headline: the baby that cracked up the concert hall and the woman who brought him

free concert season is here.

oh how i love it.

especially now that school is out and the thought of getting children into bed at 10pm is no longer intimidating.

so when the lawn concert of the city opera and city symphony was moved to the concert hall due to rain i didn't hesitate.

we packed up and left.

this festival is free and still open to the public after all.

i let the darling girl pick our seats and since sight versus sound always wins with her we were the fourth row extreme left.

not the middle.  oh well.

but the kids were angels and the music was amazing.  breathtaking, tear creating, jaw dropping amazing.

when you listen to the radio and watch movies there is such disconnect that you don't fully remember that real people are making these sounds and they are working together in wonderful unity.

the program was of course all favorites.... this isn't their first rodeo and they knew families and meanderers would be present.

strauss,

mascagni,

verdi,

bizet,

gershwin....

speaking of gershwin.

i love gershwin.  i have an lp of porgy and bess but i really like his other stuff.  people don't donate lp's of his other stuff to good will.

maybe i'm just a classical pop princess but he's a favorite.

and when you are watching and listening to a soprano singing 'summertime' live, well, it doesn't get much better (except for the symphony playing 'american in paris' which happened - yay).

and when that soprano pauses with dramatic flourish a baby right next to the microphone giggle growls 'aaaahhhhh' exactly in tempo and then you realize the whole concert hall is laughing and looking at you it doesn't get much worse... musically that is.

laughin like a laugh track and you're on an episode of the simpsons.

and when you turn and realize everyone is looking at you you freeze and then you see the conductor and the soparano.... looking at you.

and then you sink to through the floor and into the bowels of the concert hall.

this post is being typed from the basement of the concert hall where we are hiding.

but we're really not because it's expected and they people did laugh and it as was most likely live on the radio and also piped over speakers through the city and into the tents of the arts festival....  they probably had a little giggle...

and the conductor was smiling...

and i think the soprano was smiling, at least she didn't miss a beat.

so we just shake our heads because we know that if it's going to happen to someone that someone is going to be us.

when we entered the hall the show stopper baby had his photo taken by some media photographer... not sure which one... as we were walking.

she tracked us down later and took his picture again when we were in our seats (fourth row from the stage remember).

she loved him.

so if you are wandering around the festival website or newspaper websites or the news papers you might see:

the baby who cracked up the concert hall and the family who brought him.