How can you beat Aida?
You can't.
Don't even try!
Luckily, this year, Camieh and I took the train from Mountain View.
We got to the ballpark in time to use our early-entrance tickets.
It was a good thing, too, because there was definitely more people this year than last.
Do you think that this increased attendance is due to the warm weather or because people are grooving on opera in unusual places, such as movie theaters?
We got great seats! Because we got there early, we had plenty of room. The harvest moon was low between and over the palm trees. The weather was balmy and smell of garlic fries wafted through the ballpark.
We ate garlic fries and popcorn. Camieh came with her Giants regalia, making a costume change halfway through to her "Opera at the Ballpark" long-sleeve tee-shirt. The line for the bathroom was humongous, but ok, sometime you just have to wait in line.
The opera was gorgeous. I loved the way that a huge puppet-like elephant carried Radames onto the stage during the procession. All the voices were strong and exceptional. It was a truly magical evening.
The ride home started with a long wait at the train station, but we managed to get seats for the ride back to Mountain View, but not together. I sat next to Amit Sawhney (he gave me his card). He was not in SF for opera, but for San Francisco Cocktail Week. He had been at a venue that was highlighting pisco, a peruvian alcohol. It was an interesting ride home.
Because we caught the last train, we got to Mountain View at about 1am.... My goodness! A night at the OP-ER-AH!!! (at the ball park!)
