Santa Fe Opera, July 21

We left Crestone and easily reached Santa Fe in time to get a motel room, shower, change clothes, and eat a wonderful meal at the Himalayan Cuisine restaurant.

We both ordered meals that were said to be typical of Nepal. I had chicken and curry, Anrahyah had lamb and curry. Both arrived in medium-sized bowls. Rice arrived too, so we both could easily try each other's food by spooning from each bowl onto our servings of rice. What a fine discovery this restaurant was!

On to the Santa Fe Opera, which is just a few miles north of the city. This set for Mozart's The Magic Flute was different from any I'd ever seen before. It was rather stark, with a curved wall on either side. In each wall were three doors that didn't show unless they were opened for a particular reason.

The set remained much the same except for one scene. Then, the front half of the stage hinged upward. The Santa Fe Opera stage is made so it can do many things! It includes elevators, the ability to hinge, and who knows what else? It is open at the back, and at one point lights were directed on the nearly hill out there and it served as a backdrop.

The costumes were from various time periods. The Queen of the Night and her ladies wore dresses of Elizabethan style. Sarastro and his entire entourage wore what appeared to be Revolutionary War uniforms. The evil Monostatos wore a Keystone Kop outfit. Papageno wore a yellow baseball cap and red tee shirt with a bird on it. He's the bird catcher for the Queen of the Night. Prince Tamino and Pamina wore clothes that they could have as easily worn in downtown Santa Fe.

Another innovation: The arias were all sung in German, but the recititative was all spoken in English. Colloquial English, too. "Keep it zipped, buddy!" said one of Sarastro's entourage to Papageno, who struggles to maintain silence during his trials.

Santa Fe's Magic Flute was the easiest to follow of any Magic Flute production I've ever seen. Anrahyah had not been to the Santa Fe Opera before, and was fascinated by the general workings of the production. It is resolved, therefore, that we arrange to go by there at a time when we can do a backstage tour. These are given on certain afternoons there.

The Magic Flute is a wonderful introduction to the amazing world of opera.