A majestic setting

I finally gave up this year on convincing Henry to buy season tickets for the San Antonio Symphony and bought a 7-ticket package for myself.

There's nothing quite like live music performances, and our fine symphony never disappoints.

Last night I used my second ticket and thoroughly enjoyed the program, especially the Mendelssohn violin concerto performed by a charming, talented, and rather nice-looking young man. Our bus schedules being what they are, I arrived downtown well before the show started and was able to sit in on his pre-concert discussion of the the piece before heading up to my seat in the Majestic Theatre's balcony.

As some of you might recall from previous posts, this place is really, really amazing. Built at the beginning of the motion picture era, it exhibits all the glorious decorative excesses of the period, and has been lovingly restored. (The link above the previous picture discusses the history of the building and its restoration; the video is long but very interesting.)

So I thought I'd use some of my extra time last night taking shots of some of the decorative features that caught my eye. Maybe I'll take some more photos on my next ticket, but here's a starter... (note: I took these with no flash so they're a little dark; the Majestic website has some that show details better)

stained glass fixture on the underside of the mezzanine level

ornate ceiling medallion

chandelier view from the mezzanine

Mezzanine "Ladies parlor"...so much nicer terminology than "Ladies loo"

railing of the stairs to the balcony

light above my balcony seat

super-ornate stage frame

boxes to the right of the stage

boxes to the left of the stage, and the balcony/mezzanine boundary aisle

Next season, the symphony will be moving out of the Majestic and into what's supposed to be a more up-to-date, technically-superior venue (also a restoration, sort of—but I think all that's really left of the Municipal Auditorium is the outer shell). And it might sound better there, but I can't imagine the new surroundings being as visually interesting.

I have fond memories of some even more gorgeous old movie houses in Houston that are no more. (A friend of mine from high school compiled this collection of photos from some of these monuments.) Every time I see the restored Majestic it makes me sad that H-town couldn't be bothered to do the same with the Loews and the Metropolitan.

At least my adopted home town had more sense!