Die Tote Stadt!

Ok, I need to take a few moments and gush about "Die Tote Stadt" for just a brief moment. I just got back from it, and the music was stunningly beautiful. I knew nothing about this opera, other than the fact that it doesn't come around to these neck of the woods often. I did listen to parts of the soundtrack so I had an idea of the music, but listening at home is never quite the same as experiencing it live.

Traffic was crazy going up (thanks to Fleet Weekend and the HMB Pumpkin Festival going on at the same time), but the parking gods were looking down on me very favorably today, so I found a parking spot within 2 blocks from the War Memorial Opera House and barely made it to the box office within 5 minutes of closing. (Phew.)

Instead of standing room, I got rush tickets, since they were available. I really need to find a way to take more advantage of the musical offerings of the city. I love the fact that I can get orchestra seats for a first-rate opera for just $25.

They put me in the third row, which means the balance wasn't great, but I got to watch Runnicles conduct and watch the orchestra for a change, which was nice, since I never get to see them so up close. They usually sound excellent, but today, they sounded better than I ever remember them sounding.

I enjoyed everything about this opera--the surreal stage sets, the music, the orchestration. . .ok, the plot was a bit too anguished, but everything else made up for it.

Some of the arias were quite gorgeous. The lead tenor who played Paul was really good, though my favorite singer was the baritone who sang Frank/Fritz.

I moved to one of the empty seats in the dress circle after intermission. (I moved partly for balance reasons, but also, there was an elderly couple who were (was?) whispering throughout parts of the music.) Balance was much better from up there(though after having heard "Lucia di Lammermoor" from the high balcony area, I'm convinced that that is where there is the best sound).

I just have one not-so-teeny complaint. I don't mind the coughing so much. I try as hard as possible to suppress coughs, but sometimes, I really need to cough. So a little coughing here and there doesn't bother me. But damnit people. When the orchestra is playing and there is no one singing, it is NOT OK TO TALK. The couple behind me were whispering every time there wasn't any singing, and then when I moved to the dress circle, during the opening of the third act, there were five sets of people whispering while the orchestra was playing. I don't mean just once, which, again, I wouldn't mind so much, but several people were doing this at the same time, and more than just once or twice. Do people think that the orchestra playing doesn't count as part of the performance, just because there is no singing? I thought about very politely asking the couple behind me to please whisper a bit more quietly (or better yet, not at all), but I shouldn't have to ask this of people. Besides, after paying $220 per ticket (that's $440 for both of you), don't you want to hear the lovely bassoon line? Or the beautiful violin solo? Apparently not.