
As promised, some opera sartorial splendor in the form of a kilt worn by
Todd Wong of Gung Haggis Productions -- ideally, I would have taken a close-up of Todd's beautiful brocade vest, patterned with dragons -- his outfit represents a melding of two cultures -- Scots and Chinese, and an opera set in Scotland was a perfect venue for this Orientalized plaid. Can you imagine haggis, Asian-style?
If I can toot the family horn (and why not? It's my blog after all) I think my daughters are rather sartorially splendid as well. Left to right, Bronwen, Megan, you-know-who, and fellow blogger
Stacey.

Here, just my girls and I in front of the sign announcing Bloggers Night -- my name is on the sign and in the playbill/program -- I'm famous! (alert readers will note the near disaster that is the proximity of my leopard coat to Meg's dress -- better head right to coatcheck with that baby!)

I must say, of all the operas I have seen, I feel surest in recommending this to anyone -- really, if you have the opportunity to get to one of the three remaining performances, I urge you to do so.
Paul and I buy our own series subscription tickets, and I assure you I am not receiving any enticement from VOA for telling you this, but seriously folks, this is beautiful, beautiful music, wonderfully performed. My dirty little secret, if you promise you won't tell, is that during most operas, there is a point when I succumb to the day's tiredness. My head begins to nod, I wonder if I could just close my eyes for a minute. . . But not for this show. Not a single second. And Paul felt the same way -- he leaned over at one point to say "I'm really enjoying this. Really!"
And I'm convinced that Gutiérrez particularly, while already racking up many kudos internationally, is going to be one of those greats, joining names like Sutherland and Callas. I hope to see her in many more roles, and suspect I'll be quite pleased to look back and remember having seen her in her early years.
Once again, we stayed for the first bit of the after-party, enjoying the post-performance vibe of exhiliration and relief, nibbling on treats both savoury and sweet, and mingling a bit with the cast. How impressive to learn that Bilgili and Gutierrez have a 2 1/2-month old baby who travelled with them for this production -- I was barely applying makeup when mine were that age, never mind travelling internationally to perform in front of large audiences!
After the after-party, we headed to
Bacchus at The Wedgewood. Paul and I always stop here for a drink and pizza on our way home from the opera, and sharing this with the girls was even more fun. Son-almost-in-law Rob joined us, and we hoisted Guinnesses, chowed down on our thin-crust mushroom pizzas, and enjoyed the singer-pianist's jazzy covers. The end of a perfect evening!
