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The Perseid meteor showers just rocked Rooster State Park. One after another, every thirty seconds or so, bright gliding jolts of universal perspective pass above our heads to confound and conflate science and magic. The Perseids arrive the same time each year as predictable celestial fireworks and always a part of my summer trip to…

I land in San Francisco knowing only one thing about the evening ahead; The Woman without a Shadow is composed by one of my favorite opera composers, Strauss. With my sweetheart beside me, I know I’m in for a night of awesome surprises. The first surprise widens our art school eyes – a set designed…

I miss having wavy dark hair and all the little delights that came with it: The smell of fruited shampoos, handfuls of goop, the heated metal of a hairdryer, the vanity of pulling a comb out of my pocket to admire my reflection in a window, the ritual of going to the hair cuttery for…

There’s something precarious about sheets on a clothesline. A hubris in spite of their humble attachments. Shapeshifting ghosts; always just a gale away from being ripped loose and landing on the neighbors Great Dane. Man Ray’s painting reminds me of the one my grandma strung from Mrs. Connors fenced mulberry tree to Mr. Tolands honey…

On weary days I crave for a Neo-Baroque movement to take hold and really lean into beautiful voices. I leave every Handel opera with ears full of delight and tonight is no exception. The Curtis Institute of Music Just pulled off an unforgettable performance leaving me wanting more. The tenors. Pillars. Solid A consistent foundation…

The Academy of Vocal Arts reminds me of the Barnes Foundation as a wonderfully intimate space in the area that for years most people didn’t know existed; but once discovered becomes many peoples favorite. It is about as close to the source of music an ear can get without actually being a performer. It’s penetrating,…

Today’s production of La Boheme will begin with the sad ending and end with the hopeful beginning. Wrap your head around that for a minute. It’s La Boheme, in reverse! The intent from director Yuval Sharon is for the audience to experience La Boheme thru the clarity of hindsight, to appreciate the small moments and…

Grandpop used to ask us to put our hands on his upper forearm and then he’d flex his bicep until our hands felt like they were between two pieces of steel. He called himself “the vice,” and would boast about betting young guys fifty bucks if they could knock him down with one punch. The…

If you enjoy the horn and drum of a good march, tune in and tap your feet to WRTI’s Sousalarm on weekday mornings at 7:15 A.M. The Sousalarm has been part of my morning commute for years and depending on which mile marker it starts I know if I can take my time or hit…

The moon from Lohengrin has come back for an encore. What rituals might be going on behind the drapery to shrink the moon and transform the stage into a forest full of druids and priestesses? A last minute vocal warm up maybe, a loose stitch secured, a case of butterflies let loose, a Hercules who…