Tosca in the Park

Last Friday the San Francisco Opera teamed up with the SF Giants for a free simulcast of Tosca at AT&T Park. I've been intrigued by Tosca since it showed up in both Quantum of Solace and Milk. I read the wikipedia entry and borrowed the cd but I had a hard time getting through all the songs. It's much more fun and much easier to sit through when you can watch it in a ballpark while eating and whispering snarky comments to your friends. The opera also feels different when the crowd can cheer and boo at the appropriate moments. In the second act when Tosca stabbed Scarpia the stadium roared in approval. During the intermission the newscasters asked the company director if the crowd at the War Memorial Opera House, and he said no. Also, where and when else would you ever hear people singing "Take me out to the Opera?"

According to SF Opera, one of the selling points for watching Opera at the ballpark was the ability to drink beer and eat garlic french fries and other ballpark fare. However the lines were so long that I didn't get either. Maybe next time I'll get there early enough to score some garlic fries.

Compared to the last opera I saw, Das Rheingold at the Met, this was more opulently staged. It had fancier costumes and more sets and more background players. It's also more enjoyable when I'm not trying to peek through the tiny area of the stage I can see between the couple standing in front of me and the floor of the seats above me. I could fully enjoy the singing and the drama, and the way a flock of birds flew dramatically toward us during the climax of the aria in the second act.

I also enjoyed the bows. The singers came out with Giants jerseys and other paraphrenalia. The priest even held up a giant foam finger after he took his bow. When they took their company bows the guys had Giant t-shirts over their costumes. They were all good sports about it.

Lyrics to "Take me out to the Opera"

"Take me out to the Opera
Take me out with the crowd
Find me a seat at the Opera House
I don't care if it's Mozart or Strauss

For it's root, root, root, for the divas,
Bring a friend or a spouse
For it's one, two, three cheers for you
at the Opera House!"