On Friday, I went to the Metropolitan Museum of Art to see the New American Wing. I remember going there before and liking it, but when I went to see the redone exhibit, I was amazed at how it turned out. It looked like a courtyard, with a fountain and sculptures, leading to two old-fashioned electric lights, leading down to some steps, leading down to a facade of what appears to be a mansion. Inside the "mansion", there were various rooms like those of the wealthy in the 18th and 19th centuries.

I thought the opera was okay. I was a bit dull, but then again, the story is supposed to be depressing, and the sets really showed that. The dominant color was drab gray, the most depressing color in my opinion. And the music was certainly more modern than what I'm used to in opera, when I see works such as die Zauberflote (The Magic Flute by Mozart) or der Fleidermaus (The Bat by Johann Strauss II) which have more old-fashioned music, that is, 18th and 19th century music.

Unfortunately, I didn't get to see the Tim Burton exhibit at MoMA yet, but I hope I get to. (I had to do a lot of work this weekend.) I just think that Tim Burton is a great artist/director/producer with his macabre yet comical imagry and his eccentricity. Although the only movie of his I know I saw was The Nightmare Before Christmas, I do hope one day to see Ed Wood, Edward Scissorhands, and Beetlejuice, among other movies.

I thought the Alexander String Quartet concert was pretty good, even if the acoustics were poor. (Concrete isn't a good material for the walls of a concert hall.) I haven't heard many live Mendelson or Schumann quartets, or much Mendelson or Schumann at all in a concert hall, so seeing this was certainly different from the more odd avant-garde plays and concerts that we've been going to. However, I was surprised and somewhat disappointed that the concert was only an hour and fifteen minutes long, but I guess it has to be short since tonight is a school night.

I still remember Quartett. I still remember how, even though I tried researching the story it was based on (Le Liaisons Dangereuses) I still was confused by the story. I remember how it was like a freakshow; wild, avant-garde, and quite edgy, and still (and probably because of this) I loved it. I loved its play between Valmont and the Marquise, not knowing who was playing who. (Valmont said he was a woman, which confused me.) I loved its lighting, its use of rock and rap (seeing Valmont rap was hilarious and fascinating) and its minimalistic yet striking sets.