We had to reschedule the first opera of the season, so last week we attended on Friday and Saturday. We saw Die Fledermaus on Friday night.
Pre-Opera Events
We ate at Pan D’Olive. I made poor choices. My arancini, lentil soup, and hazelnut ice cream were all underwhelming. And the place was noisy, full of Friday night business deals. The best part of Pan D’Olive was the parking lot. I had trouble centering the car between the lines, Anne suggested I use my backup camera, and I backed into the parking spot. New skill mastered. My life is forever changed.
We saw two people while waiting for the opera to begin.
- Senator Claire McCaskill. I smiled, because she looked vaguely familiar, and she smiled back and passed before I could scream “CLAIRE” and go for a hug.
- A blue-eyed man who chatted us up in the beverage line until his bemused wife arrived. He remembered the Cicada performance.
Die Fledermaus
I watched Die Fledermaus with Mom when I was about ten. I’m sure Mom tried to read the plot synopsis before, just as I tried, and Anne tried, but it was just too convoluted. I gave up, Anne gave up, and I know Mom gave up because I doubt she’d have knowingly taken me to an opera about cheating spouses.
Other than the adult themes, it is a good beginner opera. Very light, catchy, great costumes. (Great as an ensemble. I think most costumes were scaled back so one particularly great costume would not stand out.)
The performances were good (with one note truncated that I think was meant to soar). The overture was really, really clever. But, the three acts didn’t lead to a well-placed intermission, and I think maybe one monologue was padded to lengthen the third act. There were some young ladies behind us who were bitter that the song about Romania did not progress the plot.
As operas go, it is a light opera. It was a summer rom-com. Silliness, misunderstandings, and no abductions or deaths, which is a good way to start an opera season.