The one on the right is melanzone (eggplant). The one on the left is rucula (arugula). Both have a nice, sharp hard cheese. Mozzarella is used only on certain pizzas here...it is too delicate to go with many toppings.
Since it was such a long way (see the view from our apartment's street entrance below) I decided to leave about 7:59.
Darling, I'm not sure what seat you intended to get me.
Platea is orchestra level, Fila D turned out to be front row, and Posto 5 was third seat from the center aisle. There aren't and bad seats in the theatre. For those who aren't familiar with it from last year, it is a small classic opera house with about 70 boxes on four levels, plus floor seating. I was two meters from the conductor so there was no chance I would miss anything.
It was a great seat for watching the cute young orchestra members before the opera started. I emphasize young. It was a youth orchestra from Rome, and I'm not sure they were in college yet. They were more than up to the task, though, as my enjoyment of the opera was not marred by the music in any way.
The opera was perfect for the small theatre because it has a cast of only six, plus a few stage hand/actors. This was a modern interpretation, which was cute, because the young lovebirds viewed their beaus on an iPad, texted each other, and used a cell phone to snap pictures of their indiscretions.
A small Italian touch to the theatre itself is that the conductor entered the orchestra pit from the audience level through a section of the pit wall removed for the purpose. Clearly you can't start the opera with the wall missing, so two staffers replaced it. Except that it has some finicky attachment that took them two minutes to latch. The orchestra was giggling by the time they got it.
The other Italian touch was a complete lack of air conditioning. I saw Albina on my way over, and she told me she can't go to the theatre because it is too hot. It certainly was uncomfortable and and I wasn't wearing a jacket. But I wasn't underdressed: the conductor only wore his coat for the curtain call at the end, and there were no closed collars among the orchestra members.
At the intermission between the two acts we all went out into the street and various cafés to get our refreshments and cooler air. You knew you wouldn't be late back because the opera members were there, too.
The opera wrapped up at 11:15, by which time the other concert was in full swing in Piazza del Popolo.
Opera props being carted away at 12:15:
Michael, this calls to mind a time when actors and performers were real people. Instead of catered $200 an actor plates back stage and limos to drive them to strategiclly placed back doors, you had performers sharing the open air and cafes. What a treat. I guess the unusually hot summer in Italy has not abated.
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