Suor Angelica

Tuesday past, a friend and I were in Cafe Creme at the Conservatory, when a nun made her way to the counter. After consideration of the likelihood that a nun would be in the Conservatory at all, never mind the Cafe, it dawned on us that the "nun" was a singer in a dress rehearsal of Puccini's 'Suor Angelica'. Also on the bill was Massenet's 'Le Portrait de Manon.' At the performances tonight, the singing and playing were splendid.The cultural assumptions underlying these pieces are outmoded, of course, but did not detract from the performances. Love across a class barrier is somewhat easier than it was, perhaps, and nowadays no one would expect a nun to commit suicide because she had had a child years before. The most important thing about the Puccini is that all the characters are women; one would like the attitude toward feminine emotional life to be more positive. (7.IV.17)