Play Opera!

Eric and I went with our friend Julie to see Opera at the Ballpark on Friday. Julie's husband Adam stayed at our place with the Little E who was asleep. It was a deliciously warm evening and we walked from our place to the ballpark along the water, my favorite route and the first part of my commute (via bicycle).

This is the fifth time (I think) that they have done the Opera at the Ballpark simulcast where the opera is played on the ballpark scoreboard, complete with subtitles. They bring in supplemental speakers which help with sound quality and while it is still clearly a ballpark and not an opera house, it sounds pretty good.

We sat next to a couple of older women who would have looked right at home in the actual opera house except that they were eagerly scarfing down ballpark hot dogs and drinking beers.

As we were walking in I joked that they should play the Star-Spangled Banner before the start of the opera.

Around 7:50pm, they announced that some woman who had won a contest would be leading the crowd of 30,000 (yes! 30,000!) in the national anthem.

And I thought I was being funny.

I was therefore not at all surprised when during intermission a cartoony opera mascot strutted out to the pitcher's mound to lead the crowd in Take Me Out To The Opera House ("... I don't care if it's Wagner or Strauss...")

It was all simply delightful.