sean corcoran year 3 in nyc

A New Vision for the DC Mall

2008-07-10T15:31:00.000-04:00

A report was released today by the National Capital Planning Commission outlining some great new ideas for the National Mall.

Last days in Marblehead

2008-06-29T19:10:00.000-04:00

I've been too busy to blog my activities over the past few weeks... In any case, our last days in Marblehead involved:

* a surprise visit to Dad in New Hampshire on Father's Day
* a visit to Michael, Karen, Isabelle, and Ian in North Conway, NH
* visits from Jeff & Katie, Dave & Joy, Nana, and the Murrays
* dinner at Tango in Arlington, with J&K, D&J
* a ferry ride into Boston from Salem on our last day (June 28)

You can see our last two sets of photos here and here.

Our day in Boston was action-packed: Quincy Market, to the New England Aquarium, to the Old Gramary Burial Ground, the State House, Boston Common, and the Public Garden, and finally dinner at Antico Forno in the North End (and, of course, cannolis from Mike's Pastry).

Best muffins in Marblehead

2008-06-07T19:16:00.004-04:00

Without a doubt the best muffins in Marblehead can be found at The Muffin Shop. Dad and Kenda were here this weekend... we did some touristy activities around Marblehead (including the painting Spirit of 76 in Abbott Hall) and had lunch at the Barnacle.

Pictures to come later...

Dinner at Sweeneys

2008-05-31T21:10:00.001-04:00

Dinner tonight with the locals at Sweeneys Retreat Irish Restaurant... delicious scallops

Weekend in Tarrytown

2008-05-27T18:03:00.003-04:00

May 25-26 - spent the weekend in Westchester County, for Matt and Amanda's wedding. The wedding took place at the beautiful Tappan Hill Mansion in Tarrytown, NY. Lots of pics here. Congrats Matt and Amanda!

On the afternoon of the 26th, we left for Marblehead... more soon

2008-05-21T16:54:00.000-04:00

Wow, this blog is really out of date! It's not that I haven't been doing anything fun in the past few months...

May 18-21: with Dad in town, visited the Guggenheim Museum, where the Cai Guo-Qiang exhibit "I Want to Believe" was on display (and about to close). The nine-car installation called Inopportune: Stage One was by far the most impressive piece, and worth the price of admission.

On Tuesday, attended the New York Philharmonic's performance of Broadway's Greatest Showstoppers, featuring Kristin Chenowith, Raul Esparza, Michel Bell, and J. Mark McVey. The program included "Bring Him Home" from Les Miserables (one of the highlights), "Ol' Man River" from Show Boat, and "Glitter and Be Gay" from Candide. The Chenowith-Esparza duets "Tonight" (West Side Story) and the surprise "Anything You Can Do" (Annie Get Your Gun) were fantastic. You can read the NYT review here.

Oh, and some good eats at Otto and Molyvos (Greek, in midtown). Thanks Dad!

2008-05-12T17:39:00.000-04:00

May 10-11: in Rochester visiting Javier and Angie (Jeff and Katie were also in town). This weekend was the Rochester Lilac Festival in Highland Park. The only thing prettier than the lilacs was the delicious breakfast at Unkl Moe's.

View some pictures here.

2008-04-30T18:19:00.002-04:00

Opera, opera, and more opera! The last two operas of my Met season were two of the best:
1) Satyagraha - a new staging of the 1980 opera by Philip Glass (Satyagraha means "truth force" in Sanskrit). This opera on the life of Mahatma Gandhi was one of the most spellbinding, engrossing, and beautiful performances (of anything!) I've ever attended.

2) La Fille du Regiment - another new production, this time of the 1840 opera by Donizetti. The Met brought out the big guns for this one, with Natalie Dessay as Marie (the "daughter" of the regiment) and Juan Diego Florez as Tonio. On the opening night of Fille, Florez did an encore of "Ah! Mes Amis..." the famous aria with 9 high C's. Of course, after the word spread of this rare Met encore, Florez pulled it out again for this performance. He nailed it. I was much more impressed with this tenor this time around.

