Opera: Nabucco

Glory, things still seem to be on top of me.. well anyway, Friday - a sad day for many of us, following Thursday's referendum - was rendered sadder by being Helen's last day at the company. Drinks after work were up the hill at Heart and Soul - the only option without driving. We sat outside - it was reasonably warm, intermittently sunny.. oh, and we finished off the white wine between the two of us. And I do mean all the white wine they had. You've never seen a bar so poorly stocked - the lady behind the counter was going to get some from the store for us, and give us some ice to chill it on the spot, until she discovered there was none in store either! Really, with the slowest service locally, and so frequently out of the essentials.. this is the last resort of the desperate! Like, I suppose, the steady stream of Asian students heading there for the Friday night cocktails..

The chat, however, was convivial, and the drive home - later than usual - was also easier than usual, with hardly any traffic. So that I cut my regular best time by 1/3. Really makes a difference!

Saturday was back with the Man with the Hat for a performance of Nabucco, at the Royal Opera House. Plácido Domingo is advertised for this, but it was after I'd written my last post that I seemed to remember the Man warning us, a while back, that Senor Domingo wasn't appearing in Saturday's performance, and offering us a refund if we wanted one. Didn't make a difference to me, so I later forgot all about it - but a very generous offer, I thought! Typical of the Man..

Typically of a day when I had nothing else to do, I was (just a little) rushed in setting out. Train to Waterloo, and had I had time, I'd have walked from there - but time was a bit tight, so I said I'd take a bus. I do keep forgetting what central London is like at the weekends - it's not that often I'm in town then - and pushing through crowds at Waterloo was vexing, being in a hurry, as I was. I wasted a little time checking routes, but really, I don't think there's a bus from Waterloo that doesn't stop at Lancaster Place: just on the other side of the bridge, and the closest that most of them go to the Opera House.

From there, just follow your nose - straight ahead, and it isn't long before the Opera House peeks into view, on the left. Now, the Man had been conscientious in warning us that many of the entrances are closed for renovations, so he wouldn't be at his normal spot; instead, he'd be at the main entrance on Bow Street, for us to collect our tickets. In fact, he posted a picture on the Meetup page.. with an "M" to denote exactly where he'd be! All of which made it very easy to find him. Once I'd.. pushed through.. more crowds!

It was drizzling persistently by the time I found him, wearing a black jacket to match the black cap that we're always to identify him by. Now, I do hear rumours that he's got a new cap.. haven't seen anything of it yet, but I believe he's choosing his moment. Days like this, I bet he was glad to have a cap to shelter under.. he'd already been there since 6.15, nearly half an hour by that point, and had promised to wait until 7.30, half an hour after the performance started, so that latecomers could pick up their tickets. That's a lot of drizzle. And with no late admissions, that would mean he'd have to watch the start himself on a telly, in a room that he's assured me is plush. Still..

So I grabbed my ticket and blithely left him to it. Well, had I had an umbrella I'd have offered it.. but I was conscious that I didn't have an awful lot of time to chat. We were up in the rafters again, and that's a long way. And I didn't particularly want to check out the telly room. A cursory bag check (I did have a rather small bag). Going in that way, there's no signage for the Amphiteatre - funnily enough, given that this is supposed to be the main entrance, the signage is much better from the piazza entrance, where the box office is. But I know the building well, and as this is the way I normally exit, I knew to climb the main stairs and take the escalator to the Amphitheatre. Where the signage is much better - and I got there at the same time as my companions.

He had two bands of seats - one in the Lower Amphitheatre, with a direct view, but I was in the cheaper seats, in the side slips. Yes, you have to lean to see properly - but it's ok. And we had the lower of the two rows of seats there - which is nice, as the ornate railing provides plenty of footholds so you can vary your position; leaning can be hard work. In the slips, the row behind is so much higher that you don't get in their way by leaning.

I'd forgotten to pick up one of the free fliers on the way in, but I've seen Nabucco before, and I know the basic story. Nabucco is the King of Babylon - the name taken from Nebuchadnezzar, but he's more a composite. His daughter falls for a Hebrew slave. As in the bible however, Nabucco goes mad, and his elder daughter engages in a power struggle - the opera is more concerned with this.

It's a sparse production, as I've seen before with this opera. The cast are dressed in 1940s style - evocative of the persecution of the Jews, I guess. A grey stage houses, mainly, a sandpit, in which most of the action takes place. At intervals, this is filled with tall standing blocks - representing the Jewish temple that Nabucco ultimately destroys. Brooding, stone-effect panels to the side add to the effect. A screen at the very back of the stage discreetly displays crowd scenes to give a greater sense of the mass of people.

Not that there aren't a lot on stage anyway - let me tell you, when the entire group of Hebrew slaves points itself at the audience and lets rip, the sound is thunderous! I closed my eyes for the famous Chorus of the Hebrew Slaves. But this is an opera full of familiar arias - a catchy repertoire, and justifiedly popular. And the visual highlight is when they light a real fire onstage - pity the man stood beside it, I'm sure I got a touch of the heat even in my elevated seat!

At the interval, some of us repaired to the balcony, where we got a table, for once! And it turned out that the poor Man with the Hat did indeed wait outside for someone who never turned up for their ticket - but sent a message that he got afterwards. Which is why it's important to let people know..

Afterwards, we made our way down the road to the Sun Tavern, where he'd reserved the back section for us, upstairs. And we chatted away merrily till closing, the television over our heads showing us the news (silently), and a Brexit conversation going on below. A conversation that'll continue for a while yet.. A pleasant walk back to the station, and home. Rather late.

Yesterday was supposed to be a film - but it literally took me all day to do the film list! So I didn't go to anything. However, I haven't taken a vow of isolation - tonight I'm off to a concert I got a cheap ticket to - Terence Blacker is playing at Brasserie Zedel. Dress code: "smart casual" - means I'll have to change my shoes, and Lord knows where I can scare up a "smart" coat! But hey.

Tomorrow, I'm using my newly updated film list - to go to a film! Top of the list is Udta Punjab, showing in my local - at a more reasonable hour.

And on Wednesday, I've arranged to go to a Funzing event. One of their Meetup groups - London Speaks Sessions - has organised a talk about how to Fly First Class for Free! Well, I'm hoping they continue their tradition of plenty of free wine..