with something very unexpected. No work, after picking up my check, decided to go to Brooklyn. Hit the Gotham Market---had coffee, not much happening. Checked e mail at Apple, then decided to get some pizza on nearby fifth avenue. Walk down fifth avenue was revealing. Around the market, an incredible amount of luxury high rises---actually one right after another. When one crosses Flatbush Avenue, one sees yet another set of empty spaces---small buildings destroyed--possible more high rises to be built---a real glut of them. But then, fifth avenue, right after Flatbush, completely low lying brownstones, we are in Park Slope brownstone territory---zoned for smallness---no buildings will be built on those blocks. For me the change from one kind of building to another was shattering--the low lying brownstones seemed to be from another world, almost like animals waiting for the slaughter. Of course that won't happen---no one will rezone them---but I found the contrast so devastating. Finally after eating my one slice of pizza, I re-crossed Flatbush to get to the Fiction Center bookstore, located in one of the new buildings. It is a great place for reading and contemplation---so many books. For the first time in a while I felt ahead of myself financially and so I finally bought a book there---the O Henry Prize short stories of the past year. Something of my own!
Feels good it is an easy book to carry around. I read the first story on the subway coming back into Manhattan. Very skillful but kind of glib. I hope the others will be stronger.
At home I rested and planned to go to the Friends varsity basketball game later in the afternoon. Imagine my surprise when I received a text from Jen, a spanish teacher at Friends, asking me to accompany her to the Metropolitan Opera for a performance of Der Rosenkavalier. I could not say no to that---Jen is friends with one of Met's administrators, and so the tickets, amazingly enough were comps. Nice seats too, about mid orchestra.
Rosenkavalier, by Richard Strauss is an opera of contrasts. Strauss has written beautiful music for this three female leads (one of them plays an impetuous young man) but much of the plot is about a boorish Baron who has set up an arranged marriage with a fifteen year old young woman (the opera takes place in 1911 in Vienna, where these things were common) and how he is undone. Much of the music for the baron and his needs is written in conversational style---kind of an endurence test to follow--but when the women are alone, the music is heart stopping. The final trio and the last duet---beautifully and sensitively written made me feel like this was kind of a reward for sitting through some of the longer parts of the opera. The women singers sang it beautifully--the staging, very busy, using what seemed to be about 50 supers (non singers) was meticulously produced. Hard to believe that this opera, being rehearsed in a theater that was giving other performances at night, and with stagings with so many obstacles, could presented so well. I was really into it--left feeling very fulfilled and very pleased I had taken up Jen on her offer.
Long memories of my first couple of years after leaving Yale, discovering and being passionate about opera, but those will come later.
Ironically, this evening I am seeing another opera, Der Freischutz, by Weber done by a small and adventurous company with only a ten piece orchestra-band. Ironic how these things turn out.
It should be interesting---will report soon.
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