Arizona Opera

Saturday night we went to our first opera at the Tucson Convention Center Music Hall. Arizona Opera presented "Lucia di Lammermoor", an opera based on a story by Sir Walter Scott. It is basically the Romeo and Juliet story with an extra death, set among the nobility of seventeenth century Scotland. The stage set was stunning, the costumes were gorgeous, and the soprano, Tracy Dahl, was beyond beautiful. Her voice was like water music, and very touching. Although the melodrama was a bit overwrought at times, the famous scene in which Lucia went mad was riveting. The opera was in Italian, with English surtitles above the stage. I expected the surtitles to be distracting, but it only takes a second to read them, and then you return your eyes to stage.

This being Tucson, we saw many people dressed in "Tucson Casual", which means jeans and tee shirts. My pal Alona and I got dolled up, and while we weren't out of place, we were certainly in the minority.

We're looking forward to "The Magic Flute" in the spring. The music is by Mozart and the singing is in English. It's said to be one of the most accessible operas. If you've ever wondered whether you have an opera fan hidden deep within you, this might be the performance for you to see first.