I do believe in things being circular, and everything having a pattern. You will recall me writing about the first opera I ever saw on telly. I was thinking that I have never actually been to an opera in London - Manchester and Nottingham, yes, but not Covent Garden, one of the great opera houses of the world. The prices have put me off. Then I remembered that I am a reasonably high earner without dependents and decided to treat myself. What's showing at Covent Garden next - but Les Contes d'Hoffmann. I tried booking online but failed miserably - for some reason, online booking often rejects my Switch card, possibly because it's a new fangled one with no issue number , so I had to ring up. The guy said "Is that two tickets?" "One, I'm afraid my partner doesn't like opera sufficiently to be persuaded to come along - but he's learning, slowly..." "Hoffman is very good to see as a first opera," said the booking man. "You know," I said, "it was the very first one I saw on TV, way back in 1981..." "It's the same production," said the man. "Yeah, but the not same singer," I said with a pout. "It's in rehearsal at the moment, it's being played through the loudspeakers, it sounds very good," said the booking man. Well, it does have Rolando Villazon and Willard White in it, so I can't really complain that I'm being fobbed off with nobodies.
(And in case you suspect that I am moneybags in disguise, don't fear - I've now got binoculars on my shopping list, in order to see properly from my relatively affordable seat way up higher than the gods.)
What should I wear?
