November 2006

I had a real treat yesterday evening…the last performance of Anthony Minghella’s production of Puccini’s Madama Butterfly at the Met was streamed live over the internet. This performance featured Soprano Cristina Gallardo-Domás as Cio-Cio San and Tenor Marcello Giordani as Benjamin Franklin Pinkerton. I knew with my current assignment to Korea I would not have the opportunity to actually attend the opera in New York, but this was the next best thing. I thoroughly enjoyed the performance and consider myself very fortunate to have experienced it. Gallardo-Domás was wonderful as the innocent and naive Butterfly and Giordani’s Pinkerton wasn’t nearly the scumbag I was accustomed to (an interesting and believable interpretation).

The performance wasn’t without some snags, though. The second act was delayed due to some computer glitches and Ms. Gallardo-Domás was indisposed and unable to return for the second part of act two; she was replaced by her understudy who didn’t miss a beat.

I’m in San Antonio for the AMSUS conference. My travel time was just about 24-hours! I caught the 3:30 a.m. bus at Kunsan for the 3-hour ride to Incheon Airport. I flew Korean Air and the plane took off just after 10:00 a.m. and landed about 9:30 a.m. (same day, but a 14-hour flight). From Atlanta, I flew to San Antonio via Delta Airlines (with a complementary upgrade to first class). I departed about 12:30 p.m. and landed in San Antonio about 2:00 p.m.

I’ve got a very nice hotel room with a king-size bed and a balcony overlooking the Riverwalk. I’m delighted because Cindy is flying out to join me on Tuesday! I can’t wait to see her!

Tomorrow, the conference begins with a full day of briefings. This is always the worst day of the entire conference simply because of the amount of information that’s disseminated. The conference room is usually crowded and stuffy and with my jet lag, I’m going to have a hard time keeping my eyes open!

Anyway, it’s nice to be home…even if only for a visit.