After a week off today was my first day back in the office. A week off essentially means that I don't go to the office every day, but I still read and answer my e-mails and attend functions for the COC, like the annual party for the members of our Golden Circle, the group of our most loyal and generous supporters, last Wednesday.

Also, we had the final presentation of the designs for our new production of Mozart's Magic Flute next season. It has been one and a half years since I've started working on the concept for this production with the director Diane Paulus and her designer Myung Hee Cho and I am very pleased with the final designs. The production will be very beautiful and treat Magic Flute as the fairy tale it is without neglecting all the other layers that have made it such a beloved piece for first-time operagoers and seasoned opera lovers alike. Coincidentally, I spent last week with Mozart Dialogues, a collection of interviews, speeches and essays by the great conductor Nikolaus Harnoncourt. It is all in German, but his insights into Mozart and his work fascinated me so much that I will have the article on Magic Flute translated into English for my COC staff and the production team while we prepare for our upcoming production.

Today was spent mostly with catching up on correspondence in the office before I went to the Scarboro Golf Club for the end of the COC's annual Golf Classic, together with Operanation and the Wine Auction our third big fundraiser. I am not a golfer, but all participants seemed to be really happy with their day. I was there to greet the players when they came back from the course and we spent a few hours together for drinks and dinner before everybody headed home.

Below is an impression of the golf course.