2008-04-19T23:11:00.003-04:00

I've read countless versions of this story on rental prices in New York, but never cease to be amazed. (Note the small studio apartment photograph that leads the article). Some highlights:

* Average monthly rent for a one-bedroom apt in the Village: $3,100+
* Average monthly rent for a studio apt in the Village: $2,200+
* Average monthly rent for a one-bedroom apt in Manhattan (doorman bldg): $3,500
* NYC landlords often require renters to earn 40 times their monthly rent--i.e. $80,000 a year to afford a $2,000/mo (below average) apartment
* Brokerage fees are usually 15% of the annual rent--or about $3,600 on a $2,000/mo apartment

2008-04-18T17:35:00.004-04:00

Opera double-header this week:

1) On Wednesday: Un Ballo in Maschera at the Met. I would not have changed a thing about this production: great voices, beautiful, classic setting, and lush orchestra. All of the leads were fantastic: Salvatore Licitra as Riccardo, Angela Brown as Amelia, the phenomenal Dmitri Hvorostovsky as Renato and the even more phenomenal Stephanie Blythe as the gypsie Ulrica (Ofelia Sala was an uneven but entertaining Oscar). Thankfully, unlike Tristan (see below), there were no accidents in this one. (You can read the NYT Review here).

20 On Thursday: Bernstein's Candide at the New York City Opera. I've always wanted to see a stage production of this, and the NYC Opera did not disappoint. With Daniel Richard as Candide, Lielle Berman as Cunegonde, Kyle Pfortmiller as Maximillian, and (Mad About You and the Sopranos') Richard Kind as the comical Voltaire/Dr. Pangloss. Once one dismisses the rest of all possible productions, one knows that this is the best of all possible productions. (See the NYT review here).

P.S. For the price of my one Met ticket, I could have paid for *four* tickets to the NYC Opera (in the side orchestra), and a glass of champagne.

2008-04-02T10:25:00.001-04:00

NYU is in the Final Four--in chess.

2008-03-18T23:58:00.002-04:00

Tonight: saw Tristan und Isolde at the Met. This production has been cursed from the start...first Ben Heppner took ill, and then Deborah Voigt was pulled from the cast mid-performance last week. Voigt was back tonight, but Gary Lehman was still covering for Heppner. Lehman wasn't really up to the task, which was unfortunate--an earlier Tristan cover, John MacMaster, received a generally disappointing review from the New York Times. Lehman could barely be heard over the orchestra.

The music and production were lovely, but the biggest excitement of the night was Lehman's slide down the inclined Met stage after a stage fixture apparently broke. After sliding head first into the prompter's box, the opera stopped and curtains closed while doctors examined Lehman. He was fine, but the delay pushed the opera to 5 1/2 hours. Given Heppner's heft (or Voigt's pre-stomach surgery size), its probably a good thing Lehman was the one doing the tumbling.

2008-02-22T16:35:00.001-05:00

This David Leonhardt column in the NYT profiles economists who aren't doing "freakonomics".

2008-02-19T09:10:00.003-05:00

For posterity: my favorite video resume ever, and Michael Cera's version. The whole backstory can be found here.

2008-01-07T16:38:00.000-05:00

An Article in the Chronicle of Higher Education covers the recent AEA session on re-thinking core course work in Econ Ph.D programs.

Dover-Foxcroft, Maine

2007-12-28T11:06:00.001-05:00

2007-12-24T15:53:00.000-05:00

A backlog of pictures! Now posted here. Includes pictures from Notre Dame, Thanksgiving (New Hampshire and Boston) and Charleston.

2007-11-08T23:14:00.000-05:00

Economists on the loose in Columbia bars: "An economist solves the mysteries of dating." in Slate

2007-11-04T18:22:00.000-05:00

Ms. Booher-Jennings is all over the ed policy world this week! See this commentary in Education Week (and its "Talk Back" section) and this article in Education Next that leads with a quote from Jen's 2006 paper. Go Jen Go!

