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Night at the Opera

By jtmanley

Teatro ColonOn Saturday, April 20, I think I might have had the best cultural experience in Buenos Aires so far. I went to see Bizet's opera Carmen, one of the most noted and performed operas, at Teatro Colon. Buenos Aires' main opera house, Teatro Colon is widely considered one of the best concert venues in the world.

As an opera aficionado, I will not bore you will a full-scale review of the opera itself (which was brilliantly executed by the performers and orchestra in case you wanted to know). As a Baltimore-Washington Metro Area native, I've always enjoyed going to the Kennedy Center. As a GW student, I take pleasure in being able to walk less than 10 minutes to enjoy the free Millennium Stage performances , the Washington National Opera, and the National Symphony Orchestra. But going to Teatro Colon might have taken the cake.

Teatro Colon

I ordered my tickets online the week of the performance, and for $480 Argentine pesos ($92.96 USD), I bought a second-tier box seat (officially called a palco alto central). My box, number 22, gave me an excellent, and I mean excellent, view of the stage and the orchestra. Sitting in the front row of my box, with such a nice view, created a very intimate feeling. I'll call it "God's eye-view."

Teatro Colon

Being one of the youngest people there was pretty fun. It made for great conversation with my box mates and the attendants in their mid-20s, who probably don't escort too many college students to boxes. Unfortunately, Teatro Colon does not have a student/young professional discount program like the Kennedy Center's MyTix program, but I think it will look at it in time. In 2010, the theatre re-opened after years of renovation, so that made my going there that more meaningful. I was enjoying the experience that took so much hard work to create.

And it is that, the experience, that made it worth every dollar I paid for. For less than $100 dollars, I had  an experience that I am sure to tell my children about. It is not every day you get to enjoy one of the world's most famous operas in one of the world's most famous opera houses. So if you travel, be it for study abroad or a simple vacation, see what the performing arts scene is like if that's your thing. If it is, plan to treat yourself to a nice night of sitting back and letting art move you. It is definitely worth the money.