Justices Ginsburg, Scalia onstage in Washington National Opera's 'Aridane'
The celebrity quotient was pretty impressive onstage at the Washington National Opera's Saturday for the opening night performance of Strauss' "Ariadne auf Naxos." In this production, directed by Chis Alexander, the setting for the opera-within-an-opera portion of "Ariadne" is a contemporary mansion, and guests of an extravagant host are seen onstage watching the proceedings.
Supreme Court Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Antonin Scalia, who have been known to get in the act for WNO events, were up there among the supernumeraries, along with Martin Ginsburg (the justice's husband), D.C. Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton and philanthropist Adrienne Arsht. The audience particularly enjoyed the sight of the bubbly character, Zerbinetta (performed by Lyubov Petrova), jumping into Scalia's lap. You don't see that everyday.
I'll have more to say about the production anon, but I thought you might like to see some shots of the celebs in action right away (PHOTOS BY KARIN COOPER FOR WASHINTON NATIONAL OPERA):
Comments
Fans of the opera may find the following of interest:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ariadneaufnaxos
Thanks. Glad to see 'Ariadne' has a fan site. I love the opera and am always surprised when I find people lukewarm or even hostile to it. Then again, I'm not too disciminating about any Strauss. A weakness, perhaps, but an unapologetic one. TIM
Posted by: Ariadne nut | October 31, 2009 8:12 PM