Night at the Opera

Mary Beth and I went to not one but two opera productions last night at the Playhouse on the Square (first time I've been in their "new" building, thought I've admired the architecture for years). The first one was Dido & Aeneas. The hook here was that they used only baroque period instruments. And the music was good. The set design was pretty great. I've never been into operatic singing at all, but at times I was able to push past my prejudices and get into it. I found the words to be pretty bad (of their time I guess) but I know it's a completely different idiom than I'm used to so I made the effort to step outside myself and listen in its own terms. Overall it was an enjoyable experience, and I appreciated the performance. Wouldn't wanna go to that type of opera every week or anything though. The second production was just fucking great. It started with a kinda related short ballet performance: Le Boeuf sur le Toit. The music was incredible (both ballet and opera were piano duets). So this was a surrealist ballet and Cocteau even had a hand in writing its scenario. The dancing was pretty great too. Okay so that segued into the opera: Les Mamelles de Tirésias (The Breasts of Tiresias). This time a surrealist opera. It was a really funny and pretty awesome satire of postwar nationalistic morality and gender roles. Again, it was just fucking awesome. Definitely glad to have made it out for that. This morning I cleaned up getting ready for band practice and then it was cancelled. Ah well. I should add that before the opera, Mary Beth and I went and picked up my car and it's driving much better now. Yeah, there had been some more engine-related stuff, but I was getting it conflated with the concurrent issue of needing new brakes. They did alignment and other stuff too, and that's made a big difference, at least with what little I've driven it so far.