(Dan Steinberg/Los Angeles Opera)
Everyone hibernates in the winter, including a bearded Christoph Waltz, who looks fittingly like a young Giuseppe Verdi. The Austrian actor had a beard-off with Placidone after last Saturday night's opening of Simon Boccanegra at the Los Angeles Opera. It opened to James Conlon on the podium, Placido Domingo in the title role, and Ana Maria Martinez as Amelia.