This week, Cal welcomes the age-old art of opera into our hallowed Zellerbach Hall. We assume most people don’t know too much about opera, so we thought that we’d go see it and give you our two cents from the perspective of an average college student. Here’s what we thought you should know:

1.) There are five showings. ”The Secret Garden” is a co-production of the San Francisco Opera, Cal Performances and the Houston Grand Opera and is premiering here at Berkeley from March 1 through March 10.

2.) Tickets cost as little as $7.50. If you’re signed up for the Cal Performances email club (and if you aren’t, sign up), then ticket prices plummet for this show when added on top of your UC Berkeley student discount. We think that’s a good deal if you like opera, but we also think a burrito is a good investment.

3.) The beginning is slow. It’s the Clog’s opinion that the first half of this opera was a bit of a drag. If you aren’t an arts enthusiast, you’ll probably leave after the intermission. Some people did. I mean, how many times do you have to repeat the same line?

4.) The setting is hilarious. The show uses some high-tech-looking screens to set the scene, and the digital bird is three times the size of Mary’s (the main character) head. Then during the second act, you are graced with butterflies the size of a small car.

5.) The second half is much more enjoyable. If you stay for the bit that comes after the intermission, we think you won’t regret spending the $7.50. Yeah, we’re suckers for happy endings.

If you’re bored, in need of escaping your routine and like artsy stuff, the Clog suggests going to see “The Secret Garden.” If not, we think you can skip this one. $7.50 can do a lot of things.

Image Source: Aimee Ray, under Creative Commons

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