Quick roundup before moving on to Salome

A quick survey of our local bloggers reveals Sieglinde may be the only one actually inside the Met on opening night. Even Sarah, an unqualified Renée devotée, sat in front of some giant screen. (Where were you, dear?) La Cieca was all over the place, except inside. Alex Ross, who's usually outdoors with the masses on opening night, is understandably busy figuring out what to do with half a million dollars. Meanwhile, AUV went to the movies. He didn't like the Capriccio scene at all, the very scene I thought was the highlight of the evening. This is the problem with simulcasts: things like repeated close-ups of an awkwardly vogueing diva can steal the focus away from the music and the voice. Add the souped up acoustics, which boosts any sound and denies any reward for true fortes, and you get a distorted view. The live performance is, indeed, a unique thrill. Was Opera Chic there? If so, she (or an accomplice) had access to a press pass, to explain her exclusive paparazzi shots, which appear to have been taken from a press-only vantage point (cf. Sieglinde's photos taken from among the middle class gawkers.) We especially love the Austin shots.

UPDATE: Turns out Opera Chic's "exclusive" paparazzi shots are nothing but Getty Images photos. More can be found here.