Sieglinde, regnava nel silenzio. She's out of town, that's why she's not at The Open House, but some key operatives will be, so things are cool.

Patricia at oboeinsight points us to some of Natalie Dessay's YouTube clips of Lucia, including one featuring our instrument du jour at the Opera Bastille. If you can hear over the pirate's heavy breathing (Lawd knows what else he was doing), you'll realize that the glass harmonica is in fact audible, in that odd, inaudible sort of way. It's like being wholly immersed in the faintest sound possible . Totally cool, no? (She also reminds us that Beverly Sills's Lucia recording (with Schippers) employs the glass harmonica too, so I gotta dig that recording out today.)

But back to the open house-- it's the final dress rehearsal, yes, but thousands will be there to see it, so it's practically a real thing. (Performers will be quick to tell you that the final dress is a real thing, but the presence of a full house surely makes a difference, no?) Of course, critics (who draw paychecks) in attendance won't be publishing official performance reviews, but bloggers and other shut-ins aren't bound by such quaint unwritten rules, so there should be enough "leaks" to color the discourse leading to the prima evening Monday. Which is probably the point, but what if it sucked? Last year's "new" Madama Butterfly production was already a known quantity before arriving in New York (it originated at ENO), so this wasn't much of an issue then ... Now I wonder if they had a dress for the dress, which would have been the real final dress ...

Or whatever. Sieglinde shall be back in time for the festivities on Monday, so hang in there, lovely people.