My boyfriend and I headed to Union Avenue Opera after buying a Groupon for "The Pirates of Penzance." We thought it would be something interesting to do, especially at a discounted price.
The performance started at 8, and when we arrived at 7:45, the place was pretty crowded. By "the place," I mean "the church." That's right, this opera company has taken over a church and transformed it into a theatre, complete with a stage, orchestra pit and professional lighting. Seriously, you look around and see all of the theatre stuff combined with the church's buttresses and stained glass windows, and it's just amazing. So cool!
There were pews and chairs on the main floor for those with reserved tickets. We had general admission tickets, though, so we headed up to the balcony to find a spot. There were pews up there, too, and I momentarily felt like I was getting ready to watch a church service instead of a performance. We could see everything from our vantage point -- like at Powell Symphony Hall, there's not a bad seat in the upper levels at all.
The production itself was outstanding. The cast was well chosen and personable, and all of the actors had outstanding singing chops -- especially the woman who played Mabel! Set design was clever for a two-act production -- loved the map on the stage floor. The orchestra looked and sounded good down there in the pit and made me miss high school jazz band.
So why three stars? Truth be told, I'd prefer to give it three and a half stars, but that's not possible. This was my first visit to Union Avenue Opera, and I'm not sure how to rate it yet. It's not like a concert at the Old Rock House, it's not like a play at the Fox, it's not like a symphony at Powell. It's sort of a mashup, and the only other operas I've seen were in Paris, so I'm just not sure what to put. Maybe after another performance here and another local opera place, I'll have a better notion.
That said, I did find two aspects of the experience just a little lacking. First, the sound needed to be fuller. It seemed like the sound was fine on the floor, but upstairs, it didn't carry quite as well. Perhaps speakers placed upstairs or at least tilted that way would solve this (or maybe those speakers were just out of commission that night). Second, there were technical difficulties - one side of the subtitle slides went out in the second act, leaving half the audience cranning their necks to read the words on the other side. It didn't bother me, personally, as I was on the side with the working slide, but I can imagine other audience members being inconvenienced.
Those minor distractions only detracted slightly from the overall feel of the opera house and the performance. Like I said, I'd give UAO three and a half stars, and I'd love to return and get a better feel for the place. It really is an asset to the community. read more