do you hear the people sing?

We heard them. B. and I went to see a concert performance of Les Misérables with the Masterworks Chorale in San Mateo this evening. Stirring, but then it's always a good show. Chorale members did the minor parts (it showed), and the ringers brought in for the big roles were mostly veterans of Pocket Opera and/or the Lamplighters, and they were fine. No Gavroche, fortunately for small mercies. It was satisfying. There's still another performance Sunday afternoon.

That's not all I did today. I went to hear the New Millennium Chamber Orchestra in a Spanish program - the usual crowd, de Falla and Turina and Rodrigo and all - mostly because I hadn't heard them since their premiere concert 3 years ago and I wanted to find out whether they're worth reviewing. They've certainly improved since last time.

And I began the day's outings at the Polish Festival in Belmont. Made a change from the Greek festival in San Jose that I more often attend. But this is their first year doing it and they haven't yet figured out about parking monitors or spacing out the food booths. There wasn't much there and the lines got very long. I gave up on trying for some pierogi, and instead had a kielbasa (large, but bland) and a plate of something called bigos, a cabbage stew with meat in it: tastier than I'd feared. There was music and dancing too, and I could have listened to something called the Kuzyni Polish Street Folk Band for rather longer than they played.