Yes, they look happy. I'll bet the green was an expensive designer number and she got pleasure out of buying it and wearing it. She is just a little too rounded to wear horizontal stripes, at least, to western tastes. (Maybe in Russia people are less skinny-crazy.) At least she shows savvy and taste in her formal attire. And the singing, the singing! Lily

Oh, come on. Her knees aren't up to your standard of beauty? The woman is healthy, she had a baby, and she's not 25 anymore. The face looks happy, and that should be the important point. If she's a publicity hound, at least she's happy with her Faustian bargain. And she can sing real nice, y'know. Lily

Thanks for the info, and thanks for your frequent dispatches from Bayreuth. It was almost as good as being there. I somehow doubt I have the patience to write every year asking for a ticket, or to join various societies each year hoping for same. The only question in my mind is whether buying from a tout runs the risk of getting a counterfeit. What do you know about that?