I just arrived in New York a few hours ago on the red-eye flight from Los Angeles. Luckily, my hotel room was ready early and I could get a bit of rest before starting my meetings here.

It was good to be in Los Angeles. I had never seen a performance there and - as different as they were - enjoyed Rigoletto and Lohengrin, both operas with singers that were either new to me or that I hadn't heard in a long time. Especially the cast of Lohengrin, with veterans like Soile Isokoski, Dolora Zajick (debuting as Ortrud), Kristinn Sigmundsson, Eike Wilm Schulte (at 71! As Heerrufer in top form, he's the Domingo of German baritones) and our own Ben Heppner, was very impressive indeed. Both operas were conducted by Music Director James Conlon and it was good to spend time with him and my colleagues there.

I also spent some time with the young artists of the Domingo-Thornton Young Artist Program, a small group of mostly very young singers with great potential. One of the most beautiful young Paminas I have heard in a while and an outstanding Ann Trulove are just two examples.

Today, I will see the Met's new production of Don Carlo conducted by Yannick Nezet-Séguin. You will find the report here tomorrow.