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<\/p>\nDaggers, swords, poison, death \u2013 the fun things in opera can be yours for the taking in August. The Met\u2019s annual Summer HD Festival of their beautiful operas on the Plaza will be back! And, it\u2019s free!
\nI love it, and when the night is clear and the moon is shining overhead it\u2019s glorious. If you know about this series and have done it\u2026 you know what I\u2019m talking about. If you know about it and have never done it or didn\u2019t know about it until now \u2013 do it! Did I mention it\u2019s FREE!<\/p>\n
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First come first served<\/em><\/strong> Spoiler alert\u2026drama is not just in the operas<\/em><\/strong> Maria, I just met a girl named Maria<\/strong><\/em> *Disclaimer \u2013 I try for correct info on Kay\u2019s Notes\u2013 but no guarantees people<\/em>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Daggers, swords, poison, death \u2013 the fun things in opera can be yours for the taking in August. The Met\u2019s annual Summer HD Festival of their beautiful operas on the Plaza will be back! And, it\u2019s free! I love it, and when the night is clear and the moon is shining overhead it\u2019s glorious. If … Continue reading “Yes, The Met Opera…Free!”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-60","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-music"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7svLB-Y","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kaysnycways.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kaysnycways.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kaysnycways.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kaysnycways.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kaysnycways.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=60"}],"version-history":[{"count":32,"href":"https:\/\/kaysnycways.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":184,"href":"https:\/\/kaysnycways.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60\/revisions\/184"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kaysnycways.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=60"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kaysnycways.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=60"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kaysnycways.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=60"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nThere are over 3000 seats set up on Lincoln Center Plaza by the fountain with plenty of space to stand or bring your own chairs. And what an audience: families with and without strollers, dog lovers, fans in wheelchairs, the young, the old, new to the opera, serious opera goers and surprised tourists who just happen to be in the neighborhood. Generally speaking, a great diversified audience.<\/p>\n
\nJust so you know, there are some diehard opera fans who are a bit aggressive. They will push, and I mean push, their way to get a seat. I remember last year a woman, with a very worried look, was saving four seats and constantly scanning the Plaza to see if her people were arriving. A few minutes before the opera was to begin a woman, let\u2019s call her Ms. Nasty,\u00a0yelled \u00a0at Ms. Worried. \u201cI\u2019m calling the police\u2026 you can\u2019t save that many seats!\u201d But Ms. Nasty got her comeuppance when a nurse arrived pushing an elderly man in a wheelchair with his elderly wife at his side. Ms. Worried stopped worrying as she leaned over to say, \u201cI\u2019m so glad you\u2019re here Dad.\u201d With that, Ms. Nasty turned stone-faced and left in a huff. A round of applause ensued. It was a few minutes of drama amongst the spectators and then Otello began\u2026talk about drama. (Otello the opera \u2013 Othello the play, as you probably know).<\/p>\n
\nThe Met hasn\u2019t announced the operas for this year yet. The series begins August 27th and runs for 10 nights. Last year to kick off the Festival, West Side Story was shown. As you might know, parts of the movie had been filmed on the construction site of the now Lincoln Center. Interesting fact, well not a fact but interesting; Peter Gelb, managing director of the Met Opera, spoke before hand and asked how many in the audience had never seen West Side Story. To my amazement, a quarter of the audience raised their hands, including three young women in front of me. As the movie unfolded I watched as tissue after tissue was pulled from their bags as they wiped the tears streaming down their faces. At the tragic ending \u2026 sobs! I asked them later how they liked it\u2026. \u201cLoved it\u201d they said, as they laughed wiping off their running mascara.
\nSo here is my advice \u2013 come early \u2013bring food, wine, a book, crossword puzzle and relax. Enjoy the spectacle before, during and after the opera. Be ready to experience one of the real treats of NYC! The Metropolitan Opera outside on an August night at Lincoln Center \u2013 magical!
\nKay\u2019s Notes*<\/strong>
\nImportant to know<\/strong>. Operas will be announced sometime in July. Check Met website at http:\/\/www.metopera.com<\/a> 2016 Summer HD Festival. It runs from August 27th thru Labor Day Sept 5th. starting time is around 7-8 o\u2019clock.
\nGood to know<\/strong>: The series goes on rain or shine except thunder storms. Suggest you bring extra jacket or sweater as it can get chilly. And, perhaps a seat cushion
\nWhere to eat:<\/strong> All over the place. Many people, in fact, bring their own food, drinks and snacks. I, myself, am a popcorn and wine person.
\nRestaurant prices:<\/strong> In the area – varies from hotdog carts to OMG$$$$
\nWhere is it:<\/strong> At Lincoln Center Plaza known as the Josie Robertson Plaza in front of the Met Opera House on the Upper West Side between West 62nd and 65th Streets and Columbus and Amsterdam Avenues. Buses and subways close by. Plenty of parking. Met website has all kinds of info on directions.
\nRestrooms:<\/strong> Here\u2019s the tricky part. If there is an event at the David Geffen Hall (formerly Avery Fisher) the restrooms are open in the Hall. But if not there are restrooms on the Concourse level below the Met Opera house. There is an elevator to Concourse level on the outside of the David Koch Theater or an escalator in front of the David Geffen Hall. Restrooms also at the David Rubenstein Atrium on Broadway between 62nd and 63rd right across the street.
\nKid Friendly:<\/strong> Absolutely and stay for a little while or for the whole performance. Lots of kids will be there.<\/p>\n