Night at the Opera

While at 46 I was sad to have never been to an opera, given Owen had a complete meltdown as a toddler when we paused a little too long on the public radio station's opera hour, we've haven't been particularly motivated to rectify the situation. Until we got an email from DC Youth Orchestra offering us discounted tickets ($10 each instead of the $160 face value) to see Mozart's The Magic Flute at the Kennedy Center. In English. With projected English titles. And the Maurice Sendak Staging. So despite our children's indifference, we bought tickets, convinced the Telfair-Chas to join us and packed the kids' Kindle just in case they got too bored at the show.

But they were mesmerized -- the costumes, the monsters the music. We were all a little confused by some of the plot holes and the multiple attempted suicides, but it really was an incredibly engaging and beautiful performance which did not make Owen cry.

Though now he wants to be a Freemason.