Met Opera in Prospect Park

Friday night I attended the Metropolitan Opera's summer concert in Prospect Park. This was one of those performances that makes me so happy to live in New York. I've been to outdoor concerts in Central Park, but being a Brooklyn resident, there's always something special about walking to a show in Prospect Park. This year's show featured soloists Angela Gheorghiu and Roberto Alagna, with the orchestra conducted by Ion Marin. There were works by Verdi, Bizet, Catalani, Alagna, Donizetti, Puccini and Delibes. The set up for this production was absolutely incredible. There were speaker towers and giant video screens positioned all along the Long Meadow. Atsuko and I arrived an hour and half before the show and managed to get a pretty decent view of the stage, though by concert hall dimensions I'd estimate we were in the third balcony at least. Still, the giant video screens brought the performance close, so I felt thoroughly engaged. The sound was also very good, clear without being too loud. I was absolutely entranced by the soloists, Angela Gheorghiu and Roberto Alagna. I have never really considered myself a fan of opera, but seeing a live performance, particularly in such a lovely setting, was truly a moving experience.

One of my favorites was the solo "Air du condamné" sung by Roberto Alagna. It was explained on another page in the program that this piece is based on Victor Hugo's novel The Last Day of a Condemned Man and was written by Mr. Alagna's brothers. He describes it as "a very moving piece with a powerful message of humanity, tolerance, and respect towards life."

Angela Gheorghiu was so powerful and yet in complete control of her voice. Truly amazing. She is very expressive and I was glad to be able to see her face on the video screen to catch the nuances of her performance. She sang an encore (I didn't catch the name) where she read some of the rapid verse lyrics, but then soared into the chorus. It was perhaps a little more towards the pop-era end of things, but I couldn't help but get caught up in the melodrama. It was heart-breakingly beautiful.

There were many encores and I didn't catch the names of the pieces, but the performers were obviously having a lot of fun with them. There was a very jubilant atmosphere about the whole performance which really inspired me to celebrate the arts. I hope they do this again next year.