A Public Apology

Dearest Franklin,

You are a lovely and interesting man. (Stop blushing.) A man with many fine attributes, talents and interests - many of which we share, including, but not limited to, knitting, books, prep school experiences, knitting camp, and admiration of the handsome Tom. You expanded my culinary tastes with Crew's Heart Attack Tater Tot Casserole.

But as much as I admire you, I was positive there was one interest we would never have in common.

Opera.

I think my first exposure to opera was, like many others of my generation, watching "What's Opera, Doc" on a Saturday morning. From the third grade on it was through piano music like the John Thompson's Modern Course for the Piano books. (I specifically remember Toreador Song from Carmen and Aragonaise from Le Cid.) There was the mandatory exposure in grade school music class to Gilbert and Sullivan.

I've never rushed to purchase season tickets. Or even one ticket. It was enough to hear an occasional aria in films like Amadeus and Shawshank Redemption. I thought, "Opera? I'm not buying expensive tickets and getting all dressed up to go see a bunch of big-boned people in costumes singing, in a foreign language I don't understand, for three hours until someone dies." (Not in real life...in the storyline.)

Then this past weekend I saw this face. Well, how-dy-do! NOW I understand. Yeah, yeah, yeah, there's the pageantry, the intricate costumes, the stunning set designs. But really, those are all overshadowed by this. (Click and watch the whole interview - it's not that long and you won't regret it.)

It helped that I was in jeans and tennis shoes, sitting in my local theater, surrounded by opera buffs who were munching popcorn, drinking sodas, and sipping the movie theater version of slurpees. My kind of environment. It also helped that the opera I saw, "La Fille du Regiment" is a comedic opera and, in addition to the incredibly hot Juan, stars Natalie Dessay (who, in my humble opinion, is the Lucille Ball of comedic opera).

Did you know The Met has high definition performance transmissions to theaters across the US, the UK, and Europe? I had no idea. What I found most interesting (aside from gazing at Juan for 3 hours) was the backstage view one has when watching the transmission. The Met takes you backstage before the show and during intermission. Like skating stars interviewed when exiting the ice, Juan and Natalie, still breathless from the performance, are interviewed during the first part of the intermission, along with other members of the cast. The Met is expanding the HD Live transmission from 8 to 10 operas in the 2008-2009 season beginning in October. Check their website to see if a theater near you participates in the program. It's a great introduction to the joy of opera.

And if Juan stars in any of next season's operas, I'll see you there.

I'll buy the popcorn - you buy the drinks.