Noblesse obliges and spreads

We went downtown (San Diego) to the opera last night. I find myself mostly these days appreciating turns of the plot and trying to remember how turns are affected. (I haven't SEEN Der Rosenkavalier since Opera Australia's production in 1973.) How do they get Ochs to the tavern at the beginning of Act III if we're near the end of Act II and he is left onstage alone remembering his favourite song? Why would he go? How is it explained? Is there a jump? No, Annina, the intriguer, comes back in having been hired by Octavian offstage to arrange an assignation. 'Offstage' is so useful. And these days I also enjoy the way the music weaves in further details - the morning music that had accompanied Octavian and the Marschallin in bed now accompanies Octavian and Sophie's getting together.

On the way back to the venue, however, after a coffee at Starbucks, we noticed that there was a banner on the grand old 1910 Hotel US Grant which said, 'Sycuan Band of the Kumeyaay Nation'.  I wondered why this was there. Then, before the performance, the 'please turn off your cell phones' message was sponsored by the Sycuan Casino.  I looked this up on Google and yes, it's a casino owned by the Sycuan (pronounced: suh-KWAHN) Indians, who now also own the downtown hotel named after President Grant, who granted them (no pun intended) land north of here in 1875, and seem to be benefitting ultimately, as many Native American bands now do, from the assertion of Indian sovereignty in Chief Justice Marshall's decision in Worcester vs Georgia. The Sycuan seem to be quite a success story. According to the Sycuan's website, there are only about 120 Sycuan, but who support - it must be - around 400 organisations, including 911 for Kids Foundation, Adopt a Block, American Indian Film Festival, American Parkinson Disease Association, Amputees in Motion, Back Country Square Dance Association, Bonita Vista School District, the Braille Institute, the Burn Institute, the California Association of Hostage Negotiators, North Coast Repertory Theater, Patrick Henry High School, Pauma Indian Reservation, Parkway Bowl's 200 Club... and that's not even really scrolling down! I find it interesting to consider how this sovereignty works within states and how it doesn't conflict, but I dare say it's a bit like having the ACT in the middle of NSW.