After we climbed the steps into the War Memorial Opera House, we picked up our tickets at the box office and found our seats under the balcony. My computer guy had the driver drop us off so we could walk through the lovely Memorial Court.

The car was exceptionally clean, and I felt safe for the duration of our short ride. The driver was friendly and polite the three of us chatted about the opera. I was a bit confused when the car that pulled up had no markings distinguishing it as a taxi. When we got out to the corner of his block, he raised his phone above his head. He said no, so I assumed we’d be walking. Before we left his apartment in the Mission, I asked my computer guy if we would be riding the bus so I would have adequate bus fare if necessary. The day of my first opera attendance was also the occassion of my first ride with an Uber driver.

(I guess by definition, “evening clothes” are not worn at two o’clock in the afternoon.) I was relieved to see no one else at the matinee wearing evening clothes. We may not have looked fancy, but we looked respectable, much like everyone else in the audience. My computer guy friend wore full length black pants and a dark shirt. I wore a long, straight black skirt and a colorful 100% cotton top.

Hwwever, he is a man who–for the last couple of decades–has partially based his acceptances of job offers on whether or not he’d be allowed to wear shorts to the office.Īre you going to wear long pants to the opera? I asked him, and he said he supposed he could. My computer guy didn’t seem worried about the opera dress code. I’m not exactly toting around an opera worthy wardrobe in my van, so I wasn’t sure what I was going to do if I had to dress fancy. I was concerned because don’t people dress up for the opera? I asked my computer guy. The story sounded interesting enough for me want to see the show.

War memorial opera house balcony view