Oh God, what have they done?

When Stephen Harper took the stage at the NAC earlier this year, who knew that we'd see more of the same happen again?

Conservative MP Maxime Bernier and former Liberal deputy prime minister Sheila Copps are going to be hosting "Opera on the Hill:" a fundraiser for Opera Lyra and the NAC Orchestra. Am I the only one who wants to see, instead of a Beatles tune, an O soave fanciulla between these two:

Harper's surprise performance last night with Yo-Yo Ma

Wow. It's no secret that I'm not a Harper fan, but this, From the National Arts Centre Gala last night, was kind of funny. Okay, very funny. And he's not bad.:






I did, however, expect him to balk at the lyric "I get high with a little help from my friends."


Now for a serious question: If you're a performer of Yo-Yo Ma's stature and, assuming that you're diametrically opposed to everything that the PM stands for, particularly arts cuts and the like, can you in good conscience go out there and perform with him? What if you're a card-carrying Tory and there's a Liberal (or, NDP even - hey, a guy can dream,) PM? Discuss. and fill out the poll on the right.

When is a performance too good?

Opera can really affect people, as Opera Lyra found out on Monday. OL's Magic Flute at the NAC had a bit of offstage drama when, about 10 minutes from the end, just after Papageno contemplates suicide, a woman decided that she wanted to end it all too and tried to jump from the balcony. Reportedly she climbed over the railing and tried to make the seven metre leap down. Yikes!

Interestingly, the last time that I did a Flute it was outdoors and all that happened during that scene was that someone in the audience yelled out "Don't do it!" and made everyone, including Papageno, burst out laughing!

Interestingly, I found out days later that it was my wife's best friend.

Totally no longer welcome at any indoor opera performances.

True story.