2007-11-03T23:58:00.000-04:00

Saw Sufjan Stevens at the Brooklyn Academy of Music's Next Wave Festival. Sufjan was commissioned to write the BQE, "a 30-minute symphonic and cinematic exploration of New York City's infamous Brooklyn-Queens Expressway" and performed this piece with his band, a 31-piece orchestra, and five hula-hoopers. The BQE was not bad--it definitely had its moments--but the real treat came after intermission when Sufjan played his "hits" with a full orchestral accompaniment. You can read the NYT review here and a great Pitchfork article here.

Spotted in front of us on the way out: Keri Russell. (And earlier in the day at ABC Carpet and Home: Julianne Moore).

2007-10-23T22:49:00.000-04:00

Attended a talk with Natalie Portman and William Easterly on FINCA at NYU's Skirball Center to learn more about (ahem) microfinance in Africa:

2007-10-22T13:21:00.001-04:00

This weekend (Oct 19 - 21) a short trip to Ithaca and Cayuga Lake, NY to see the fall colors. We were a bit early but the colors were beautiful, nevertheless. Here are the pictures!

2007-10-14T17:11:00.000-04:00

Stephen Colbert makes a NYT op-ed appearance. And on the serious side of the page, Thomas Friedman crafts a terrific contrast of Gore and Bush.

2007-10-14T13:16:00.000-04:00

October 12-14: in Boulder, Colorado for the Education Policy Research Unit / Education in the Public Interest Center (EPRU / EPIC) annual fellows meeting.

2007-10-08T13:18:00.000-04:00

Tonight: saw a wonderful new production of Lucia di Lammermour at the Met, featuring the best soprano on the planet Natalie Dessay.

2007-09-28T10:49:00.000-04:00

Childrens do learn...

2007-09-27T18:38:00.000-04:00

Was there for Barack Obama's speech in Washington Square Park, along with 24,000 other people. Some of my pictures can be found here.

2007-09-14T20:02:00.000-04:00

Sea Bright II - the return to the Jersey Shore, September 6-14. See pictures here.

2007-09-08T13:42:00.000-04:00

8 D.C. Catholic Schools may convert to charters (Washington Post); article on Mitchell Stevens new book in Inside Higher Ed

2007-09-05T09:44:00.000-04:00

Slate's coverage of a Lavy and Schlosser paper on gender peer effects in in Israeli classrooms.

2007-08-28T14:54:00.000-04:00

Great answer, Miss South Carolina! Miss Teen USA contestant talks about maps, schools, other things

2007-08-07T09:43:00.000-04:00

Amazing article on the NYC Teaching Fellows, in the Village Voice.

2007-08-02T10:10:00.001-04:00

An update on the Lott v. Levitt lawsuit in the Chronicle for Higher Education.

2007-08-01T15:16:00.000-04:00

Trip to boston for Jeff and Katie's housewarming in Arlington, Mass (pictures here). Also spent 3 days at the NBER mini-course "what's new in econometrics?" Apparently (X'X)-1(X'y) is not all that new.

2007-07-15T16:26:00.000-04:00

My trip to Kansas (July 15 - 19). See some photos here!

Please remove your concealed weapon when reading this blog post.

2007-07-06T23:51:00.000-04:00

Quickie trip back to the Jersey Shore (Point Pleasant Beach, to be specific) for dinner at Red's Lobster Pot--not to be confused with Red Lobster--and skee ball on the boardwalk.

2007-07-05T09:32:00.000-04:00

Miscellaneous writings on the Supreme Court desegregation ruling: initial New York Times coverage, Edweek coverage (see background here), a discussion on Slate, Molly Hunter editorial in ACCESS, a statement from the Public Education Network, fallout in Lynn Massachusetts, an editorial in the Baltimore Sun by Chemerinsky and Clotfelter, another editorial by Colbert King in the Washington Post, yet another by Jonathan Kozol in the New York Times, an article on integration by income in San Francisco, etc.

