Friday, January 23, 2009

Figaro, Figaro, Figaro....

I love opera but have never seen a live performance so I was very excited when I found out that Camille's class was going to see the Barber of Seville. They are studying opera with the end result of producing and performing their own opera. The school did a great job preparing the kids. Camille knew the story and could recognize both music and songs from the opera. She was also very excited about the whole prospect of dressing up and going out.
H and I both knew that five year olds were not going to be able to sit through a whole opera. But I was naive enough to think that she would make it through at least the first act. She was giddy as we dressed up, impatient when I had to take time to get money from the bank. She skipped all the way to the theater. She glowed under all the compliments. We meet up with my friend A and her son. We discovered once in that it was a full dress rehearsal and "student night." This meant that it was going to be noisy but it also meant dealing with Jr. kids who had no manners. Groups of them shoved by us as we tried to get into the theater. They stole a row of seats from us. They were constantly in and out of their seats, moving around to get food and go to the bathroom (skittles at the opera?). I was ready to scream by the time they dimmed the lights.

The wait didn't do much for Camille either. She was wiggly and bored by the time the music finally started. She liked it all for about five seconds. Soon she was shifting around in her seat, kicking the panel in front of us, sighing loudly. She paid attention for another five seconds when the "pretty girl" finally appeared. The teens actually seemed to enjoy it. They LOVED the sexual innuendos but when you're five and can't really read well...it really is probably dull.

We made our escape after Camille's loud sighing really got notice. My friend's son was not overly thrilled either and kept whispering "Can we go home now?!" We bumped into the aide in Camille's room who told us she might not make it through the evening. She had five fifth graders asleep behind her, and a bunch of K kids who couldn't stop moving. "Whose idea was this anyway?"

Lesson learned: Opera and five year olds...not the best mix....

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