Attended "Sunday Afternoon At The Opera" and enjoyed it pretty much. It was by Vincenzo Bellini and, curiously, the setting was in Cromwell's England. Called I Puritani, it included the usual stock characters, nutty plot, and sumptuous costumes. The music? Great, I guess, judging from the applause and shouts of "Bravo!" from the Met audience, but as usual, it went right over my head.
I was glad "Afternoon" was scheduled for that time because it got me out of something else. At our last Breeze meeting, the rest of the editorial staff decided to decorate the gazebo at the clubhouse with bunting and so on for a Memorial Day cover for the paper. I said nothing, but couldn't in good conscience (a phrase from my Catholic girlhood) participate, so I e-mailed trustee Mary to the effect I was committed to the opera.
I know it would shock and anger my neighbors to be told I disapprove of commemorating those who died in battle, and I don't have the guts to be more open about this. However, it supports the ghastly militaristic fervor of this country and I won't be a part of it. Wilfred Owen wrote in DULCE ET DECORUM EST. Note his last lines:
My friend, you would not tell with such high zest
To children ardent for some desperate glory,
The old Lie; Dulce et Decorum est
Pro patria mori.
The title means "It is sweet and right to die for your country," which is, of course, the old lie. But if it wasn't constantly promoted, as in "Memorial Day" activities, who would ever swallow it? The whole poem can--and should--be read at http://www.warpoetry.co.uk/owen1.html