Janice Rosen asks:

>Folks, I will be in New Orleans the weekend of January 19-20, 2002 for a
>business meeting and would like to attend an opera or concert there that
>Saturday and Sunday night.  Anyone have any recommendations so I can put
>in my ticket order in advance?  Thanks for your input.

The Louisiana Philharmonic will perform on the 19th:

* Arnold: Four Scottish Dances
* Tchaikovsky: Piano Concerto No. 1
* Elgar: Enigma Variations

The pianist is somebody named Stanislaw Loudenitch, winner of the 2000 New
Orleans Piano Competition.  I haven't heard him.  The conductor is David
Lockington.  Lockington's okay, but the music director, Klauspeter Seibel,
is superb.

No opera, I'm afraid, until March, if then.  The New Orleans Opera is in
deep trouble, mostly through its own incredible mismanagement (this is an
opera town).  I'm hoping they make it to Porgy and Bess, scheduled for next
year.

There's generally something going on the weekends.  Lots of
semi-professional and amateur music-making.  Almost no concert in the more
than twenty years I've lived here has sold out, so you're probably safe.
You can check the paper when you're here.

Steve Schwartz