Union Avenue Opera

It’s been four years since I saw «The Pirates of Penzance» at Union Avenue Opera, so this review is going to be light on the details. Like Luan N., I had limited opera exposure with a few CDs of Andrea Bocelli, Sarah Brightman and a few others. I went with a group of friends who were even less opera-​exposed than I. I may have had a Groupon, like Allison B., as her review is for a performance of the same production. We sat in the balcony and enjoyed taking in the scenery before and during the performance.
Union Avenue Opera is in an historic church, and it is beautiful. Isn’t it funny that some old movie theatres are now churches, and this old church is now a theatre? The performance was great. «The Pirates of Penzance» is a funny one and I laughed frequently. I was glad it was in English; I went in without knowing the story and didn’t have to read translations on a screen. I had a fun time, and I’d like to return to Union Avenue Opera sometime.

My boyfriend and I headed to Union Avenue Opera after buying a Groupon for «The Pirates of Penzance.» We thought it would be something interesting to do, especially at a discounted price.
The performance started at 8, and when we arrived at 7:45, the place was pretty crowded. By «the place,» I mean «the church.» That’s right, this opera company has taken over a church and transformed it into a theatre, complete with a stage, orchestra pit and professional lighting. Seriously, you look around and see all of the theatre stuff combined with the church’s buttresses and stained glass windows, and it’s just amazing. So cool!
There were pews and chairs on the main floor for those with reserved tickets. We had general admission tickets, though, so we headed up to the balcony to find a spot. There were pews up there, too, and I momentarily felt like I was getting ready to watch a church service instead of a performance. We could see everything from our vantage point — like at Powell Symphony Hall, there’s not a bad seat in the upper levels at all.
The production itself was outstanding. The cast was well chosen and personable, and all of the actors had outstanding singing chops — especially the woman who played Mabel! Set design was clever for a two-​act production — loved the map on the stage floor. The orchestra looked and sounded good down there in the pit and made me miss high school jazz band.
So why three stars? Truth be told, I’d prefer to give it three and a half stars, but that’s not possible. This was my first visit to Union Avenue Opera, and I’m not sure how to rate it yet. It’s not like a concert at the Old Rock House, it’s not like a play at the Fox, it’s not like a symphony at Powell. It’s sort of a mashup, and the only other operas I’ve seen were in Paris, so I’m just not sure what to put. Maybe after another performance here and another local opera place, I’ll have a better notion.
That said, I did find two aspects of the experience just a little lacking. First, the sound needed to be fuller. It seemed like the sound was fine on the floor, but upstairs, it didn’t carry quite as well. Perhaps speakers placed upstairs or at least tilted that way would solve this (or maybe those speakers were just out of commission that night). Second, there were technical difficulties — one side of the subtitle slides went out in the second act, leaving half the audience cranning their necks to read the words on the other side. It didn’t bother me, personally, as I was on the side with the working slide, but I can imagine other audience members being inconvenienced.
Those minor distractions only detracted slightly from the overall feel of the opera house and the performance. Like I said, I’d give UAO three and a half stars, and I’d love to return and get a better feel for the place. It really is an asset to the community.

One of the main reasons for going to St. Louis was to catch my friend from H.S.‘s performance. The extent of my opera was listening to Josh Groban, Sarah Brightman, and Il Divo CDs. This was my first staged opera, so it was exciting. Actually, my mother was his piano teacher, and jokingly told him he had a better career chance in music over tennis. I’m sure my mother would be in awe to see him as Belcore in L’Elisir D’Amore. I may be biased, but I thought it was a great production. It has certainly turned me to considering catching a few shows at the Chicago Opera Theatre. The only gripe I had was if you sit towards the back, you may not be able to see the prompts. Overall, it was a comical, easy to follow set, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.