Skipping the Opera

The first weekend in September there was a conference for environmental law in Amazonas State being held by the Public Attorneys' Office, SUFRAMA and a few other organizations. Since the conference had a number of sessions closely related to the project we are involved in, our team leader was asked to give a speech on Saturday evening at the Tropical Hotel. However, the night before that, there was an opening being held at the Manaus opera house, the Teatro Amazonas, which was constructed in the late 19th century. It is a beautiful building, reminiscent of the time when Manaus was said to be the Paris of South America and an oasis in the rainforest.
I'd seen the opera house's exterior during my first trip to Manaus in June and was told I would attend the opening Friday evening, where the Governor of Amazonas would be giving a speech, followed by cocktails and hors d'oeuvres. We were told to bring our wives and that it would be a formal event, which is all fine and good except that neither I nor Jing had packed formal attire for such an event, and, as it turned out, neither did the team leader's wife, so we said our wives would not join us, and I arranged to borrow someone's navy blue Polo blazer. However, after repeated inquiry, we were told it wasn't required that we attend and, no, we wouldn't be formally introduced to the Governor, but we should attend and wear black ties and suits. Our team leader decried in private that such events are excruciatingly boring, and if he wanted to see the opera house, he'd do so as a tourist on the weekend wearing casual clothes, so he called the organizers and said he would have to decline the invitation to the opening but would be present to give his speech the following evening.
As it turned out, since I'd told Jing that we wouldn't be going to the opera house, that afternoon she ventured out of the hotel and took a tour herself. She walked about 30 minutes, map in hand, and arrived at Teatro Amazonas just in time for an English guided tour, of which she showed me the pictures afterward. When that was over, she headed over to the Provincial Palace, where I had been in June (see here) and recommended highly to her. It's the old military police headquarters, recently structurally restored and converted into a new museum which opened in May 2009. I knew she'd love the gallery on the first floor showing works by Brazilian painters, mostly from Amazonas, and photographers, as well as the other exhibits. She reported that the tour was wonderful, and the staff there were so friendly. It was the same impression I'd had and I was glad she was able to go and enjoy herself. After her time at the museum, she was directed on how to take a city bus back to the hotel, and, since my attendance at the opening was canceled, I returned to the hotel not much later. Funny that in the end she was the one that went to the opera house, and although she didn't meet the Governor, she did have a good time.