Cities tend to offering interesting contrasts, what with crowding huge numbers of people from quite disparate backgrounds into a small area.  New York City certainly offers the extremes more than most.

I went with my grandmother and several of her friends to the ballet last night.  It was an interesting show (Firebird, Apollo, Thirteen Diversions) at Lincoln Center’s Metropolitan Opera House.  The venue itself was quite a sight, glittering chandeliers and a huge set of front windows showcasing a couple of Marc Chagall’s paintings.

As the restaurant we went to the previous time was closed, we ended up eating at a place on the second floor of the opera house itself.  A high-class sort of dining experience, as well it should have been, considering the prices.  It got me thinking as to the sorts of people who normally go to such places.  I suppose ballet (and opera) have always been primarily amusements of the well-heeled.  Certainly, it was amusing to look around at intermission and see all the folks milling about in their (to me) fancy clothes chit-chatting of this and that.  I suppose that’s what high-culture gets you.

The program itself was fun too.  I’d not seen Firebird performed as a ballet before, but this was apparently not the usual Ballanchine arrangement but one by another choreographer, and the costumes and set pieces were very elaborate and eye-catching.  I also enjoyed the music.