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| The Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts |
In the early to mid-2000s, a former employer would often give us proles extra tickets from corporate events he didn’t want to use. Most people rushed to claim the sporting events—Knicks, Rangers, Yankees, Jets—while I always chose the opera and ballet at Lincoln Center, which no one else wanted.
I brought dates, friends, and family to performances of The Magic Flute (Mozart), Hansel and Gretel (Humperdinck), Rigoletto (Verdi), Orfeo ed Euridice (Gluck), Madama Butterfly (Puccini), La Bohème (Puccini), War and Peace (Prokofiev), and others. But one evening, I went alone.
In 2009, the New York City Ballet performed Stabat Mater, set to Pergolesi’s 1736 sacred score—a haunting late Baroque masterpiece and a profound meditation on Mary’s sorrow at the Cross. Six dancers, in diaphanous dress, moved in three couples across a dark, atmospheric stage, with only a crucifix. Their movements were slow and restrained, reflecting grief with quiet reverence.
I was brought to tears. The music and dance, overwhelming in their simplicity and sorrow, struck deeper than I expected.
To this day, it remains the most memorable performance I have ever seen.
~ By Giovanni di Napoli, April 2nd, Feast of San Francesco di Paola
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| (Above and below) Detail of the ceiling of the Metropolitan Opera House |
