After a rough night at the opera a week ago with Ligeti's La Grand Macabre things returned to normal last night with Wagner's Flying Dutchman which featured several local debuts. In his U.S. debut we heard Juha Uusitalo in the title role but the sensation of the evening was Nina Stemme in her SFO debut as Senta. What a powerhouse she is singing radiantly and powerfully and with much beauty. She and Uusitalo managed so silence the chronic coughers with their emotionally charged duet as did tenor Christopher Ventris (Erik) during his extended duet with Ms. Stemme. That was one of the most moving finales I have ever experienced. Eugene Onegin opens this week with a cast of, to me, unknowns.

Today was a quiet one for me as I did some reading, answered e-mail and did some cleaning of the apartment. Tomorrow I wil resume my scanning of slides. That year-long project is now about 95% complete.