Concentré de Nouveau Monde

Fast facts about the Met (full reviews to follow):

• I'm so fed up with people thinking opera is about that and other superficial bullshits
• Americans have no idea on how to applause properly, let me tell you. No unison, no roaring use of their feet to compliment their hands, no intelligible shouting ("bravo" is such a difficult word to shout distinctively, whereas monosyllabic growls are so easy to spit)
• New Yorkers are definitely grafted with their cellphones; of the three times I went to the MET, not once was the performance free of any ringing. Because you know, in NY things are moving so fast you've just got to be connected at all times
• Free programs are indeed a terrific idea (and basically very simple: print a common program for all performances of the month, and insert 4 double pages for each specific performance). Nothing to do with the free programs at the Paris Opera (basically one page with the cast)
• Doors of the hall only open 20 minutes before the start of the performance; therefore, there's absolutely no need to rush inside the MET early
• Getting a cab at the end of any performance is so easy it's actually pretty amazing; because you know, New Yorkers can't walk half a block, so they're all stuck at the same place competing for the same cabs; all you have to do is cross the street to Broadway (at least 50 meters away) where there are plenty of empty cabs passing by (this also worked on "the big night premiere" of La Fille du Regiment)