supercheesegirl

Mom and I saw this opera several weeks ago. At the time, I was a little stressed out with being back to work full-time and caring for a little baby; F was scheduled to go back to work again the next day, so I was regretting agreeing to get the opera tickets. But it turned out that Mom and I really loved this opera. It was beautifully performed. (I was also struck by how much of the musical Rent, which I'd loved in high school, was taken part and parcel from this opera.) However, the sets were the real star of this show - the opera was produced in conjunction with the Barnes Foundation and the Philadelphia Museum of Art, and paintings from the two museums were projected onto screens to form the scenery. The paintings were generally of the same period as the opera (set around 1890), and it really added something special to see Marcello painting not just any canvas, but a masterpiece; not just a winter backdrop, but a beautiful painting of a woods scene in winter. It was very well done, and it really enhanced the music and performance.