I was "quite transported" the other night, since on Saturday we went to the opera - the Glyndeborne touring company, at Canterbury - sat in the stalls thanks to dear Anna T who bought us these to "compensate" for the appalling seats we had when we saw "Nozze di Figaro" in the spring. I had never seen L'elisir before, the only Donizetti I know is Lucia di Lammermoor - a different thing entirely. I suppose it's a melodramma or dramma tragica? whereas L'elisir is dramma iocosa... thus illustrating how Donizetti et al benefited from Rossini's opening up of the the strict categories of opera, so that composers could write in different styles.... but I digress (I must get some benefit from all that work I did on Rossini).
The production was stunning in so many ways - design, set etc. brilliant, lighting, and the setting - Fascist Italy with strutting Belcore and preening blackshirts... very clever. Nemorino was played as a sort of Charlie Chaplin figure - pathetic and lucklustre, with a certain charm. It really is a clever little piece, a melange of folk-tale elements and social comedy - the ancient rivalry between the farmer/peasant and the soldier (Far from the Madding Crowd might have borrowed some of its plot).
Surtitles make all the difference, because even a decent knowledge of Italian doesn't make it possible to follow it word for word - consonants get lost when words are sung - even by native Italians. The singing was good - the chorus was fab (Glyndeborne really go for choruses - which is why the tickets are so expensive I suppose) and lots of amusing business - almost too much in places. But it is genuinely a funny opera, and well acted, and the Dulcamara character is terrific. I just loved it, and was sitting there, really enjoying it. We had a drink beforehand and a drink at the interval and a good chat afterwards. Anna had two tickets spare, because her boys didn't want to come, so we dragged Clare along and Anna & R brought Julia - who piquantly is the first wife of the naughty choirmaster... his current squeeze approached us during the interval to say "hi" and I wasn't sure whether to introduce Julia to her or not, as I'd only just met Julia I wasn't sure of the etiquette - but J soon proved to be a mensch and a really nice woman. I liked her almost immediately, and Clare pounced to exchange views on the miserable lives of the Cathedral choristers. For once Mark and I had landed on Planet Agreeable, and all it had cost us was petrol, parking and a round of drinks....
And, I want to put on record, it was absolutely lovely to see Robin who was, I thought, on really good form... and not a gibbering wreck as we had been told...
The production was stunning in so many ways - design, set etc. brilliant, lighting, and the setting - Fascist Italy with strutting Belcore and preening blackshirts... very clever. Nemorino was played as a sort of Charlie Chaplin figure - pathetic and lucklustre, with a certain charm. It really is a clever little piece, a melange of folk-tale elements and social comedy - the ancient rivalry between the farmer/peasant and the soldier (Far from the Madding Crowd might have borrowed some of its plot).
Surtitles make all the difference, because even a decent knowledge of Italian doesn't make it possible to follow it word for word - consonants get lost when words are sung - even by native Italians. The singing was good - the chorus was fab (Glyndeborne really go for choruses - which is why the tickets are so expensive I suppose) and lots of amusing business - almost too much in places. But it is genuinely a funny opera, and well acted, and the Dulcamara character is terrific. I just loved it, and was sitting there, really enjoying it. We had a drink beforehand and a drink at the interval and a good chat afterwards. Anna had two tickets spare, because her boys didn't want to come, so we dragged Clare along and Anna & R brought Julia - who piquantly is the first wife of the naughty choirmaster... his current squeeze approached us during the interval to say "hi" and I wasn't sure whether to introduce Julia to her or not, as I'd only just met Julia I wasn't sure of the etiquette - but J soon proved to be a mensch and a really nice woman. I liked her almost immediately, and Clare pounced to exchange views on the miserable lives of the Cathedral choristers. For once Mark and I had landed on Planet Agreeable, and all it had cost us was petrol, parking and a round of drinks....
And, I want to put on record, it was absolutely lovely to see Robin who was, I thought, on really good form... and not a gibbering wreck as we had been told...
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