two new chamber operas for philadelphia this week, one premiere called "Slaying the Dragon" from a low-budget troupe, and the second run of Nico Muhly's "Dark Sisters" at the Kimmel Center.

Nico Muhly is about as modern as a hipster from juilliard, and he's just about the most avant-garde event in recent Philadelphian history. Not that I'd know anything about it, because I'm protesting higher culture by not paying 60 dollars for the cheapest - sorry - "least expensive" seats. Maybe I'm in a bad mood, but it just seems silly to have the adventurous programming of philly's opera company with the prices that lock out everyone but adventure-loathing senior citizens.

Surely, I can support the lower budget troupe with their lower-brow effort. ... ... ... except they're 60 bucks too.