Rearrangements

A bit of illness is holding up a full post here on yesterday's 2011-2012 Met season announcement (here in print or here in Flash pictures), but two non-production matters caught my eye:

First, to quote the press release,

In response to customer requests for an earlier start time, the curtain time for most weekday performances this season will be 7:30 p.m

A lot of people seem to have wanted this switch from 8pm -- I wasn't one of them. An impossibly early supper or stuffing oneself hurriedly at intermission (and for those who work New York hours, the move makes the latter more likely) makes operagoing a drag.

Second, next season's three Ring cycles are all equally spaced out. No single-week runs or matinee sequences as has been standard in rerun years. So beware, if you're planning to travel for a cycle.

On the whole, not much seems to happen before April, but Katarina Dalayman's return in a full set of Brünnhildes is great news.