Golda Schultz

Last night I took Robin to an orchestral concert at the New York Philharmonic as a Valentine's Day gift. The peerless orchestra, conducted by Santtu-Matias Rouvali, performed three different pieces. The centerpiece was Tchaikovsky's Fifth Symphony and, of course, that was an exciting event. But what really surprised me was an accompanying vocal performance of songs written by Richard Strauss. The songs, based on poems, were sung in German by opera soprano Golda Schultz.

I've never heard a more beautiful, talented voice. Golda Schultz has the sound of an angel and the strength of a Valkyrie. She was born in South Africa, lived in Germany and recently performed with the Metropolitan Opera here. She studied at the Juilliard School in New York.

We had third-row center seats and were about 15 feet away from her. Wow! You haven't experienced life until you've sat that close to a master-musician deploying unmatchable vocal skills. Golda did things I wasn't aware are humanly possible and she did them with delightful bubbly personality. It was a seraphic performance I'll never forget.