Harrison Opera House — Attraction in Norfolk

Attended the first night of the Sound of Music at the Harrison Opera House in Norfolk, Virginia on May 13, 2022.

The venue is old and could use some painting evisent by some peeling paint on the ceiling. The acoustics were reasonable but an opening in the ceiling right above the stage probably does not do good since the orchestra pit is right in front of the stage. The Virginia Symphony Orchestra did a superb job and so did the cast. Mikaela Bennett (Maria) has a beautiful voice. The production followed roughly the movie story. The cast is just incredible. Gretl (Stormie Trevino) was just very funny and even as a six year old captured the heart of the audience. Captain Von Trapp (Edward Watts) performance was solid and convincing. While I am partial and biased to the Chesapeake Soprano singer Aundi Marie Moore who played Mother Abbess, her voice was indeed powerful and beautiful.

While this venue is labeled an Opera House there were things that would be detrimental for an opera. First I resent being charged to park my car. After paying for tickets, the least they can do is provide free parking. The seats are not comfortable and the seats in front of you were too close. I sat at the Right Mezzanine front and after three hours my legs were killing me. My biggest complaint if I am watching a real Opera is that unless you are seated at the Mezzanine, you will not be able to see the orchestra. The orchestra pit is also too small for a full production orchestra.

All in all, I enjoyed the...

It was my first time at the Harrison Opera House and I was not impressed. I found when I asked that there was no coat check so had to carry around my coat until I found a rack on the third floor. Most of the staff I spoke with were pleasant and professional except in not pointing out that even though there was no coat check there was a coat rack available. I went early to hear the pre-talk but found I could not hear alot of it. This was because the talk was in a second floor area which had noise from the first floor which drown out alot of the talk. I read some reviews about this historical site but noted most of the interior area looks modern which also takes away from the facility's "historical" beauty. The Opera, Cosi Fan Tutte, had both good and bad aspects. The music played by the Virginia symphony was wonderful. The cast's singing was ok but the acting wasn't that remarkable. The 1920s flapper theme distracted from the original in many ways as it did not fit the 1790s time when the Opera was written. As of this time I am unsure if I will...

I will never come to this venue again. I purchased four tickets in the second row for one of my favorite comedians. I thought these close seats would ensure a memorable experience. It was memorable, but for all the wrong reasons.

The show was interrupted repeatedly by staff trying to seat guests that were over 30 minutes late. They were not discreet either. They shined flashlights frequently, asked the early guests that were already seated to show their tickets, or asked guest to move for those who were extremely late. It was so bad, even the opening act commented on it.

The worst was when one of the ushers interrupted to see if we could ask someone at the opposite end of the row if they had the correct seat. This was 45 minutes into the show. We said “no, we are trying to hear the show we paid for.” The usher responded by saying that we might be thrown out. For what? We spent the next 15 minutes wondering if we were going to be thrown out for being quiet early patrons....