A couple of months ago, we attended Opera in the Park, the public season kickoff for Opera San Francisco that is held in Golden Gate Park, for our second time. Last year we weren’t prepared to fully enjoy the event, but this time we did better, with picnic accoutrements, champagne, and a better parking plan. We could still make some improvements, so I started a Keep Notes entry for next year.

Keep Notes: The App of Remembrance for the Forgetful.

Although it’s a far cry from July Fourth with the Boston Pops, this is a fairly crowded event, and our blanket was only fifteen or so feet from a pretty busy walkway. There were multiple blankets whose boundaries were within a stretched leg from ours, some occupied by dogs as well as humans. As it happened, one blanket-sized spot nearby didn’t get grabbed, and thence appeared Opera Gopher.

All gophers are vegetarians that eat pretty constantly to keep up energy for burrowing underground and shaping the ecosystem of grasslands. A cursory inspection of the venue would lead one to conclude that gophers are a massive presence in the Robin Williams Meadow section of GG Park, which is where we were, but most of them were staying underground, voting an emphatic No Thanks to the excessive people, more-or-less restrained domesticated pets, and amplified music.

All except Opera Gopher.

Opera Gopher was perfectly happy to participate in events, which is to say, having its* own picnic in the grass and, one must assume, listening to the music, since that was pretty much unavoidable by any creature aboveground within half a mile possessing operational ears. It was spotted and filmed by my alert husband. I hope this link works.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/oMNVCJ8B8tFwNMGJ7

GG Park is so big–about 25% bigger than Central Park, although much of the excess is assigned to roads and parking, items mostly missing from CP–that you can go there many times and never see the bison, but we made an effort this trip.  They all clustered together near the fence waiting to be fed so we were able to get pretty close.

I’ve been yammering on about the animals, but the singing was very good too, although during the last third there was a bit of pandering, perhaps a gambit to snare new subscribers? At the low point, or some might call it the high point, they performed Queen’s Somebody to Love. The opera singers had a great time, especially the one channeling Freddy Mercury, baritone Lucas Meachem, but the orchestral percussion section caught my attention. They were really getting into it.

Between the sun and the champagne and the fun, so were we all. Even OG.

* The gender of Opera Gopher was never established.