"Die Fledermaus" @ The Metropolitan Opera

        Every year around Christmas time, I see an opera with my grandma. For 4 years, it's been one of my favorite traditions. This year the Met was having an opera I loved that I saw a couple years ago; Die Fledermaus (de-flay-der-mouse) on a day that my family could go. This is actually an operetta (a short opera, usually on a light or humorous theme and typically having spoken dialogue). My grandma and I wanted to bring my sister, who had a bad first opera experience last year when we saw Hansel & Gretel (it was terrible), so this would be a good one to try and impress her again with. My mom had never seen an opera before, and this one made a great first impression.
        Die Fledermaus is basically about the stories of three linked characters who get an invitation (which is part of a secret revenge plot) to Prince Orlofsky's New Years Eve ball, which being thrown in the year of 1899 in Vienna. What is planned to happen at the ball is suppose to end people's relationships and cause chaos, but it ends up bringing them closer together. The operetta is witty and had my family and I laughing out loud. The best part, was an actor who plays Frosch, a tipsy jailer, coming off the stage and doing improv. You know its improv, because at the Met, there are little screens that have the lines or English subtitles for you to read, and when he came on they went blank. He was the funniest part of the show, talking to the prompt (someone who cues the actor or whispers there line, just in case) in the middle of the show. My favorite singer in the show was the woman who played Adele the chambermaid, Lucy Crowe. Her voice was beautiful and strong, and she was also one of my favorite characters.
       If you want to see an opera and you're not the opera type, this is the one to see first. It's hysterical, all in English, easy to understand, and very interactive. Plus, the singing is awesome and the sets are beautiful.  Overall, Die Fledermaus is a great time for all.