Verbatim

Where: Lincoln Center, Avery Fisher Hall
When: Sunday, November 27, 2011 (Thanksgiving weekend)
What: Handel's Messiah

Before the performance, after being seated...

Soeur: What exactly is this music?
Me: You know...Handel's "Messiah."
Soeur: [blank face]
Me: Haaaaaal-lelujah, hallelujah...?
Soeur: Uh-oh.  I'm definitely gonna fall asleep.

At the beginning of intermission...

Soeur: Is it intermission now?
Me: Yep.
Soeur: What does that mean?  Another hour?  Wait.  What are you doing?
Me: I have GOT to start recording what you say at these things because it's just too good to forget.

I sort of love live classical music.  Orchestras, choirs, symphonies - love, love, and love.  I don't know why.  I just do.  Get me to a performance hall.  Let me dress casually.  Turn the lights down.  Leave me be.  I'm going to revel in the sounds.

My sister, on the other hand, as you can see, is not much of a fan.  And yet, she will sit semi-patiently next to me through a performance.  I think she takes pity on me and does what she can.

You should have seen her at Carnegie Hall when she sat through a tenor singing romantic German songs all by his lonesome self (well, and a piano accompaniment).  Neither she nor I knew what to expect.  I had gotten the tickets from my company so we agreed that at intermission we could leave if we didn't like it.   When the lights came on, she declared, "Thank God it's intermission."  I'm pretty sure I killed her a little bit when I told her that it turned out that I kind of liked the music and would stay for the second half.  She was dumbfounded that I could stay awake through the performance, no less enjoy it.  She stayed, but I think she took a nap.  And if I remember the night correctly, I think we took the subway home (totally something I would do) instead of a taxi (totally something she would do).  Suffice it to say, that night probably wasn't her favorite.  But my evening was just swell, thank you very much.