Staatsoper Berlin - Puccini's Turandot. June 22, 2022.

Staatsoper Unter den Linden, Berlin, Germany.  Parkette Links (Seat Reihe D, Platz 5. 162 euros.)

Story.  See prior entries.

Conductor - Zubin Mehta; Turandot - Elena Pankratova, Timur - Rene Pape, Calaf - Yusif Eyvazov, Liu - Aida Garifullina.

These are screenshots from the Staatsoper website.  In the above middle frame, instead of hitting a gong, Calaf turns on the giant light bub.  In the lower frame, Turandot's father appears in military gear; I am not sure that's the best idea.

By this time the marionette has lost her legs, but grown two more pairs of arms.  (Top frame).  In the bottom frame, Ping, Pang & Pong dancing on a mound of skulls.

In the middle frame, Liu stabs herself.

Turandot coming out of Turandot.

It was only on the day of the concert that we realized it would be Zubin Mehta conducting, and that Rene Pape would be singing the role of Timur.  Other than that, I didn't know any of the artists.

The set was dominated by (for lack of a better term) a marionette of Turandot.  Anne read somewhere that it was supposed to represent the different moods of Turandot as they evolved during the show, although it would take a mind-reader to understand how they correlated.  Her dress would open and close as needed to bring singers onto the stage, and that's how Turandot first appeared.  As the opera progressed, the marionette's legs fell off, and she grew three pairs of arms.  Her hair also fell off, and then her face - which exposed a skull.  No idea what was being said, still somewhat fascinating.  The rest of the set was quite simple and straightforward.

It was a good performance.  The auditorium is quite small (capacity of 1300 per Wikipedia), so sound shouldn't be a problem.  It wasn't, although I have a strong suspicion that it gets enhanced.  Our seats were "hemmed" in by the balcony, so that perhaps amplified the sound in a strange way.

Liu as usual is the character one is most sympathetic with.  There was no pretense that Garifullina isn't Chinese; Liu has long blonde hair and wears something that is at most remotely oriental.  In any case, her singing was simply superb.  "Signore ascolta" was moving, my only wish is that she should take advantage of the small hall and soften her voice a bit.  There is PLEADING, and there is pleading.

Indeed, with the exception of Pape, the different principals seemed to try to outshout one another.  The opera could use a bit more introspection from an acting point of view.  "Nessun dorma" was tackled, seemingly effortlessly, a tribute to the quality of the tenor Eyvazov.  [I found a YouTube video with him singing, most probably at the Met, in 2020; he had a softer take on the aria.  Wonder how much is decided by the conductor.]

Chorus master and the chorus.

Curtain call.  From left: Ping, Pang & Pong, Calaf, Turandot, Chorus Master, Conductor Zubin Mehta, Liu, Timur, and the Emperor.

During our 2019 visit to Germany we remarked to ourselves the tendency of Germans to make things brutal.  In fact the last "live" Turandot we saw was at Deutsche Oper Berlin, where Liu was hung in effigy for a good part of the performance.  The dark portrayal of Peter Grimes in Nuremberg somewhat confirmed our view of the German school of interpretation.

And how did the 86-year old Zubin Mehta do?  We couldn't see him, but if the sound was any indication, he did great.

So we were quite surprised that no heads were lopped off, no people were graphically tortured; even Liu's suicide was done with only a little blood (she stabbed her own heart).  The only twist was that towards the end Turandot drank poison, she dies at the end - though not before she belted out a few arias, though.  In some way this might be a better ending (not that another person dying is a good thing) in that Calaf - so heartless in his complete indifference to Liu's love - ended up not getting what he wanted.  

The opera started at 7:30 pm, so ended just a bit after 10 pm.  There was still quite a bit of light out for us to find our way back to the hotel.

Oper Leipzig - Das Liebesverbot by Wagner. June 21, 2022.

Opernhaus Saal.  Parkett Links (Seat Reihe 16, Platz 37, 114 euros).

