The Jewish New Year–Rosh Hashanah–began Sunday night, so let me wish one and all a sweet and happy year. I must say an awful lot was going on in the last week of the old year–most notably, the Ryder Cup, college and pro football games, and the last weekend of the regular baseball season. Here in Washington, we had the annual dinner of the American Enterprise Institute Wednesday night, at which Princeton professor Robert P. George was honored with the Irving Kristol Award. AEI gives the award annually to an individual who has made exceptional intellectual and practical contributions to improve government policy, social welfare, or political understanding. (You can watch his conversation with AEI president Arthur Brooks here). I was asked to make a few brief remarks at the dinner, and was pleased to do so, praising the selection of Robby as one of which my father would have approved, and reminding those who might be unduly depressed about the election of one of John McCain’s favorite lines: “It’s always darkest before it turns pitch black.” I’m good at providing an upbeat start to a gala evening….

 

​On Friday night we had tickets to the Washington National Opera production of Mozart’s Marriage of Figaro; in my humble opinion it’s the greatest opera ever. It was a great deal of fun, with particularly fine performances by Amanda Majeski as the Countess and Ryan McKinny as Figaro. Here’s a YouTube video of Amanda Majeski singing “Porgi Amor,” at the Met a couple of years ago, for your listening pleasure.

 

It was great to get away from the election for a few hours (except at intermission, where of course people came up to volunteer their opinions or–mostly!–to offer encouragement). Does anyone seriously want to maintain that the second act finale isn’t the greatest moment in opera? In music? If you do so want to maintain, feel free to write in and offer a dissenting opinion–you will be disqualified from all subsequent newsletter contests and promotions!