Madison's Opera in the Park!
Before you say "Opera? Are you nuts?" hear me out. I am the queen of free musical experiences. I once listened to a live Rolling Stones concert from UW's Camp Randall Stadium for free. I wasn't in the stadium--couldn't actually see Mick himself--but I found the coolest place up on Observatory Drive where, not only could you hear the music clearly, you could FEEL the drums.
So when I tell you the Opera In The Park is an event worth trying out--and it's FREE, too--believe me, set all your stereotypes about opera aside, fill your picnic basket with your favorite vino or pilsner, some cheese and crackers, grab a blanket, and head for Garner Park on Madison's west side.
When: Saturday, July 21 - The show begins at 8:00pm (Raindate: Sun., July 22)
Where: Garner Park at the corner of Mineral Point Rd. and Rosa Rd.
Parking: Free at the nearby University Research Park on Charmany Drive and CUNA Mutual Group at Mineral Point and Rosa Rds. Handicapped parking available right at the park.
You'll want to arrive around 6-ish, and maybe even set your blankets out earlier in the day to reserve a spot. There'll easily be 8,000-10,000 people there...
...and while there'll be plenty of hard core opera aficionados, I guarantee there'll be plenty of average folk like you and me who wouldn't know a La Traviata from a Rigoletto (I pulled those names from Opera For Dummies, honest!). But what you will be surprised by is how much of the music you already know--you just never knew it was opera.
That's the genius of Madison Opera's Artistic Director John DeMain. When he plans the program for the annual Opera In The Park, using nationally known professional opera singers accompanied by the Madison Symphony Orchestra and the Madison Opera Chorus, he knows better than to try to push a complete opera on an uninitiated public. Instead, he creates a medley of tunes familiar and enjoyably recognizable to even the most opera-averse of us, and then sneaks in a little something new to stretch our reluctantly growing classical tastes.
The setting is absolutely marvelous. The stage sits at the bottom of a half-bowl, with much of the audience lounging on the hill above. The park rimmed by trees, the setting sun to the west contrasts with the stars as they begin to emerge in an expansive sky. I swear the birds-including the hawk that lives in the park-love the music. They swoop and swirl in a rhythm that is pervasive throughout the universe.
One of the coolest moments of the evening, during the second act when it is good and dark, is when Maestro DeMain invites all those who've purchased light sticks (proceeds support the Madison Opera) to help him direct one of the overtures. Imagine thousands of glowing points of light all moving to a shared tempo!
If you need more detail, check out the Opera In The Park website at: http://www.madisonopera.org/events/park.html
And, if you are already an opera lover, skip all the above...and just go!
