Opera: La Boheme

As Helen remarked today, "You should go to more operas - you're not going to enough!" She was joking, of course - I've booked an inordinate amount lately. Well, what can I say - they're coming up, and I'm going to them! La Boheme is always likely to get me in the door if I haven't seen it in a while - it's absolutely and without contest my favourite opera.

Mind you, the Time Out article on this production included exactly one review - from an audience member, who gave it one star (the minimum) and pronounced it, "Very poor"! Gee, not very specific - I said I'd risk it. Cheapest tickets, yet again, on the ENO website - beware Time Out tickets; they charge a markup. I was delighted, for this production, to see that the cheapest tickets I could get without restricted view were both in the balcony and - joy! - the Upper Circle. Fewer steps, closer to the stage. No contest - I booked one there. Of course, the website was still having trouble accepting my password and I had to reset it again. Never mind, I hardly have to remember any of them - it'll just require me to constantly reset it anyway!

And so I headed into town, to the Coliseum, for the second night in a row. I took the stairs this time - so many fewer than to the balcony! It's not so much "Are we there yet?" as "Are we there already?!" My seat was close to the wall, so I had the luxury of the railing that runs along the wall, as I climbed down the stairs to my row. I had the second seat from the end - it's amazing, the one right at the end of that row is right behind a huge pillar! I really don't know how they have the nerve to sell it.

But my seat in Row F was the closest I've been to the stage here, and I was delighted! Legroom was a little snug, but I did have that seat at the end - which remained unoccupied - to swing into. And after the interval, the guy in the seat on my other side - who looked a bit cramped - moved to sit with his friends in the row behind, so I had space on both sides. This far forward at this level, you can see a fair bit of the ornate building detail, and of course, there is no railing to obscure the view, unlike in the level above! Seats are more comfortable down at this level, too.

I knew the production was set in the 1930s, and in English (still with surtitles, of course) - I just hoped they hadn't meddled any further with the show. I needn't have worried - the plot, and those gorgeous melodies, remain intact, and I was just swept away with it, snug in my corner of the Coliseum, cosy beside the pillar. And again, I thought to myself - I love this town! This wasn't the best production of La Boheme that I've seen, but I loved it, and considered it quite acceptable. Certainly, "Very poor" was a tad harsh. Five more performances remain, running until Saturday of next week. If you love this opera - or think you might - go see!

Just today, I got not one, but two emails from ShowFilmFirst, advertising free tickets to music events. Two take place tomorrow night, at the same time - the third is next Wednesday, when I'm going to a carol concert up the road, in Kensington, in aid of Hope and Homes for Children. So that was out, and I was down to two. I chose Dvorak Explored, in King's Place. And then it's back to Ireland for the weekend..