View the Supreme Court opinion here.

2007-07-05T08:09:00.000-04:00

Dental Plan - Lisa Needs Braces

2007-07-03T18:45:00.000-04:00

June 28th - July 3rd: my visit to Maine. Visited Sebec Lake, Monhegan Island, and Pemaquid Point. You can view some photos here.

2007-06-24T22:30:00.000-04:00

Someone's dissertation is described in paragraph 5 of this front-page Washington Post article--but unfortunately we won't know whose ("a 2004 study by University of Maryland economists").

2007-06-23T18:49:00.000-04:00

Tonight: saw the Original Tito Puente Orchestra perform at Lincoln Center's Dancing Under the Stars.

2007-06-19T12:07:00.000-04:00

See pictures from our week in Sea Bright, NJ here.

Wish you were here:

2007-06-18T12:06:00.000-04:00

Pictures from Dad and Kenda's visit to New York, June 15-18. Even more pictures here.

2007-06-08T23:49:00.000-04:00

Tonight: Korean BBQ at Dae Dong in Koreatown

2007-05-28T18:00:00.000-04:00

This weekend - in a New Jersey state of mind. Spent Saturday evening in Trenton and Sunday-Monday on the Jersey Shore in Belmar.

2007-05-24T16:16:00.000-04:00

Papers from an AEI conference on "The Politics of Knowledge: Why Research Does (or Does Not) Influence Education Policy"

2007-05-23T13:33:00.000-04:00

2007-05-21T10:50:00.000-04:00

In the Times (5/17): New Demographic Racial Gap Emerges

2007-05-10T20:37:00.000-04:00

New York Dept of Ed guide to "Fair Student Funding"

2007-05-08T23:59:00.000-04:00

Tonight: saw Björk live at the world famous Apollo Theater in Harlem. A weird, fantastic show, attended by equally weird fans. Somehow I ended up with one of the best seats in the house (1st row balcony).

As in her SNL appearance, Björk was accompanied by an all-female brass section (see video clips from the show here, here, and here). Best part: her little "thank you"s at the end of each song (e.g. clip 3).

2007-05-06T19:44:00.000-04:00

WHICH CHILDREN BELONG IN SPECIAL EDUCATION? Many children in special education classes may not belong there, the government says.

2007-05-02T20:11:00.000-04:00

Had one of my best meals ever in nyc at Momofuku Ssam Bar in the East Village, with Tom Romer.

2007-05-02T09:16:00.000-04:00

Raise the building height restriction in D.C. - washingtonpost.com

2007-04-29T23:55:00.000-04:00

Saw the phenomenal Yo La Tengo at Webster Hall. This show rocked.

2007-04-28T13:05:00.000-04:00

Some responses to the New Republic article by Noam Scheiber arguing that "Freakonomics" is ruining economics, from Steve Levitt, Greg Mankiw, Josh Angrist, and Alex Tabarrok. My favorite line is probably that of Mankiw:

"It could be especially problematic twenty years from now, when President Chelsea Clinton looks for an economist to appoint to head the Federal Reserve, and the only thing she can find in the American Economic Association are experts on game shows and sumo wrestling."

2007-04-25T23:15:00.000-04:00

Tonight at the Met: saw the Franco Zeffirelli production of Turandot. There were two outstanding voices: Erika Sunnegårdh as Turandot, and Liping Zhang as Liu. Calaf (Richard Margison) was solid, but your run-of-the-mill Puccini tenor. But with a lavish production like this, who needs great voices? (Read the NYT review here).

2007-04-25T10:21:00.000-04:00

Billionaires Start $60 Million Schools Effort - New York Times - Gates and Broad plan to promote national curriculum standards, a longer school day and school year, and merit pay for teachers

2007-04-19T21:53:00.000-04:00

Tonight: symposium and dinner celebrating the 100th anniversary of the Russell Sage Foundation, at the Waldorf-Astoria hotel (check out the video on their website). Keynote speakers at the symposium included Richard Freeman, Douglas Massey, Richard Thaler, and others.

