The Ring, part 1

We saw Das Rheingold last night.   It was extraordinary!   It is beyond my capabilities to describe the experience;  I am not a Wagnerian expert by any means.  The fusion of music and drama is intense; the two and half hours flew by.   Our seats are very much on the side in the back of a box, almost directly above the orchestra, so we don't see everything on the stage, but we hear the orchestra and singers with incredible clarity and presence.  And as Wagner said, "we can hear what we don't see."  The LePage production for the most part is stunning, with a few silly and awkward moments.   The much discussed stage machine is spectacular in person, and creates amazing scene transitions.   The singers are sometimes singing while perched on a stage at a steep angle; they are tied to some kind of ropes that hold them in place.

Vera, who has seen all the productions in the HD broadcasts, says it is "10 times better live than on the screen".   We can't wait for more....

We had drinks and a snack (fried artichokes for me!) outside across from Lincoln Center with David and some friends, and stayed there until 1 AM.

pictures...  (Not taken by me....)

Chinese Painting

Today I saw an exhibit of a modern Chinese painter at the Asia Society.  His name is Wu Guanzhong. He died recently.   In his later years, he wanted to make abstract paintings, but working within the traditions of Chinese art, using rice paper, ink, etc.   At times the paintings look like Jackson Pollock, with splattered ink, with some of the curvy lines of Brice Marden.  They are never totally abstract, though.  Here are some samples:

Also saw an exhibit at the Neue Galerie of early photographs by Heinrich Kuehn, from the early twentieth century.   These were interesting primarily for the early printing techniques, gum bichromate prints and early attempts at doing color photography.  The textures and colors of the prints are beautiful, and almost impossible to reproduce, on the web or otherwise.

New York City Ballet

We arrived in NY at midnight, dropped off in Cooper Square after sharing a ride with our friend David.   It was full of life, so much so that we had trouble finding a taxi to our apartment.   But we did, and arrived, happy to be at home in NY.

Last night we went to the New York City Ballet.  The first piece Serenade, by Balanchine, was extraordinarily beautiful.  Choreographed in 1935 for 26 dancers, to music by Tchaikovsky, it was a pleasure to watch how Balanchine moves his dancers in relation to the music.  Abstract, mostly, but at times enigmatically programmatic, it was very moving.  The second piece was Balanchine's version of the Firebird, the music for which I know very well!   The choreography and story ballet are not really very interesting for me; the piece is more about color and spectacle, with Stravinsky's extravagant score and costumes and sets designed by Chagall that are even more colorful than Stravinky's music.
The last piece, entitled "Dance a Grande Vitesse"  ("DGV") was choreographed by Christopher Wheeldon, with non stop music by Michael Nyman.  It was a mesmerizing spectacle of movement and music, with the full company constantly coming and going in complex patterns.  Vera proclaimed it a masterpiece, and I was happily intrigued.   A great start to our week of culture...

First post

I have been inspired by my friend Santa, whose travel blogs I have enjoyed reading, so I thought I would try to create a blog for our upcoming trip.   So here it is.
The above picture has nothing to do with our trip; it's just Maggie and her sister Peggie playing together and learning to share (?).    We will miss Maggie.