A l'Opera

Summer in the city can be magical. Especially if it includes Central Park under the stars, a lavish picnic spread, blankets, friends, and a free performance of La Traviata by the metropolitan Opera. Friends, friends of friends, friends of friends' friends and I all met on the lawn armed with blankets and goodies. I made a spread from seemingly nothing that you can check out at my other blog here.
I'm new to opera, having only seen Marriage of Figaro before I left Philly. I probably would not have seen even that (tickets are expensive!), but the many of the musicians in the orchestra I worked for also played in the Opera's orchestra, so I got the hook up.
The Metropolitan Opera stages free performances in parks around the boroughs and New Jersey during the summer (sponsored by Bank of America and other financial institutions). The operas aren't staged, they are just vocal and instrumental performances. My friend Mario is an opera enthusiast, so he was on hand to explain the story to all of us. Despite this, it was still an amazing evening. One friend got there very early and scouted an L shaped five blanket spot near the front (which quickly filled up with our entourage.) Mario was smart and brought a red umbrella to "twirl" so that late comers may spot us. About 50,000 people showed up, and the sound isn't great- so get there early. The performance was about 2 hours long, and eased into a (semi) starry night. Actually, I saw a lot more satellites. But probably the most stars one could see in Manhattan. Slightly tipsy on wine and basil lemonade with vodka, I laid back on the blanket and just focused on the sky and the arias I was hearing. Talk about feeling alone in a sea of 50,000! Wow. There are still some dates yet- check the schedule and get yourself to a park!