Since seeing the poster for Onegin, I was interested, so I was delighted when it came up in Time Out, and delighted to get quite a cheap ticket for last night. Lower amphitheatre, too! Oh, and once again my point is proved - plenty of tickets available from second-hand sellers, but not as cheaply as from the official venue - and although my vantage point was high, the view was perfect. As seen on the Opera House website, which so obligingly provides a photo of the view from any seat in the house.
Mind you, when it came to it, it was so cold last night I'd happily have stayed in, had I not booked. Still, off I bravely ventured in the cold. Interestingly, just before I left, I got a letter from the opera house - an appeal for pointe shoes. How appropriate! Apparently, they cost £39 a pair, and a dancer could go through three in a gruelling performance - more commonly, three a week. The opera house typically spends £250,000 a year on shoes for its dancers. Well, I sympathise n all, but I'm feeling rather broke, what with tickets going on sale for the extra U2 concerts in the next week.
When I got to West Brompton, I was surprised to see that the next train wasn't due for 4 minutes - unusually long for a weekday. The only Eastbound trains scheduled were to Edgware Road - turns out there was some problem with District and Circle line trains running to town. Anyway, I only needed it as far as Earl's Court - just the delay was inconvenient (Edgware Road trains run less frequently). At Earl's Court, a huge crowd waited for District Line trains into town. I guess nobody told them, eh? Glad it didn't affect my route.
I got to Covent Garden with just over five minutes to spare. At the opera house, collected my ticket, and was told to head for the lifts, as it was nearly performance time. Unfortunately, one was out of order, and with a long queue for the other, someone else finally asked us to take the stairs. Nuts! Had I gone the way I normally go, I'd have taken the escalator most of the way. I won't be caught like that again - I nearly winded myself climbing the five storeys to the Lower Amphitheatre. Anyway, when I gasped my way there, at least my row was right beside the entrance, and I excused myself past the others in the row and squashed myself into the second-last seat. No armrests, y'see. And for the rest of the evening, I was fighting for thigh space with the ladies on either side. Ah well.
The view, as I say, was perfect. And oh, what a treat! Well worth braving the icy conditions. This ballet is justly famed for its beautiful pas de deux, but the whole of the choreography was absolutely stunning! Now officially my second-favourite ballet of all - after Mayerling. With the ladies spinning in floaty dresses, and the gents dashingly dressed in officers' uniforms, and with its tale of unrequited love, this would actually be the perfect show for Valentine's Day. Not that it's actually showing that day: I do suspect that others have had the same idea though, because the closest show to Valentine's Day - the Monday after - is sold out.
Oh yes, very, very highly recommended. Breathtakingly beautiful. Sold out next Saturday, and on Monday the 16th, as I say. Limited availability for tomorrow night, and the last performance on the 27th. Good availability on other dates. And I'm sure the second-hand vendors have a few to spare, but do make sure to check the official site first. Booking recommended - last night sold out, by the looks if it.
On the way home, I witnessed another of those crazy people trying to squeeze onto a Tube carriage whose doors were closing. Seriously, there was hardly any space for her, but she persisted. For several seconds, the doors were jammed - looked terribly uncomfortable, as she was squashed between them. She was checking for bruises after they finally opened and she hopped on. Is it worth it? particularly when her friends were left behind on the platform. Back too late to blog last night, hence the delay. Tonight, I'm glad not to be going too far from home, what with snow on the ground. I'm heading to the Print Room in Notting Hill for the first time in ages, to see a play called Title and Deed. Apparently, it's a monologue, by a Pulitzer Prize finalist, about being an outsider - and played by an Irishman, so that should resonate..
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