By DANIEL J. WAKIN [NY Times, 15 November 2005]

"Picture up!" went the shout, and the plaintive sounds of the Barcarolle from Offenbach's "Tales of Hoffman" floated into the Metropolitan Opera House. In the pit, bows moved and a flutist bobbed her instrument. Hands wagged in vibrato motion on cello fingerboards, and fingers gave big pizzicato plucks on double basses.