Inn at Crystal Lake one of New Hampshire's 'Best'

The Inn at Crystal Lake in Eaton was selected as "Best Opera at Dinner" in New Hampshire Magazine's 2007 "Best of NH" awards issue.Unique to New Hampshire and perhaps all of New England, the Inn at Crystal Lake holds monthly opera dinners September through May, presided over by innkeeper Tim Ostendorf. Combining recordings with his own live singing, Ostendorf will go through the opera with information on the composer, style and history of the music, story of the opera itself and sometimes background on specific performers.Paired with Ostendorf's lecture/performance is a four-course dinner prepared by Chef Stephen Golder. Golder takes the locations for the setting of the operas, as well as the nationality of the each composer, into consideration when planning the meal for the night.Although the season doesn't start back up until September, Ostendorf already has reservations for quite a few of the operas planned for the 2007-08 season. This year he has selected a lineup that includes classic operas like "The Barber of Seville" and "Il Trovatore" as well as musical theater pieces that are operatic in scope, such as "West Side Story" and "A Little Night Music."Most opera dinners are held on the fourth Thursday of the month (except November), and the cost is $55 per person. More information can be found on the inn's Web site, www.innatcrystallake.com/opera.html, or by calling the inn at (603) 447-2120.