Last weekend, we visited Opera in Focus at the Rolling Meadows Park District Theater.
Opera in Focus is a presentation of opera scenes and scenes from musical theater as performed by 18-inch rod puppets. While it sounds simple enough, the presentations are anything but simplistic. The sets are elaborate and the puppets are amazingly lifelike.
The photo above shows three of the puppets sitting in an opera box in front of the proscenium.

Our visit was scheduled as an item for our Discover Woodfield podcast, where you can hear our take on the experience in our latest show.
This link will take you to a very good history of Opera in Focus. The group also has YouTube and MySpace pages.

This guy is “Senor Tosci,” an eerily lifelike representation of Arturo Toscanini who “conducts” the presentations.
The shows are appropriate for all ages– we had a wonderful time and recommend that everyone visit this treasure of the Chicago suburbs!