Gave myself the afternoon off & headed to @alamodrafthouse so I could catch theatrical release of @donhertzfeldt 's ME + It's Such a Beautiful Day. Really worth seeing, though it was a somewhat traumatizing 90 minutes. #donhertzfeldt #animation

At @SFOpera Medallion Society Luncheon, heard bass-baritone Simon Estes describe making his professional debut in the 1950s at the Deutsche Oper Berlin in a role he had just 4 days to learn. I can’t imagine something like that happening today.

Heard @OneFoundSound premiere Herbert Franklin Mells’s 1938 Symphony No. 1 in @HeronArts gallery. The acoustics of the small space were harsh, but the audience was spirited.

Saddened to hear of the passing of Stephen Salmons, one of the founders of @sfsilentfilm. I recall in an early year of the festival visiting their tiny office to buy a festival pass & getting into a conversation with him about silent westerns.

Saw lively production of Verdi’s Falstaff at @OperaSanJose . Darren Lekeith Drone was a great physical comedian in the title role. We got a Super Bowl update via the supertitles before act II.

Violinist Midori’s 2nd @sfperformances recital at Herbst featuring solo Bach was sunnier in mood but no less deeply affecting. All I can hear in my head right now is the sound of her Bach.

Heard violinist Midori play a phenomenal solo recital at Herbst Theater. Could feel her sound pressing my chest & am still awash in the intense emotions channeled through her solo Bach.

Good of @operatattler to goad me into attending @SFConservMusic undergraduate performance of Handel’s Acis & Galatea. It was rather sweetly done.

For today's NYT Spelling Bee word puzzle, I feel like "bytecode" should be a valid pangram.

Attended matinee of Orpheus & Eurydice at @SFOpera . Dancers & singers were well-integrated. Countertenor @OrlinskiJozef provided extra spectacle by going vertical with ease.

Got quite engaged by the trio of soloists for Traviata at @SFOpera as the evening progressed. Felt like I lived through the story with them.

Nice to witness Catherine Cook, Philip Skinner & Dale Travis, all former Adlers, receive the @SFOpera Medal on the stage following the performance of Dialogues of the Carmelites.

Eugene Onegin at @SFOpera has many strengths. Tenor Evan LeRoy Johnson is thrilling & heartbreaking in act 2. Enjoyed hearing mezzo Aigul Ahkmetshina’s wonderful low notes & expressive singing. Bass Ferruccio Furlanetto is a welcome bit of luxury casting as Prince Gremin.

With a group of friends at @SFOpera to see John Adams’s Antony & Cleopatra. On the plus side, fine singing, orchestra sounded great, & we all had the same reaction to the opera.

A pleasure to see @OperaSanJose ‘s bright, fun & colorful staging of Marriage of Figaro, set in colonial India. The appealing cast is full of fine voices.

Gaetano Merola photographed by Dorothea Lange in 1921. This is currently on the website of the Scott Nichols Gallery. #SFOpera

Thanks to @operatattler for getting me out to hear @merolaopera Grand Finale. Solid performances all round, & I especially enjoyed how well-paired the voices were in all the duets.

Enjoyed all the voices in @SFOpera cast of Don Giovanni. @etiennelovesya ‘s act 2 serenade was unexpectedly dreamy.

Saw the last 2 programs of @sfsilentfilm . They made the right decision to restart Lubitsch’s Lady Windermere’s Fan after it ran for several minutes with the wrong picture masking. #sfsff2022