Opening Night at the Opera Means One Thing for Some
One group produced a tented replica of Falstaff’s Garter Inn. Another fan sported an antlered hat, complete with miniature beer cans and a flock of birds. Another flounced fairy wings.
“Falstaff” opened the Santa Fe Opera’s 2008 season Friday night as tailgating regulars clinked crystal in silks and satins, and diamonds and denim.
The parking lot offering sweeping views of the Sangre de Cristos resembled a cruise ship dining hall with candelabras on card tables next to lobster and brie. Jacquard linens and roses dressed the tables, while silver gleamed next to big hair and bare skin.
Santa Fe’s Joan Kessler showed off a set of diaphanous wings matching her chiffon dress. She’s been coming to opening night for 10 years; her daughter Heather, now 28, has been attending since she was 5.
“It’s now a tradition that my mom and I come every year,” she said. “We plan what our table’s going to look like.”
The fairy reference came from Verdi’s libretto, Kessler said. The townspeople try to scare off the boorish protagonist by dressing up as sprites and wood elves.
Like many in the crowd, Kessler ties her personal celebration to the opera’s theme. For last year’s “La Boheme,” she found a wire Eiffel Tower to use as a table centerpiece while the CD player featured the songs of Edith Piaf.
“When we had ‘Madame Butterfly,’ I wore a dress that’s sort of a kimono dress,” she explained. “It makes it more fun.”
Back at the Garter Inn, Susan Stockstill hung family crests and a pub sign, complete with a stag. The party organizer, Stockstill sent around a letter describing the theme and suggestions of what everyone could bring. No one owned a suit of armor to add to the decor. But the menu was decidedly British, if not quite pub food. The revelers dined on roast beef and steamed pudding paired with bottles of Chaucer’s Mead.
Elsewhere on Friday, the Bay Area’s Eric Yost played fashion tribute to “Falstaff” by donning an antler hat entwined with vines and beer cans, birds flitting on the branches. His friend Bonnie Johnston was the designer.
“Last year, he wore the Eiffel Tower,” she said.
“This is one of the more comfortable hats she’s made,” Yost added. “I just walk around and say, ‘Yes, dear.’ I’m not sure there’s a picture of Falstaff with antlers, but she says so.”
John Berkenfield of Santa Fe uncorked a 1934 bottle of German wine to pair with a crown roast and a group of friends. He stashed 14 bottles of wine in his trunk for the occasion, about half worth $100 a piece.
“We like to eat good food,” he said. “We like to drink good wine. And the opera doesn’t keep me awake at all.”
