Why I go to the opera, revealed

Leg 2 of the "Little Trip" is Sarasota, Florida; a relaxed 2 days, with only one scheduled event. Sarasota is amazingly full of stuff to do, and here is a list of the things I would have done if I'd done them but didn't do:

1. the Van Wezel Stadium! If I was staying until Saturday I could see Joan Rivers!


2. Sarasota Jungle Gardens! Their new "Flamingo Cam" provides 24-hour viewing of the flock!


3. the Mote Marine Laboratory! Their giant squid specimen preserved at Mote Aquarium originates from New Zealand and measures 27 feet (8.2 m) in total length!


4. Dog Racing! Oh, I so want to do this but am terrified of accidentally adopting a greyhound.

And best of all,

5. the Marietta Museum of Art and Whimsy! I want to stay pure on this, and will avoid looking at the web site or learning anything else about them until I actually can go next time I'm here. It sounds too perfect to spoil with foreknowledge.

But I was here for one thing and one thing only: Sarasota Opera's production of Verdi's Jerusalem, his rewrite of i Lombardi for Paris, which gets done never, anywhere -- so this may the only chance in my lifetime to experience it. As the woman sitting next to me said, "Check this off the bucket list, don't need to see it again."

She's right; the music is almost entirely from the earlier opera, and it is magnificent, but not as strongly placed emotionally. The revision straightened out the original's whack-a-doodle plot, reduced 2 star tenors to 1, and made the love story central -- but the politics are still as regressive as i Lombardi, and entirely free of the irony. Key change that informs everything: in the original, the leading lady curses the Crusaders for murdering in God's name; in the rewrite, she curses the Crusaders for sending her boyfriend to jail.

But it's rare, and I'm glad to see it, even if Sarasota's traditional production bent looks stodgy after Hamburg and Bielefeld. I understand the approach -- they see themselves as curators of museum pieces, not as daring thinkers -- but they should have rethought the scene where a hefty crusader smashes the hero's helmet and shield with a large mallet. Anybody my age would have trouble not thinking of Gallagher.

Fortunately, there was nobody my age there aside from me. There was nobody younger. I actually got called "young man" by another patron. This isn't the only reason I go to the opera, but it is a bonus.

Tomorrow -- back home, and I'll finally advise you on filling out your pesky Oscar ballot!