zinnian was giving me a hard time about how I never update this thing. So, fine, I guess I'll do a how-I-spent-my-weekend post.Friday night was tyrian's wedding in Jamestown (near High Point) in the Crystal Garden overlooking the Castle McCulloch. I had no idea there was anything resembling a castle near High Point, but it did make for a nice venue for the wedding. Carpooled there with
deftly, starchyld, and fungi, so lively conversation made the drive seem quick. Congrats to tyrian & Jenn!Saturday was a lunar confection party hosted by
jlundberg and marrael, featuring lots of yummy homemade Asian foods, and mooncake (which, admittedly, wasn't really to my taste, but came with a story involving an immortal bunny rabbit on the moon, so that was fun). andreas_black and lunablack were also in attendence along with some other folks I hadn't met before. 'Twas a pleasant evening of conversation about books and movies and such.Today I drove up to the Kennedy Center in DC for the Washington National Opera's production of Nicholas Maw's new opera Sophie's Choice, which is apparently based on a book and movie of the same name. The plot involves a Holocaust survivor (Sophie), who has come to America and ended up with an schizophrenic boyfriend with whom she ultimately ends up committing double suicide. Unfortunately, Maw wrote his own libretto, and while he's a fine composer, he's not a writer, so that was a definite weak point. But the music was good, in Maw's unsubtle style of composition, and Marin Alsop (who has become my favorite conductor of modern works) elicited a superb performance from the orchestra. The lead singers were mostly reprising the roles from the premiere at Covent Garden, and they were all excellent. Definitely worth the trip.
Next weekend is my opera weekend in Chicago, with Gluck's Iphigénie en Tauride and Puccini's Turandot. I'm staying at Philip's place for the weekend, and if it's anything like the last time I was up there, I expect it will be a thoroughly enjoyable but exhausting weekend.
