Opera in the Outfield 2016

Image found here.

 Opera in the Outfield was more than a week ago, so apologies for the delay of this blog post!

Every year, Nats Park partners with the Kennedy Center to broadcast a live performance of an opera to the big screen at the baseball park, and people can attend for FREE! This was the first year that I actually was able to go, and I loved it!

First of all, the Kennedy Center now has their BravO program, which is essentially for young professionals who support opera. The group had a party before the show, so that was a lot of fun to enjoy some yummy snacks (including hot pretzel bites!) before grabbing our seats. You can actually sit on the field, but my friends and I were in the stands; it's less windy there, and in case it had rained, we would be under the roof!

This year's program was "The Marriage of Figaro," an opera composed by Mozart. It's quite a silly story, really. Two servants, Figaro and Susanna, are about to get married, but Count Almaviva wants to have his way with Susanna (!) before she gets married. Of course the couple does not want this, and they get the Count's wife, Countess Almaviva, involved to try to stop this plan. They try to find a way to trick the Count into showing his cheating ways, and the rest of the performance focuses on these shenanigans and "he-said-she-said" stories and lies. Honestly, all the characters should have just sat down and talked to one another rather than dealing with all this mischief, but I guess that wouldn't have been as funny (or as long).

Lisette Oropesa as Susanna. Image found here.

While the story was over-the-top and frivolous, the acting and singing were wonderful. Lisette Oropesa played Susanna, which is actually the longest soprano role in all of opera! She did an amazing job, as did Ryan McKinny, who played her betrothed Figaro. I thought Amanda Majeski (as the Countess) had the prettiest singing voice, and Aleksandra Romano was hilarious as Cherubino, a male role that is always played by a woman. I also loved the colorful costumes and beautiful set. Bravo!

The bedroom of the Countess. Image found here.

Amanda Majeski as Countess Almaviva. Image found here.

I must admit that, as usual, I did fall asleep during a bit of the performance. It was late, I was cold, and honestly, with the lack of plot in this opera, I figured I wouldn't really miss much. And I didn't. But all in all I did enjoy the evening, and I would definitely see another opera!