Opening Night

Tonight was the official opening night for the Opera Atelier Actéon & Dido and Aeneas double-bill. Kevin and I went out to dinner before hand to Marché since it's just a short walk from the Elgin.

It was a tad annoying since they didn't have the soup I wanted or the pasta that Kevin wanted so we had some odd things instead... o_0" I pigged out A LOT... We discovered a new dish that we both like: steamed mussels with cream sauce/broth. Mmmm... Since we were both stuffed we didn't have dessert and went up to the theatre.

Before the show started I talked to Luciana, one of the dancers, and looked at her costume up close. The constuction is quite ingenious - there is a functional corset on the inside of the dress, with a decorative one on the outside. The materials used look a bit glitzy up close but look stunning on stage.

The show was great! Each night there are little nuances that I notice. The audience was very responsive and it was a great turnout for a Thursday night. During the intermission 2 young boys (about 12 years old, no older than 15) popped their heads into our box and exclaimed "You guys are AWESOME! This show is wicked!" Aoife, myself and Leo chatted with them for a bit before they had to get back to their seats, but they were so sweet ^__~

After the show, Kevin and I went back to Marché and had dessert - our usual monster crèpe. We were still a bit hungry so we ordered another pound of steamed mussels.. Mmmm... Yes, we were gluttons today but it was GOOD.

There are a few photos from the production found here (top 3 photos only), and also here. They were taken last night by the official photographer.

Henry Purcell¹s Dido and Aeneas: Monica Whicher and Artists of Atelier Ballet / Photo: Bruce Zinger (Opera Atelier, April 2005)