200 Quiz Answer

The answer: Mozart’s “The Magic Flute"

Here’s the “bird man” in the Metropolitan Opera’s production of the opera, surrounded by Julie Taymor’s birds. 

(Also for Three Word Wednesday and ABC Wednesday: "Y" is for "yearning")

Here’s this week’s Berownial quiz question.  I wrote the following scenelet, thinking it might remind you of a gorgeous Mozart musical production.  What’s its name? 

“Cathy, I do hope you won’t take this the wrong way, but I’m afraid it was a mistake to invite Adam to dinner last night.”

“Yes, it was kind of a jittery evening, wasn't it?  I thought Dad might make an effort to be at least a little polite when I bring a friend home to meet the folks.”

“Well, you know your father.  His idea of a young man for his daughter is someone in the corporate world or in hedge funds or whatever.  He just couldn’t get his mind around what a ‘bird man’ is or what he does.”

“Mom, Adam is just a friend.  I happen to admire him very much.  There aren’t many young guys his age who are openly yearning, yearning for something and probably aren't sure themselves what it is.”

“Well, yearning is okay, I guess.  But I'm a bit like Dad; earning is pretty important too.  What is it exactly that Adam does for a living?  Something to do with birds, evidently.”

“It’s – it’s a bit difficult to explain.  His job is sort of unique.”

“He hunts birds?  He goes into the woods and shoots birds?”

“No, no, not at all.  He goes into the woods but not to kill anything; he sort of collects birds.”

“He collects birds.  I see.  It’s a scientific thing.”

“Well, sort of.  To be honest, I don’t have it perfectly clear in my mind just what he does with them.  I guess he sells them.”

“There can’t be a lot of money in that.”

“You see, Mom, that’s the thing.  He doesn’t care about money.  He has his mind set on higher things.”

“Like collecting birds.”

“I know it sounds odd, but keep in mind that the thing I admire is that he’s so dedicated, so committed, to his work.”

“Yes, you mentioned that he even dresses up like a bird when he’s working.  Dad did find that – strange.”

“Well, Adam says he wants to understand the mindset of birds when he walks among them.”

“H’mm.  I think Dad was worried that you might get serious about this fellow.  He probably could see himself walking down the aisle some day to give his daughter away and waiting there would be the groom – outrageously dressed like a bird.”