Story.  The English title provided on the Leipzig Opera website is "The Prohibition of Love" or "The Novices of Palermo."  The setting of the story is in Palermo, where the King of Sicily leaves to visit Naples, and leaves a German Friedrich in charge.  Friedrich uses his power to reform the capital into a moral state.  The chief constable Brighella is the one tasked with the mission. Claudio is caught up in this, and is to be executed because of his indiscretion with his fiancee.  His only hope is his sister Isabella, a novice in a convent, can convince the tyrant to change his mind.  Isabella befriends Marianne, who is abandoned by a person in high position, who turns out to be Friedrich.  As the trial of Claudio is about to come to an end, Isabella meets Claudio and eventually charms him.  He promises her anything she wants in return for her body.  When Isabella calls for the crowd, Friedrich denies that's what happened, and turns the table on Isabella.  Isabella hatches a new plan and tells Friedrich she would send a messenger to tell him where they should meet at the Carnival.  Isabella then goes to visit Claudio in prison, even though he disappoints her, she still decides to save him.  Marianne is asked to go in Isabella's place.  Meanwhile, Friedrich cannot resist the temptation, and is willing to be tried for the act he is about to commit.  Friedrich, with Marianne by his side, is caught by Brighella.  Friedrich is ready to be tried by the King and executed, but Claudio, now freed, states death is not the penalty for a love-offence.  The King returns, and everyone goes to greet him in their Carnival wear.  Friedrich marries Marianne, and Isabella marries Luzio.

Conductor - Matthias Foremny.  Brighella - Stefan Sevenich, Luzio - Dan Karistrom, Claudio - Mirko Roschkowski, Friedrich - Tuomas Pursio, Isabella - Manuela Uhi, Mariana - Nina-Maria Fischer.

Some screen shots from the Leipzig Opera website on the performance.

About the story, it is mostly based on the Wikipedia article on this opera.  The synopsis was translated from Wagner's own description of the opera.  Many other web references to the opera refer back to this article for the synopsis.  The story is a bit more complicated than the way I described it; for instance, there is a side story between Luzio and Isabella that I can't quite manage to incorporate in the above.

Frankly, the story line was quite confusing, even though I read the synopsis before the performance.  There was simply too much happening to catch it all.  After having seen the opera, the story is indeed quite coherent.

I have always had trouble understanding Shakespeare, and most of what I understand came from watching operas - Otello, McBeth, The Married Wives of Windsor, and even Hamlet come to mind.  This opera's plot is based on Shakespeare's "Measure for Measure," and I must say it didn't clear things up at all for me.

Compared to the set of Die Feen, things are a lot simpler in this opera.  Often walls consisting of white blocks with numbers written on them in sequence are used; Anne read that is to denote law and order.  Fair enough, but puzzling to those who haven't read up on it.  Our seats today in the parkette section gave the stage a difference perspective: it seemed a lot smaller.

End of Act 1 for the 2-act Opera.  Notice the white blocks with numbers on them.  Also, the guards are all wearing masks.

Curtain Call with Conductor.

The opera premiered in 1836, but it wasn't performed in the UK until 1965, by a semi-professional group.  Evidently the Leipzig Opera performed this about 10 years ago.

There seems to be more analysis of Die Feen, being the first, than this second opera.  As a stand-alone piece I found it quite enjoyable.  The cast for tonight probably helped, as they all sang well.  On the other hand, it will not find itself in any lists of "must-see" operas, not for the work itself, nor for the purpose of understanding Wagner as an artist.

The opera is relatively short.  It started at 5 pm, and we were out by 8:30 pm.

Oper Leipzig - Die Feen by Wagner. June 20, 2022.

Opernhaus Saal.  Rang Rechts (Seat R3-P11, 145 euros).

The stage seemed bigger than I remembered it.

Story.  As the child of a mortal and an immortal, Ada is immortal.  She and the mortal Arindal fall in love, and the Fairy king demands that Ada keep her identify secret from Arindal for eight years; if she succeeds, she will also become mortal.  If she does not, then she will turn into stone for 100 years and then return to immortality.  Ada's two maids Zemina and Farzana try to dissuade her from staying with Arindal.  Arindal is king of an earthly kingdom, in his absense his sister Lor and her friend Morald help defend the kingdom.  On the last day of the eight years, however, Ada is supposed to cause all kinds of trouble for Arindal, and he must not curse her.  On that day, Arindal thinks his two children are killed by Ada, and his army is wiped out by Ada's duplicity.  So he curses Ada, and she disappears.  The last act first sees Arindal hallucinating about killing Ada, then he is given a shield and a sword with he overcomes obstacles to rescue Ada.  In seeing that, the Fairy king blesses Arindal with immortality, and Arindal's kingdom is handed over to Lora and Morald.

