Saturday, September 27, 2008

Is is OK to knit in a crowded Opera House?


I was very pleased to accompany my lovely daughter, Goonie, to the final dress rehearsal of La Traviata. Her mother was singin' in the chorus and Goonie likes to go to see productions that her mamma or daddy are performing in.

Since she knew I was taking her to the opera she even dressed up in my favorite purple velvet dress. And it is traditional to enjoy fine dining before going to the opera so we went out to eat - at the local ma & pop diner. I mean, they make the best grilled cheese in Portland!

We arrived at the opera house and made our way to the first balcony, row B. Ooooo, I thought, gonna be nice seats. They were! If we paid for that pair of seats for opening night they would have been well over $200!

We settled in our seats and that was when I noticed that the lady sitting to my right was awfully fidgety. I didn't want to stare at her so I gave her the 'fish eye' and beheld a sight I've never seen before -- she was knitting! I thought, ok, that's a nice way to help make the time pass until the curtain rises. I fully figured the needles and yarn to be put away when the overture started.

Nope.

Kept right on knittin'! All - through - the - entire - opera!

WTF!?!?

Knitting is certainly not as bad as texting a friend with your phone, or being openly flatulent for that matter. But the constant fidgeting and elbowing was most distracting. Especially in Act II when Verdi just could not deem himself to move the plot along fast enough.

I think because it was the final dress rehearsal and many of the tickets are 'comp' tics and are given to folks who do not usually attend the opera that someone gave it to a relative who figured the 3,000 seat cavernous theater was just as well as her own living room.

Ok, then. I'm determined to pass some gas next time I'm at the opera.

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Comments on "Is is OK to knit in a crowded Opera House?"

 

Blogger darlene mcleod said ... (September 28, 2008 1:04 PM) : 

As an avid knitter, and amateur operatic soprano, I totally agree with you. There are times and places for all things, but during a performance is simply not one for knitting. Boo.

 

Blogger Penny Karma, aka the F-Bomb Mom said ... (October 08, 2008 6:27 AM) : 

You've never seen anybody knit??Sometimes I knit, text and fart at the same time. I'm a multitasker. But I agree, that's bad knitting manners.

You and Goonie look so cute! :)

 

Blogger Unknown said ... (February 22, 2009 12:58 PM) : 

seriously, i'm so glad someone else is opposed to this. there's a forum thread somewhere on ravelry.com where everyone basically endorses it, but personally i couldn't imagine anything more annoying than seeing someone knitting while i was up there, or, like, you, even being sat in the audience next to them. to me i really is on the same level as texting. grrr. *vent*

 

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