FRIDAY IN THE PARK WITH THE MET OPERA

I'VE never seen "Sunday in the Park with George" (or the Seurat painting "A Sunday afternoon ...", for that matter), but the Metropolitan Opera's summer solstice concert on June 20 was pretty wonderful. The police estimate that 50 000 people attended, and they were sure strung out along Prospect Park's (four blocks from our house) Long Meadow. Huge video screens and a phalanx of giant speakers relayed the action on the stage throughout the meadow; because it is about a mile long, the video and sound signal was transmitted via satellite.

Graeme and Claire and Karen Harber came and we had a picnic against a slight rise, from where we had an unobstructed view of the stage. The Met hauled out Angela Gheorghiu and Roberto Alagna, "opera's starriest married couple", as the New York Times called them, for a list of arias and duets that were so familiar that they felt as if they're part of one's genetic heritage.

When Bea and Hedwig visited, we all went to a rather rare Jessye Norman recital at Carnegie Hall; from our one-up-from-cheapest seats Jonny gave the stage one look and said, "From here Jessye Norman could very well be Albertina Sisulu." It was almost the case with the stage in Prospect Park, but the screens brought everything brilliantly close.

The Met said they expected about 100 000 people, but it was most probably a marketing stunt. During the first duet a police helicopter buzzed above the stage in a circle, making a huge noise. The audience started shouting and throwing fists at the helicopter, and it left. Sensitive cops...

Graeme Simpson and Claire Wright

The stage being prepared, while Gheorghiu and Alagna practise (this pic is from the New York Times)