Conductor - Matthias Foremny; Ada - Kirstin Sharpin, Zemina - Athanasia Zohrer, Farzana - Sandra Maxheimer, Lora - Viktorija Kaminskaite, Drolla - Olga Jelinkova, Der Feenkonig & Groma - Sejong CHang, Arindal - Marc Horus, Morald - Nikolay Borchev, Gernot - Randall Jakobsh, Gunther - Patrick Vogel, Harald - Roland Schubert.

Over the course of three weeks, Festival Wagner 22 will have staged all 13 of Wagner's operas.  The first three, Die Feen, Das Liebesverbot, and Rienzi are three operas I have not seen before (and had never even heard of the first two).  I got tickets for the first two; Rienzi was sold out by the time I checked.

Frankly, my expectations were not high. Operas are not staged for a reason: not enough audience to justify the huge costs associated with new productions.  And I usually need to see each of Wagner's operas a few times before I understand them.

I was pleasantly surprised on multiple fronts.

First, the production was a lot more elaborate than I expected, even more so considering how austere the prior operas I had seen at Leipzig Opera seemed.  Raising and lowering of stages, a monarch butterfly with a throne hanging from it, fancy costumes, and even set rotation are all used in this production.  Generally to good effect.  There are three "levels" of beings: fairies, Medieval humans, and a modern family. Perhaps due to our seats in the balcony, the stage seemed larger than I remembered it.

The modern family aspect may be a bit puzzling and far-fetched.  It happened during the overture (rather long at about 10 minutes), and the host was seeing his friends off after dinner, and the maid starts to clean up.  When the overture ends, a set was dropped showing the fairy world, with the host - who is now Arindal - still wearing his shirt and vest, which he will wear during the whole performance.

There was a comic scene of jealousy between Lora and Morald that was nicely done: the dialog, the music, and the acting.  However, it wasn't really necessary for the development of the story, and I am not sure the opera - even though it could be classified as a comedy - benefited from that level of comic relief.  Anne overheard during the break someone thought it sounded Puccini-esque.  Wagner wrote this at age 20, so around 1833, Puccini was born in 1858.  Perhaps more like Rossini (Barber of Seville comes to mind).

While the sets generally look elaborate, I am disappointed at the props Arindal used to overcome obstacles on his way to rescuing Ada.  They were supposed to be a shield and a sword, and we have a throw pillow and a piece of wood that looks like a table leg.

With the notable exception of Arindal, the singing was good all around.  That of course is helped by the size of the auditorium.  Arindal (and we are not sure if he was a last minute substitute or not) was just weak, and he never seemed to get into the plot.  The other incongruent aspect was his in "modern" dress while most everyone else was either medieval or supernatural.

The story ends with Arindal being granted immortality.  However, what we saw on stage was Arindal reuniting with the maid at the beginning of the opera.  One could scratch one's head, or decide the maid represents Ada.  That association would still have a lot of issues as they don't look immortal at all.

Photos from the Opera Website.  Yes, the lady on the left has her glasses on.

The surtitles are in both German and English.

The role of Arindal wasn't played by the gentleman in this photo.

The 3-act opera is about 3 hours long, with two intermissions we were out at around 9:15 pm.  It was still light out, sun sets at around 9:30.  Many a musicologist has analyzed this work to understand its place in Wagner's evolution as a composer.  A few things I note: he already wrote his own libretto; he clearly sounded traditional in many places, like the duet between Lora and Morald; redemption as a theme; and (this one I had not read, but probably not original) the different beings in the story (in this case fairies and humans, this production divides humans into medieval and present-day).

After Act 1.

Curtain call.  Instead of Ada turning into stone, she was locked up in the cage.

It was David Y who reminded me a few months ago about this Festival (I had told him a couple of years back); he and Vivien have been to Leipzig several times for the Bach Festival, but they are not quite ready to make plans that (a few months ago) are subject to change because of changing pandemic travel restrictions.  Of course for now nearly all restrictions have been lifted.  As recently as May 31 FFP2-level masks were mandatory; now those who wear any masks inside the opera house are few and far between.

Nuremberg State Theater - Peter Grimes by Britten. June 19, 2022.

Opera House, Nuremberg State Theater, Germany.  First Rang Mitte Loge.  (Row 4, Seat 685, 77.6 euros)

Opera House at Nuremberg State Theater.

