I love the performing arts and the Upper Valley is full of music, theater and so much more. For that reason, I was shocked at how much pedestrian Alex Hanson’s recent article about two opera performances opening this month makes it sound like all of this (“Opera companies are ready to resonate this year,” July 21). Insert ho-hum emoji. The article featured both Opera North, which celebrates 40 years in the Upper Valley, and the Berlin Wagner Group, whose New England-born singers visit New London from Berlin, Germany.

Although I don’t know the Wagner group from Berlin, I do know Wagner’s Ring cycle, which the group plans to cut from four multi-hour performances to one. However, the article certainly did nothing to engender my enthusiasm for this group of visitors.

I confess to being a fan of Opera North, which I have frequented for at least two decades. Otherwise, why would I have accepted to chair the board of directors?

As a local aficionado, I would like to express my feeling, shared by many others, that Opera North is a terribly underrated treasure here in the Upper Valley. When I was asked to attend my first performance many years ago, I doubted that Lebanon, delicious as it was, would be the place where I could find high caliber opera performances. I was terribly wrong and the productions have gotten slicker and slicker over the years.

Summerfest, the summer music festival at Blow-Me-Down Farm in Cornish, in conjunction with the National Park Service, should be on everyone’s radar, opera fan or not. On the banks of the Connecticut River overlooked by majestic Mount Ascutney, the Shining Tent is everyone’s “Midsummer Night” dream of a venue for world-class music of multiple genres, not just opera.

On behalf of all of us who support the wonderful art scene here in the Upper Valley of New Hampshire and Vermont, I respectfully request Valley News give our performing arts their fair value. It’s not the number of words that counts, but the authentic feeling they convey.

Barbara Butler

Woodstock

Chairman, Board of Directors of Opéra Nord

Charity Clark knows
the responsibilities of the AG

The January 6 parody sends a clear message that we need elected officials with integrity, honesty and a commitment to the rule of law. No more than in our attorney general. Charity Clark brings eight years of experience working on the front lines of this office: fighting for the environment, consumers and small businesses.

Charity’s cross-divisional experience as Chief of Staff to the Attorney General gives her a deep understanding of the issues facing the Attorney General, the Legislature, and the people of Vermont. As GA, she will address the difficult issues of substance use, reproductive health, domestic violence and climate change.

I met Charity ten years ago when she spoke to a group in Chester, Vermont. From my first conversation, I was impressed with her both as an individual and as a public servant. A lifelong Vermonter, she is smart, thoughtful and compassionate. She works tirelessly to support Vermont communities as a parent and volunteer.

I was inspired when Charity used its own resources to allow a child to travel to Vermont to reunite his family. She continued with collecting clothes and toys for this Brattleboro family.

Charity grew up working in the family grocery store in Londonderry. The valuable lessons she learned while stocking shelves and serving customers were the foundation for the strong, capable person she is today. She has never forgotten her roots and understands the challenges of parenting, working and serving others.

Charity has the leadership skills, experience, integrity and commitment to be a strong Attorney General. She will tackle common sense criminal justice reform and fight for reproductive freedom, corporate responsibility, protection of our environment and our right to privacy. Vote for Charity Clark in the August 9 primaries and November 8 general election

Nancy M Davis

White River Junction

Hartford is wrong about The Haven

It looks like Hartford officials have hit The Haven again. First, they canceled The Haven’s informal hot meal service to go. Now it looks like they told The Haven that they needed to have a connecting road between two car parks which would then leave no room for the low barrier shelter that The Haven has provided which is badly needed . Shelter or paved driveway: which in these difficult times is needed more?

Come on Planning Commission, stop behaving like brainless bureaucrats and start using good old New England common sense. You know why “bureaucrat” is a dirty word, right? Well, don’t prove that to be true. Approve the low barrier shelter and forget about the connecting road.

And, while you’re at it, let The Haven dish out a hot breakfast. The Haven is a vital organization in our area. The Planning Commission must stop arbitrarily preventing them from doing their good and essential work for the Upper Valley.

Nancy Parker

Lebanon