We had our annual Stevens family "Night at the Opera." We had a blast. We saw Madama Butterfly, touted as the "world's favorite opera". My son Jacob and I were both excited about seeing Madama Butterfly. We were wondering if our respective votes would change for our own favorite operas.
The production was well done. Staging was excellent. The set was beautiful. At one point, I leaned over and asked Jacob if he thought the tree on stage was a real tree. It certainly looked real. There were tearful moments in the second act, especially the end of the first scene when Butterfly stands peering out through the screen - all night - watching for her beloved to come. The woman who sang Butterfly's part was a tiny woman (especially for an opera singer!) and fit the part well. The woman singing the part of Suzuki, Butterfly's trusted servant, had an absolutely beautiful voice - even better than the two leads! I loved hearing her singing. All in all, the whole event was great, and I'm so glad we all got to go.
I didn't change my vote for my favorite, though. My favorite opera is still Tosca. Jacob's vote didn't change, either. His remains La Boheme. La Boheme runs a very close second to Tosca in my book.
We had a glorious Italian dinner at Cafe Luna before the opera. Shared a couple of bottles of fine wine around the table. Not a lot of wine, mind you, just the right amount. Had us all feeling warm and mellow - the right mood for a night at the opera. We all had our dress-up clothes on. I'm starting to worry now that someone is going to notice soon that I only have one dress-up dress (since I've worn it a couple of years now in a row!!). There were thirteen of us at the table together. My mother and father (my dad just celebrated his 80th birthday on May 19th and my mom, her 76th birthday was Monday!), my sister Karen and her daughter Jennifer (now 25!!), my brother Jay and his wife Patience (or Patey as we call her), my sister Emily, my younger brother Eric and his wife Tina, Tina's mom Sally, Patey's dad Dave, my son Jacob and me.
It's a cool thing we do every year. How many families get to do something like this? I mean - think about it. We're just an average, middle-class, baby boomer family. Two folks married 55 years now and five kids - three girls, two boys. We aren't rich or high society. We were just raised by a man who has a dear love for opera. And he's passed that down. Once a year, we all put on our fancy clothes and high heels, and we have dinner at the Cafe Luna, a very nice upscale Italian restaurant in downtown Raleigh, then we take the shuttle over to the Arts Center and see the opera. How cool is that? I've come to love this tradition. So has my son Jacob - he saw his first opera at 16! My dad buys the tickets in November, so we plan it months ahead of time.
If you get a chance, go SEE an opera. They are wonderful to listen to when you can WATCH them at the same time. You'll develop a whole new respect and sense of enjoyment for the experience. It is absolutely amazing what people are able to do with the human voice. It is a gift. It is an art.
Chao!
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