My nights at the opera
I’ve seen La Traviata more than any other opera. It was actually the first opera I ever saw – in Belfast, when I was a teenager – and next month I’m booked in for another performance of the Verdi tear-jerker, not in an opera house as such, but in a lovely old palazzo overlooking the Grand Canal in Venice. I’ve been there before and it’s a great experience, with the audience moving from room to room with the performers as each act unfolds – look up musicapalazzo.com and you’ll see how it works.
I’m no expert but I love going to the opera when I’m abroad. To be honest, I just enjoy the singing, the story (some better than others) and the experience of being in a beautiful opera house in a country that truly values both the artform and the venue where it is performed.
So, with opera season in full swing, which opera houses have left their mark on me?
Well, not the world-famous La Scala in Milan. I didn’t find it particularly memorable at all, in fact.
But here, in no particular order, are six that were.
STAATSOPER, VIENNA
Certainly one of the most beautiful opera houses I have ever seen, it is also considered one of the most important in the world. It first opened (with Don Giovanni, by Mozart) in 1869 with Emperor Franz Joseph in the audience. After being bombed in 1945 it closed for a decade. When I attended it was to see La Sonnambula by Bellini. Unlike some other opera houses, it’s quite a swanky affair at the Staatsoper – but that only added another memorable dimension to my experience. Just a quick peek at the line-up for next month shows a hugely varied programme, featuring the likes of Nabucco, Madama Butterfly, Hansel And Gretel and the Peer Gynt ballet.
OPERA BASTILLE, PARIS
While the Opera Garnier in Paris is the grand dame opera house in the city, I really like the sleek lines – inside and out – of the French capital’s modern opera venue. Located on Place de la Bastille, it presents a mixture of opera and ballet. I’ve only been here once – to see
Tosca, on Halloween night in 2012. It was a marvellous performance and made all the more interesting because it was a traditional ‘take’ on Puccini’s masterpiece – in terms of set, costume etc – and yet presented in this modern setting. And when the opera is over, you’re only a few minutes’ stroll from a nightcap in the wonderful Marais district.
MIKHAILOVSKY THEATRE, ST PETERSBURG
This was still the Mussorgsky Theatre when I was there, but it reverted to its original name about a decade ago. Established by Tsar Nicholas back in 1833 to specialise in drama and minor operettas, it’s a theatre with an interesting history. Closed after the 1917 Russian Revolution, when it reopened a year later it became a venue dedicated purely to opera. Appropriately enough it was a Russian opera that I saw here one bone-numbingly cold winter’s night – Alexander Borodin’s Prince Igor. I was fascinated by how the whole opera scene worked in St Petersburg – locals paid a fraction of the price everyone else paid, making this an entertainment for all classes of society and all age groups. The night we attended, the auditorium was full of children, who were there with their parents. The opera itself didn’t do much for me, but I still recall the informality of the occasion – and the cheap and very quaffable Russian champagne during the interval!
OPERNHAUS, ZURICH
Earlier this year, I went to see Mozart’s Idomeneo here. Again, it’s a lovely building – impressive in its 19th century design and with all kinds of nooks and crannies in its interior. Located right on a vast square in the city centre, and beside the city’s lovely lake, it’s an enviable setting for any entertainment venue. For me, my first time in Zurich, it was the opposite type of experience to the Opera Bastille in Paris. In Zurich, I sat in this classical opera house, with its rococostyle auditorium, and watched an ultra modern take on this opera, which is set in ancient Greece. All grey suits and stilettos, it was a truly memorable Idomeneo, made all the more so by the juxtaposition of setting and interpretation.
ESTONIAN NATIONAL OPERA, TALLINN
Located outside the picture-postcard pretty medieval heart of Tallinn, this opera house is part theatre, part concert hall. I saw
Nabucco here, the Verdi opera with the Chorus of the Hebrew Slaves, which everyone recognises – even if they’ve never listened to an opera in their lives. I enjoyed Nabucco here but the visit remains memorable for something very specific – my husband and I were totally at sea with the storyline. Why? Because the opera was sung in Italian and the surtitles were in Estonian!
LA FENICE, VENICE
Apart from being in my favourite city in the world, I have a soft spot for the beautiful La Fenice for a number of reasons. It was totally destroyed by a fire in January 1996, just a month after I first visited Venice, and only reopened, after much political wrangling and amid all kinds of accusations of corruption, in November 2004. Not particularly impressive on the outside, the 19th century reconstruction inside is utterly stunning and it’s worth doing the tour here, even if you have no interest in going to the opera. I also love it because it’s where the incomparable Maria Callas made her debut in 1947 – in Wagner’s Tristan And Isolde.
And what have I seen myself in La Fenice? Yes, Verdi’s La Traviata. Twice!