Story.  The fisherman Peter Grimes gets exonerated in the death of his apprentice.  He wants to get another apprentice so he can go back to his job, wanting to make enough money to get married to his girlfriend Ellen.  Grimes eventually finds John as the new apprentice.  After being seen abusing Ellen and John, Grimes runs off with the boy to his hut.  When the mob nears, Grimes hurries off to start his fishing trip, asking John to be careful climbing down the cliff.  John trips and dies.  The mob doesn't see Grimes or John, so they disperse.  A couple of days later, Ellen and retired skipper Belstrode exchange observations that cast suspicion on Grimes.  That is overheard by Mrs. Sedley who whips up another mob.  Grimes flees, and meets Belstrode who suggests that he sail into the open sea, which Grimes does.

Conductor - Lutz de Veer; Peter Grimes - Peter Marsh, John the apprentice - Oliver Hedrich-Gehring, Ellen Orford - Emily Newton, Captain Balstrode - Sangmin Lee, Auntie - Almerija Delic, First niece - Chloe Morgan, Second niece - Nayun Lea Kim.

The website says there are German and English surtitles.  Only German was offered.

Tickets can now be put in Apple Wallet.

It took us a while to find these seat numbers on the top of the back of the chairs.

Most people know Britten's Four Sea Interludes, which comprise of four of the six interludes in the opera Peter Grimes: Dawn, Sunday Morning, Moonlight, and Storm.  The other two interludes are a passacaglia and the scene change in Act 3.  I have heard The Four Sea Interludes in concert multiple times.

As to the opera itself, this was my first live encounter with it.  During the pandemic I caught a Princeton Summer Festival broadcast of the opera, but don't remember much of it.

The story I put together is a pretty good summary of the plot.  It doesn't talk about characters such as the Methodist priest, the nieces and the bar owner.  However, today's presentation had quite a few major deviations from that "standard" synopsis.

The most obvious one is in the character of Peter Grimes.  In the "original" he is hapless and reckless, making wrong decisions that end up ruining his life.  In the Nuremberg version, he is a child abuser, murderer, and a pedophile.  In the scene that supposedly shows him as having a nightmare about the death of his first apprentice, here he is kneeling over a blood-soaked John.  There is a scene which implies Ellen as being shocked at the images she sees on Grimes's computer.

The next one would be the character of Ellen.  While she is the long-suffering girlfriend in the original (reminds me of Michaela in Carmen), here she eventually falls for Belstrode, so one could interpret their scheming together for the demise of Grimes.

There is also a surreal element in that Peter Grimes had a double who showed up at a scene.  Even though I had no idea what it meant, I was expecting other similar situations but didn't observe any.

Britten wrote the role of Grimes with his partner Peter Pears in mind.  I wonder if today's portrayal would make Britten spin in his grave.  Would the Grimes today be a role he would write for Pears?

The website describes this opera as sung in English, with German and English surtitles.  Well, no English surtitles.  English when sung in opera is generally difficult to get, and I am not being particularly critical here if I say there is a lot of accent.  Peter Marsh as Grimes was the most intelligible.  Emily Newton (Ellen) is from Texas, yet her words were difficult to make out (and it's not because of the southern drawl).  For a while Anne actually thought they were singing in German.

Our prior encounters with operas in Germany led us to believe they like in-your-face type interpretation.  Today's show confirmed that, it was violent, hard-edged, and overly so.  Grimes came across as someone worthy of despise and hatred, rather than someone to feel sorry for.  Being "out there" does not equate to making the show more enjoyable.

Setting all that aside, the singing was uniformly good in this 1300-person (my estimate) theater, and - to the extent we understood what was happening - the acting was good.  There was a quartet in the middle of Act 2 that was quite exquisite.  The Sea Interludes made a lot more sense in context.

Richard Wagner Platz right outside the opera house.

I snapped this just as the first half (in the middle of Act 2) ended.

I cannot name all the principal singers.  To the conductor's left are John, Peter Grimes, and to the right are Ellen and Belstrode.

With one intermission, the opera was just about three hours long.

The primary reason for this Germany trip is because of the Passion Play.  We managed to find five operas in the cities we plan to visit.

[Note: I notice today the opera website added the phrase "Note: The production focuses on pedophilia and violence against children.  However, no explicit acts of violence against children are depicted on stage."  I supposed they got quite a bit of "feedback" on this issue.  And the disclaimer is only true if you don't count a blood-soaked child's body as an explicit act of violence.]

Oberammergau Passion Play 2022. June 14, 2022.

