Based on the sightings of Supreme Court justices this weekend at opera events around town, it may have been fair to say that the highest court is a fan of the highbrow art form.
But Justice Antonin Scalia won’t take that claim.
At the Opera Camerata of Washington gala on Saturday night, Scalia was spotted at the Fairfax Embassy Row hotel chatting with guests and gamely posing for pictures before the performance of “Cavalleria Rusticana,” a spy told us. When an attendee asked Scalia about the high number of justices who are opera lovers, Scalia called out his colleague Justice Clarence Thomas.
“No, I don’t think Clarence likes it very much,” Scalia was overheard telling a guest.
He went on to say he is not interested in the Washington National Opera’s latest production of “Hamlet,” saying “Nope, I don’t like that modern stuff.”
On Friday night, Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Anthony Kennedy attended the Opera Ball at the Embassy of the Russian Federation, a soiree that benefits the Washington National Opera.
Unlike Scalia, Roberts and his wife Jane tried to keep their appearance at the Russian Embassy low key. Even with a new Supreme Court nominee and a room teeming with reporters, Roberts was tight-lipped.
What are his thoughts on Elena Kagan?
No, nothing, nada.
He wouldn’t even let Yeas & Nays snap a photograph of him with his wife for the column, saying, “No media,” several minutes after he kindly permitted a fan to snap a picture.
As for the event, attendees of the Opera Ball were treated to a winter Russian fantasy land complete with an outdoor snow globe (as if D.C. didn’t have enough of that this year), an ice room serving caviar and vodka, a Russian tea room and, of course, a grand ballroom complete with cakes modeled after Faberge eggs.
Also spotted: Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano.
