5/3/04

Can't tell the players without a program

I'm still pretty new at this opera stuff. I attended four of Dallas Opera's productions last winter, and surprised myself with how much I enjoyed them. My son and I have purchased nosebleed section season tickets for next winter.

Thoughtful friends are guiding me on this new adventure. I now have a copy of Fred Plotkin's Opera 101: a Complete Guide to Learning and Loving Opera, and it is very readable. I have recordings of all the operas in the upcoming season so I can become familiar with them. I have the promise of a backstage tour if I can ever find the stage door at intermission.

I'm acustomed to reading subtitles at foreign films, and nowadays we're all used to reading streaming weather warnings, stock tickers, and news bulletins on our computer and tv screens. I barely notice that I am reading the opera translation projected above the stage during a performance. One friend informs me the LED translation appears on the seat ahead at the Met.

The problem is listening to opera recordings in the car. The view through the window becomes the action to accompany the fabulous music. I keep glancing up at the sunvisor and map light expecting to see the translation projected. It's never there. Maybe if I rode in the backseat it would appear on the Buick's headrests.

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