Another Opera

When we are in Halifax, we regularly take in the live-in HD transmissions of the Metropolitan Opera at the local movie theatre.  We knew that these transmissions were being broadcast around the world so we decided to attend last Saturday's broadcast of Il Trovatore here in Buenos Aires.  We quickly found out that the atmosphere here is totally different.  First, one buys a ticket for a particular seat which eliminates going to the theatre an hour and a half early to get a decent seat. Secondly, the broadcast is shown in the National Theatre which is an entirely different environment from a modern cinema as it has plush seats, an elegant lobby, and only one event is taking place in the building so everyone is there for the opera and dressed in a much classier way. Thirdly, no one eats or drinks or munches food during the performance.  The atmosphere is similar to attending a live performance.  Uniformed ushers show you to your seats, the programs are not photocopied synopses, rather, they are professional programs with the cast list and other information.  We arrived about twenty minutes before the opera was about to begin, hoping to buy tickets at the door.  We were approached by several women trying to sell us individual tickets.  We were uncertain how to proceed until one couple said they had a pair of tickets which belonged to their friends who were travelling and were unable to use them.  Of course everyone was speaking Spanish and we were only one week into our lessons!  We took our chances on the couple and it turned out fine.  We did, in fact sit in the seats next to them. They were big opera fans, had been to the Met several times, and we had a very nice exchange before the opera and during the intermission. The opera was wonderful and we later found out that we had paid less for the tickets than we would have been charged at the door.  A nice experience all round! Below are a few pictures of the National Theatre taken after the broadcast.