him to Carmen. :slight_smile:

The staging and puppetry, which I was dubious about, were marvelous. Nathan Gunn as Papageno stole the show for me–great voice, and wonderful, comedic acting. Stole the show up until “Der Hölle Rache”, of course.

That was AWESOME. Oh, my god… It was probably the best version I have heard sung in my (limited) opera listening. The power, the height, the stratospheric notes… SHIVER ME TIMBERS!

Next time, I’d drink one or two fewer cups of tea with my breakfast. I really had to pee by the end…

So, minus surround and volume and too much tea upon rising… What an awesome thing to do on a Saturday morning. You can count me in again for the next one. With just *one *cup of tea for breakfast first…

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Heh–I was at the other end, buying tickets for the Big Apple Circus for tomorrow night* at the park next door to the Opera House and then for two of the Tom Stoppard plays at the Vivian Beaumont next door!

I didn’t see the MAGIC FLUTE but I was in the plaza of Lincoln Center about half-an-hour before showtime (1:30 pm here). The poster for it had the big “SOLD OUT” pasted over it and the plaza was filled to bursting with parents and little kids all dressed up–girls in mostly velvet dresses, boys in little suits. Sooooo cute.

The theaters in NYC sell out fast too. I’m going to see if I can catch one of the Italian-language ones up in the family circle–it’s about $33. But the lines at the box office were long and I figured I’d spent enough money at the Center today. :stuck_out_tongue:

  • Special 9:30 show, with champagne and a countdown at midnight! In Boston, my friends and I used to go to First Night, but NYC doesn’t have its act together in the same way. My friends and I should have a lot of fun.