The Letter opens in fifteen days. This morning I fly to the West Coast (again!) to see two shows at the Will Geer Theatricum Botanicum. On Sunday I’ll travel from Los Angeles to Santa Fe via Albuquerque, and from then until July 25 I’ll devote virtually the whole of my time and energy to my first opera. Not all: I’ll have to write three pieces while I’m in Santa Fe. Such is the life of a working journalist. But most of my Wall Street Journal copy is already filed and edited in advance for the next three weeks, and I’m going to do my damnedest to finish writing the rest of it before I hit town.
No, it doesn’t seem real–not quite, not yet. I’ve been exchanging several phone calls each day with Paul Moravec, who’s already out in Santa Fe helping to rehearse The Letter, but I still can’t believe it’s really, truly happening, no doubt because I haven’t seen it yet. That comes when I report to the Santa Fe Opera House on Monday. I hope I’ll have the presence of mind to blog and tweet about what I see there, but don’t be surprised if I dry up for a day or two out of sheer excitement. Nothing like this has ever happened to me before, and I can’t wait for it to start.
Terry Teachout on the arts in New York City
