Tonight was the first time that I went to the St. Mark's Anglican Church to attend one of their operas. My friend Erin's mom invited me to go with them to see Le nozze di Figaro (The Marriage of Figaro). After enjoying a quiet dinner at Trattoria Quattro Leoni, we walked down a narrow street off of the Piazza della Passera to via Maggio where the chiesa (church) is located.
We walked into the small church were at least fifty other people were already seated. After paying for our tickets, we were escorted to our seats. We sat in the third fila (row) with the stage already set up in front of us. Seats were also arranged on the sides of the stage to fit in more people. I took the attached picture during the intervallo (intermission) from where we were sitting.
At the beginning of each act, the maestro di cerimonie (master of ceremonies) revealed the synopsis in English while the opera was performed in Italian. After the first act, the maestro di cerimonie also had to change the furniture and other decorations present on the scena (stage). Even the pianista (pianist) had another role and that was of being the direttore d'orchestra (conductor).
The opera was so well done that I forgot that we were in a chiesa. All of the cantanti (singers) were amazing, and my favorite was the Japanese opera singer who played the part of Cherubino. I imagine that it must be a lot of work to sing in Italian when it's not your mother tongue.
I really enjoyed the opera and I believe that the chiesa added to the intimate feeling of the opera. It was such an amazing experience that I hope to attend another one of their concerts or operas some time in the near future.
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