"The Lost City of Z" and "The Marriage of Figaro"

The 10:45 lecture in the amp was given by Paul Goldberger, Pulitzer Prize-winning architecture critic for “The New Yorker,” and author of “Why Architecture Matters” entitled “Architecture, Sacred Space and the Challenge of the Modern.” He said if someone from outer space were shown Disney concert hall and the new Cathedral of our Lady of the Angels in Los Angeles and asked which one was the church they would probably say the Disney. He also noted that the sacredness of architecture comes from how it affects us and said he feels two of the most sacred spaces in New York City are Central Park and the Brooklyn Bridge.

Other highlights of the day was hearing David Grann, author of “The Lost City of Z”, in the Hall of Philosophy at 3:30 p.m. and the Voice Program Opera Performance of “The Marriage of Figaro” in Fletcher Music Hall.



David Grann is the most unlikely looking adventurer you’ve ever seen. He reminded me of Jason Alexander. And he doesn’t think of himself as an adventurer, just a writer. He was doing research for a book about Percy Fawcett, a British Royal Geographic Society explorer who disappeared in the Amazon in 1925. The character of Indiana Jones was partially based on Fawcett. Before David Grann knew it, he was in Brazil to try and retrace Fawcett’s steps. He even finds it hard to believe he spent two months in the Amazon in very dire situations and emerged unscathed. The description in his book of going to an outdoor equipment store to buy gear for his trip is very funny. His day job is as a writer for “The New Yorker” magazine. This was his first book and Brad Pitt is developing a movie from it. He also told us the story of research he did for an article entitled, “The Squid Hunter.” He is an adventurer.



There is the Chautauqua Opera Company and a separate Voice Program here. The Voice Program performed “The Marriage of Figaro” tonight and we went to that instead of the CSO. Smaller venue and fewer props creating the set but wonderful voices. One of those slapstick plots and nobody died. We didn’t get home until 11 (walking about a block). I momentarily forgot how long operas are.

We’re still searching for next year’s housing.