“When you put on the nose, it gr—”

Interior, Cutler Majestic Theatre

[ Review of The Nose by Opera Boston at the Cutler Majestic Theatre on Tremont Street ]

In the pre-performance lecture, NYC Opera Dramaturge Cori Ellison congratulated Boston on ‘scooping’ the Met (which will offer The Nose in their ’09-’10 season).

It was a delight to see my friends from Boston’s Firebird Ensemble serving as the core of the pit. Though they suffered a slight indignity early on, when the lights in the pit failed, and conductor Gil Rose had perforce to make an apologetic announcement to the theatre (illumination was rapidly restored).

Another great moment was the ‘want-ad fugue’ after Kovalyov unsuccessfully entreats the editor of the paper to place a notice of his errant nose.