Opera: La Traviata

And so the Man With the Hat started the month with Let's Do London - for less! at La Traviata, at the Opera House. And of course, I booked. I was rather worried about this cold I suddenly contracted this week though, and the cough that started to threaten yesterday. I did think about taking a drink with me, but didn't, in the end..

Stayed late in the office, which is so handy for Covent Garden, and had a pleasant stroll down. Got my ticket and made my way upstairs - I hardly knew anyone from the group that attended last night, but was seated beside a very nice lady. It's great to see new people attending, and even better when they turn out to be sociable. Anyway, she turned out to be something of an opera buff, which made the evening more interesting.

Straight away, you have to concede that this is a lavish production! Sumptuous costumes combine with dramatic backdrops - and while there is a large cast, it's the singing of the principal characters that most impresses. Now, the first time I saw this opera was an Ellen Kent production, near where my mother lives. And it's great that they get opera there at all - they only do two productions per year, one night each. But it has to be said, although the backdrops are impressive, the performances often leave something to be desired.

Last night though was the first time I've heard this opera sung so emotively. This was the first time I believed the story of the courtesan with the heart of gold, forced to give up the only man she ever loved. And I could just imagine the Victorian ladies, feeling daring - perhaps shocked - at attending a show about a person like this.. and then sobbing into their hankies as they saw how tragic and noble a figure she was! This is a beautiful production - to look at and to listen to. Highly recommended - playing again in June and July, with a different cast.

Oh, and I felt in good company with my cough and sniffles - half the audience was at it. When my cough finally hit, in the final act, well, it just felt as though we were all just coughing along in sympathy with Violetta, on stage, dying of tuberculosis (spoiler)..

At the intervals, there was a bewildering rush for the balcony, despite the cold. Happily, although I didn't bring outerwear for the first interval, I was in time to grab one of their warm blankets.. When the show ended, there was apparently a private function in the Sun, so we made for The Covent Garden, which had plenty of seating upstairs. We were just in time to order a quick bite to eat - they serve food till 11! And wouldn't you know it, what we had just seen sparked off a fun discussion on feminism. Which lasted until we got thrown out of the upstairs, and then out of the downstairs pub, by the increasingly exasperated server. And so home, well satisfied.


Tonight, back with both that group and London for Less Than a Tenner, to Cadogan Hall for a concert involving the works of Brahms and Elgar, among others. And with my cough worse today, I really shall have to take a drink with me.

Tomorrow promises to be unusual.. it's that late-night storytelling event at the Wellcome Collection. Tickets were all free, and are now all gone. I was too late to get a ticket for Ben Haggerty's storytelling performance, but I've booked the second, as well as the first and third talks. Anyway, there's tons of non-ticketed stuff on.


And finally, on Saturday, I'm finally going to the much-advertised British Museum Tour - Ideas That Made our World. A Funzing event, as advertised by two of their Meetup groups - London Speaks Sessions and LDN Talks @ Night. So I booked with both..