My Short Visit to the Chautauqua Institute

I took a couple days off this week to make a quick trip to the Chautauqua Institute to visit my daughter Carla who is an Young Artist (Opera) for the summer season which is a great honor.  Only 20 some singers are selected out of nearly 700 applicants.  http://opera.ciweb.org/young-artists/ 

Below is Norton Hall where most of the opera programs are held.  I attended the Opera Scenes on Thursday afternoon.  http://opera.ciweb.org/young-artists-scenes-programs/  Amazing talent! 

Chautauqua Institute is a small community promoting the arts and religion, and there are seminars, lectures, discussion groups and artistic performances every day.  It is a place for many divergent beliefs and cultures to exchange ideas, and I felt the presence of the intellectual community in my wanderings.   People relaxing in the shade, reading or discussing today's lecture, musicians practicing, the sound of a quartet rehearsing in the early morning, a minister's sermon... 

flowers everywhere carefully tended in front of the small cottages and home, nestled in quaint side streets leading to the lake.

I woke up early Thursday morning to meet Carla's opera mom Jane for breakfast.  She is a patron of the opera who lives at Chautauqua during the season and in NYC the rest of the year, and she watched over Carla offering advice and encouragement, and meeting any other needs she might happen to have.  I immediately liked her and wish I could have had more time to spend with her.  I am thankful that Carla had someone like her to depend on, and I'm sure they will meet again in NY.  Jane is an absolutely lovely person. 

Wednesday evening I saw an amazing dance program by the North Carolina Dance Theatre in Residence.  I saw some of their rehearsal in the afternoon and decided to attend the perfomance that night. 

There is an art center for visual artists including studios for printmaking, sculpture, painting, andwhen I walked through, the smells and aromas reminded me of my art school days.  There are dance studios and an opera center on the grounds. It's an amazing array of talented artists from all walks of life. 

Even the housing is comfortable, even though I got a ticket for parking in front of the opera dorm for the night.  Oh well, it's for a good cause. 

So Carla leaves to return to NYC tomorrow morning, and I'm sure it's a bittersweet time for her to say goodbye to some astonishingly talented but lifelong friends. I met so many wonderful people during the short time I was there, and I'd like to think I will return for a longer time to absorb all that Chautauqua has to offer. 

It was a good visit. 

Bought a car, Wolf Trap, Campfires and other stuff

It's been a busy couple weeks. Things are finally back to normal and I'm back to my retirement mode, still unpacking for good measure.

So I finally bought a new car last week. I had rented a car for a month when I moved, and it cost me a small fortune since I didn't drop it back off in Manhattan. When it was getting close to returning it, I dragged my butt out to shop for a car and bought a 2009 Kia Sportage. I originally went shopping for a Suburu because they have such a good reputation and gets around in the snow, which I will definitely need here in upstate NY! I ended up with the Kia because it's been redesigned and is better quality than when they first came out, and it was about $5000 less than the Suburu. In addition, I got a 10 year 100,000 mile bumper to bumper warranty for about $1300 extra which gives me peace of mind since I plan to keep it forever. Anyways, it's a sturdy little SUV and I think I'm going to like it a lot.
So I took my new Kia to Vienna WV to pick up my daughter Carla, who was an opera intern at Wolf Trap this summer. She reserved a ticket for me to see La Boheme Friday night and it was absolutely lovely.

I have to rave about Diego Torre, a Filene artist who played the part of Rodolfo; shades of Pavarotti. I was absolutely mezmerized by his talent. I met him at one of the after-parties, and he is the most humble and nicest guy you could hope to meet. He is going to be such an influence in the opera world. He is making his Met debut later this year, and I plan to be there. I enjoyed myself immensely. Sorry the picture isn't the best, but it's the only one I have.
The next day, we packed up the car and headed back home. Carla stayed a few days with me to regroup before heading back to NYC. Nina and her boyfriend Marcus also came up that weekend from Philadelpia and we all had a grand time, barbecuing, and had a couple campfires in the fire pit in my yard.

I loved having my 2 kids here for a few days, and I'm loving this small-town life where I can get to the post office or grocery store in less than 5 minutes. Last Monday, I had my things which had been in storage for the past 7 years delivered from PA. So the unpacking continues. I still have time to relax and take time to get acquainted with my new home.