Thank you Met Opera! I am listening to Puccini’s verismo opera Turandot airing on KDFC in my little apartment on the anniversary of its premiere in 1926. Please check out my March 6, 2016 post that asks, “Will Turandot figure out what true love means?” It was part of short weblog series on this site using a trade wind bead motif called “The Trade Wind Opera Company” done when I was attending San Francisco Opera regularly. Now, with music organizations in hiatus due to COVID-19, the artistry and virtuosity of so many performers can be found on YouTube. I am so grateful to see the best of the best within home settings like my modest home… well, not quite.

Puccini’s verismo opera Turandot is framed within an ancient legend containing three riddles of life and love. In my imaginary landscape it seems relevant to our situation today where we are all making sacrifices for love. Thank you, Liu, for embodying humility and love when some world leaders are not. This surreal flower peaking through a parched earth signifies the human spirit surviving in adversity. Design by Meredith Eliassen, 2020.