|
|
OperaSIGPage Guide
What We Do
The phrase "Opera Special Interest Group" (a/k/a "OperaSIG") seems a little grandiose for what we actually do. No, we don't have any:
This webpage is pretty much it.
What we do offer is:
For bureaucracy, though, you're pretty much stuck with this webpage.
The Event, Dates and Times
What do we actually do? Opera SIG goes to Metropolitan Opera: Live in HD! This is the Saturday matinee (well, mid-morning, West Coast time) of the Metropolitan Opera, live and in High-Definition big-screen audio-visual cinematic splendor! The Met now broadcasts the live performance to selected high-tech theaters worldwide. We go to the very-high-tech theater in the Irvine Spectrum mall.
Warning! The show sometimes sells out days in advance, even after the theater has allocated extra screens. You might want to buy advance tickets.
The show starts at 10:00 AM, but we gather at the tables across from the snack bar at 9:00 AM (inside the theater, to the left as you walk in) to chat and drink coffee -- and to delegate one of our number (on a rotating basis) to save some seats for us in the theater proper. Cinemas -- those barbarians! -- invariably use festival seating rather than the assigned seating system which is used by the Met (and by every other opera company on the planet). Look for my smiling face at the snack bar tables.
After the show, we walk to one of the many eateries available at the Irvine Spectrum and have a late lunch. My traditional conversation starter is, "So, what did you think of the sets in Act 2, Scene 1?". Feel free to talk religion and/or politics -- topics which have a way of creeping into The Opera. No, it's not like the Baja LasVegastan Independence Day Celebration, at which the discussion of religion and/or politics will cause your feet to be immersed in whipped cream.
Metropolitan Opera: Live in HD meets as follows for 2009-10:
There's a chance that we can get group tickets to Los Angeles Opera. If ever there was something that needed to be discussed over a snack-bar coffee (or a late lunch), this is it.
The Place
Irvine Spectrum has conveniently provided an interactive map which will get you to the theater ("Edwards Irvine Spectrum 21") once you've parked.
"Once you've parked?" Go to the Big Parking Structure at the north end of the mall. Check out that map in "Satellite" format. The Big Parking Structure is the white-roofed building that the green arrow points to. Click on "Get Directions" to get directions from wherever you're coming from. You might want to print out the resulting map.
The theater is the pink-roofed building to the immediate left (west) of the Big Parking Structure. You might want to print out that map, too.
We're thinking about moving to the AMC Tustin Legacy 14 for the September 2010 - May 2011 season. According to rumor, it has better seating, later in the morning. A good idea? A bad idea? Let's chat over a snack-bar coffee (or a late lunch).
Membership Requirements (such as they are)
OperaSIG is, technically, a Special Interest Group (SIG) of Orange County Mensa. However, it by no means limits its membership to:
Our only limitations are that:
Not a Ticket-Holder for Today's Performance?
Some of you may have seen a similar performance before our SIG meeting Saturday morning, and therefore not interested in rolling out of bed at 8:00 AM on a Saturday morning. If you'll be within easy driving distance of Irvine Spectrum, then we'd love to break bread with you after the show (and after the coffee has kicked in). Regale us with comparisons between your experience and our description of the Met's latest effort. Contact me for my cell phone number, so that we can arrange when and where to meet.
Some of you may be seeing the performance as a rebroadcast after our SIG meeting Saturday morning. If you'll be within easy driving distance of Irvine Spectrum, then we'd love to break bread with you after the show. We'll speculate on how we may regale you with what to look for in the Met's latest effort. Contact me for my cell phone number, so that we can arrange when and where to meet.
Would You Like an Email Reminder?
Would you like an email reminder of future OperaSIG events? Send me an email (or hand me your email address at our late lunch and I'll hook you up with our yahoo-group. If you're web-savvy, feel free to sign up (or sign out!) directly. You'll get an automatic reminder three days before each event -- and another reminder one day before the event.
Yes, if you show up for late lunch and already are in my email contacts list, then I'll send you an email inviting you to join this email reminder service. No, I won't subscribe you to this service unless and until you ask me to. A successful OperaSIG is good; having some good friends is even better.
Yes, you can leave the yahoo-group (and stop getting notices) any time you want. If you're having difficulty signing out directly, then send me an email; I'll sign you out myself. A successful OperaSIG ... oh, I already said that.
I welcome comments on this reminder service.
Disclaimer
It's hard to imagine OperaSIG's activities as being particularly controversial; but, no, we don't speak for: None of these entities has any control over us, nor has any responsibility (financial or otherwise) for what we do.
Well, yes, Orange County Mensa sometimes gives us a link from its website, and a mention in its newsletter. Sometimes. When its Webmaster (and/or Calendar Editor) feels like it and/or has some space.
Sheesh! Lawyers! And I'm a lawyer myself! |
|
|
