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Thanks to the scholars program, I was able to see two Broadway shows: Cat on a Hot Tin Roof and the Lion King.

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This week I saw the Chinese National Opera production of Farewell my Concubine (霸王别姬) and Met Opera’s new Hansel and Gretel at Lincoln Center.

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In fair Morningside where we lay our scene, I saw the Sunday matinée of Peter Martins’ Romeo + Juliet at City Ballet.

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I went to the season premiere of the Metropolitan Opera’s production of Madama Butterfly yesterday. It was a lot more elaborate, with a cast of geishas in technicolor kimonos, black-clad ninjas holding the lanterns and sliding panels, and sakura petals falling for the duration of ‘viene la sera’ and ‘vogliatemi bene’. They even had a flock of origami birds flying in formation to illustrate the robins that signal Pinkerton’s return. But I liked the City Opera one better: this one had a WTF moment during the second act, when after the humming chorus there was some kind of interpretive modern dance with a bald guy in a white jacket holding a golden fan and a geisha doll. City Opera’s version was simpler, but more visceral.

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So tonight I saw my all-time favorite Turandot at the Metropolitan Opera. It is everything that The First Emperor should have been: Zefferelli-style epic spectacle, beautiful set, compelling libretto. And of course, my all-time favorite aria, Nessun Dorma. Even though it seemed a little faux-chinois, I enjoyed it - monks, lion dances, and the hilarious trio Ping Pang and Pong. Unfortunately the family circle seats I got were a little too high up and part of the view of the far back of the stage was obscured, which was very irritating. They should’ve got the sightlines right. Next time I’ll pay more to get better seats, since now I can actually afford them.

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On Friday evening, I saw City Opera’s Madama Butterfly at the New York State Theater at Lincoln Center, for $25 in the Opera-For-All spring festival. I was fortunate to hear about the festival fairly early and got excellent seats before it was completely sold out - they restricted sales to two tickets per purchase, so organizing a large group to go would’ve been logistically difficult and likely irritating. My last experience bringing friends less appreciative of the arts to an opera (La Traviata) was an exercise in dealing with “why is this three hours long?”-related whining and having to wake people up occasionally. Fortunately this was not the case this time (accompanied by the princess), and I enjoyed the production I’ve been longing to see for ages. I live on opera recordings… One of the many blackmail videos of silly things I did in high school that my old classmates have is my attempt at Pinkerton’s part of viene la sera. But there’s nothing quite like seeing it staged.

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I went down to the metropolitan opera early monday morning before class to get $20 standing-room tickets for the second-last performance (this run) of the world premiere of The First Emperor. I got orchestra standing-room tickets, which in retrospect was a poor choice - family circle standing-room might have been better.

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