Those who know Death of Classical are familiar with their mission of bringing classical music to life in the halls of the dead. Their venues are crypts and catacombs, and there’s nothing like descending to the underground to experience music that makes you feel alive while, surrounded by bones, also lighty grappling with your own sense of mortality.
But it all gets kicked up a notch for an event like Cocktails, Comestibles, & Callas: an evening of food trucks, plenteous libations, and a celebration of renowned opera singer Maria Callas. For one thing, unlike most DoC events, this one takes place underneath the stars. Never fear – the mission has not changed, as the venue is still Green-Wood Cemetery, and we are still surrounded by the dead. But on this night, we are surrounded by the rolling hills of their tombstones rather than the stone walls of their crypts.
The sun hasn’t begun to set yet as we walk beneath the massive, ornate, Gothic Green-Wood gates, but the rain that’s been threatening all day has turned into a moody, melodramatic setting. Set up right inside the gates is a large tent and an audience’s-worth of empty chairs, but for now, everyone is wandering the grounds. Food trucks are parked in a circle path around the entrance to the cemetery, with tables full of Via Carota spirits dotted between them. As my guest and I pick our poisons and wait for our food, founder and Artistic Director Andrew Ousley is working the crowd, passing out shots of whiskey.
As the crowd enjoys their cocktails and comestibles, however, the Callas portion of the evening is just warming up. Just as the sun is setting, (classically trained??) drag queen Creatine Price kicks off the festivities with a rendition of Carmen that draws us revelers to our seats like a siren call. When she finishes her aria, she calls up the contestants to be judged for the Maria Callas lookalike contest.
Maria Callas, raised in Astoria, Queens by Greek immigrants, is one of the most celebrated opera singers of the last century. Nicknamed “La Divina,” or “the divine one,” she was known as much for her voice and her repertoire as she was for her scandals. DoC’s Callas lookalike contest may be on the niche end of the trend, and unlike the original Timothée Chalamet lookalike contest, there’s no chance that the subject herself will show up to surprise us all. But that doesn’t stop the contestants from putting their best feet forward. While the Callas-wannabes have admirable verve, none of them quite pass the trivia section of the contest. But thanks to Creatine’s impeccable hosting skills and a little bit of endearing favoritism, however, a winner is ultimately crowned.
And to close out the night, the ultimate tribute to opera’s legendary soprano: a concert of opera classics. Brittany Olivia Logan and Ben Reisinger, both of the Met Opera’s Lindemann Young Artist Development Program, take turns performing some of the best of La Bohème, Rigoletto, Madama Butterfly, and more. Accompanied by pianist Debbie Robertson, each aria swells into the now pitch-black sky, reaching the tips of the Green-Wood spires. Creatine Price joins Logan and Reisinger for the finale, “Libiamo ne’ lieti calici” from La Traviata. And by the time the three of them are ringing out the final notes, they have moved the audience to our feet for a standing ovation.
An event like Cocktails, Comestibles, & Callas is a departure from other Death of Classical events, not for the content, but for the party of it all. It’s like a family barbecue if your grandfather happened to be Giacomo Puccini. Under the stars, picking our way between ancient tombstones, we are surrounded by people who, like us, came here to partake in good food and good drinks, and to enjoy a piece of the past in one of the most stunning places in New York City.
Photo credit: Steven Pisano