"Life is travel and change. Such pleasures I cannot give up."    (Wotan, Das Rheingold, Scene 2)

I don't get chills much at music events anymore, but when the Met Orchestra launched into the opening bars of Wagner's Das Rheingold Saturday afternoon - with its overlapping strings mimicing the waves of the Rhine River - I began to tremble. It had been five years since I last heard this music live - which sets the table for the entire 20 hour saga to come - and I could barely hold back the tears. Moments like these are precious and few, and you want to grab onto them while you have the chance. They are the signposts of a life well lived. (For those unfamiliar, you can read the Met's synopsis here.)

Long live the Met. And especially you, Jimmy. (Cast pics below.)