A Singer's Night at the Opera

I have probably sung more performances of operas than I have seen as an audience member. But in the last several years my singing career has pretty much settled into weekends in church and an occasional concert. I finally decided that a good way to spend some of the extra time I now have on my hands was to buy a season subscription to the Metropolitan Opera. I chose one of the Friday night subscriptions, because that way I would not have to go to work the day after attending a performance, propping my eyes open with bulldog clips. I got one of the cheapest seats, way up in the Family Circle, otherwise known as the nosebleed section. My seat was on an aisle, which made me happy.

One of my subscription tickets was for a performance of Rossini's The Barber of Seville, scheduled for Friday, February 26. However, that was the day that nature decided to dump huge amounts of wet snow on New York City, making a trip from my home to Lincoln Center highly undesirable. So I called the Metropolitan Opera, spoke to a very nice representative and arranged to exchange my ticket for the next performance of the same opera, which was scheduled for Monday, March 1.

I work at a university, and our dress is highly casual. I usually wear jeans to work. But on that Monday morning I was dressed in a nice skirt outfit and I wore my long black coat, which is a lot more elegant looking than the Lands End down jacket that I usually wear. My only concession to comfort was a pair of LL Bean short boots. Opera or no opera, I was not going to slosh around in ice and water and slush wearing anything else. Elegance gave way to good sense.

I had plenty of time to get to Lincoln Center after work, so I took my time. I got to the Metropolitan Opera around 7:00, and went up to one of the box office windows to exchange my ticket. When I got my new ticket, I was ecstatic to see that it was in the Orchestra, not in the Family Circle. I looked at the row and the seat number, and was convinced that I was going to be sitting in a prime seat. I would find out differently when I actually got there.

In the meantime, I had time before the performance, so I headed to the Metropolitan Opera Gift Shop. I love to browse in there, although their prices usually prevent me from actually buying anything. I spent a bit of time watching a video they were showing (to try to sell DVDs, of course). Unfortunately for my pocketbook, I also gave in to the temptation to buy one of their tote bags. I had been looking at this particular design during every performance I had attended this season. It was a nice, strong bag decorated with the names of all the operas being presented in the 2009-2010 season. It also cost about $45. This time I gave in and bought it, using the excuse that it had been my birthday a couple of weeks before and I deserved a late birthday present from myself.

I still had a little bit of time, so I headed over to Avery Fisher Hall, to their espresso bar. I thought I could use some caffeine to fortify myself. Their coffee is not memorable. In fact, it tastes a lot like your usual diner coffee. It just costs twice as much. But I had a cup of their coffee with a pretty good red velvet cupcake.

By then it was time to go back over to the Met, get in line and claim my Orchestra seat. I have to admit that I really love the Met. It is huge and gaudy, with red carpeting and chandeliers. The first time you go there you feel as if the place is swallowing you because it is just so big and so grand. I love it. It's awesome. I can't help it.

My feeling of euphoria evaporated when I discovered that my seat was in the second-to-last row, underneath the balcony, which cut off the view of half the proscenium on the stage. You also don't get the best sound from the stage or the orchestra pit when you are sitting there. On the other hand, the Family Circle is a great place to get the best sound in the house. I began to wax nostalgic for my cheapo seat up in the stratosphere.

The performance was fabulous. The sound coming from the orchestra during the overture was somewhat muffled, not only by the overhanging balcony but because a platform had been built around the orchestra pit, to allow the performers extra playing space. It was okay, though, once my ears got used to it.

Performances at the Metropolitan Opera are not usually short. One of the reasons for this is that they have long intermissions. They do this so that patrons can walk around, buy overpriced food and drink at the bars, and use the restrooms. Like all theaters, the Metropolitan Opera does not have enough ladies' rooms. If you don't get there quickly, you find yourself at the end of a long line, wondering how much of the precious intermission time you will have to waste just waiting for a restroom stall. The lines move pretty quickly, but they can be very long. During intermission on Monday night I tried hard to get to the ladies' room quickly, but there was already a line by the time I got there. There was an attendant in there, directing traffic and making sure there were enough paper towels. There was a basket by the sinks where people were leaving tips for her. I put a dollar in it before I left.

I went back to my seat in the middle of the second-to-last row of the orchestra, under the balcony, and enjoyed the rest of the performance.

I got home around 12:30 AM. My cat was very happy to see me.