La Boheme

Manly, New South Wales, Australia
Saturday, January 4, 2014

I'm reluctant to say too much about the test match as I might have to reach for the sick bag. Poor Peter left this morning for yet another endurance test and I had a housekeeping day. I remembered to put on the TV about 11.45 am and nearly had a fit, as England were 56 for 5 and as you know it had been worse than that. We met on Circular Quay at 6pm to have supper before attending La Boheme and I heard the full litany of woes. All is undoubtedly lost and one almost feels the team, apart from the odd exception have thrown in the towel, which is deplorable. So much for the hefty wage increase before the touring party left, that was certainly justified! I feel desperately for the many loyal fans who have worked and saved to take the trip out to Australia and support England. Attending the Ashes here has been a fabulous experience for us and we have loved every minute of it despite the results. If the series had been more of a contest everyone would have been happier. Loosing is one thing, but not showing up is something else entirely. There are undoubtedly things afoot behind the scene, which will out at some point I'm sure.
However, from the ridiculous to the sublime, La Boheme at the Opera House tonight was exactly that. We arrived in plenty of time and met a couple of MCC friends in the bar. It was they who had tipped us off that it might be worth enquiring about tickets and we are forever in their debt. The building itself is as amazing inside as out. Lots of polished concrete, wood and glass. Sounds ghastly, but that is far from the case. It has an atmosphere and look that is quite unique. The performance took place in the largest of the auditoria, the Joan Sutherland Theatre. Marvellous acoustics. It is an unusual shape, modern in the extreme, and as the house lights dimmed, a single spotlight played on the deep red velvet curtain, which had a sparkly La Boheme picked out across the centre. The mist from the 'garrett' swirled through that beam of light and shivers ran up your spine before we were even underway. The cast was extremely well balanced and of course the music beautiful. Rudolfo was sung by a Korean with an unpronounceable name and the setting was glamorous and very Belle Époque. There were several more spine tingling moments as the famous arias were delivered faultlessly and the applause at the finale was justifiably long and enthusiastic. During the interval, we went up to the Top Bar of the Opera House for a glass of something sparkling to mark the occasion and we were transfixed by the view laid out before us via the glass wall. Here was Sydney Harbour at night at its magical best, a brilliantly lit Harbour Bridge and city radiating out around the bay in all it's glory and it is a sight that will remain with us to our dying day. The Opera House is an iconic building that will probably never loose that edgy feel and we were certainly thrilled to have had the opportunity to attend a live operatic performance tonight.
As Mary so eloquently commented to us in her email today, 'better to be miserable in your garrett, than at the cricket.' Enough said and spot on! At least it was a superb end to a disappointing day.Leia mais