Brrr...it's cold in New York this time of year! A great opportunity for a Texan to rummage through the closet for warm clothes and the big coat, which came in handy this past weekend in NYC. Sixto had a two-day meeting, so I went along for the ride -- and the nice Midtown hotel room, directly across 51st St from Rockefeller Center's famous Christmas tree!
On Friday I saw my first Gluck opera, "Iphegenie en Tauride" at the Met. metopera.org It's a wonderfully gloomy production, gorgeously sung by Susan Graham in the title role, with great support from tenors Paul Groves and Placido Domingo. Rationalist opera was a tough sell, however, on this customer. Though Gluck's reform efforts were surely appreciated by his enlightened contemporaries, I found myself longing for a bit more excess and gratuitous display. On the other hand, his music focuses your attention on the drama and the words. Nicolas-Francois Guillard's libretto (after Euripides) is a beautifully consise telling of this classic tale, and was well served by this composer and this production.
Looking forward to seeing many of you on New Year's Eve!
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