I first head opera in the Loony Tunes cartoons I watched as a child growing up. Not knowing the songs were just tiny pieces from giant works and not really caring. The tunes would stick in my head and run through my brain over and over again. I would hum them as i played and went about my business. Hearing an live from the Met broadcast one Saturday I heard the Barber of Seville. Early on the Figaro song is sung and I realize I know this from the cartoons I watched as a kid. I listened to the rest of the opera surprised at the number of songs and melodies I recognized. i had heard these tunes in movies, TV shows, commercials and who knows where else. Now in my best New York City hotel I am excited to be getting ready to see my first live opera performance at the Metropolitan Opera in New York city. I have viewed excellent opera in man y other locations like Santa Fe new Mexico where the magical summer opera has gone on for more than 60 years. Today a state of the art open air theater greets guests from all over the world from July to August to see operas designed, directed and preformed by hand picked apprentices world wide. The audiences come from all over the world too. The breathtaking views from the opera house at sunset set the perfect mood for an evening of opera viewing. Some productions are done with open backdrops, this leaves no back to the stage and the view goes out for 100 miles looking over the Sange de Cristo Mts. When darkness falls and the opera begins some evenings there are distant showers roaming the deserts and the flashes of lightening and rumbles of thunder become part of the magic of the Santa Fe experience. My experience at the Met tonight cannot compare to the open air festival of Santa Fe in many ways but seeing the opera performed by a company that has been in existence for more than 150 years.
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