They're very similar, but Malteasers are better by a long shot. You don't see them often in the US, unless you're at a place with British imports.

I have a bunch of cool antique bottles that my grandfather dug up, mostly for various patent medicines.

There is that! :)

Oh man, Eugene Onegin was amazing!! I just saw it last week. My favorite singer (Peter Mattei) was in it, so that was a must-see for me. If you ever get a chance to catch it on DVD or something, I highly recommend it. Or sometimes they repeat them over the summer.

I've been a huge classical music fan since my early teens, and the pathetic gratefulness I've encountered at times also makes me very sad.

It's beautiful music! It just that it keeps going and going…. and going…

At least Elektra is shorter!

That's a real Sophie's choice, but the bad kind.

I don't get the elitist thing either, really. Most of the opera fans I know are from working-class immigrant families (like mine) who listened to the free broadcast on the radio on Saturdays.

I think that would be my best-case scenario, actually…

I'm not a fan of Peter Gelb (the Met manager), who seems determined to waste enormous amounts of money on totally ridiculous things (like the '60s Vegas staging of "Rigoletto" that everyone hated).

I got to meet Ashkenazy once! One of the big highlights of my life. He was lovely.

Totally agree. Our local orchestra plays the same boring repertoire all the time, which is why I hardly ever go anymore. (We briefly had a new conductor who was programming some really interesting stuff, but they fired him).

Did you see the recent Met in HD broadcast of "Rusalka" with Kristine Opolais? I thought it was terrific, and we were all completely emotionally devastated by the end.

I like the bits of Wagner without any singing…

I really prefer watching operas in the movie theater these days. The comfy recliners! The giant cup-holders!!

I think Strauss might be a bit too much for her, anyway. Especially Salomé, with the veils and sexy dancing and whatnot.

I love opera, but I can't blame anyone for falling asleep during Strauss operas. They just go on FOREVERRRRRRR

It's really good! In the summer, I pretty much live on caprese salad and I use it every day.

Oh God, Penn Station is the WORST. I've spent many an unhappy hour there.