...Bernstein disappeared from view in the middle of a concert. "He jumped up into the air to punctuate a particularly forceful part of a symphony," says Mishori, "but he then vanished. He'd fallen off the podium. Two of the musicians helped him regain his feet and the rest of us carried on regardless.
Priceless.
A big fat huge warm HAPPY 70th to the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, now engaged in a tour of the US! You all make Opera Chic's very proud.
It's OC's duty to remember the brave maestro who conducted the first-ever performance of the IPO, in the terrible year of 1936: Arturo Toscanini.
And in closing, let's hear it from two of Opera Chic's favorite maestri and humanitarians:
"For two and a half hours every evening, we have peace." -- Zubin Mehta
"...in an orchestra you learn to hear one another." -- Daniel Barenboim
יום הולדת שמח
(OK, the serious post is over: Opera Chic will now return to her usual pointless ways.)