I have been fantasizing ever since I first heard it announced last March about going back to Covent Garden to see Angela Gheorghiu in her first staged Tosca. On records, she is one of the very best, combining a nearly-Callas level of intensity with a far more beautiful voice. Bryn Terfel as Scarpia is icing on the cake, and, of course, the pairing of Pappano and Puccini is as natural as the pairing of Pepperoni and Pizza (try saying that five times fast!) OK, Marcelo Alvarez is an excellent tenor when he's not singing in French, but we all know who should be singing Cavaradossi. Along with Bryn (who stole the whole evening, as Figaro as well as Scarpia), Angela sang Act II of the opera at the Met's Opening Night Gala in September, providing a tantalizing preview. Although she was slightly inaudible in the middle of her voice during big orchestral outbursts, I don't think this would be a problem at a smaller house like Covent Garden. While I no longer have the "sell your kids to get a ticket-this will be Angela's greatest triumph!" feeling that I did after seeing the Jacquot film, it's still not something I want to miss. Not to mention it's been 6 years since I've been to London, which is way too long for an Anglophile such as myself. Well, now that I'm actually earning some money, this might actually become a reality, although I'll still have to forgo a few things in order for it to happen. No more than bare minimum monthly payments on debts.
The Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, focus of vacation dreams
Unfortunately, getting tickets to Covent Garden is a pretty difficult proposition, at least for the "hot" shows. I am now very surprised that I was able to get tickets for the February 2000 Romeo et Juliette with such ease - I just called Covent Garden the morning the tickets went on sale. The rules have undoubtedly changed since then. As far as I can tell, you pretty much have to be a member of the Friends of Covent Garden or have otherwise made a donation to the Royal Opera to get a "hot ticket" because those worthies have advanced booking. Having been unable to get tickets for either La Rondine or Faust(1) because all the tickets had been snapped up before they went on sale to the general public, I had considered joining the Friends to ensure I could get tickets for Tosca, or frankly, any future show with Angela (she is apparently doing Faust in September), Roberto, Tony, or possibly one or two other irresistables. But it costs £75 (about $125), which is a little more than I can immediately spare due to my desire to pay down my date and indulge in some New York opera dates. Fortunately, I do have a dear, sweet, young friend in London (the future famous Thai soprano Lullalit Supatravanij) who let me use her Friends account to order my Tosca ticket. Since Friends Online Booking opened on Tuesday, and I went on the site on Thursday, I figure there would be no problem getting tickets.
Until I screwed up.
Initially, I had fantasized about buying a ticket for the last performance on July 8, figuring I might be able to sneak off to Orange to see Roberto in Aida 3 days later. Well, not only would that set me back a further £950 (Over $1500? Oy!), but Angela isn't singing that performance - her last is July 1st and there's too much of a gap between the dates (2). No way I could afford that much time in London. And I've also signed up for the Berkshire Choral Festival and I have no idea what week they actually put me in. I should know in a day or two.
The opening night performance, on June 13th, is a big expensive gala with tickets going up to £1000, and probably even the cheapest seats are about £300, way beyond my price range (despite the additional incentive of a Karita Mattila recital the day before at Wigmore Hall). Also, more importantly, I will be in a concert on June 18 of Jewish music with Nashir! The Rottenberg Chorale at Merkin Hall. Dress rehearsal is Sunday the 11th and and the last rehearsal is the 14th, which would make going to London that week difficult. So, I would aim to get tickets for June 23rd, and possibly also for June 26th, and seeing if there was anything else in terms of opera or theater in intervening days.
So I eagerly went to a Tasti De-Lite near work where you can sign on for much cheaper computer time than at Kinko's, and went to work with my credit card. I didn't want to go beyond £50 if possible, and I wound up spending £45 (about $80), the highest price range available in the Ampitheater (next up was £115 in the Balcony - too much!). I was happy that I got a reasonably good seat on the side (P35), a little higher up than I wanted, and without armrests, but considering that Covent Garden is smaller than the Met and my 12X binoculars, I would probably have no problems seeing or hearing. Plus it looked like a good view of Tony! Unfortunately, I was so excited and in such a hurry (and having some trouble with the booking page) that...
I BOUGHT THE TICKET FOR THE WRONG DATE!!!
June 16th. Two days before my concert. Probably because it was the first date listed on the booking site.
Initially, I had fantasized about buying a ticket for the last performance on July 8, figuring I might be able to sneak off to Orange to see Roberto in Aida 3 days later. Well, not only would that set me back a further £950 (Over $1500? Oy!), but Angela isn't singing that performance - her last is July 1st and there's too much of a gap between the dates (2). No way I could afford that much time in London. And I've also signed up for the Berkshire Choral Festival and I have no idea what week they actually put me in. I should know in a day or two.
