An afternoon at the Met.

My wife and I spent this lovely Spring day at the Metropolitan Opera in New York seeing Verdi's Macbeth, based, of course on Shakespeare's. After running through Wagner's Ring Cycle over the last couple of years, seeing an opera where you're in and out in about three hours is like watching a sitcom.

But naturally, this was no sitcom. It was wonderful Verdi, wonderful performance and the stirring psychological drama of the Bard.

A tenor called Thomas Hampson sang the title role and at the end of the opera as the cast and conductor were taking their bows, there was a special tribute to Hampson--who was celebrating the 25th anniversary of his debut at the Met.

He thanked all the people who had supported him along the way. But what really got me is when he said, "Most of all, I want to thank my detractors. For making me always try harder."

It was a beautiful afternoon.