The Midweek Jibe - Wk: 22 '06
I'm instituting a new feature. The format of this blog has been a weekly posting on a subject about which I'd make [considerable] comment ...and that will continue. But there are always things happening ...that image I saw, that remark I heard, that asinine statement made by some politician... that I'd like to make a simple comment about without committing to an entire article. Hence the birth of the Midweek Jibe. (It won't always be a "jibe"; it may very well be a positive remark.)
Note:This feature will be superceded by the second installment of those weekly articles that may have a "Part 2".
I wanted to comment on how here, in San Francisco, art and culture are made so readily available to everyone without consideration to class or economic status. My point... This weekend, they're featuring Madama Butterfly at the War Memorial Opera House and it will be attended by the usual throng of opera goers. What's new this time is they're also featuring a simulcast of the performance that'll be broadcast on huge screens in Civic Center Plaza. This broadcast is free and all are encouraged to bring lunches, blankets, lawn chairs, and what-not and stretch out on the plaza's lawn and enjoy the opera.
San Francisco does this kind of thing all the time. They're always having free concerts in the park, but this is the first time the opera has been simulcast in this way.
Note:This feature will be superceded by the second installment of those weekly articles that may have a "Part 2".
I wanted to comment on how here, in San Francisco, art and culture are made so readily available to everyone without consideration to class or economic status. My point... This weekend, they're featuring Madama Butterfly at the War Memorial Opera House and it will be attended by the usual throng of opera goers. What's new this time is they're also featuring a simulcast of the performance that'll be broadcast on huge screens in Civic Center Plaza. This broadcast is free and all are encouraged to bring lunches, blankets, lawn chairs, and what-not and stretch out on the plaza's lawn and enjoy the opera.
San Francisco does this kind of thing all the time. They're always having free concerts in the park, but this is the first time the opera has been simulcast in this way.
posted by gieau_sf (10:58:00 AM)
-- All non-relevant comments will be (have been) deleted!
4 Comment(s):
Excellent! Someone once said opera has heavenly moments and awful quarter hours. Not entirely true. I think public broadcasts like this are a great investment in the population's collective wellbeing.
Given the chance, I think watching Madame Butterfly while sitting under the stars in my lawn chair with a bowl of popcorn, a few good friends, and a lot of my community would be ever so much more fun than sitting in a little chair with uncomfortable shoes on and my knees butting against the seat in front of me. Good for SF!!!
And hey, Joseph, great minds....
what a great idea...
i'd love to sit outside watching a opera being broadcast.
Lee --
Your quote about "heavenly moments and awful quarter hours" used to apply to me. But as a result of [years of] close association with friends (quite a few) who are die-hard opera lovers, I've grown to appreciate the opera in its entirety.
Lillie, Schaumi --
The pomp and ritual (gowns and evening dress) of a formal opera outing is nice in its own right, but I'm with you in that, this way (under the stars) is more fun ...and infinitely more comfortable.
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