A Mediterranean cruise that’s right on song
A BEAD of sweat gathers on my brow. It’s not a muggy day, but I’m hot and bothered after hitting a sour note during a rehearsal of one of Elgar’s four-part songs.
‘Sopranos! Whoever took that breath on bar 36, raise your hand so that I know you know you made a mistake,’ shouts our choirmaster. ‘That’s how professional singers do it!’ Not being a pro, I keep forgetting to take credit for my mishaps.
I am in a choir on board Aegean Odyssey’s Eastern Mediterranean cruise. Our ebullient conductor is Bob Porter, organiser of the Brandenburg Choral Festival, a London concert series. We’re working towards a performance at the end of the cruise.
We sopranos — Rosalyn, a retired cellist, Nikki and Dorothy, who sing in choirs at home, and myself — imbibe a bit too much before rehearsals. At least, that’s my excuse for the bum notes.
Other passengers, who are not such keen singers, have been recruited for beginner workshops titled Sing-Along-A-Bob.
Perhaps only on this cruise would you find people torturing themselves with daily choir practice fitted around tours and lectures. But Voyages To Antiquity is something of a floating university.
Our comfortable 350-passenger vessel sets sail from Athens to Gythio, then Katakolon (Olympia) Greece. After a stop on the island of Corfu, there are calls at Saranda, Albania, the Croatian cities of Dubrovnik, Split and Zadar, before Ravenna in Italy, and ultimately Venice. The stand-out excursion is Butrint in Albania, an enormous excavated hillside featuring Roman amphitheatre and baths. Albanian organisers are so impressed with the coachloads that come from our ship that one is in tears.
There are tears on board as well. Our private tour of Saint Mark’s Basilica in Venice has been cancelled. In its place, a reception is organised at the Peggy
Guggenheim Art Museum, where Peggy herself is buried, with her 14 pooches.
On board, there are no televised events; no computers (except in the internet cafe). Anyone wanting casinos and shows should look elsewhere.
Daytime entertainment comes in the form of academic lectures. One topic is travel in the ancient world. Apparently, early tourists in the 3rd century BC swarmed to Kos to see Aphrodite of Knidos, the first nude female statue.
As the concert approaches, a daily rehearsal of an hour is required to learn our ten pieces. The effort is worth it. On the night, the most rapturous applause is saved for Sing-Along-A-Bob. Bob is all smiles. Me, too.