Tim snagged a couple of tickets to the dress rehearsal at the Chicago Opera Theater. We hopped the train to the city to see a double feature of The Padlock and Dido and Aeneas. I was excited at the opportunity. I has been years since I have seen an opera.

The Padlock was a mildly amusing romantic comedy with a dash of old fashioned bawdy humor. The second, Dido and Aeneas, was more traditional love story about the Royal Prince Aeneas landing in Carthage and falling in love with Dido, the queen of Carthage.

Why would I even bother to babble about the opera, one may ask? I am shocked at how things have changed at the Opera. One of the scenes in Dido and Aeneas consisted of an orgy. Yes, an orgy at the opera. About 20 couples were dancing one moment, and on the floor the next. If that wasn’t enough, the ladies legs went in the air, the gentlemen mounted and proceeded to slow thrust while the lead sang a little diddy.

Our friend Jill, a self-proclaimed opera diva, noticed my jaw drop and leaned over whispering in my ear, “It’s all the rage, gratuitous sex on stage at the opera.” That got me thinking … are they looking to attract a younger crowd by using sex to sell the opera? Or perhaps, they need something to keep the old guys interested and the checks flowing?

If you can rake in a bunch on money with a musical called Naked Boys Singing, why not an opera performed in the nude? I’ll keep my eyes open, you just never know what will be done next in the name of art.