2007-04-18T22:02:00.000-04:00

Phenomenal dinner and wine at Dennis Foy (313 Church Street, Tribeca) celebrating Bill Evans new position at Notre Dame.

2007-04-17T21:29:00.000-04:00

Three countertenors for the price of one... at the Met's Guilio Cesare. Featured the unrivaled David Daniels in the title role, and the two fine countertenors Lawrence Zazzo as Ptolemy, and Michael Maniaci (who is technically a male soprano) as Nirenus. As Cleopatra, Ruth Ann Swenson brought the house down--a nice snub to the Met and Peter Gelb, who apparently "no longer want her services" after two decades of performing.

2007-04-17T15:14:00.000-04:00

2007-04-16T21:08:00.000-04:00

All graphs should be this cool.

2007-04-13T00:23:00.000-04:00

Tuesday - Thursday in Chicago for the American Educational Research Association (AERA) annual meeting.

2007-04-01T15:26:00.000-04:00

With Dave and Joy in town... spent Friday night at the Dean and Britta show at the beautiful Hiro Ballroom in Chelsea with after-show drinks at Coffee Shop. Saturday was devoted to much shopping, improv comedy from Mother at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater, and dinner at Chumley's (whose interior wall--tragically--collapsed on April 6). More and more Soho shopping on Sunday. A good time was had by all.

2007-03-30T18:20:00.000-04:00

A visit to the Department of Economics at Lehigh University in lovely (no, I'm not kidding) Bethlehem, PA where I gave a talk on the politics and economics of charter schools.

2007-03-29T10:35:00.000-04:00

As busy-ness goes up, blog entries go down...

2007-03-24T15:38:00.000-04:00

March 22 - 24 in Baltimore for the American Education Finance Association annual meeting. A highlight: crab cakes at Mother's, Federal Hill and a dinner at Brewer's Art.

2007-03-16T10:26:00.000-04:00

See the results of the American Institute of Architects survey of America's favorite architecture.

2007-03-03T23:59:00.000-05:00

Allen Fieldhouse, March 3, 2007:
Today: KU vs. Texas at Allen Fieldhouse, Lawrence KS. KU wins, 90-86, for the Big 12 championship. Visited the Booth Family Hall of Athletics after the game. Ate burgers at the Westport Flea Market and Bar in KC, MO. Thanks, Scott! (see pictures from the game here).

2007-03-02T23:31:00.000-05:00

On Friday night: saw Charlie Murphy with Freeze Love at Improv Comedy Club at the Majestic, Kansas City, MO.

2007-02-20T21:07:00.000-05:00

A lovely evening of jazz at the Manhattan School of Music... and Ethiopian food.

2007-02-19T02:16:00.000-05:00

Some pictures from Rochester, President's Day weekend. Not much to do in the cold except watch dogs sleep and sing karaoke...

2007-02-06T23:15:00.000-05:00

Tonight: Janáček's Jenůfa at the Metropolitan Opera, featuring Karita Mattila as Jenůfa. Lush, intense, dramatic, and beautiful (especially Acts II and III).

2007-02-05T21:47:00.000-05:00

See the Prince Superbowl Halftime Show on YouTube: Part One and Part Two. Even cooler--his press conference from a few days earlier.

2007-02-03T23:59:00.000-05:00

Attended the New York Philharmonic, under the direction of Esa-Pekka Salonen. This was a marvelous program...Ravel's Le tombeau de Couperin, the conductor's own brilliant Piano Concerto (with soloist Yefim Bronfman), and a Pictures at an Exhibition that blew the roof off.

