mojosmom

Went to a lecture this afternoon on the work of Irving K. Pond, whom none of you have ever heard of. Neither had I, until I saw the announcement of this program! He was a Chicago architect, trained by William LeBaron Jenney, was a friend of Jane Addams, built the town of Pullman, and did some houses in my neighborhood. Architect David Swan recently edited Pond's autobiography, and he gave the lecture and showed slides of Pond's work. Afterwards, there was a walking tour of his local houses, but it was a bit chilly and the drizzle had increased to actual rain, so I passed on that portion of the event.

Took my car in for service yesterday, and I barely recognized it when I picked it up. It was clean! It had gotten really grungy from the snow and slush, so I was glad it was warm enough for the dealer to give it a wash. The car had to be there for several hours, so I went home and cleaned my kitchen floor, which was in an absolutely disgusting condition.

One of the ways that the economic situation seems to have affected cultural institutions is that they are having free, or low-cost, events in order to promote themselves. I've been to two such lately. Chicago Opera Theatre recently hosted an event to introduce the upcoming spring season. It was held at the Mars Gallery, sort of off the beaten path in the gentrifying West Loop area. Various members of the artistic staff gave brief speeches, costume and set designs were on display, and there were nibblies and drinks, including a delicious "operatini", consisting of gin, sour mix and honey. That particular event actually cost me more than the ticket price, because I noticed this cross, by Shelley Barberot, a New Orleans artist, and had to have it:



A few days later, Steppenwolf Theatre Company hosted a free event to promote their production of "The Brother/Sister Plays", which I'm definitely going to try to get to, probably toward the end of the run, between my trips to Europe and New York! It was held at their rehearsal space, in the landmarked Yondorf Hall, and featured excellent food from a restaurant near me, as well as a performance by the Muntu Dance Theatre, followed by audience participation:



There were a couple of other events that night I was thinking of going to, but this one went on a bit longer than I expected, and I was a bit tired, so I didn't.

The people who run the Community Supported Agriculture program I was involved in last summer have started doing a Sunday brunch at a local café. Last week was their first, so I stopped by and the food was great. They do a buffet, but you can also get an entrée, together or separately. The buffet is all vegetarian, but one of the entrées is not. Last week it was salmon, and was very good.

Berlioz' Damnation of Faust at Lyric on Friday was just okay. The singers were great, but the opera isn't a favorite and the production was just so-so. They did some "updating", which generally was okay, but the descent into hell just isn't as scary when the demons are guys in suits and women with baby carriages. And, frankly, neighbors descending on Marguerite with pitchforks and frying pans because she's fornicating with Faust seems a bit unlikely in modern times! But I had an enjoyable dinner with the Harrises and Jim & Kevin. J & K were just back from a trip to Australia and New Zealand, where they had covered much the same ground as our friend Jamie (who missed this time because he's in Arizona with family) did a short while ago (visting the same friends, etc.), so the conversation had a bit of a déja vu feel to it!

You may recall that a couple of months ago, I mentioned being at a film and running into a woman who had been in my college graduating class. We ran into each other again at the opera a couple of weeks ago, and said, "Let's do something after the next opera." The next opera was last Sunday, and we had drinks and dinner afterward, and really hit it off. I think I may have another "running buddy"!

The opera itself was fantastic! It was Peter Brook's La Tragédie de Carmen, a reconstruction and distillation of Bizet's opera. It's pared down - the orchestra has only 15 members, and there's no chorus, just five singers, and two roles that are just acted - Lillas Pastia and Garcia, which were doubled in this production (Garcia doesn't appear in Bizet, but he does in Prosper Merimée's story - he's Carmen's husband). They updated it to the '30s, during the Spanish Civil War, which was fine, but they didn't really do anything with the historical setting. Carmen (who had a gorgeous dark voice) was a sort of Piaf-y cabaret singer, and Escamillo a boxer, like Marcel Cerdan. I liked the production a lot.

Wednesday night, my friends and I went to the Goodman to see a play called "Gas for Less" (yea, really, that's what it's called). It was about an independent gas station on the far north side of Chicago, and it's going under. The play is set on two dates in late 2005, and much of it revolves around the guys watching Bears football games. I'm convinced that the playwright meant much of the football stuff to be relevant, but it sailed right over my head, as I don't have the first clue about football generally or the Bears specifically. We had dinner first at Trattoria Ten, always good. When we were leaving, I noticed that Jim and Kevin were at the bar, so I stopped to chat. They were on their way to Chicago Opera Theatre's Orlando (see below).

Thursday I went to the CSO - Dvorák's Symphony No. 8 in G major, and Ives' A Symphony: New England Holidays, conducted by Michael Tilson-Thomas. I enjoyed it very much. However, I've decided I'm not going to re-subscribe next season, but will get individual tickets instead. Looking at the various series, I realized that there wasn't any one series where I wanted to hear every concert, and that I'd be better off getting single tickets for the things I really want to hear. It's been a bit logistically difficult, too, this year.

Saturday began with a few errands, and then a stop at a local consignment shop that was having a 50% off sale. I love consignment shops! I got a pair of shoes (black high heels), two dresses, two skirts and a belt all for around $30 (the shoes were the single most expensive item). Then I stopped at O'Gara's to pick up a book they were holding for me, The Smithsonian Book of Books.

The weather being absolutely gorgeous (I think summer may actually have arrived!), I spent a good part of the afternoon hanging out on the porch drinking iced tea, reading, and explaining to Lilith that, no, she could not go into the neighbor's apartment.

I had a ticket for Handel's Orlando that evening, at the Harris Theatre, and as the Gospel Fest was happening just behind the Harris at the Pritzker Pavilion, I decided to go down early and catch some music there. I don't usually get to go to Gospel Fest, as it is ordinarily the same weekend as the Printers Row Book Fair and the 57th Street Art Fair. But, for some reason, it's a week earlier this year (Blues Fest will be next weekend, along with the aforesaid book fair and art fair.)

I had figured on just grabbing a hot dog at one of the stands for dinner, but then I saw this sign:


So I headed left and had some short ribs with sauce. The most amazing thing happened! I was wearing a white linen dress and did not get one single, solitary drop of barbecue sauce on it. I think that's a first. I had my camera (I seem to carry it everywhere these days) and took lots of photos, primarily of intricately braided hairstyles.

The opera was excellent (I do love Handel! all those counter-tenors!). They'd moved the scene from the time of the Crusades to WWII, and while I don't think the updating added anything, it didn't detract, either. There was a pre-opera lecture by the conductor, Raymond Leppard, who made some snide remarks about "Eurotrash" productions, but he said he had no problems with this one. He also said that the opera was rather about "Make war, not love", and that it was probably Mr. Bush's favorite. Snickers all round from the audience. I ran into Eric and Ed in the lobby beforehand, and again at intermission, and Eric (who should know) was quite impressed with Tim Mead, who sang the title role.

Mira came over today to pick up the keys. I shall have to get her keys to the basement doors as well, as she has a bike and will need to stash it there. She'll be moving in probably June 22, for about four weeks.

More hanging about reading this afternoon, and then over to the University for Mahler's Resurrection Symphony, with the University Symphony Orchestra, University Chorus and Motet Choir. Back home for a ribeye steak and asparagus, and a tomato, scallion, radicchio and endive salad, with green tea ice cream for dessert.

I do have to go in for jury duty tomorrow, so I'm hunting up a big, thick book to take with me.