Hamlet, trickster, and the amazing Quasthoff

Living nine miles from Center City Philadelphia is like having a cultural banquet table from which to pick and choose, right in my backdoor.  Thursday my husband and I met friends at the Lantern Theater for a production of Hamlet. Friday I brought my 14 year old to a Philadelphia Opera double bill: Ravel's L'enfant et les sortileges (which I'd always wanted to see) and Puccini's Gianni Schichhi. And Saturday was the final concert of our Philly Orchestra subscription series.
The Lantern put on an energetic production of Hamlet; Polonius was humorous, Gertrude eloquent, and the facial and physical acrobatics of Geoff Sobelle, who plays Hamlet, staggering. What struck me most, though, were Shakespeare's words. I sat there wondering if I too was guilty of the very ambition, guile, and cunning that destroyed the Danish court. Shakespeare digs into your psyche this way.
Gianni Schicchi was pure fun. After the Ravel (Ravel is one of my favorite composers, but not perhaps for opera, or maybe Colette's libretto was too moralistic or the direction unimaginative) Puccini's lush orchestrations and vocal line were like balm, the famous aria O, mio bambino caro, and its orchestral foreshadowing tossed in nonchalantly, like a piece of Italian chocolate. My daughter and I laughed through the entire sly story. After the show, we walked a few blocks to Rita's and got a gelati and a blendini (appropriately Americanized Italian treats,) to cap off an evening she gratifyingly told her dad was "great."
By happenstance, we saved the best for last. Simon Rattle demanded everything from the Philadelphia Orchestra and the Philadelphia Singers, in Berlioz's nearly four-hour-long oratorio THE DAMNATION OF FAUST. But the highlight of this stellar concert was the artistry of the bass/baritone Thomas Quasthoff, who sang Mephistopheles. The other two soloists were brilliant in their own right, but Quasthoff captured us with his total embodiment of the role, his impeccable diction, and his vocal power and color that elevated everyone sitting behind and before him. He sounded even more in command than he did at the solo recital we heard him give at UCLA nearly ten years ago. One doesn't even need to mention the incredible fact that as a thalidomide victim, his ability to ambulate is severely hindered, that he apparently has only one lung. One can't help but think, what the heck is holding me back? Honestly.