Passion Play Theater, Oberammergau, Germany.  Seat Row 44, Number 22 (168 euros).

A must if one doesn't understand German, even if to whom it's a familiar story.

Back in 2014 we were visiting the region and chanced upon this huge theater in a small city.  It was easy then to connect the place with this once every decade performance of the Passion Play.  We decided to get tickets for the 2020 season, that of course got cancelled because of the COVID pandemic.  So when we thought we could travel again "soon," I looked into this and found out tickets were readily available, so we decided to give this a second try.

One could argue the history of how this got to be a "big deal" is as interesting as how I enjoyed the play.  For the former a quick search of the internet will return many articles of interest.  Several issues are of interest: (1) how the script is re-written to excise much of the antisemitism that was in earlier versions of the play; (2) how the Judas angle has been changed to make him a more sympathetic figure - what drove his betrayal of Jesus was his disagreement with how to establish the "new" kingdom, and that he believed the high priests only wanted to talk to Jesus away from the crowds; and (3) the play ends with the women's dialog with an angel about an empty tomb (no tomb was shown).

The writer has incorporated many of Jesus's teachings and references to his deeds in the play, so you would get, for instance, the beatitudes and the Lord's Prayer which were taught at the beginning of Jesus's ministry.  It appears he wanted to give a complete gospel message through the play.

The dialog was (of course) in German, and there were no foreign language subtitles.  We bought a copy of the "Text Book" (for 6 euros) and tried to share it during the first half of the show.  That didn't work as well as we liked, so at dinner break we bought another one.  Even though it was good for about 1 1/2 hours, it still helped.  I wish I had thought about it earlier.  (Second half started at 8 pm, sundown around 9:15 pm, the show went on until 10:40 pm.)

I found the play compelling.  What I am not sure is the reason: was it the first time I saw a full passion play (or a movie), or was this a particularly good production?  The Tableau Vivant (Living Scenes) were interesting, but were on too short for me to really ponder their significance.  Music for the play was all composed for the occasion, while (it is claimed) a lot of that is taught in schools in Oberammergau, it all sounded new to me.  The choir and orchestra sounded great, the soloists were of differing standards.  The sound system did its job.

A couple of scenes required special effects: Judas hanging himself, and Jesus and the two robbers being nailed on the cross.  They looked realistic enough, I wonder if small children should be seeing the play.  Children were on stage a lot of times, but (probably) not when these events took place.

The tour guide explained that Jesus is a lot more subdued in this version of the play: he was loud and agitated enough, I can't imagine what he was like in prior years.  During the dinner break I was walking and came upon the area of the theater grounds where cast members gather.  Perhaps I saw Jesus among them?  In any case, "Jesus walked among men" came to mind.

Inside the theater.  Row 44 is all the way up there!  And it was Price Category 2 (1 was sold out when I tried to book in February.)

Just before 2:30 pm, when the show started.

A quick and inexpensive dinner at a nearby restaurant.

Photo taken at 7:50 pm, just before the second half of the play started.
 

We were fortunate to be able to book a hotel nearby, and the two days we spent in town were quite delightful.  Getting to and leaving Oberammergau was slightly eventful due to a railroad problem, but all in all things worked out fine.

I list below the acts and living scenes as listed in the program.  At the end I append the notes I took while listening to the tour conducted by someone who played Nicodemus and was also the second director.

ACTS and Living Scenes

The Expulsion from Paradise

ENTRY INTO JERUSALEM

The Humiliation of the Israelites

JESUS IN BETHANY

The Golden Calf

EXPULSION OF THE MERCHANTS FROM THE TEMPLE

PILATE AND CAIAPHAS

The Red Sea

THE HIGH COUNCIL

JUDAS AND CAIAPHAS

The Burning Bush

THE LAST SUPPER

JESUS ON THE MOUNT OF OLIVES

The Prophet Daniel in the Lions' Den

The Mockery of Job

INTERROGATION BEFORE ANNAS AND THE HIGH COUNCIL

Cain and Abel

JESUS IS MOCKED

PETER DINIES JESUS

JUDAS'S DESPAIR

Moses before Pharaoh

JESUS BEFORE PILATE AND HEROD

Joseph Interprets the Pharaoh's Dream

SENTENCING OF JESUS BY PILATE

Sacrifice of Isaac on Mount Moriah

Salvation by Looking Up to the Bronze Serpent

THE WAY OF THE SORROWS AND THE CRUCIFIXION

AT THE GRAVE

*** Notes taken during the morning tour, minimally edited ***

10:30 talk. 2nd director, Nicodemus. Some 400 cities pledged to do during the plague. Probably play already going as it took only 1 year. Enlightenment forbade play. Satan, angels. OB redid play.

