Der Fledermaus

Last night Natascha and I cleaned ourselves up and went to see Der Fledermaus, put on my Seattle Opera. Although I have been to countless Symphonies and Ballets (ok... maybe not quite countless), I have never been to an Opera. We tried out different seats from where I normally sit, and I must say that I rather liked these. We were seated on the first balcony, about 3/4 back. Similar prices compared to my normal seats, but a better view of the stage, and I think the acoustics might be better there as well.

The opera itself was amusing, but nothing spectacular I fear. The soprano playing the part of the chambermaid dominated Rosalinde. I rather liked Eisenstein's voice, but Natascha had a hard time discerning some of the words. It was quite funny, which I didn't really expect, including a few Seattle-local jokes thrown in. And yes, I'll admit to rather liking the dancing girls.

I found the crowd rather interesting. It was a decidedly older crowd that the Ballet performances I have been to recently. Less younger couples on a date, as well. There was even one guy we saw wandering around in shorts and a Hawaiian shirt. People-watching at these types of events can be almost as fun as the event itself.

Would I recommend it? Probably not, but if you are looking for a good excuse to get dressed up and listen to some impressive music, with a dash of humour, then this might just float your boat.