Die Walkure

Two Saturdays ago I met Yw for brunch and then we donned our helmets and took the train to the Metropolitan Opera for its production of Die Walkure. As we climbed the stairs to our seats, spontaneous applause broke out. A woman sitting in the row before us lamented that we were not sitting with her. The woman beside us complimented us on our choice of accessories.

Later, the woman in front of us offered chocolate covered macadamia nuts to the couple beside us. The woman said they were from Stop and Shop. She offered some to us; they were delicious. They exhibited a familiarity that prompted me to ask if they knew each other. The woman beside us said they were both season ticket subscribers and had developed a friendship over the years. Zita, she pointed to the woman before us, had missed just one performance from a subscription in the 13-odd-years they had been coming. She said that on that night, there was a terrible snow storm. Zita and her husband had dressed, got into their car to drive in from New Jersey, and then had been turned away at the freeway. The state police had shut it due to the weather.

The production was exhilarating. From the level of singing, the staging, and the set direction, the total affect was completely engrossing. it was perhaps the best I had seen at the Met.
Posted by eku at February 12, 2008 11:56 PM