OperaSIG

 

Page 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 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 at "The District" in Tustin.

 

Tustin is one of the less-crowded venues in Orange County, which is why we meet there instead of (say) Irvine. Sell-outs are quite rare. If you worry about such things, you can buy advance tickets on line.

 

The show usually starts at 10:00 AM, and we gather at the Panera Bread at 9:00 AM (across the fountain from the theater) to chat and drink coffee and have one of their delightful pastries. Look for my smiling face.

 

That's the usual starting time. On March 16, 2013, Zandonai’s Francesca da Rimini starts ONE HOUR EARLY. OK, Wagner I can understand, but Zandonai? Ah, well. "Life is short; opera is long." Deal with it. Show up early at Panera, too -- maybe 8:30 or 8:45. Not 8:00. I mean, who even gets out the door much before 8:00 on a Saturday?.

 

A half hour before showtime we wander over to the theater so that we can get decent seats. 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).


After the show, we walk back to Panera 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. 

Opera SIG meets as follows for the 2012-13 season:

October 13, 2012: Donizetti’s L'Elisir d'Amore–New Production

Anna Netrebko and Matthew Polenzani star in Bartlett Sher's new production of one of the greatest comic gems in opera, as the fickle Adina and her besotted Nemorino. Mariusz Kwiecien is the blustery sergeant Belcore and Ambrogio Maestri is Dulcamara, the loveable quack and dispenser of the elixir. Maurizio Benini conducts.

October 27, 2012: Verdi’s Otello

Verdi’s Shakespearean masterpiece returns to the Met with Johan Botha in the title role opposite the acclaimed Desdemona of star soprano Renée Fleming. Semyon Bychkov conducts.

November 10, 2012: Adès’s The Tempest—Met Premiere

Composer Thomas Adès conducts the Metropolitan Opera premiere of his own work, with baritone Simon Keenlyside starring as Prospero. Director Robert Lepage recreates the interior of 18th-century La Scala in this inventive staging.

December 1, 2012: Mozart’s La Clemenza di Tito

The virtuosic Elīna Garanča sings Sesto in Mozart’s drama set in ancient Rome. Giuseppe Filianoti is the noble Tito and Barbara Frittoli is Vitellia, in this handsome revival of one of the composer’s final masterpieces. Harry Bicket conducts.

December 8, 2012: Verdi’s Un Ballo in Maschera—New Production

Director David Alden’s dreamlike setting provides a compelling backdrop for this dramatic story of jealousy and vengeance. Marcelo Álvarez stars as the conflicted king; Karita Mattila is Amelia, the object of his secret passion; and Dmitri Hvorostovsky is her suspicious husband. Kathleen Kim is the page Oscar, and Stephanie Blythe sings the role of the fortune-teller Ulrica. Fabio Luisi conducts.

December 15, 2012: Verdi’s Aida

The Met's unforgettable production of Verdi's ancient Egyptian drama stars Liudmyla Monastyrska as the enslaved Ethiopian princess caught in a love triangle with the heroic Radamès, played by Roberto Alagna, and the proud Egyptian princess Amneris, sung by Olga Borodina. Fabio Luisi conducts.

January 5, 2013: Berlioz’s Les Troyens

The Met offers a rare opportunity to witness Berlioz’s vast epic, last performed at the Met in 2003. Deborah Voigt, Susan Graham, Marcello Giordani, and Dwayne Croft lead the starry cast, portraying characters from the Trojan War. Met Principal Conductor Fabio Luisi marshals the large-scale musical forces.

January 19, 2013: Donizetti’s Maria Stuarda—Met Premiere

Mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato, one of the world’s most exciting singers, takes on the virtuosic bel canto role of the doomed Mary, Queen of Scots. Director David McVicar turns to the second opera of Donizetti’s Tudor trilogy, which explores regal characters at fateful moments of their lives. Elza van den Heever sings Elizabeth I, and Maurizio Benini conducts.

February 16, 2013: Verdi’s Rigoletto– New Production

Director Michael Mayer has placed his new production of Verdi’s towering tragedy in Las Vegas in 1960. In this production, inspired by the antics of the Rat Pack, Piotr Beczala is the womanizing Duke of Mantua, Željko Lucic is his tragic sidekick, Rigoletto, and Diana Damrau is Rigoletto's daughter, Gilda.

March 2, 2013: Wagner’s Parsifal–New Production

Jonas Kaufmann stars in the title role of the innocent who finds wisdom in François Girard's new vision for Wagner's final masterpiece. His fellow Wagnerian luminaries include Katarina Dalayman as the mysterious Kundry, Peter Mattei as the ailing Amfortas, Evgeny Nikitin as the wicked Klingsor, and René Pape as the noble knight Gurnemanz. Daniele Gatti conducts.

March 16, 2013, ONE HOUR EARLY: Zandonai’s Francesca da Rimini

Zandonai's compelling opera, inspired by an episode from Dante's Inferno, returns in the Met's ravishingly beautiful production, last seen in 1986. Dramatic soprano Eva-Maria Westbroek and tenor Marcello Giordani are the doomed lovers. Marco Armiliato condudcts.

April 27, 2013: Handel’s Giulio Cesare—New Production

The opera that conquered London in Handel’s time comes to the Met in David McVicar’s lively production. The world’s leading countertenor, David Daniels, sings the title role opposite Natalie Dessay as an irresistibly exotic Cleopatra. Baroque specialist Harry Bicket conducts.

The Place

 

AMC Tustin Legacy 14
2457 Park Avenue
Tustin, CA 92782


From either the 5 or the 405, exit at Jamboree and head toward the other freeway. At Barranca, turn toward Los Angeles (right if from the 5, left if from the 405) and go two stop lights to Tustin Ranch Road. Turn right and go to the second parking lot entrance on the right (“Target-AMC-Lowes” sign). The theater is at the far right corner of the lot.


WARNING! Do not be tempted to turn into the shopping center at the first light, "The District". Parking is very bad, and you will have to cross a heavily-trafficked road to get to the theater. Don't do it.

Here is a map.  

 

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 be interested in rolling out of bed at 8:00 AM on a Saturday morning. If you'll be within easy driving distance of “The District” at Tustin, 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.

 

Some of you may be seeing the performance as a rebroadcast after our SIG meeting Saturday morning, and therefore not be interested in rolling out of bed at 8:00 AM on a Saturday morning. These “encore” presentations are usually a few weeks later, on a Wednesday evening. If you'll be within easy driving distance of “The District” at Tustin, then we'd love to break bread with you after the show. We'll regale you with what to look for in the Met's latest effort

 

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, 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 is good; having good friends remain good friends is even better.

 

I welcome comments on this reminder service.

 

Disclaimer

 

It's hard to imagine OperaSIG's activities as being particularly controversial. However, 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!