TULIP TIME
Spring in Manhattan usually means a surfeit of tulips. This year is no exception. Despite rain and wind which have beaten down some blooms, we still discovered colorful arrays here and there. In Central Park, in the Jefferson Market Garden, and in the occasional street-side bed.
A NIGHT AT THE OPERA
Our midweek outing was a modest adventure. A night at the opera, it included a walk in Central Park, dinner, the last performance of this contemporary opera, and a bus ride home.
Curtain time was 7:30 pm. It was a pleasant afternoon, so we decided to walk through Central Park from the east side to the west side to Lincoln Center. I thought it would take much longer than it did. We had time to wander around outside the Lincoln Center complex and arrived early for our early dinner reservation.
PRE-THEATER DINING
Café Fiorello
Café Fiorello is directly across the street from the center. I expected it to be acceptable red gravy fare, but nothing special. It was so much more! First off, the waiter seated us in at a small booth set for 4 tucked in a corner. More space than most couples received and a bit away from the main fray. He was humorous, and when we ordered drinks said that June would make them, and he’d be back. The Old Fashioned and my glass of pino grigio were fine (actually, the Chief Penguin’s Old Fashioned was the best he’d had in a long time!) We were told that robot June did all the measuring so that the cocktail recipe was the precisely the same every time. Not sure if we believed him or if he was stringing us along.
In any case, the meal was very good! We shared a Caesar salad nicely dressed.
My chicken piccata and his chicken marsala with porcini were both luscious as was the large half-order of spaghetti with pesto sauce.
By the time we had finished, the restaurant was bursting, every table fully occupied, and conversation almost impossible. A popular place and we’d happily go there again—without the opera as an excuse.
BOLD CONTEMPORARY OPERA
Innocence (Metropolitan Opera at Lincoln Center)
Innocence by Finnish composer Kaija Saariaho (1952-2023) is a short opera in five acts performed without an intermission. It is set in Helsinki during a wedding, ten years after a school shooting, with flashbacks to the event and recollections from the survivors and victims. It’s a powerful piece staged on a revolving multi-story set with windows and rooms on all sides. Central characters include Marketa, one of the victims; Tereza, substitute waitress at the wedding reception and mother of Marketa; Tuomas, bridegroom and brother of the shooter; his bride Stela, and his parents. At the opening, Stela is unaware of the family’s connection to the tragedy.
The score is not particularly lyrical, but includes a wide variety of percussion instruments including drums, while the singing is varied and in different languages. Noteworthy is Marketa’s part which includes the poignant and sometimes raucous-sounding calls of rural herders. The school students frequently speak their parts in various languages. Susanna Malkki, the conductor for these Met performances, is also Finnish and was composer Saariho’s longtime collaborator. The opera’s subject is somber, but the performance an unforgettable experience with some hope at the end!
When we exited the theater, it was raining a bit. We had several options for getting home which included the subway or an Uber. Fortunately for us, the M66 bus was at the corner with a line of opera goers waiting to board. We were some of the last people it could accommodate. The trip was just 15 minutes to a stop a short walk from where we are staying. Success!
MAY DAY DEMONSTRATION
On May 1st, people demonstrated in cities across the country in support of workers, urging priority for workers over billionaires. We were walking to Union Square from Three Lives, one of our favorite bookstores, and decided to go via Washington Square Park. Up by the arch, laborers were out in full force in bright orange shirts with plenty of signs denouncing the current administration and inveighing against fascism. Loud music added to the noise of the crowd, but all was peaceful.
Note: Photos ©JWFarrington (some rights reserved) except the Met’s photo of the stage set.
