Some Rambling

Tags

beauty, beauty on the overground, cold days, colder people, La Boheme, opera, Puccini, Royal Opera House

I realise I have been ignoring my blog and feel quite guilty about it because I feel the need to document things. I feel life goes by at such a hectic pace that when we look back (atleast when I do) I can only think back to the most recent events. So this post is just going to be a series of unrelated things.

Like more beauty on the overground – a heaving doggie, a lovely cream-coloured bulldog wearing a pink collar and a light green leash, pulling the girl holding it rapidly through the train. She sat about with an inquiring look, sniffing the air and looking into the faces of other passengers. Breaking from all London tube etiquette, our little lady trudged up to people looking for love and pats, which many very happily gave her, perhaps happy to deviate (if only for a few moments) from the stifling protocol.

What is it with people in this city? Why are smiles so rare? And even rarer in smaller, more intimate spaces. During my weekend class yesterday, I asked a fellow student something and she almost looked shocked to have been addressed. Her answer was clipped. Walking into class, after a break, I caught someone’s eye. I smiled. He hastily looked down into his phone. Why are people so afraid? What are they so afraid of? That I might make conversation? The whole atmosphere is cold, no one talks to anyone else. People are busy with their gadgets. It makes me so sad. You actually need to have a good reason to talk to someone, a friendly hello doesn’t cut it anymore.

I preferred to eat my lunch outdoors yesterday as it was slightly warmer than it has been recently. A couple of pigeons were bobbing about, dodging humans, looking for some morsels to eat. I gave them some of my lunch. So nice to look at the world going by. I have to learn to eat outdoors more and less at my desk.

I recently went for my first opera ever, Puccini’s La Boheme. Honestly I was quite down and lonely that day and tried desperately to palm off my ticket to one of my colleagues but seemingly it was a big day for football and no one was interested in a single ticket. I went reluctantly, and was seated in the balcony in an aisle seat. It was magical, I had goosebumps listening to the beautiful voices. I sobbed unreservedly (though the usher was standing near me and I was pretty much under one of those dim lights that is one of the only ones left one in the whole place).

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Eugene Onegin

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ballet, Eugene Onegin, Royal Opera House, Tchaikovsky

I think, of all the ballets I have seen (and I haven’t seen too many. Surprisingly all the ones I have seen have had music composed by Tchaikovsky) I enjoyed the one I saw today the most, Eugene Onegin. Surprisingly even more than Swan Lake (I love the music so much that I can hear it over and over again throughout the day). I didn’t expect I’d like this one so much, it had two intervals and I was feeling too cheap to go get my customary glass of champagne, but I loved it. The costumes, the expressions, the men in tights, the ballerinas in their wispy dresses who look so delicate but are actually incredibly strong – you can see that when they are lifted and held by their arms. And the music seemed so intuitive. It’s like how people say for Beethoven – everyone knows him, even if they don’t know that they know. I feel that way about Tchaikovsky, I know this. I feel it. The triumph in the melancholy. The drama. The obscenity of human emotion. I clapped the hardest today for the conductor. My vote today went to the men and women in the pit and their leader. Of course, the ballet was beautiful and really absorbing too. But the music was just something else.

It’s been a good week!

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A Clockwork Orange, Christmas, Royal Opera House, Soho Theater, The Nutcracker

Everyone, without exception, when they heard I was going to spend Christmas here in London shook their heads at me sadly, looked on me with pity and said, well I hope you’re okay on your own. Instilled this fear in me that I would be so bored out of my skull that I would eat my own tongue or leg or something.

But no! This was one of the best weeks I’ve had in my entire time in London since I moved here last year. Okay, Christmas Day and Boxing Day dragged on a bit, but I only have myself to blame for that, not going out except for a short walk and spending the rest of the time online buying stuff. But all in all, it was a great week (great to be said almost in a falsetto). The office has been quiet and has been great for productivity. It’s going to be sick when everyone’s back and there’s noise everywhere. (Gollum voice: Oh the phones, always ringing ringing precious). Getting around has been brilliant – because a lot of people have gone away, the tube has been less busy. Okay, the office crowd was replaced by shoppers, but exhausted people (holding onto their bags filled with bargains) are better than grumpy, caffeinated employees going to face another day at the grind.

I went to the Royal Opera House during the week. How I love that place. The gold and red colours, the ceiling, the opulence and the atmosphere. Saw the Nutcracker there, armed with a pair of binoculars. It was brilliant – Tchaikovsky’s beautiful music, the grand sets, the costumes. Still prefer Swan Lake to it though.

Also saw A Clockwork Orange at Soho Theatre on Saturday. It wasn’t what I was expecting but I did enjoy it. Performed by an all-male troupe there were no female victims (unlike the book). I think this review describes it best:

“The well-known story of teenage gang leader Alex who is given chemical and psychological conditioning which removes free will and choice and makes him reject violence is presented by an all-male cast, with a couple of female characters identified by a costume detail and flouncing. Others morph into male roles with some man-on-man groping, a homoerotic display of bare chests, a male rape with a bottle and some camp pirouetting in choreographed fight scenes. It is not that it has been turned into a gay story but it spreads the testosterone less discriminately.”

I particularly enjoyed the “camp pirouetting”, the energy with which the story was played out, the use of orange props amid the b&w costumes, the lighting, and the song selection. I thought I heard a bit of rock-Symphony No. 9 at the start. When the real thing was played I had goosebumps. Oh and nadsat (teen slang used by Alex and his “droogs” – cronies) – hearing it spoken was fun. I really enjoyed Martin McCreadie’s performance as Alex. But I don’t think the play did a great job in making us think the way the book did about individual choice for good. But it was still a good watch. (Contextual joke: Maybe the cat thinks this place is a milk plus bar).

Martin McCreadie as Alex. I loved his eyesss!