where will it...

end? What? Your imagination, cityboy? Seems to exploding every minute. Well let' talk about last night.
Arrived at the Met, picked up my ticket---amazed to find out that it was in the orchestra. Wow! Went in, looked at the exhibit about the first year at the new Met in the basement (not the right word for the lower level of the Met)  Not really detailed, just some pictures of the plans leading up to it, and some pictures from the new productions. What about the other seventeen or so? Well, enough of that, let's get to the opera.
  Fidelio by Beethoven---a serious woman, disguised as a man----saves her husband from death at the hands of a political martinet. A passionate story---almost seems like a fairy story for our times. The villain, Don Pizarro, is representative of every conservative, every fascist, every non feeling person in creation. How full is the world of his type today?  So should one be sad while viewing the passion that Beethoven has created---the sense that a decent human being should be able to find justice and free an idealistic prisoner.?  Yet the performance was brilliant---Adrianne Pieczonka, the Leonore (the woman who disguises herself as a man to save her husband) gave a brutally strong performance.  Her affect for most of the play was masculine, one really could see others being fooled into thinking her a man. Fidelio is her story and her commitment and great singing carried us (the audience) through the journey to its exultant finale. At her curtain call I screamed "Bravo!" along with so many others in this audience---thanking her for leading us on this remarkable journey. We loved her for that.
    Acting at the Met has become so much stronger---Falk Struckmann, who sang Rocco the jailer, gave a most detailed performance. He seemed to be living the role to his core, amazing that he will sing Pizarro in a production later this year. Yes, opera at the Met has become a evolved into a musch stronger visual experience than it was 50 years ago. Direction so much more detailed. Speaking of which, the direction and production worked, while being a little over fussy. Jacqino, the second tenor, usually just a wisp of a man, is here turned into a gun loving intense guard. And how about the second scene of Act II, the deux ex machina scene where all the prisoners are pardoned. Well, even the music is a little bit of a humorous take on a celebration (Beethoven was no fool) and the staging follows it. Marcellina, who usually accepts the revelation that the man she loves and hopes to marry is a woman, here has a sad scene almost stage center while the others are proclaiming the braveness of Leonore. And the prisoners, who only moments ago were starved, are happily dancing with their wives and sweethearts---even a few children are jazzing it up, dancing in time to the music. A little bit insane? Did not matter for the energy and the opera was so great. The audience really loved the singers and the conductor, who was amazing. An evening that really resonated with me---hope to see a few more operas at the Met before it closes down for the summer (and resumes in the fall with a very ordinary schedule).
That's it---not sure about tonight, plan is to visit the Twins at Lansdowne---hope I can make it, will report tomorrow.