I’m not a big fan of opera so it was a surprise to find how much I enjoyed Opera in the Park yesterday. It was such a different scene than Outside Lands or Hardly Strictly Bluegrass -- except for the omnipresent garlic fries stand. Not a whiff of weed in the air; no one hawking gummies or brownies or cookies. No stumbling drunks or anyone who’d gotten way too high. Even the chatter in the crowd seemed quieter and gentler. You might think that’s because the audience was filled with geezers, but no, it was a diverse, all-ages crowd. After all, here was a chance to hear for free what typically can cost hundreds of dollars.
Maybe some were just picnicking on Doritos and Budweisers, but where I was sitting the spreads were way more refined. The group to my left were drinking champagne and eating what looked like coq au vin – yes on plastic plates, but classy ones decorated with an art print. Another group had a platter of goat cheese and water crackers. A family in front of me passed around a bread board with beautiful sandwiches on baguettes. And in front of me, two men had laid out a little table with a red and white checked cloth that held fluted glasses of white wine.
At the end of each piece, people in the audience signalled their pleasure by waving printed signs that read “Bravo/Brava.” I leaned back in my camp chair, closed my eyes and let myself bask in the sun and the soaring sounds of Puccini.
Thank you Sister Beata
Trying to like opera more so this inspires (we met the lyric opera artistic director awhile back.) enjoyed your observations, as always.