Celeste Aida! Verdi's gorgeous, wonderful opera. Who cares about the silly plot? It's all about the ravishing music.

This book contains the libretto, biographies of Verdi and his librettist, Ghislanzoni, notes on early performances, and a discussion of the music.

Release planned for Tuesday, November 11, 2003 at Harris Theater for Music and Dance in Chicago, Illinois USA.

205 E. Randolph Drive.

This is Chicago's newest theater, designed specifically for the smaller music and dance companies. There will be an open house there from 3 - 7 p.m., and I will try to find a good spot to release this.

I chose an opera libretto because I will be attending performances of the Chicago Opera Theatre here. Unfortunately, I don't have a libretto from any of the operas they are doing this season, but you can't go wrong with Aida (even if it suits Lyric a bit better!).

UPDATE: Left the book on a ledge in the orchestra section. It was gone shortly thereafter.

Mixed feelings on the new theatre. Ballet Chicago was having class and rehearsing at the open house, so I had the opportunity to evaluate the sightlines, which are excellent (with the exception, as usual, of the first rows in the balconies - blame the building code for those high barriers that block the view).

No opportunity yet to judge the acoustics, though the first reviews are good.

Seats are comfortable and there is reasonable, if not luxurious, legroom.

And the women's restrooms have an amazing number of stalls! Maybe even enough!

However, it's ugly. Very sterile. It all seems very unfinished. The lobbies feel like you're in a parking garage and the theatre itself looks like they forgot to put up the walls and ceiling (all exposed pipes, etc.). But this seems to be the fashion in theatres these days, which is a shame.

It lacks intimacy and warmth, which does not bode well for the chamber groups that will be performing here, nor for the Chicago Opera Theatre, whose repertoire is best suited to an intimate house.

But we'll see.

I will leave this book at the CSOin the lobby between acts.