Like all best laid plans, our plan for Saturday got changed a bit, but we ended up having another wonderful day..
I spent my blog time early in the morning nestled in a big chair in the lobby with a cup of coffee. But when I returned to the room to collect Mitchell for our trip to the Highline, he talked me into taking a nap - at 8:00 a.m.! Miles of walking and two late nights had caught up with us, so we slept a bit more and then arose in time to eat and go to our last opera.
We had a fun brunch in a classic New York diner, bustling with neighbors and tourists speaking all sorts of languages. The food was good and the service fast and we left nurtured with more than just breakfast! A quick walk to Lincoln Center and then three lovely hours with Manon - the baddest of the bad girls in French literature. A lovely production with Anna Netrebko in excellent voice and an interesting setting of this classic tale. We loved it!
Then we hailed a cab - one of the one million we saw - to go uptown to Broadway where dinner and a show awaited us. Finally, we were in the heart of the City - Times Square. We wandered around - probably gawking! - and bought scarves from a street vendor, before finding a lovely restaurant for dinner. Another fine meal with good wine, good food, and good service. So good, that we returned after the performance for more wine and dessert.
"Gershwin's Porgy and Bess on Broadway" is a delight. They have taken this most American opera and made it even more interesting and faster paced by tightening both the dialogue and the songs. The play runs just over two hours instead of the "normal" three and has a slightly more upbeat tempo. Audra McDonald was excellent and most of the cast very good. The staging was interesting and the audience enthusiastic. We thoroughly enjoyed it, and hope it might bring more people to enjoy the operatic form.
After our late dessert, we made our way back to the hotel to prepare for our trip home on Sunday. One last treat on Sunday morning was breakfast at a deli/bakery where we also picked up sandwiches to take on the train. The trip home was really uneventful and we were tired, so the day passed in companionable quiet and reading.
Did we have fun - absolutely!
Would we go back - as soon as possible!
NYC has won two more converts.
