Oh My God, Met in the Parks!!!!

Well, I have to say I am extremely impressed. Blown away and utterly speechless!! Met in the Parks is the most brilliant idea ever! I know it's been going on for many many years now, but it's like a revelation for me.

Last night was Gounod's Faust, and let me tell you this is no light opera. With seemingly inclement weather everyone waited anxiously to see if the sun (or stars) might make an appearance. Oh well, no stars (only clouds) but the stars on the stage were just as bright!!
The cast was as follows:

Faust- David Pomperoy
Marguerite- Katie Van Kooten
Mephistopheles- James Morris
Valentin- Hung Yun
Siebel- Kate Lindsey
Marthe- Jane Bunnell
Wagner- Keith Miller

Like the absolute brilliant person that I happen to be, I either forgot or was too lazy to prepare myself for seeing this opera. I never read the synopsis, got a CD, or read a libretto at all! However, before we left I cleverly printed out a translated libretto from aria-database.com and used it the whole way through. It was very helpful. We only made it to the end of the second act, though, because my brothers complained of the cold. I said "If those singers can stand up there and sing in this cold, then we can sit hear and listen to them in it!" We still ended up leaving. I brought a friend along to her first opera ever! She was so excited because I, obviously, tell her all about it. She was not disappointed in the least. She had the most wonderful time, I was so happy!

Now comes the tricky part... The actual performance...
Well, let's see. It was truly magnificent. All the singers sounded wonderful. James Morris especially, but he's one of my favorites so I'm kind of biased. I never heard any of the other singers in my life, but I love them! Katie Van Kooten was extraordinary as was David Pomperoy. Why aren't they singing more during the actual season? And if they are, why haven't I heard about/seen them!!! In any event, they were all charmingly beautiful. The entire experience was wonderful.
We did have a little help from the weather with dramatic effect. It seemed that every time Mephistopheles appeared there was a big flash of lightning (although it wasn't raining and we heard no thunder). There was drama in the scene, out came the lightning. It made it even more special!
I plan to go every year from now on, and I advise everyone else to go as well! You will not regret this, I promise!!