As is tradition, they did dress up Powell hall, and the new addition as well. I wondered which decorations had been in storage the past two years and which wre new. I don’t remember there being a giant nutcracker by the grand staircase positioned just so for a photo op. In fact, I don’t remember so many photos being taken on the staircase ever before.
We sat in the box, which was new, not a tradition, and found that the seats in the upper balcony boxes are narrow. Very. Very. Narrow. (“Noted,” Anne said, primly.)
The Messiah was much the same as always, except for one thing: the baritone was out and another baritone subbed in, and it was so sweet to watch the faces of the tenor and baritone when they stopped singing and returned to their seats at the edge of the stage. Whichever one was seated would give a look of affection and encouragement to the other, as if they wanted to applaud but their faces had to do the work.
I’d like to see more of the first and last, and fewer narrow seats.