Opera at the Ballpark
Last night, Amy and I went to see Puccini's Tosca at AT&T Park. Admission was free, and there were probably 30,000 people there. The performance was simulcast on an enormous high-definition screen from the War Memorial Opera House in San Francisco, and the picture and sound could not have been better. I can't imagine anything more surreal than watching an opera while munching on hot dogs and garlic fries, and the experience was unparalleled. The ballpark audience is much less restrained than the opera house audience. We hissed when Scarpia appeared, cheered when Tosca stabbed him, and generally had a great time.
I am more of a fan of symphonic and chamber music than opera, but I get a kick out of how opera is generally considered upper-crust entertainment for the rich and well-dressed, while the storylines are no more sophisticated than something you'd see on All My Children. The romantic lead is loving, noble and good, and the villain is duplicitous, greasy and bad (and in case you couldn't figure that out, he sings in a really, really deep voice, just to clue you in). I don't know about you, but my life isn't really filled with singing, lusting, and stabbing, and if I were about to jump off a parapet to my certain death, I probably wouldn't be blasting out an aria. The entire thing is just deliciously silly. And the costumes make English high court judges look like homeless people by comparison.
Anyway, if you missed Tosca at the ballpark, and you live anywhere near San Francisco, be sure to see the next simulcast, Il Trovatore, on Saturday, September 19. If you visit the San Francisco Opera web site you can sign up for free 6:30 admission (those who forget to sign up get in at 7:00; the show starts at 8:00).