So, last week, I was try to drum up some sympathy around the office, but it wasn't working. See, I'm going to be missing a bunch of stuff around the Bluegrass, like Friday's opening night performance of Hamlet at Actors Guild and Rent's return to the Opera House.
But somehow, I haven't been able to sell this poor, poor pitiful me act. In fact, when I tried to bring it up at features staff meeting last week . . . well . . . I can't remember if any of my polite colleagues said, "shut up," but I know a few were thinking it.
You see, the reason I won't be around for some of these events is I am in the City that Never Sleeps, and my schedule over the next few days includes, but is not limited to:
~ Seeing Mary Zimmerman's new production of Lucia di Lammermor at the Metropolitan Opera with Natalie Dessay (photo, right, by Simon Fowler) in the title role
~ Seeing Sir Colin Davis conduct one of his 80th birthday concerts at Lincoln Center, and then getting to be part of a group chat with him afterwards
~ Hearing the American Composers Orchestra present a night of new works, including a world premier by Scott Johnson, who I have revered since hearing Kronos Quartet's version of his Soliloquy from How it Happens
~ Hearing New Yorker critic Alex Ross talk about his new book, The Rest is Noise: Listening to the 20th Century
~ Writing reviews of some NYC productions and then having the reviews reviewed by folks like the New York Times' Anthony Tommasini (OK, that's scary)
~ Communing with 22 other arts journalists from across the country
We had our first meeting last night, and I have to say it was fun to brag on Lexington for a few minutes, mentioning that we had just come off a week of a thrilling concert by Kronos and a world premier performance of Thomas Pasatieri's new opera, and that in less than two weeks the search for the Lexington Philharmonic's new music director gets under way. We've got it going like Stacy's mom when it comes to classical music in Lexington. That's actually one of the main reasons to be here at the NEA Institute in Classical Music and Opera at Columbia University. With so much going on, it's a great time to sharpen the skills and work to bring you better coverage than ever during this exciting time in Lexington culture.
It's a tense trip. They've tried to pack a bunch into our schedules, so I don't know how much I'll post this week. But if anything really cool happens, I'll try to send you a blurb, particularly after our singing lessons -- imagine 23 music critics singing together . . . even we shuddered at the thought.
But seriously, I will miss home. (Can I get a sniff from someone?!)
~ Notes from the airport: It was sort of funny seeing all the LSU fans in purple and yellow at Bluegrass Airport yesterday. I was thinking, "What do you say? Hope you had a nice trip, anyway?" One of the fun things upon arrival was buying the New York Times and seeing a photo of Steve Johnson's touchdown as the huge centerpiece of the sports section.
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