The Grapes of Wrath and The Trial

E and I had an opera spectacular, enjoying two shows in one day a couple of Saturdays ago.

We started with The Grapes of Wrath, which was first performed in 2007.  I was not crazy about the music, contemporary as it is.  The OTSL performance was the premiere of a new revised version of the show.  I didn't do enough research to know what the changes were, but one of the composers was there for the performance, and I suspect he was a speaker at an event either before or after the show talking about just that.

Though I didn't care for the music, I very much enjoyed the tragic story, which I had never encountered before, not having read the classic Steinbeck novel!  I definitely preferred Titus, but as between this and Butterfly, it's a bit of a toss-up.

After the matinee, E and I headed out for dinner with G&G at Peno.  It's a fairly new place just outside downtown Clayton, and I think we were all quite pleased with our meals.  E and I shared a pizza and a pasta, and other than about 3/4 of one of my pieces of pizza, we demolished them both.  G&G each had a variation on the fisherman's stew.  One of them polished it off, one of them took half home.  You decide.  We even had a couple of desserts; the lemon sorbet was delightful.

Then E and I headed back to the opera for Philip Glass's The Trial.  I really didn't know what to expect from this one.  Now I know.  Absurdism.  Although I can't really blame Philip Glass for that.  The opera is based on Franz Kafka's story of the same name, so the plot is his fault.

The music was less offensive to my ears than the music in Grapes had been, and I must agree with E that I very much enjoyed the monochromatic set of black, white, and grey.  But aside from that, just not my style.  Last place.