Thursday, December 10, 2015

Thursday 10 December - Cavalleria Rusticana and Pagliacci

Building of the Day - Seen from Fish Street the ground floor houses a boutique and the next floor up is the Bear Steps Coffee House.  It is perched half in Fish Street and half by St. Alkmunds Churchyard.
It was raining hard this morning which put a damper on things although it had stopped by lunch time.  We went for lunch at the Porter House next door to the apartment.  It must hold the record for serving the smallest piece of fish for fish and chips.  Don't go there if you are hungry.  Mary did rather better but they are pretty stingy with their fish.
Theatre Severn
This shows how high the water was outside the Theatre Severn at the height of the flood.  Mary is standing by the slot where steel girders were inserted to keep out the flood waters.
This evening we went to the Theatre Severn to see a live broadcast of Cavalleria Rusticana and Pagliacci from the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden.  This was also showing at the Shrewsbury multiplex cinema and there were over 800 cinemas involved in 23 countries around the world.  As expected the performance was excellent.  The production was well thought out, the singing was first rate and the orchestra was good.  The Mascagni was probably more emotional than the Leoncavallo but they were both well worth seeing.  The scene was set in a small village in southern Italy and there were several linkages between the two operas, both in the performers, the set and some of the props.  It was very well thought out.

We talked to a couple during the intermission who said that tickets for Covent Garden could easily reach 130 pounds several years ago so we had a bargain here.  I am looking forward to seeing the Mikado on Saturday although this will be very light indeed.
One great feature here is that you can pay for drinks at the bar before the performance and they are set out for you at the intermission.



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