An audience of guests with low vision and their human and guide dog companions attended the annual Blind and Visually Impaired Night in May. Together, they experienced the wonder of a full-dress rehearsal of Massenet’s lavish ճï, orchestrated especially for them.
The Opera collaborates with the John A. Moran Eye Center’s Patient Support Program and the Utah Council for the Blind to host the evening, which included a lecture by Opera Education Manager Kevin Nakatani. Audience members had their choice of braille or large-print supertitle scripts or headphones for descriptive audio. Nakatani gave a vivid description of the story, staging, composer, costuming, and sets and then invited guests to touch a selection of props and costume fabric samples. After, both two- and four-legged audience members settled in to enjoy the production.
Moran patient Jan Jackson attended with her grandson, Stephen.
“I used to sing opera, and my grandson is a musician, so this evening is a real treat for us,” said Jackson, who has age-related macular degeneration (AMD).
While AMD is a leading cause of blindness for Americans 55 and older, regular treatments are slowing Jackson’s disease progression. Thanks to Moran’s vision rehabilitation specialist Robert Christiansen, MD, FACS, Jackson has a prescription that allows her to read.
Another Moran patient enjoying the show was 87-year-old Liam Gallop, who began to lose his vision to glaucoma several years ago. He quickly joined Moran’s Patient Support Group.
“I enjoyed the camaraderie and found it informative and rewarding,” said Gallop. “I’ve been to several of the opera rehearsals. In this one, I could feel the somber atmosphere as the monks sang in the opening scene. It was extraordinary.”
Moran Patient Support Program Director Lisa Ord, PhD, LCSW, said the show is special for patients and that this year, it provided a special training opportunity for guide dogs.
“It’s great to see how much people enjoy the experience,” she said. “This year, thanks to the guide dogs, we also had the pleasure of spying the occasional wagging tail in the aisle. The guide dogs get a good outing to learn about socializing and settling in. Because the dogs are all in different stages of training, they also get to see some role models.”
About the Moran Eye Center Patient Support Program
The program offers professionally moderated support groups and vision rehabilitation services to help patients, families, and caregivers understand, accept, and move past the limitations of vision loss.