On Wednesday evening I saw Verdi's Otello live in HD with Johan Botha singing the lead and Renee Fleming as Desdemona. Next up in two weeks will be The Tempest.

One problem, and I'm not a good friend because I'm whining about this: I used to go alone contentedly, but this year a woman I worked with has joined me for the two operas so far and said she'll go to Tempest and some of the others. But she whispers during the performances, giving her blow-by-blow opinions. I try to look totally focused on what we see and hear and only respond with an occasional "Mmm" without taking my eyes from the screen, but so far that's not working! If this is a problem for me, it must be so for others in the audience!