I thought I hated The
Messiah, but it turns out I only hate bad Messiahs.
My husband loves to sing, and
for the past many years we have attended a Sing-Along Messiah. I can’t carry a tune AT ALL, so for me, being
at the Sing-Along Messiah is akin to be being the only sober person at a party.
My mother, who we are staying
with in Virginia, also loves classical music.
For a Christmas treat, I booked tickets to the Kennedy Center Messiah
featuring the National Symphony Orchestra, a choir, and some opera singers.
Full disclosure: I do not
like opera. I have tried to like opera,
because it seems like the sort of thing a liberal elite such as myself should
enjoy, but it’s boring and screechy. So
when we came up one ticket short, I was planning to do some Sudoku in the
Terrace Bar during the performance.
But, as often, but not always
(sadly), happens, last minute paid off: I scored a single box seat ten minutes
before the show. So while my family was
in the cheap seats in the second balcony, I joined two confused families in their
private box.
I can honestly say that the
tenor soloist at the Kennedy Center Messiah moved me to tears. Despite the fact that it is seen as a
Christmas show, the Messiah covers the whole life of Christ, and when the tenor
was being Jesus and singing about how the world had abandoned and despised him,
I was moved. And I’m a lapsed Catholic,
one of the most cynical religious groups in the world!!
And the University of
Maryland Choir was amazing! So young to
be so talented!
So now I know: watch out for
false Messiahs, but the real ones are pretty great.
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