Anyone who has ever been to the opera knows that it can be funny. Some of the plots are so far-fetched, it's ridiculous. My favorites are the ones when someone disguises themselves, like in The Marriage of Figaro. I'll put on this wig! He'll never know it's me!! Or when we are supposed to believe that a plump woman of a certain age is meant to be a consumptive teenaged courtesan... or, gosh, I could go on, but we don't have all afternoon. Sometimes the opera is unexpectedly amusing, like the time we sort of saw the woman without a shadow (frau of something something). I say sort of because we left after the 2nd act. True story. It's the only time I've ever walked out of anything. First of all, I know the singer actually has a shadow, but there must be a lighting trick to make it look like she doesn't yes? Because Lyric hadn't figured that out when I saw it, so old Deb Voigt was down there going on about her shadow and it was like, no, it's right there, problem solved. We can save ourselves 4 hours of this. That and they had this lame prop horse that lowered down from the rafters and it was supposed to be dramatic, but it hit the stage with a thud and rocked back and forth...
Ahem. Sorry. The point is, opera can be funny. So who better than the talented cast of the Second City to help demystify the experience and poke a little fun at the world of opera? Lyric teamed with Second City to present The Second City Guide to the Opera last night. The gorgeous and all-around fabulous diva Renee Fleming was on hand to host with Sir Patrick Stewart (yes. Because what I think of when I think "opera" "Chicago" and "Second City sketch comedy" is Patrick Stewart. But anyway...) and basically it was a pretty fun evening. It began with an overture, sung by the cast about... all of the stuff that happens during an overture. They did similar songs about the intermission and the finale. Other sketches included a master class with an ego-maniacal, multi-scarf wearing diva, whose star pupil turned out to be... Ms. Renee Fleming, a couple on a first date (to the Ring Cycle! The guy wanted to prove he wasn't afraid of commitment and pointed out that if you could survive 40 hours of Wagner together, you could survive ANYTHING), and "Doctor Opera" therapy sessions for operatic characters including Mimi and Rudolfo, Hansel and Gretel and Elektra. Both of our genial hosts performed in sketches and were both quite funny (P-Stew, I am sorry I doubted you!).
There was an audience participation sketch which resulted in an improvised Shakespearean rendering of the selected audience member's life. Which was weird. Because, hello, how is that related to opera? And also, the audience member they picked was from the bank sponsoring the show and he seemed extremely uncomfortable and gave one word answers (clearly he never read Tina Fey's book, because she tells us the first rule of improv is to agree and add - so if someone says, do you have any pet peeves and you say "No", you've shut the sketch down before it's even started). So did they pick this guy on purpose? Because if they told him ahead of time, you'd think he would have been more willing to play along. I find it a little weird that they picked him randomly out of all the people there, but it's not usually common practice to embarrass your lead sponsor. They ended up having a good time with him because he's a banker and he said he didn't have any pet peeves and that nothing bothered him. That added a little humor, because like, really dude? Nothing bothers you in the world of banking? Are you not living in America right now?
There was also a funny sketch where Patrick Stewart taught the cast to find the opera in regular life situations - so you're at Starbucks and they're out of soy milk (holy crap, Patrick Stewart goes to Starbucks?)? Unleash merry hell on that barista in the form of an aria. Someone has stolen your parking spot even though you've claimed it with a folding chair? Whip out your sword and make that sucker pay. Your friend loses your favorite sweater? Fall on your sword and kill yourself. That, folks, is opera.
In the middle of this mayhem, Renee sang two arias, as if to say, yes, the plots can be stupid and outlandish and unrelated to real life, but at the heart of it is this - stunning music and amazing singing and artistry. That's opera, too.
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