The Best of Opera this Summer

Opera fans- take note of some upcoming performances that should not be missed:

• Glimmerglass: It might be a four hour drive to Cooperstown to the Glimmerglass Opera festival, but it is worth every minute. The 900 seat opera house, surrounded by the countryside makes idyllic location for this very special musical event.  In a recent article in the New York Times Steve Smith wrote about the festival that it “rises to new levels of innovation, curiosity and, yes, chutzpah.” Now through August 24; 7300 State Highway 80, eight miles north of Cooperstown, (607) 547-2255; $26 to $132; $10 to $25 for youth (18 and younger.)

• The Summer Recital Series at the Metropolitan Opera: Outdoor opera is presented by the Met Opera at two locations. On Tuesday at the Jackie Robinson Park in Hamilton Heights, and on Thursday at Socrates Sculpture Park in Long Island City. For more information call (212) 362-6000.

• ‘Oresteia’: The only opera created by Russian composer Sergei Taneyev, “Oresteia” is an ambitious piece based on the tragic trilogy written by Aeschylus. Performances will be this Friday July 19 and next Friday July 26 at 7pm; Sunday July 28, Wednesday July 31, and Sunday, August 4 at 3pm. Richard B. Fisher Center for the Performing Arts at Bard College, Annandale-on-Hudson, N.Y, (845) 758-7900; $30 to $90.

The Earth Room by Walter De Maria

The Earth Room, a long-term installation which first appeared at its home at 141 Wooster Street in New York was created by artist Walter De Maria in 1977. The sculpture is made of 250 cubic yards of earth, taking up 3,600 square feet of floor space. The earth is 22 inches deep, and the total weight of the sculpture, entirely of earth, is 280,000 pounds.

New York’s Earth Room is the world’s third. The first was installed in Munich in 1968, and the second in Hessisches Landesmuseum in Darmstadt, also in Germany, in 1974. Today New York’s Earth Room is the only one of the three still extant.

Those who have visited the Earth Room, usually out of curiosity, come away with an experience not easily found in the middle of a city like New York- the overpowering scent of wet earth, as if you just entered a forest. According to some the sight is so unusual and even beautiful, it can bring tears to your eyes.

Earth Room

No photography is permitted in the Earth Room. Open from September 11, 2013 until June 15, 2014, Wednesday to Sunday, 12-6pm and closed from 3 to 3:30pm.

July Fourth: Remembering Our Soldiers

The Fourth of July is a great time to enjoy and to relax. In New York alone, there are so many activities to enjoy today from the Macy’s firework show to The Empire State Building (yes, it’s open!) and the Air & Space Museum.

While we grill out, relax and enjoy awesome fireworks displays, we should also take a few minutes to reflect on those who made it possible for us to enjoy today. The 4^th of July is only possible, of course, because of our soldiers and the battles that they endured. One such battle, the Civil War, is carefully detailed and preserved through the Shapell Manuscript Foundation. On July 2, 1863 at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, Private Ellis Strouss survived the heated and gruesome battle that took 50,000 casualties.

Having survived, Private Strouss penned a letter to his mother. In the letter he wrote,

"The Battle of Gettysburg is fought and thank God The Army of the Potomac has been victorious. I took part in the battle with my Regt on the 2nd inst and it has been my good fortune to escape unharmed. I am well and so are the rest of the boys in the Co. I cannot tell yet what the loss of our Regt is. We have many missing who may be either killed, wounded or taken prisoners…. The Loss in the Regt is (as far as I know) Killed 10 Wounded 53 Missing 68… Our Corps (the 3rd) has not started yet but we are expecting to go every minute. The Boys are all confident that we will whip Lee's Army so that he will not be fit to do anything more for some time to come."

Ellis C. Strouss enlisted in the Federal Army in 1861 as a private and was wounded twice in the course of the battle. He served until the Civil War ended and finished as a captain.

Let’s raise our cap today to soldiers like Capital Strouss and remember those who have given us the freedom to enjoy today’s fireworks.