Lisa Hirsch reports the death of the indefatigable Bay Area opera enthusiast Verna Parino, who, in her long life (she was born in 1916), saw no fewer than seventy-six complete performances of Wagner's Ring cycle, on four continents. San Francisco Classical Voice interviewed her in 2011. In the lovely video above, focused mostly on music education, she gives a succinct explanation for her Ring obsession: "It gives me a reason for getting out of bed."
