Fixed Gear Opera Appreciation Society

+1 For Faust.

Saw it last Friday having got tickets from the half price ticket booth on Leicester Square (good tip).

The way Gilliam managed to interleave so many eclectic elements of the background (German Romanticism, the Enlightenment, the rise of Hitler), without losing his thread, and while still managing to keep the message vivid was impressive. Also some fantastic performances from the cast, which you wouldn't necessarily back a film director to elicit.

Spectacular show, especially in contrast to the last thing I saw there (Lucrezia Borgia), which was terrible.

if you love opera, then one day treat yourselves to a night out here

Cannot recommend this highly enough, used to be 15 euros a ticket for the gradinata (stone steps of the amphitheatre) absolutely magical. Opening night of opera season, the light falls to a deep twilight 20,000 fans light birthday cake candles and hold them aloft, the orchestra launch into the opening notes of the overture and all this under the inverted bowl of a blazing night of stars. Huge sets craned into the bowl, crystal clear sound, going out into Piazza Bra for gelatto at interval, I have real trouble going to opera in this country as a direct result...

+1 Hombre.

Top Tip: Rent a cushion

+1 hombre.

Top tip: Rent a cushion

htfu

+1 Hombre.

Top Tip: Rent a cushion

Have needed a cushion in the past because the stone was so hot having soaked up high forties sunshine all day...
Just to stop arse burns.

Opera arse burns, that's a high class injury right there...

Off to Holland Park this evening, lovely whether for it....now where did i put my thermal everything...

Catalini 's opera La Wally is on sale for Holland park today, I'm planning on a Fri evening 29th July

Saw Two Boys last week, reccomended! (although come to think of it, I think the run has finished now)

Catalini 's opera La Wally is on sale for Holland park today, I'm planning on a Fri evening 29th July

Sold out
FFFUUUUUUUUUUUUURRRRRRR etc

I need to start planning my next fix.

I'm cheating on the opera tonight with the theatre, I'm very very excited to be going to see rosencrantz and guildenstern are dead.

Just came back from seeing Don Giovanni at the Soho Theatre. It was AMAZING.

GO.

Is that the modern interpretation as a Giovanni a city trader?
I was thinking of going on Sat

Do it. I can't reccommend it enough, it was one of the best things I've seen in years.

What did you think of R&G?

Spectacular, but a bit clinical?

I haven't been to see anything in a few months, and am fairly broke at the moment.
Anyone know of any good small productions to go and see? I'm still yet to find classic italian opera at a price I can afford.

It's a long wait but in March the English Touring Opera is coming back to the Hackney Empire

This thread hasn't popped up in a while! As it happens I'm going to see Castor and Pollux at ENO this Friday with the missus. Rameau not normally my cup of tea, and it could be further from classic and Italian, but it looks like being a pretty exciting production. Half price ticket booth has had stalls for £25 if you don't mind taking a last minute punt.

How was it?

Didn't get on with it I'm afraid.

There was some really good singing, particularly Castor, and I loved the chemistry between the four leads.

But I think the most difficult thing for any modern production of baroque is what to do with all the incidental music (and there's a lot of it). This one had some good ideas, but tried to put them all on stage at the same time, and I think lost dramatic tension as a result. The final act of the first half was seeing Pollux being dragged head first into a pile of earth by the ghost of Castor, dressed up to look like their mutual love interest Telaire, to muffled titters from large parts of the auditorium.

It's a shame - the staging and conception were really innovative, which normally really gets me up for it. And parts of the direction were really imaginative and well executed. But overall it didn't hang together very well. We left at half time.

Dress circle tickets for Castor and Pollux at ENO for £28

http://uk-deals.timeout.com/london/deals/london-english-national-opera-111103-5

going to first Opera tonight,
4 hours of Glass- Satyagraha- live link from New York,
wish me luck..

Tosca from the ROH is still on BBC iplayer from Saturday. It's incredible

Ah, that's tomorrow sorted then

Saw Onegin the other week at the ENO, great stuff. Would like to apologise to the lady in front though if she has found my chewing gum from Act 2, it was an accident....