Aida Monday

As I mentioned a few times before, yesterday was Opera Day. Here are a few thoughts about the night.

I noted earlier that I believed Monday nights were the dressy nights or at least used to be. Actually, there were more than a few people dressed to the nines. I saw tuxedos and tails on men and several women in long gowns. Many men sported bow ties which seem to be the style and many more women wore really nice dresses (not long ones). These were nice to look at.

On the other hand there were people in jeans, sneakers or in just plain schmatta. And those people were not just sitting in the less expensive seats but all over the Met.

Opera even if one goes frequently is a little different than a Broadway show. This is a little higher level of entertainment and the ticket prices reflect that. People should show a little more respect to the artists and to the environment by dressing up and not coming as they would to the neighborhood bar.

We had two intermissions and we just stood and watched the people and commented on their dresses and behaviors. It was pretty entertaining.

The Metropolitan Opera is not shy when it comes to pricing things. First, even the least expensive ticket is expensive. If one wants a really good seat one can spend his salary or pension on the price of a ticket. They also charge $20 for a small glass of champagne and people stand in a long queue for it. Two glasses sold and the bottle is paid for!

All in all the evening was great and we enjoyed ourselves immensely.

The only problem we had was that the performance was over at 11:15 and by the time we got out of the garage was past 11:30. It is not easy to find a place to eat in the City that Never Sleeps. Actually it was impossible because the City was asleep. As a result we drove home and stopped near us at an all night place and had something to eat.

Thanks for the existence of diners.