When the “Marriage of Figaro” overture kicked...

When the “Marriage of Figaro” overture kicked off the Mozart program at the Hollywood Bowl Tuesday night, there “was a rumbling in the audience,” reported Judy Torch of Malibou Lake. “People were angry, outraged. . . .”

The reason: Conductor Stephen Bishop-Kovacevich had forgotten to open with the customary singing of the Star-Spangled Banner.

When the overture ended, Torch said, “the lower section of the audience began an a cappella version of the national anthem, very quietly at first, with more and more people joining in. About two-thirds of the way through, the entire audience was on its feet and singing loudly. Then the concertmaster rose and began to conduct the orchestra. It was such drama!”

On her charter bus ride home, Torch added: “No one talked about Mozart, only the Star-Spangled Banner. With the events in the world what they are, it becomes even more precious.”

What the gargoyles are to Notre Dame Cathedral, and the columns are to the Parthenon, a wrecked Cessna 150 is to the Hangar Inn in Manhattan Beach.

The red-and-white roof decoration was purchased by bar owner Rich Johnson from a junkyard for $600 in 1981. (Old-timers may recall the Dugout Cafe in Montebello had a similar decor.)

Naturally, Johnson was distressed recently when the Cessna departed with the help of thieves. They made off undetected with the 22-foot-long fuselage, oddly enough, on a night when the bar was full. (Well, maybe it’s not so odd.)

A few days later, the Hangar got its plane back. The culprits, fortunately, were jokesters, not recyclers.

During the bitter campaign for county assessor last year, incumbent John Lynch acted as though his opponent’s full name was Kenneth P. Hahn Not Related to County Supervisor Kenneth Hahn.

Kenneth P. scored an upset win, however. And he soaked up more revenge at a charity event in the County Mall Wednesday. Like several other county executives, Hahn appeared as a human target in a carnival booth. In between dunkings in water, he displayed a photo “mask” of Lynch.

Driving on the Hollywood Freeway, we noticed a large “For Sale” banner on the side of the old Queen of Angels Hospital. It strikes us as an innovative move, advertising a 230,000-square-foot medical facility to passing motorists. When we phoned the realtor we learned that the property is a rather pricey $14 million. It was only after we hung up that we realized we forgot to ask the key question: How many baths?

miscelLAny:

The average amount of trash generated by one person in L.A. County in a year, according to the State Museum of Science and Industry, is 4,238 pounds.