Digestible Opera

Opera seems to be an acquired taste.  One place that has made it more digestible for me is Ido Sushi in Greenwich Village.  I’ve always appreciated operatic voices, but I can’t say that I’ve thoroughly enjoyed the operas I’ve attended.  At Ido Sushi, professional opera singers practice for free on their days off from the theater.  You get small snippets of operas, variety and heartfelt performances that you can see up close.  I like how the live piano player will nod after one of the singers has belted out a particularly compelling performance.  If he approves, you know it was good.  He’s heard a lot of singing in his time.  I felt a little guilty eating while people were expressing themselves artistically, but it was so much more enjoyable than being stuck for three hours in a theater.  The other plus is that the waitress shook her entire body while shaking my dirty martini.  Haven’t seen that one before!

I was inspired by a young opera singer in a red dress named Kaete.  Kaete is a likeable girl-next-door.  She is sweet, sincere and has great magnetism on stage.  She sometimes serves as a waitress at Ido Sushi.  She is playing Carmen at a small theater in Philadelphia and feels that this will be great practice for her big day in a larger opera house.  Kaete’s dream is to sing Carmen at the Coliseum in Verona.  I was recently at the Coliseum, watching Don Quixote.  We enjoyed the historic venue and the spectacle, but we left at intermission.  I felt very cultured being there, but did I truly get anything meaningful out of my experience?  Honestly, I’d rather watch Kaete perform at Ido Sushi.