2007-01-31T23:59:00.000-05:00

Attended a Slate-hosted screening of the forthcoming film The Situation, a fictional account of a young, beautiful (and apparently emotionally stunted) American journalist on the ground in Iraq. Generally speaking, the good elements of this film outweighed the bad (which included moments of groan-inducing dialgoue). My favorite line from the NY Times review on the journalist's love interest: "...and an appealing slab of Iraqi masculine sensitivity, Zaid...who comes with an insinuatingly large camera."

2007-01-30T23:59:00.000-05:00

Saw the Knicks take on the LA Lakers (sans Kobe). Knicks won an exciting game, 99-94. Some of the requisite celebrities in attendance: Christian Slater, Mos Def, Jon Stewart, Donald Trump, and (of course) Spike Lee.

2007-01-28T15:16:00.000-05:00

Tonight: saw Doug Aitken: sleepwalkers at the MoMA... dinner at Wondee Siam II in Hells Kitchen (yum).

2007-01-27T17:38:00.000-05:00

In a departure from usual mega-million luxury condo stories, Greenbelt, Maryland makes the Times' Real Estate section.

2007-01-27T17:34:00.000-05:00

from the washington post 10/04/06: Rationing Education by Jennifer Booher-Jennings

2007-01-24T23:59:00.000-05:00

A *great* day!

2007-01-23T22:31:00.000-05:00

It takes the (East) Village...
to prepare for the village idiot

Tonight: saw Dean and Britta at Mo Pitkin's House of Satisfaction, and had a requisite stiff drink before the State of the Union address. Dean and Britta were fabulous as always. A partial set list (from memory):

Singer Sing (from the new album)
Since I Lay My Burden Down (from the Words You Used to Say EP)
You Turned My Head Around (new one--a Lee Hazelwood cover--not so great)
The Sun is Still Sunny (new one--excellent)
White Horses (new one)
Say Goodnight (?)
Night Nurse (from L'Avventura)
Knives from Bavaria (from L'Avventura)
Hear the Wind Blow (from L'Avventura)
Bonnie and Clyde
Ginger Snaps (encore)

2007-01-16T18:01:00.000-05:00

Livingston can now add his classic student excuse to his CV: You're Never Gonna Believe This One

2007-01-16T17:56:00.000-05:00

An item from tne New York Post on the future New York City consortium: Education Dept. Becomes an Open Book, by David Andreatta

2007-01-16T13:18:00.000-05:00

Has U.S. Income Inequality Really Increased? by Gary Burtless

2007-01-14T11:55:00.000-05:00

New report from NORC/General Social Survey on American's Spending Priorities

2007-01-07T22:43:00.000-05:00

January 5-7: trip to Chicago for the Allied Social Sciences Association meeting. On Friday, had dinner at Coco Pazzo (delicious) and on Saturday saw the Chicago Bulls play the Detroit Pistons at United Center (Bulls won 106-89). See some pictures from a grey day at Millenium Park.

2006-12-31T19:29:00.001-05:00

Great article in the Kansas City Star on WSU coach Mark Turgeon.

2006-12-28T08:41:00.000-05:00

With mom in town for the holidays... played this mind game at the Wired Store in Soho. Today--visiting Ellis Island.

2006-12-12T00:06:00.000-05:00

2006-12-09T17:56:00.000-05:00

2006-12-05T21:30:00.000-05:00

Verdi's Don Carlo at the Metropolitan Opera. This production had an all-star cast, featuring Johan Botha as Don Carlo, Patricia Racette as Elisabeth, Rene Pape as King Philip, Olga Borodina as Princess Eboli and Sam Ramey as the Grand Inquisitor--one of the strongest ensembles I've ever heard at the Met. Rene Pape is without equal and Borodina has one of my favorite voices. The orchestra was expertly conducted by James Levine. If--after five hours of opera--you're left wanting more, they must be doing something right. (Read the NYT review)

2006-12-02T23:18:00.000-05:00

This weekend: trip to Syracuse for the Wichita State - Syracuse game. Once again, Shocks win, 64-61. See highlights of the game on YouTube here. On the way to Syracuse, had lunch in Ithaca at the fantastic Moosewood Restaurant, and visited Cornell and one of the famous gorges. Stopped at one of the Finger Lakes wineries for a tasting.

