You'll recall my recent entry about the production of Othello I saw at BAM. My lack of enthusiasm for that performance stands in stark contrast to the great joy I had in attending The Metropolitan Opera's production of Verdi's Otello. Mark Fox and I have agreed that we want to go to the opera as many times as possible this season--having not gone very much at all last season (my very first entry on this site was about the Met's Salome which was the only opera I saw all Spring). We can only afford to go as much as we want to by buying standing room tickets--which are a real pain in the ass to get (they go on sale weekly at the crack of dawn on Saturday mornings...not my favorite time to be getting up...). But despite the annoyance of waiting on line with crackpot opera buffs who insist on talking to you no matter how many anti-social signals you throw their way, it is worth being able to see great opera for a mere twenty bucks.

So Thursday night we saw Otello, sung by Ben Heppner, with Carlo Guelfi as Iago and Barbara Fritolli as Desdemona. The Met is famous for having rather traditional productions, which at times are a bit dull or drab--and this Otello falls into that category. But it's straightforward enough to disappear behind the performances of the singers and the always great Met Orchestra. James Levine was conducting and the music was indeed outstanding. Levine knows exactly where to treat the music delicately, when to push it forward quickly, and when to let the orchestra open up like a blooming flower and let the music emanate like the strong sweet aroma of a rose.

Heppner's singing was terrific, but I found it hard to hear him at the beginning. Part of that is surely due to standing at the very back of the orchestra, way under the overhang of the parterre. The sound back there is notoriously bad, but I like being down on the same level as the stage. Standing tickets are also available at the back of the uppermost balcony, where the sound is great but where your are so far away you cannot see anything but the tops of the singers' heads... It's a trade-off. After the intermission on Thursday we moved up to the balcony and found some seats. The difference in the sound was truly remarkable.

I'm so glad we moved to the better-sounding seats, because Desdemona's expanded role in the second half of the opera was sung absolutely exquisitely by Barbara Fritolli. Thrilling! Her voice was so clear, so emotional, and so pretty that the meaning of the text completely came through without my even looking at the subtitles. It was truly exciting, and a great contrast to the so-what feeling I got from the Othello I saw at BAM. Mark and I were both on cloud nine when we left Lincoln Center.

And this morning we were back up there, fighting off the social advances of the opera nerds, buying more tickets. This Tuesday we hear Carmen.