Opera at the V&A and the Wallace Collection

Operas – Victoria & Albert Museum and the Wallace Collection

One week, two unique opera experiences. In the new exhibition suite at the V&A, there’s an ambitious, multi-media exhibition devoted to the history of Opera. A little way across London, near the crowds on Oxford Street, the Wallace Collection put on an evening performance Goyescas by the Spanish composer Granados. This was to accompany a small exhibition of Spanish paintings, including a couple of Goyas, on loan from the Bowes Museum in Durham.

Farewell, Tooth

Farewell, Tooth

My dentist is calm, softly spoken and sympathetic – good set of characteristics for a dentist to have. What took place on a recent visit therefore gave me quite a jolt.

I presented myself as having some persistent gum bleeding, at the site of a rear molar, that I had been unable to brush away – was there something else to be done? The dentist said, “let’s take a look”. Then, peering in, he muttered “oh dear..”.

Micro-opera at the King's Head pub theatre

The King’s Head Pub Theatre

The King’s Head pub in Upper Street, Islington, consists (for the present) of a small, old fashioned bar area, with a horseshoe bar and just enough space for a few tables and an open fire, and, immediately behind the bar, a small theatre. Or rather, there is a room that serves as a theatre, seating just over 100 on fairly squashed benches. (The theatre will close soon and move to new purpose-built premises around the corner. So hurry if you want to experience the unique atmosphere for the first, or last, time.)

Auden in an age of anxiety

Auden in the Age of Anxiety

A recent BBC programme on WH Auden sent me back to his poems, and to the biography by Humphrey Carpenter. The programme sought to bring Auden’s poetic themes to bear on our “Age of Anxiety” (so labelled by the programme’s title). Auden’s own Age of Anxiety was, of course, the 1930s, when Europe and other parts of the world once more lurched towards global war.

Giselle at Sadler's Wells

Giselle at Sadler’s Wells

I am not a regular dance or ballet goer. Indeed the shows I’ve attended can be counted on the fingers of one hand (or perhaps that should be the points of one foot). So, in keeping with the spirit of these times, I’m proud to be a non-expert. Therefore it was with a very open mind (that is, a mind vacant both of pre-conceptions and any relevant knowledge of the dance)  that I attended Sadler’s Wells to see the much acclaimed English National Ballet production of Giselle, guest of a family member who is an aficionado and amateur dancer.

The Oxford train from Marylebone

The Oxford Train from Marylebone

Marylebone station is a London terminus. It is a terminus for a few mainline destinations – Birmingham, and now Oxford; otherwise for commuter communities and various towns in the West Midlands (including, indirectly Stratford-on-Avon). But it is distinctly off-line in many respects.

Plains and planes of Carcassonne

The plains and planes of Carcassonne

“The people of Crete unfortunately make more history than they can consume locally.” This passage from “Saki”, the Edwardian writer of sardonic, sometimes cruel, but always witty, short stories, kept popping into my head during a short visit to the area North-East of Carcassonne in South-West France.