Thomas Cook saw play and suggested auditorium. 1880; he would bring tourists. 1900 built 5000 people hall. Population around 2000(?). House of pilate, openings entry into Jerusalem, right side Annas. Middle different backdrops and living picture. Orchestra pit - live. Frozen people all real. People afraid of change. 1934 Hitler, used as excuse vs Jews. After wwii criticism and threat of boycott, 1990 big changes. Shorter. Used to be 16 hrs over 2 days. 1990 chris stickel (Stuckl). Rules change: women over 35 or married not allowed to play. 1990 sued, equal rights. 400 women wanted to join in 1990, so new mass scene. Every play new costumes and script. Used to be only people from churches could participate. Passion play used to mark year: I was born before 2010 play. Hymns learned in school. People made personal sacrifices to be here. In 2020 2300 participants, now 1800. Not all on stage! 100 people in orchestra. 120 choir. 20 main character each with 2 actors. Visit Israel before practice begins. Roles settled 2 years. Beard grows on Ash Wednesday. Except Roman soldiers.

1st part. Lifetime of Jesus. Discussion with disciples. ‘Play of its time.’ Now there is text on war (triggered by Ukraine). Relationship between Jesus and Judas also changed. Not only money; argue yet remain friends. Talk: he was on stage in 2010 (or 2000?) at age 11. 2 rules: don’t look at audience, listen to Jesus. 2010 he couldn’t play. Saw play and decided to come back. So has different perspective. Also director was 25 he wanted Jesus loud, now he wants a calmer character.

Most actors 25-35. Youngest baby 2 months, oldest 98 (don’t always have to show up).

Auditorium used for other productions: operas etc. 3 choirs, children encouraged to play instruments.

People are paid, even children.

Parts used to be handed down generations. At least preferences. Tradition no longer holds.

Tradition of who qualifies only started in the 60s with influx refugees. Policy being reviewed.

Karim Sulayman, tenor; Yi-heng Yag, fortepiano. May 19, 2022.

Weill Recital Hall, Carnegie Hall.  Balcony (Seat BB6, $-)

Program - Where Only Stars Can Hear Us

Franz Schubert (1797-1828)

It was an enjoyable evening of Schubert songs, 18 in the program, and 3 encores of which 2 were also by Schubert, one by a Venetian composer (whose name I didn't get) sung in Venetian (?), in any case an Italian dialect.

As Sulayman said after the main program, the evening was generally dark.  Indeed one could have used "unrequited love and death" as the byline.  Especially so if one interprets "quiet" as "death."  The notable exception would be the encore song in Italian, which refers to the moon, the girl, and the water (if memory serves).

Since one of the performers is a friend, I would limit the "review" to only a few observations.

First, the tenor's voice and the fortepiano give the evening a level of intimacy very appropriate to the mood conveyed.  I am sure Sulayman can boom it out with the best of them, and Yang can pound away fff notes competently, neither of which was called for.  The most tense moments came from the left fortepiano line in Erlkonig, and the sound was urgent but not harsh.

Second, there isn't a song with the title "Where Only Stars Can Hear Us."  I have the CD and have listened to it several times, and that never occurred to me.

Third, there were many songs that referred to the moon.  One of them had a line that reminded me of the theme from Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata.  Since Schubert was only about 6 when that sonata was written, it is unlikely that Beethoven copied it from him.  More likely the other way around.  The Program Notes, which I read after making the above remark, also pointed this out.  And the specific song is "An den Mond."

Fourth, and I don't mean any disrespect in saying this.  Sulayman really did well with the Italian song.  With a handkerchief in his jacket pocket, he could well pass for a gondolier serenading on a Venetian canal.

Anne and I came back from Australia the day before.  It is a tribute to the music that we both managed to stay awake throughout.

Chao-Ming and Angela gave us rides to the city.  We ate at Bites of Xi'an.  CS, Yi-heng's dad, bought the tickets.  The concert was sold out.

Weill Recital Hall is quite ornate.

Curtain Call.  Altogether 18 songs were performed, including three encores.