at the Santa Fe Opera. As per our usual M.O., we planned a lovely al fresco dinner to have as a tail-gate picnic. For those of you who don't know, tail-gating at the opera is a real trip! people arrive a couple of hours before the performance begins, and put up tables with linen and crystal, and serve things like sushi and lobster. We usually have something a bit simpler, but try to make it nice. It is always fun to watch people, watch the sunset over the Jemez Mountains to the west, and just enjoy a leisurely meal while anticipating an excellent musical experience.Last night, however, as we drove down to Santa Fe, it began not just to rain, but to pour. And it continued for three hours at least (which is quite unusual for us in the high-plains desert! So, our picnic ended up being inside the car.
While it wasn't exactly what we had planned, it was a pleasant adventure to be cozy in our car, safe from the elements, and enjoying time and good food together. And all around us, the other tail-gaters were tail-gating.
The most serious of these had brought tarps to put up in the parking lot and provide shelter. The most entertaining were the groups who had come to eat together, and were in separate cars, each with a little part of their collective dinner. We watched them cover with umbrellas, shawls, coats, blankets, shirts and run car-to-car with the wine bottle or the bread or the pesto. It was hilarious.
And once inside, the music was sublime Puccini: an Italian opera about a Japanese and American tragedy, set to thick, rich orchestration and soaring melodies. Kelly Kaduce and Brandon Javanovich had the lush voices needed, and sang beautifully and with strength and stamina. The fog rolling in and misting the whole house was an added enhancement to the atmosphere of the tragedy. If you have never seen a good production of Butterfly, watch the most recent movie version
-- it is beautiful.The only part of the evening I would have changed was the wet, clammy shoes I had to endure. Mental note to self: always wear quick-drying footwear to the Santa Fe opera.
What a lovely night!
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2 comments:
Delightful!
Adding Madame Butterfly to my wish list. Recently I watched Lucia di Lammermour because Giles was in a production of it with the Ann Arbor Opera.
BTW - I'm wondering how you know Cindy Rollins. Just online friends? Or have y'all known each other forever ;-)
I am only slightly more than virtual friends with CR. She and I have belonged to the same classical education online group for a long time-- perhaps 10 or 12 years, and we've spoken on the phone a couple of times. She's a gem, isn't she?
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