And Now for Something Completely Different

Somewhere in all the COVID-19 reading I've been doing online -- probably in The New York Times -- I noted that the Metropolitan Opera was offering nightly free opera streams. 

Scheduled for today was Georges Bizet's Les pêcheurs de perle (The Pearl Fishers), which I first saw at Seattle Opera in 1994. The gorgeous tenor and baritone duet, "Au fond du temple saint," early in the first act never fails to move me to tears. I can't link to what I heard today, but you can enjoy it sung by Welsh bass-baritone Bryn Terfel and French tenor Roberto Alagna at James Levine's 25th anniversary gala in 2009 here.

In today's photo from my mini iPad, taken with my little Sony RX-100, it was American tenor Matthew Polenzani  (Nadir) (left) and Polish baritone Mariusz Kwiecien (Zurga) who brought tears to my eyes when they sang the famous duet. The extra photo is of Polenzani and German soprano Diana Damrau, who was brilliant in the role of Leila.

I look forward to watching more operas from the Met, and exploring the many museums that are offering virtual tours online, as well. Refreshing my mind, heart, and soul with the arts -- including catching up on your Blipfoto journals! -- is a much more satisfying way to fill my social distancing/stay-at-home days than keeping up with the endless drivel emanating from the feckless inhabitant of The White House.

[COVID-19 statistics for Whatcom County today: 199 confirmed cases and 9 deaths. Washington state has 7,591 confirmed cases and 310 deaths. One week ago, Whatcom County had 102 confirmed cases and 4 deaths.]

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