The opening night performance, on June 13th, is a big expensive gala with tickets going up to £1000, and probably even the cheapest seats are about £300, way beyond my price range (despite the additional incentive of a Karita Mattila recital the day before at Wigmore Hall). Also, more importantly, I will be in a concert on June 18 of Jewish music with Nashir! The Rottenberg Chorale at Merkin Hall. Dress rehearsal is Sunday the 11th and and the last rehearsal is the 14th, which would make going to London that week difficult. So, I would aim to get tickets for June 23rd, and possibly also for June 26th, and seeing if there was anything else in terms of opera or theater in intervening days.
So I eagerly went to a Tasti De-Lite near work where you can sign on for much cheaper computer time than at Kinko's, and went to work with my credit card. I didn't want to go beyond £50 if possible, and I wound up spending £45 (about $80), the highest price range available in the Ampitheater (next up was £115 in the Balcony - too much!). I was happy that I got a reasonably good seat on the side (P35), a little higher up than I wanted, and without armrests, but considering that Covent Garden is smaller than the Met and my 12X binoculars, I would probably have no problems seeing or hearing. Plus it looked like a good view of Tony! Unfortunately, I was so excited and in such a hurry (and having some trouble with the booking page) that...
I BOUGHT THE TICKET FOR THE WRONG DATE!!!
June 16th. Two days before my concert. Probably because it was the first date listed on the booking site.
Well, I thought, no problem. I'll just go back on, buy a ticket with the right date, and sell the "wrong" one. Nope. The booking said "maximum of two tickets" and that's not per date as I originally thought, it's per production! So I'm stuck with this one. Fortunately, Lulu already bought her ticket, otherwise I might have shut her out by accident.
Even worse, the June 23 performance had the £50 seats available! And I would have also been able to get a seat for a performance of Le Nozze di Figaro the night after with a good cast and conducted by Tony, no less! Nothing else is going on at Covent Garden on the 15th or 17th, and as far as I know, the only other opera that weekend is at Holland Park. Although I will check the other music venue sites, there doesn't seem to be anything that appealing on first glance. And the regular theater.
Well, the situation isn't hopeless, at least. If I can't get a ticket for the 23rd by regular booking, I imagine there is someone in Operaland who would rather go on the 16th than on the 23rd, and I can swap. Worse comes the worst, I'll just go on that date - at least several other members of the Yahoo! Gheorghiu and Alagna club (where I am a moderator) will be going then, most likely, including Lulu, and I can actually get to meet them. And since I'll be spending less time in London, I don't have to take as much vacation time or spend as much money - although it's still likely to be at least $1,000, mostly for the airfare. I'll just have to fly home on Sunday morning in order to make the concert (less sightseeing time), and hope I'm not too jet-lagged (I'll probably have time to nap), or even worse, that there isn't some kind of flight delay. I definitely don't want to miss the concert - not only is the music very beautiful, but the conductor is a really nice guy and a dreamboat.
But even if everything turns out OK, this is just so embarassing! I feel like Nemorino: "Io son sempre un idiota"! He certainly has more brains than I did (3)!
Even worse, the June 23 performance had the £50 seats available! And I would have also been able to get a seat for a performance of Le Nozze di Figaro the night after with a good cast and conducted by Tony, no less! Nothing else is going on at Covent Garden on the 15th or 17th, and as far as I know, the only other opera that weekend is at Holland Park. Although I will check the other music venue sites, there doesn't seem to be anything that appealing on first glance. And the regular theater.
Well, the situation isn't hopeless, at least. If I can't get a ticket for the 23rd by regular booking, I imagine there is someone in Operaland who would rather go on the 16th than on the 23rd, and I can swap. Worse comes the worst, I'll just go on that date - at least several other members of the Yahoo! Gheorghiu and Alagna club (where I am a moderator) will be going then, most likely, including Lulu, and I can actually get to meet them. And since I'll be spending less time in London, I don't have to take as much vacation time or spend as much money - although it's still likely to be at least $1,000, mostly for the airfare. I'll just have to fly home on Sunday morning in order to make the concert (less sightseeing time), and hope I'm not too jet-lagged (I'll probably have time to nap), or even worse, that there isn't some kind of flight delay. I definitely don't want to miss the concert - not only is the music very beautiful, but the conductor is a really nice guy and a dreamboat.
But even if everything turns out OK, this is just so embarassing! I feel like Nemorino: "Io son sempre un idiota"! He certainly has more brains than I did (3)!
If I go backstage to meet Angela after one of the Traviatas (considering that Roberto's health is still less than perfect, I'm still not sure how good an idea that is), I might tell her of my folly. It would be a good laugh. And I can ask her my title question.
(Probably "idiota toata" or something)
(1) Actually, I almost did buy a ticket off EBay for the Faust about 2 weeks before the performance, but I was unemployed at the time and couldn't spare the money for the plane fare and hotel.
(2) And frankly, I don't terribly relish the idea of going to Orange - it's one of the most right-wing, anti-Semitic and "Front National" areas of France. The mayor threw all the books by Jewish authors out of the libraries.
(3) And that's leaving aside my argument that Nemorino is far more intelligent than he's usually given credit for!
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