OVER THE TOP

At 10AM this morning 6 of us were watching the Metropolitan opera Zeffirelli designed production of Puccini's Turandot at the Century City AMC movie theater. The production was the epitome of what this opera is about. Lavish sets and costumes, cast of thousands (hundred?) exhilarating singing and the most beautiful arias and orchestral arrangements. As in many operas the "beautiful and desirable" feminine lead was not at all either one. In fact in this production she looked exactly like my aunt Fanny. Nevertheless the voices are what it is really all about. Sitting in a very comfortable seat watching a big screen performance is not without its rewards. Good sound, the ability to see the details of the costumes and sets and the whole thing is over in about two hours without intermission. During the Salzburg Festival it is the usual to go to a performance in the morning. Here in Los Angeles the unusual is usual to begin one's day. Opera in a mall is very LA.