SIMON OF THE OPERA. At some point in the past century, Peter Gelb and I worked at Columbia Artists Management Inc. at the same time. For some reason (or perhaps, as is often the case in business, for no good reason at all) relations were strained between his division and Publicity, where I worked. Publicity was supposed to send pertinent clippings to all divisions, but I was told not to send anything to Gelb. Nevertheless, when I saw negative clippings about him, I passed them along anyway. I honestly figured that he should at least be prepared to defend himself against the criticism, but after a while he contacted the head of the department and asked why he always got negative clippings from Publicity. It must have been like getting hate mail.

So now Peter Gelb heads the Metropolitan Opera, and I'm a blogger--who's in a position to send something of a note of appreciation to him. You see, so far I've been to three performances under Gelb's aegis, and I've enjoyed them all. I've already written about seeing The Magic Flute at the movies. More recently Jenůfa won me over despite the big rock in the middle of the set.

And last night my opera-loving companion and I were fortunate enough to behold the Met's beauteous production of Verdi's Simon Boccanegra from rush orchestra seats that cost only $20 each!

Simon Boccanegra is a political drama that revolves around a major career change in the life of its title character. At the outset of the opera, pirate hero Boccanegra agrees to enters politics. Though he is popular as a doge, various men--from tenors to basses--are out to get him. Fiesco wants revenge because his daughter had been impregnated by Boccanegra well before any wedding plans were in place. Adorno wants revenge for his father's death at the hands of Boccanegra. And greedy political operative Paolo wants vengeance after Boccanegra refuses to allow him to marry Amelia, a "mysterious" orphan girl who just happens to be Fiesco's ward and Adorno's beloved.

If you think that synopsis is confusing, get a load of this version, from the Met. But don't let the convolutions (or Bernard Holland's take on them) dissuade you from going: The story is actually well-plotted and pretty easy to follow, with a theme of forgiveness that reminded me of Jenůfa. The gorgeous music includes a classic Verdi chorus. Last night all of the performers were very good, but creamy-voiced Thomas Hampson stood out as Boccanegra. (Angela Gheorghiu played Amelia.)

Remaining performances are on Saturday, March 3, at 1:30 pm; Tuesday, March 6, at 8:00 pm; and Friday, March 9, at 8:00 pm. I understand that the optimal night for rush tickets would probably be the Tuesday performance. For the best chance at those tickets, you can line up by the Met's underground gift shop about three hours in advance of the curtain. The conversation with the other rushees is supposed to be good...and you're likely to be on your way, tickets in hand, within an hour or so.

Thanks, CM, for standing in line and being such a good opera-loving companion!