A Night at the Opera

Last night was the first of the 2006/07 season of the Vancouver Opera, and we went to see Verdi's Macbeth.

It was an absolutely wonderful production. They used some "holographic" display technology for the sets to wonderful effect (the assassination of Banquo in particular stands out for me), the orchestra played splendidly, and the lead bass-baritone playing Macbeth, Greer Grimsley, was fantastic - he had an aria in the fourth act which generated a roar of spontaneous applause.

At the end of the show, when everyone was taking their curtain calls, even the orchestra stood up and applauded Grimsley.

A fantastic opening night, and a most excellent start to the season.

On an amusing note, it's been snowing here in Vancouver almost constantly since about 5pm yesterday, and the Skytrain downtown was packed solid both to and from the opera, as not only was there a Canucks game on, but also the delayed Rolling Stones concert.

The snow doesn't look like it's going to be stopping any time soon either.