2006-11-26T12:15:00.000-05:00

From the LA times: Slide-rule celebrities: economists who author blogs are drawing fans who see nothing dismal about the discipline. About economists who write blogs with more substance than where they went to dinner last weekend...

2006-11-26T11:04:00.000-05:00

Now I've heard everything...fat studies as a new field of study in academia.

2006-11-19T20:23:00.000-05:00

This weekend: trip to D.C. for the Wichita State - George Mason rematch of their 2006 sweet sixteen game. Shocks win, 72-66, on the night George Mason unfurled its 2006 final four banner. This was the fourth sellout game in GM history.

Afterward: Coppi's on U Street and Mr. Smiths in Georgetown.

See pictures from the game, as well as pictures from Madison (earlier in november) here.

2006-11-13T22:49:00.000-05:00

Tonight: Il Barbiere di Siviglia at the Met. With one exception, the voices in this performance were a cut above those I've heard in recent Met operas. The German soprano Diana Damrau was spectacular as Rosina, in both voice and character, with the perfect combination of breeziness and technical accuracy. Her voice was so perfectly projected and her diction so crisp that each syllable was heard with perfect precision, as if she was standing five feet away. The way in which she purred each of her spoken (or quasi-spoken) lines was chilling.

The Figaro, too was amazing--Swedish baritone Peter Mattei. He brought incredible energy and personality to the role, not to mention a forceful, solid voice. Performing Figaro with a sly smirk and raised eyebrow, he was non-stop entertainment. My favorite bass, Sam Ramey, was Basilio and the comical, powerful John del Carlo was Dr. Bartolo. The big disappointment was the over-hyped Juan Diego Florez, as Count Almaviva. His voice--strained, pinched, and off-pitch, exactly as the New York Times review noted--was difficult to listen to. The audience gave him an overwhelming ovation for his optional aria at the end of the second act--but I didn't see what the fuss was about. I could have done without both the optional aria (which sounds much better as Non Piu Mesta in La Cenerentola) and Mr. Florez.

This new production was directed by Bartlett Sher and the set design was by Michael Yeargan (A Light in the Piazza). The set--with its fall colors, orange trees, and constantly moving doors was pleasant.

Picture from the NYT (click to enlarge):

2006-11-11T10:48:00.000-05:00

Spending the weekend in New Haven visiting Mushfiq and taking in Yale...

2006-11-03T18:32:00.000-05:00

This weekend -- I'm in Madison, Wisconsin for the Association for Public Policy and Management fall conference.

2006-10-31T23:01:00.000-05:00

Monday and Tuesday: my first and second operas of the season--on Monday, Cav/Pag--Cavalleria Rusticana and Pagliacci. Not my favorite operas, but these traditional performances (by Met standards--complete with horses and a cast of a hundred) were enjoyable, moving dramas nonetheless. Cavalleria Rusticana featured Maria Guleghina as Sanutzza; Pagliacci starred Salvatore Licitra as Canio and Patricia Racette as Nedda.

On Tuesday the new Anthony Minghella ("The English Patient") production of Madama Butterfly, one of the most visually stunning productions I've ever seen. Minghella's design was minimalist, with lighted swaths of pure color, a mirrored ceiling, and brilliant costumes. Traditional Japanese puppetry was used for the role of Butterfly's young son, and for Butterfly herself in a gorgeous dream sequence. The highlight for me was the love scene, with its backdrop of a rainfall of rose petals. The Butterfly, Cristina Gallardo-Domas, was dramatically powerful but was a bit screechy for my taste--I wondered at several points if she was having vocal problems. Marcello Giordani was the Pinkerton and the brilliant, consistent Dwayne Croft was Sharpless.

Some pictures from Opera News (click to enlarge):