Category: Music

While the holiday season was full of events big and little, today’s subject occurred most recently. Saturday was the occasion of Number One Son’s first opera. Real opera, as in downtown, in the Lyric Opera House, and no comfy chairs like out at the Oak Brook Drury Lane. The show was “Die Fledermaus”, which is always a popular one for cutting youngsters’ operatic teeth on, like “The Magic Flute” (too wierd and mysoginistic for my taste) or “The Cunning Little Vixen” (nice, but a little twee). Even without any killings or consumption, “Die Fledermaus” counts as a real opera, and is very funny to boot, even after 145 years. It helped to have some very good comic actors in the lead singing role. Liam liked it quite a bit, only fidgeting a little. The late hour didn’t bother him–he’s starting to be able to stay up until midnight and get up without complaining, another sign that he’s heading toward adolescence. Of course, during the beginning of the second act, he tried his best to find enough light to draw anime characters on his program, but he eventually gave up.

So we arranged a sleepover for Liesel and went downtown to scalp a ticket. One nice old gent with a mustache had a single ticket on the main floor for $100. I could joke that this was what a decent baby sitter would cost, but that’s not true. We’re getting to the point, though, where we can almost leave the kids home alone for the entire evening, which frankly will be a relief. I’m very rusty in the scalping business, though, and didn’t put the screws to him. I should’ve. My wife found out he’s a doctor, and could afford it, courtly white mustache or not.

Among the trivia we learned from the program: Sid Caesar once played the non-singing role of Frosch the Drunken Jailer with the Metropolitan Opera. We could’ve used him Saturday night, since Frosch was one of the weaker roles cast. How hard is it to find a decent drunk in Chicago theater?

This has been one of the most enjoyable theater seasons we’ve ever had, and it’s only half over. “King Lear” at the Goodman, “Hamlet” at Chicago Shakespeare, and some terrific operas, including “Il Trovatore”. And it’s been enhanced by the fact that we canceled our sub to Steppenwolf this year after probably 15 seasons. All the shows there were beginning to run together in our minds, and I haven’t been impressed with any of their new works in a long time (especially the plays by their new darling Bruce Norris, which show themselves to be more and more empty as you examine them on the ride home). We’ve been busy enough as it is. When going to the theater becomes an obligation, its time to reassess.

This morning my chest feels like squirrels have been nesting in it all fall. Friends had a little caroling party yesterday afternoon, and I thought it would be churlish of me to not join in with my favorites, despite the chest cold I’ve been incubating for a week. So I gave it a go, sang maybe three songs in my best attempt at a bass, chatted for the rest of the time and hoped the spiced Glugg would soothe my throat. Hey, it’s an old-fashioned recipe, right, and ipso factotum should be good for whatever ails you.

Then I drove a gaggle of kids downtown to church for the Lessons and Carols concert. Tensions were a little high in the car, as the kids did NOT appreciate being pulled out of a leisurely Sunday afternoon of play and cookies to put on a demanding performance. Not only would they have to sing two songs from the choir loft–one of which was in GERMAN! they pointed out to me–but it was also the debut of handchimes with this group. Handchime rehearsals had not been going well, and many threats had already been issued to only strike them during the proper songs. Yeah, and the choir director thinks you can sweep the tide back with a broom.

I had two concerns: Why no one quite appreciated my comments about “Willie and the Hand Chimes”, and whether I could get the Hawaiian carol “Mele Kalikimaka” out of my head. I’d been playing it as a kitschy half-joke all afternoon, and like a careless researcher handling infectious diseases, I became a victim too. And again, at the rather uptight, high-church place where we worship, no one appreciated when I sang that catchy little number. Check it out here, play it 17 times, and see for yourself.

Despite all that, it was a glorious evening. Maybe the current chest pain is a result of me swelling with pride as the Children’s Choir sang Bach’s “Wie Schon Leuchtet der Morgenstern.” When they finished, the adult choir on the main floor of the sanctuary smiled very satisfied smiles. A high compliment, which none of the kids could see.

I hope you can find time this season to take in a concert as beautiful as the one we heard last night. Make the time. Skip shopping for Great Aunt Tillie. Skip the Bears game. Well, maybe not the Bears game, but definitely the shopping. Peace. Cough. Peace.