The last large-scale thing I went to was a performance of “Il Trovatore” at the California Theatre in San Jose on March 1st. My opera companion didn’t go because she was already worried about the virus, but I went without any feeling of concern. As well as I could judge, it was pretty nearly a full house of more than 1100 seats.
The remaining show of the season was canceled when the shutdown order went out.
Since then, I’ve wondered how many people were exposed to the contagion right there at that event. It now seems impossible to think of being happily unaware of risk in a crowd like that, with close seating, intermission crowds at the concession windows, rest room lines, and all the other customary proximities of a live performance. Yet of course those risks exist all the time—just not as pronounced as this ever before in our lifetimes.
I’ve also wondered regretfully how long it will be before there’s another such occasion and whether it will ever be so carefree again.