A (Kilt) Night at the Opera

[Panache]

The Flame-Haired Celtic Amazon Goddess, way2fractious, and myself are planning to attend the December 2nd afternoon performance. We'll make sure to post about our experince and just might have a few pictures to share.

Cheers

Jamie

[McMurdo]

I think that this would be a wonderful kilt night, I wish I had gone kilted when I was a subscriber to the Toronto Symphony Orchestra and the Canadian Opera Company. I really hope youcan get something together for it, but if not you could always go with your F-H(BT)CAG and leave the rabble at home.

[Panache]

I really hope you can get something together for it, but if not you could always go with your F-H(BT)ACG and leave the rabble at home.

Good Advice, the lovely F-H.C.A.G. owns several lovely (slinky) cocktail dresses that she hasn't had an excuse to don in a while. I think a night out and about in San Francisco is in order.

Cheers

Jamie

[starbkjrus]

I hate to be a spoiler here but I've BEEN to the opera. Oh, my lord but give it a pass. Pick anything else. Go to the theater or even a happy hour but don't go to the opera. Horrid! :crap::crap::crap:oop:

[Andrew Breecher]

I hate to be a spoiler here but I've BEEN to the opera. Oh, my lord but give it a pass. Pick anything else. Go to the theater or even a happy hour but don't go to the opera. Horrid!

Have you been to this particular opera, by this particular company? I've seen several operas, and have enjoyed myself thoroughly. I have not seen Verdi's Macbeth(just remember not to say the name of the opera inside a theatre!), nor have I seen any production by the San Francisco Opera, but I've had a great time seeing various pieces ranging from Bizet's Carmen to Glass's Akhnaten.

If you just don't particularly enjoy the opera, your comment isn't particularly relevant to this thread.

Andrew.

[McMurdo]

I hate to be a spoiler here but I've BEEN to the opera. Oh, my lord but give it a pass. Pick anything else. Go to the theater or even a happy hour but don't go to the opera. Horrid! :crap::crap::crap:oop:

Jamie
Please go regardless of opinions such as the one above, if you enjoy it so much the better. Perhaps it will stir things in you that would otherwise lay domant, I certainly hope so. If you do not enjoy it then fine you never have to go again. However you should go see it for yourself.

[way2fractious]

I have never had the pleasure of seeing an Opera in person...

Would any of our Nor Cal Rabble be interested?

Ummm... I'm a total opera newbie - never watched or heard one in its entirety, in any venue or on any medium. But there has to be a first time for just about everything.

Pick a date now? or wait until Friday at Belmont?

w2f

[Panache]

...Pick a date now? or wait until Friday at Belmont?

w2f

The F-H.C.A.G. and I were eying December 2nd, the afternoon performance.

Cheers

Jamie

[Alan H]

I've been to the San Francisco Opera 5-6 times, and played about nine trillion shows of Puccini's "La Boheme" in our local semi-professional company.

Go.

Seeing Opera on stage is totally and entirely different from seeing it on TV or video. I generally speaking am not terribly fond of soprano's in recital. I mean, I've been to a fair number of them, and unless the soprano is a personal friend, most of the time...uh.... I'm eyeing the door. A little bit of soprano and a little bit of tenor go a long way with me, and you know I'm a classical music buff.

But GOING TO the opera is a whole different experience. Go. The War Memorial Opera house is imposing and impressive and smaller than you will expect. The food and coffee is outrageous and not very good. It's much smaller than Davies Symphony Hall, and it's somewhere between Art Deco and Rococco. GO. If you can get first tier seats, get them. If you can get Dress Circle, get them.

If you decide that Opera is a passion, then you will drop a small fortune if you get season tickets like those. Ouch. However, for a one-shot deal....spend the money.

Verdi's MacBeth is a good show. You can't get more mainstream than Verdi. If you're going to see an opera, and it's not gonna be La Boheme, well then more or less anything by Verdi is about as risk-free as it's gonna get.

......as opposed to "Lulu" by Alban Berg that we saw, I think in 2005. Oh. My. God......that was horrendous. Twisted, sick, disturbing...horrible.

But La Boheme, Cavalliera Rusticana, and the other shows we've seen were great. Wellllwe DID see one other opera up there a few years ago that was kind of boring, but it wasn't a horror. fortunately the tickets were freebies.

Go.

[Archangel]

Saw a dvd of some stage production opera that was subtitled and it was pretty cool. It made sense with subtitles but, oh geez, they take forever to die. And with that much breath, it loses credibility.

Bugs Bunny ruined/enhanced opera for me.

Get an English script and rock out.