Category Archives: going to operas

Coned off

Posted on March 13, 2015 by vhk10

I’d never been to a performance by Bath Opera although various people I know have been involved with the company. But when they put on Peter Grimes (an opera that they also staged some 20 years ago) I felt I … Continue reading →

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an extraordinary corset

Posted on February 8, 2015 by vhk10

Cinecasts of opera performances are popular these days, but I’ve never been to one until last week, when we went to Andrea Chénier, beamed from the Royal Opera House to our local Odeon. I admit to having a soft spot … Continue reading →

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Trwy’r anialwch

Posted on June 10, 2014 by vhk10

One of the most famous poetic evocations of the Israelites’ journey through the wilderness is in Welsh (look in your hymnbook). So it seemed appropriate to see Moses und Aron in Cardiff, complete with Welsh surtitles. Really though I was … Continue reading →

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Violetta’s back-story

Posted on May 19, 2014 by vhk10

One of the most poignant moments in the current (actually 20-year-old) Royal Opera House production of La Traviata comes even before the curtain rises; during the overture, images of 19th-century poverty-stricken girls are projected on it, to suggest Violetta’s origins … Continue reading →

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Cavalli’s Argonauts

Posted on November 18, 2013 by vhk10

Some of the duller evenings of my life have been caused by Cavalli’s Messa Concertata, as performer and audience. I was therefore slightly hesitant about spending an evening at one of his operas. However, I was at a loose end, … Continue reading →

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back at WNO

Posted on November 8, 2013 by vhk10

So it was back to the Millennium Centre in Cardiff a couple of weeks after our previous visit. On death row, the condemned prisoner is reminiscing about the good times while elsewhere frantic efforts are made to secure their release. … Continue reading →

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two free tickets to Tosca

Posted on October 15, 2013 by vhk10

I won a couple of tickets to Welsh National Opera’s Tosca via a competition on Twitter! This allowed us to go to a performance in Cardiff, with front-row seats in the circle and champagne and nibbles also available courtesy of … Continue reading →

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A family night out at the opera

Posted on June 15, 2013 by vhk10

#enowozzeck In fact we didn’t all go to the same opera. My husband and daughter went to Don Carlos at Covent Garden (she will write about this in her own blog in due course), and when I realised that the … Continue reading →

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Sequins, meat-hooks and umbrellas

Posted on March 2, 2013 by vhk10

#wnolulu WNO didn’t make it to Bristol with their new production of Lulu, so I had to go to Cardiff. Judging by what I heard around me, quite a few others had crossed the Severn for the opening night. (I … Continue reading →

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a Bohème that will run and run

Posted on January 13, 2013 by vhk10

We went to see Welsh National Opera’s La bohème in Bristol, the first time I’d had this standard operatic experience. The production was new this year, and I predict that it will be returning more than once, as it suits … Continue reading →

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A genuinely funny opera performance

Posted on July 12, 2012 by vhk10

All too often at performances of the opera you get that rather strained, knowing laughter that people produce when they feel it’s expected of them rather than when it is actually derived from the performance. There was a fair amount … Continue reading →

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An unrepresentative audience for Berlioz

Posted on April 25, 2012 by vhk10

I went to Welsh National Opera’s production of Beatrice and Benedict at the Bristol Hippodrome. This was a sumptuous production, with lavish sets and costumes, and beautifully lit as the evening turned to moonlight in the first act. But if … Continue reading →

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