For 33 seasons, the ruler of the line has been Helen Quinn. A truculent but benign ex-keypunch operator for Columbia Pictures, she supports her retirement with the dollar bills most offer when returning their numbers. "It's a public service," she says. "The Pavarotti crowd is usually the worst. Your Wagnerites are the most polite." But 10-year vet Josephine Rowe does most of the heavy lifting, including the midnight gatherings and 6 a.m. summits. "Helen paid her dues," Rowe says diplomatically. "She did a great thing for the opera lovers of New York who are short of funds and who have to work. Because before that it was day by day." Rowe wouldn't mind a piece of the tips, though. "She doesn't share them. I could use some, because I'm unemployed. But that would be like trying to take cubs from a tiger." —Eric Weisbard
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