Last March, I had extra tickets to see Tannhauser in Baltimore and ended
up taking a neighbors 9 year old daughter along with the group. I was
worried the whole way through that she would find the music too heavy (and
the staging too dull). Not to worry, she said that she enjoyed it very
much and stayed awake through the whole production.
 Now for the kicker. A few days ago, the topic of going to the opera came
up again. It turns out that another friend of the family had taken her to
see Boheme in Baltimore. I asked her which she liked more, sure that it
would be Boheme. After thinking for a moment, she said she preferred
Tannhauser! In part, she didn't care for all the "lovey-dovey stuff" in
Boheme. I think we have a serious opera lover in the making here. (I'm not
knocking Boheme, just impressed that a 9 year old prefers Wagner.) Now, if
only my own children would display the same taste.


John Wood
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"..you see: it was just public opinion in an acute state of indigestion."
W.C. Faulkner, "Absalom! Absalom!"