Are you a fan of “Saturday Afternoon at the Met” on NPR, the live broadcasts of the New York Metropolitan Opera? It’s so easy to be swept away by the tales of romance, intrigue, betrayal, life and death, and that’s just Act 1. This is opera season, so let’s take stock of what we have in the world of opera right here in Wisconsin.
The Madison Opera resides at the Overture Center for the Arts located right on bustling State Street. We can’t wait for the April performance of Rossini’s Cinderella. Naeset-Roe Inn in nearby Stoughton has a grand architectural quality to it – it’s a renovated 1878 Italianate National Registry property – making it the perfect spot to spend the night after an evening at the opera. Dating to 1873 is the Hotel Ruby Marie in Madison overlooking Lake Monona, another grand choice for overnight accommodations.
The Skylight Opera Theatre of Milwaukee is performing Gershwin & Friends, which takes place at a ritzy party in the New York City home of George Gershwin in the midst of the Jazz Age. Over at the Florentine Opera, also in Milwaukee, they’re staging a musical revue of love songs February 10-12 called Isn’t It Romantic? Their season wraps up in May with a performance of Mozart’s first major opera, Idomeneo. The Brumder Mansion B&B has its own 70-seat theatre on the upper floor that it uses for staging real weddings.
If opera isn’t your thing, then maybe you’d like ballet or a symphony performance. We recommend staying at a historic B&B to set the mood for performances of historic proportions. We have 25 inns around the state listed on the National Historic Register.
Relax before and after the opera at historic Hotel Ruby Marie in downtown Madison
