Metropolitan Opera in Prospect Park (rev)

There was apparently a threat of rain on the summer solstice, but the evening was clear and bright. (In fact the rain held off until we were hiking back from Slide Mountain on Sunday, but that's another story.) Audrey and Jai set up plastic linings for a picnic blanket:

The process of preparing the plastic lining turns out to be surprisingly long and complex, a delicate operation indeed. Meanwhile, my Indian tablecloth (sans lining) is held down with a pitcher of homemade sangria:
Jai, Ryan and Audrey in the warm glow of the setting sun:
Patricia puts on a brave face after walking down from Grand Army Plaza:
A small child is perhaps not entirely sure he/she wants to be big sister's doll:

Stella has her priorities right - she is amazingly well prepared and sitting pretty:

Finally, after ample speeches from politicians proclaiming Brooklyn to be the crown jewel of something or other (New York City? the United States? the universe?), and Prospect Park to be the crown jewel of Brooklyn, etc., etc. (after all, it is an election year), Angela Gheorghiu and Roberto Alagna made their appearance. They were large as life and twice as natural on screen:

Ms. Gheorghiu went through numerous changes of outfits over the course of the evening -- reminding me of a Hindu wedding I attended -- but her closeups always featured the same two musicians. (I think they were harpists, but I won't swear to it.) The one on the right chewed gum pretty much the whole time; I'm not sure if he realized he would be so immortalized:

The music was lovely, in any event, and the screens were wonderful - you can get a lot out of seeing the expressions of the singers. It meant, in effect, that we had much better views for free than we did after laying down the big bucks ($15.00) for Family Circle tickets at the Met. Plus, the screens meant you didn't have to be right near the stage; screens dotted the meadows far behind us, even out of sight of the stage. (It would be nice if the NY Philharmonic would use screens too for its Central Park concerts, but I guess they give us fireworks instead.)

Yes, another outfit:


Five of the 12 selections were Verdi, which pleased me tremendously. (I saw Ryan annotating his program after Verdi's "Vedi, le fosche" from Il Trovatore -- that's certainly a fun one.) There was a Donizetti as well, from Lucia di Lammermoor. One aria was by David Alagna, and the story is an interesting one. Mr. Roberto Alagna told the Playbill interviewer: "I read the book [Victor Hugo's novel The Last Day of a Condemned Man] in 1996, ... and the words inspired something musical in me. So I called my brothers and asked them to try to write an opera. They said that I should write the libretto first, which I did. I sent it to Frederico, who rewrote it in a much better version, and then David composed the music." I realize musical talent does run in families, a winning convergence of nature and nurture, but it's amazing to have a family where you can call up your brother and say, hey, this is cool, write an opera for me.

In any event, the 12 selections on the program were apparently just to whet our appetite. The singers and orchestra were prepared for encores. And not just 1, 2, or even 3 encores. I think I lost count after the fifth encore.... They were clearly having a blast. It was so nice, and very exciting, but my thoughts started to turn to preparing for my backpacking trip the next morning. It would take me a while to get home, and I had (ahem) not yet begun to pack. Ultimately, I slept for 4 hours and then threw everything together at the last moment before heading up to the West Village to meet Bryan and Mark... each of whom were also somewhat sleep-deprived.