If I ever had a lot of money, I think I would like to open a restaurant. Not any restaurant, though, but an opera bar. Think about it. There are flamenco bars, dinner-theater restaurants, all sorts of places where people can go to eat and enjoy themselves. But as far as I know, there are no opera restaurants.
When I was in Vienna, I daydreamed about it out loud to a friend as we wandered the backstreets. What if, I said, there were a restaurant where you could go in the evening and hear both a fun concert with professional opera singers. Students, I suggested, or rising singers wanting to pad their resume. It wouldn't be expensive, and the program would change often. And it would be open to everyone. Indie opera companies could put on modernist shows tailored to suit the restaurant space, quartets could come, and it would generally be a fun and hip place to have a good meal and hear some good music.
"You're a dreamer," is what my friend said.
"No, I'm a writer," I replied. "I can't do this in real life, but maybe I'll put this in a book someday."
Maybe I will. All the same, it's good to dream. I'd go to a restaurant like this.
3 comments:
I've eaten in three restaurants that employed opera singers; in Chicago, Tulsa and Cuzco. It can be fun especially if they give out free champagne during the excerpts from Traviata.
I know one opera singer who owns a bar; Robert Pomakov. But Opera Bob's is a sports bar alas.
In Philly there is (or at least used to be) this great Pizzeria that employed opera students ( probably from the Academy of Vocal Arts) as servers. They performed as they served. It was always great to dine there.
Ypi can know all about tidy dooms oera restaurant and bar. Useful information
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