I went out into the house and looked up at City Center's beautiful ceiling while the New York City Opera Orchestra was rehearsing for the concert later that evening, and thought to myself: There really is nothing like this.

Seventy years represented, savored, remembered—my own twenty-three folded into the fabric of all that came before. Domingo sang and conducted, warmly greeted Julius Rudel, who gave the great singer his debut decades earlier. It a kick to stand onstage with my colleagues and sing "Let our garden grow" from Candide, then hear and feel the waterfall of applause that washed over everyone.

I have no illusions that NYCO will rise like a phoenix. Anything can happen in this town. Meanwhile it's always good to be with family. 

Note October 13, 2019: The post bankruptcy company bearing the NYCO moniker is a dim shadow of its current self, having gone from presenting only a few productions a year to losing its board chairman and the chair’s singular source of funding.