*** A Midsummer Night's Dream ***

" Over hill, over dale,
Thorough bush, thorough brier,
Over park, over pale,
Thorough flood, thorough fire,
I do wander everywhere."
(A Midsummer Night's Dream, 2. 1)

Keeping with my day tripper theme, 

I set off to the Boston Opera House to enjoy;

A Midsummer Night's Dream.

The Boston Ballet presents George Balanchine’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, a lucid and inventive telling of Shakespeare’s play. A Midsummer Night’s Dream was Balanchine’s first original, full-length ballet. Called by critic Clive Barnes, “a fantasy spectacle of love,” this work is a masterful combination of storytelling and choreography danced to the exquisite sounds of Mendelssohn. The ballet tells a story of love, illusion and adventures of two pairs of mortal lovers and the king and queen of the fairies. A Midsummer Night’s Dream was choreographed for New York City Ballet and premiered in 1962. The production includes a large cast complete with 25 students from Boston Ballet School and sets and costumes designed by Louisa Spinatelli. The last time A Midsummer Night’s Dream was danced by Boston Ballet it was called, a winner, a gorgeous, spirited production given strong performances throughout the ranks, including the excellent orchestra led by Jonathan McPhee.
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This years performance is definitely another winner !

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The Boston Opera House is a performing arts venue located at 538 Washington St. in Boston, Massachusetts. Originally built as a movie palace, it opened on October 29, 1928 and was rededicated in 1980 as a home for the Opera Company of Boston. Completely restored in 2004, the theater currently serves as the home of the Boston Ballet and also presents touring Broadway shows.

The theater serves as a venue for live performances ranging from "The Lion King" and "Phantom of the Opera," to such music acts as The White Stripes and Linda Ronstadt.

Architect Thomas W. Lamb designed the opera house, which features common Renaissance Revival touches such as arches above the doors, porches and windows, a symmetrical facade, elaborate support spaces, gold leaf touches and wide, overhanging eaves supported by decorative brackets.  The theater has a seating capacity of 2,500.The current Opera House was originally the B.F. Keith theater, host to films and vaudeville shows. After a flood destroyed nearly everything contained in the venue in 1991, interest in restoring the original opulence of the Opera House grew. The mayor, along with local politicians and the Clear Channel corporation, decided on a 30 million dollar renovation project. Today the revamped Opera House regularly hosts big-name artists and stage shows in front of sold out audiences, that included ME !