Welcome to my blog –which will cover what’s happening in town, thoughts about the cultural arts and how you can support various causes, and, in general, my quirky opinions and protests.
For instance, this morning on the way to work, I noticed a driver tossing a cigarette out of her car window. Hello, do you have an ashtray? We’re trying to clean up the Bay! Earth is your outdoor living room – do you throw cigarette butts on your floor at home? If the traffic weren’t so bad, I’d get out of my car and hand the trash back.
Okay, change of pace.
I was lucky enough to attend the March 5 dress rehearsal of “Carmen” by the Annapolis Opera, and was most impressed by the costumes, the sets, and of course the singing and dancing by chorus and soloists. But time was short, and Maestro Ron Gretz abruptly cut off the orchestra exactly at 10:30 p.m., right in the middle of the final death scene – you run over rehearsal time and you starting paying extra to the musicians.
At least there were curtain calls so we could applaud the performance, even as orchestra members were packing up their instruments. Astonishing. Can you imagine a surgeon leaving a surgical suite in the middle of an operation because it was taking a bit too long?
So while we all left the auditorium, we saluted the singers and smiled in spite of the financial reality. Opera is such an expensive art. At least both the Friday and Sunday performances were sold out – proving again that “Carmen” remains one of the world’s most popular operas. If you want opera information, call (410) 267-8135 or visit
www.annapolisopera.org. (Next time, intermissions need to be shorter, maybe?)