Final Dress Rehearsal of Idomeneo
October 15, 2008
The Opera Tattler was not able to attend the final dress for Idomeneo last Saturday, so sent one Dodaro in her stead. Below are Dodaro's comments.
* Notes *
The final dress rehearsal of San Francisco Opera's Idomeneo was promising. The singing was generally strong.
Neptune's wrath included an awful lot of strobe light flashes. If all the flashes were indeed scripted, the authorities might do well to post a warning, in big red text, on the website.
* Tattling *
The atmosphere in the Grand Tier was markedly relaxed. Before the performance started, many unfolded newspapers were in evidence. I was surprised, however, when my neighbor opened and began eating a single serving of Häagen Dazs. Looked like vanilla. Possibly yoghurt.
There was some Runnicles-related whispering as the second act started. Other than that, the group was generally well behaved.
The Blue Angels were not as considerate. They made quite a few passes over the opera house during Elettra's "Idol mio" aria and the embarkment scene.