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Yesterday's Metropolitan Opera performance in Prospect Park was a hit. Opera singers--and husband and wife--Angela Gheorghiu and Roberto Alagna attracted thousands who got to hear the pair perform various arias and duets by Verdi, Puccini, Donizetti, Massenet, Catalani, and other composers.
Above is a video one attendee took of the enthusiastic response from the audience and after the jump are videos another person took, via one of the projection screens, of Alagna performing "Nessun Dorma" from Turandot and Gheorghiu performing "Un bel di, vedremo" from Madama Butterfly.
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Perfect weather, beautiful music. A perfect night in Brooklyn. I'm just waiting for a public gathering in Brooklyn where Marty Markowitz (and others) pass on the opportunity to self-aggrandize, praise those responsible for the event (why not just give Tupper Thomas a Nobel Prize?) and cheerlead for Brooklyn. Chuck Schumer's comment on decreased arts funding under the Bush regime was right on, however.
"Yesterday's Metropolitan Opera performance in Prospect Park was a hit."
No, yesterday's performance was a disgrace because its the only summer performance of "Opera in the Park" and it wasn't even the performance of a whole opera.
In years past, this program IS a hit, with two performances in Central Park, two more in suburban New Jersey and at least one other in Brooklyn. Oh, and in the past, instead of offering the bastardized abortions of an opera, the opera in the park series have been full productions.
So why are you celebrating something that is such a shell of its former glory? Opera in the Park was once a great civic program that brought culture to the masses and provided some free entertainment in an ever more expensive city filled with private enclaves. Where is the outrage? Stop patting the MET on the back for providing a subpar service.
ianmac, you must be one of a very small minority of opera fans who didn't like Friday night's performance. I was there and 98% of those there cheered each piece, stayed for all six encores and left smiling. We were treated to two charismatic singers, a fine chorus and orchestra and lovely weather. I agree that the new format deprived other boroughs and New Jersey of their share (when a Bank of America official asked the audience how many had taken advantage of their free Metrocard program to get to the performance, few people responded). If you want a full opera, go to the Met. Giving the audience a dozen arias was a good idea to appeal to a large number of people generally unfamiliar with opera. The program mixed the familiar with the more obscure, creating an opportunity for those with an interest to explore the repertory in greater detail, either on recordings or live, in the future.
in addition to the two videos i shot above, i added a third one of gheorghiu and alagna in a duet on my blog here.