Off to the opera last night—Beethoven’s Fidelio. Ludwig wasn’t a great opera composer, Fidelio being his only attempt. Still, had never heard it live, so it was worth a go. Or, maybe not.
The concert hall is one of the pit designs. Stage in the middle, seats 360 degrees around the pit. I’ve never been in one whose acoustics were worth a damn, and this wasn’t an exception. I’m in nose-bleed seats behind the orchestra. Pricey at $62. Still, hope is eternal.
However forlorn. It was the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra. Not exactly top notch, but not horrible either. Horns were a bit sour at times. However, the worst of it was it wasn’t the opera. It was some weird presentation of some of the songs of Fidelio combined with a couple of actors playing Beethoven and his maid. The dialog between those two comprised 35-40% of the time. Huh? WTF?
I left during intermission. I’d have left sooner, but I was the last in a long row and to do so would have necessitated getting past 20+ people.
The pit:
