Last night I went to the Metropolitan Opera to see the new production of Les Contes d'Hoffmann, one of my very favorite operas. I enjoyed it very much. For the most part, I found Bartlett Sher's direction to be engaging and interesting, but Michael Yeargan's set design to be somewhat less successful. I thought it was fairly inspired for Olympia's act one, and Giulietta's act three, but somewhat puzzling for Antonia's Act 2. But I must say that I thought musically, Act 2 was just stunningly beautiful. I was particularly impressed with Kathleen Kim's performance as Olympia.
The House was sold out for last night's performance. Two things struck me while I was there. First, the pricing. The orchestra and parterre are extremely expensive at the Met -- well above most people's price range on any regular basis. Yet, the Met manages to have a very broad pricing structure. You can get standing room upstairs for only $15, and seats in the upper boxes for only $20, which is also the price of standing room at the back of the orchestra. There are many different price ranges between $15 and $300. People who love opera and want to "be in the room" can be, at a very affordable price. And the price is the price -- anyone can access those seats at the box office or online on a first come, first served basis. You don't need to be "in the know" about any special discount codes, papering services, clubs, insider deals, or anything like that. It made me wonder why Broadway Theaters, many of which are struggling to find audiences for the shows they house, can't adapt to that model more. There is no reason why 8th row side mezzanine should be priced the same as third row center orchestra. Maybe if they regularly made tickets available for $20, $30 and $40 in the mezzanine, and similar (albeit higher) pricing scales in the orchestra -- and you didn't need to know the secret password to get in on the deal -- it was simply the regular price of the ticket -- they would have better success selling those seats, and attending the theater could once again become a regular activity for people living in the Greater New York area, like it used to be.
The second thing, was just how thrilling it is to be in that Grand venue, looking down (I had one of the cheap seats) and seeing nearly 60 musicians in that orchestra pit, and about the same number of performers on stage, when the full chorus was present. 120 people!!! And you can get all of that for as little as $15. What a deal that is!
Lastly, another thrill for me that James Levine was conducting. I feel like I've grown up with him. How many operas I've seen over the years with him at the helm. Quite a history he has there.
