Wow. I can see now why the 1966 Böhm/Nilsson/Windgassen Bayreuth TRISTAN is such a classic. I've largely avoided it because my vinyl is in bad shape - but I'll have to invest in a cleaner version. 🔥

Celebrating Pride with a bottle of Bordeaux blanc, blasting the Schumann Piano Concerto, nibbling on Iberico, and doing squats in my underwear, just as Harvey Milk would have wanted.

Could the Barrie Kosky FLUTE be the most ubiquitous production in opera history? It's been in LA at least 4 times; and produced in more than 40 cities, often repeatedly. This must be a record, no?

Man. Just saw 1/3 of a Walküre at the LA Phil and what a joke… probably the worst production I’ve ever seen. La Goerke and Ryan Speedo Green were solid, as expected, but the director (Dudamel’s buddy, of course) should not be allowed within 10 miles of an opera stage. New Yorkers, beware!

Cautiously optimistic about the radical curatorial approach of the new LACMA!

My current office overlooks Walt Disney Concert Hall (my last office), which just sits there, mocking me in all of its glorious intrigue. 😐

My favorite #Maythe4th memory is the time that I animated a lightsaber onto John Williams' baton for the LA Phil and his management got very upset. 😂 "What gives you the right?," I recall one of them demanding, quite pathetically.

Never thought I'd say this, but I miss the 90s.

Tried to compensate for my fragile masculinity by spraying the house with too much Loewe Tomato Leaves.

Just a lovely TRISTAN yesterday at the Met. Lise was quite ravishing, Stuart Skelton brilliantly embodied the role (in a one-off performance), and Yannick was impressively short. ♥️

It happened.

Tōkyō

Thursday 7:21 AM: Boyfriend asks if he is a short king.

Fairly raggedy AKHNATEN from LA Opera last night, but an ecstatic, appreciative audience. It's the one thing that I love about classical audiences in Los Angeles — they're curious and excited, not jaded at all. And the fashion was delicious.

You know what they say: clamayto... clamahto.

Tokyo by night, LA by day.

Hey y’all, I’m offering free lessons to Tesla drivers on what a turn signal is and how to use it.

Oh, god. Not Catherine O'Hara. Fuuuuck.

Adobe Creative Cloud: I just want to say, you are pathetic.

Can we take a moment to appreciate my boyfriend's iconic style?

The boyfriend and I went to a Heated Rivalry-themed NYE party and, being uncultured gays, were thoroughly confused. 🏒🥅🍆🍑🤷‍♂️

Another visit to Chicago, another Frank Lloyd Wright tour. This year, the wonderful Unity Temple in Oak Park.

The French must have a word for those precious, heady moments before a beautiful straight guy opens his mouth.

The best part of my week was hearing Tavener’s The Lamb at Disney Hall. A perfect antithesis to everything in the news.

Can we circle back to the fact that Sheryl Crow sang a Bond theme??

It's taken me several years to realize that I don't like reading long-form articles online, so I'm very happy to see The New Yorker print edition in my mailbox, once again. 🙌

Thanksgiving has arrived early! This year, be a grain of sand in heaven's eye and you shall taste eternal joy.

A movie that takes place where you're from.

In what is perhaps a harbinger of the coming AI wars, Siri started talking to my Georg Solti Rite of Spring vinyl on the turntable tonight. "I've added that to your calendar," she warned. 😳

Only LA can pull off a program of Debussy and Ravel, a Mozart piano concerto, and a massive Pintscher commission conducted by the composer. Absolutely rapturous.

I was delighted to visit the new Corita Art Center last weekend, devoted to the life and work of artist/nun/activist Corita Kent. What a beautiful, resonant vision. 🙌

👏 MAKE 👏 CHERUBS 👏 BIBLICALLY 👏 ACCURATE 👏 AGAIN

Waiting with regret on a sticky friday night for this fucking draft

Glad to spend a breezy few days in Dallas, where my new company is headquartered. Had hoped to catch some opera… but it’s just another Carmen. 🤷‍♂️

Halloween, Highland Park-style. 😂

I was lucky enough to run into Diane Keaton several times at art galleries... and she always looked f-ing amazing. 🙌

Dreamt that I ended up in a very friendly cuddle puddle at the LAPhil offices. I guess all of those “Gustavo’s Fiesta” emails are doing something. 🤔

Dressed in my funky Creative Director pants, eating my gay little work salad

It’s gotta be higher. Higher! Make a wall. A wall!

I would love to be part of the conversation on MSNBC related to the Kimmel story and it's chilling effects on first amendment, but unfortunately I was terminated by MSNBC for stating that "hateful thoughts lead to hateful words which lead to hateful actions".

Is this, like… what I think it is?

Celebrating Labor Day by watching Ma mère. #summer #oedipus

Wonderful evening of Beethoven at the Bowl with pianist Nobuyuki Tsujii and conductor Giedrė Šlekytė (and my delightful friend, Veronika Krausas, who broke out her rusty Lithuanian backstage).

Dearest Martha, The National Guard stand solemn watch at the Krispy Kreme tonight. I cannot tell if they defend the people from the donuts, or the donuts from the people. Powdered sugar hangs in the air like cannon smoke. Jensen took a hot coffee to the face, he may never recover. Yours in glaze,

My friend was complaining that his wife just wants to go to EDM festivals and party at the beach, while he wants to vacation with Bach and the Flemish Masters. 😂 I assured him, "We are a unique breed, my friend."

The world is burning down, etc, but I also have a deeply-rooted need to see the batshit ice-skating TURANDOT in Munich.

First TRISTAN, now WALKÜRE. Why does the LA Phil insist on performing only one act per night?? Do they think they’re making it more accessible? Who in their right mind would want to have an early dinner, drive to downtown LA, and pay for parking for THREE NIGHTS IN A ROW? It’s so infantilizing.