Opera: Lucia di Lammermoor, Film: There's Still Tomorrow, & Walk: Classy Clapham

Last Thursday, back with London Classical Music and Theatre Group, for the opera Lucia di Lammermoor in the Royal Opera House. My sometime companion from Up in the Cheap Seats (UITCS) came too, and suggested Balthazar, just down the road, for dinner beforehand.. new venue to me, I said I'd give it a go!

Well, the bus behaved itself this time - its destination apparently changed en route (although no information was forthcoming on the new one), but it still took me where I needed to go. The restaurant is right beside Covent Garden Piazza - I never noticed it before, but I guess I just never paid attention. Entering, it became obvious to me that this is the same company that runs Brasserie Zédel - the décor is similar, as are the websites. Most elegant. My companion had arrived before me, and ordered.. it didn't take me long to find what I wanted. We'd decided to go for the set menu.. I thought the butternut squash soup sounded nice, so ordered that, with chicken for main course - I said I'd wait and see what I wanted to do for dessert.

The soup was indeed delicious! lovely and sweet. Along with my companion's starter was served a large, empty bowl and spoon.. by which I deduced she was probably having mussels for main course, and I was right. The bowl was just big enough for all the shells. My chicken turned out to be a leg, swimming in a creamy sauce - a little rich for me, if I'm honest, but tasty. Still, there wasn't a lot of food in it, and I was glad when she didn't want her fries, and passed them to me. We did have dessert - lemon sorbet for me, which turned out to be an ambitious choice; the flavour was strong, and three large scoops took some stamina to get through. We had three carafes of wine, between us - they're tiny!

With all of that - and a slight battle to find anyone to pay, after service having been so attentive all evening - we weren't in time to meet the group before the opera, and went straight to our seats. I was in the Side Slips - anything with a better view was horrendously expensive! Well, this opera - based, it seems, on a book by Sir Walter Scott, itself reputedly based on a true story - is the exciting tale of a young woman, in love with her brother's enemy. After exchanging informal vows of love, he takes himself off on unrelated business, and her brother, intercepting any letters between them, convinces her that her lover has been unfaithful. Her brother, happily, has another candidate - a rich man who can revive his flagging fortunes, and whom she reluctantly agrees to marry.

Our hapless hero returns, of course, just too late - discovering what has happened, he accosts her, accusing her of fecklessness. She, driven to the depths of despair, (SPOILER) kills her new husband in the bedchamber that night, then goes properly mad. When he hears, he rushes to her - too late - and kills himself, romantically.

The performances, we all agreed, were fantastic - long bouts of applause followed many of the arias, and were well-deserved. However, the set design left most of us nonplussed; those of us at the side, in particular, were right out of luck, because the set, which had to be changed numerous times during the show, was always split in two. Unfortunately, we to right of stage could see practically nothing of the right of the set! which meant we missed the entire wedding sequence, with her lover arriving just after everything's signed, sealed and delivered, and accusing her of all sorts.

At the interval, it turned out many of the group couldn't find us.. we were wondering where the others were, there being a lot who'd signed up! Once you learn where they stand, it's easier - it's just that first time, I think. (By the Opera House model..) Anyway, after the interval, the split stage came into its own, with them using the "non-singing" side to show the murder happening, in the background. And yay, we could see that scene, which was very well-staged - she played her role well. However, that was pretty much it for what we could see, then - I found it less frustrating just to stare at the ceiling, mostly, although I could get the jist of what was happening, if I stood, briefly. Really, they shouldn't stage "split-set" shows here - or perhaps they could introduce small screens for those of us who are deprived of a view? Some folks also complained about the entire chorus being squished into half the stage, saying it affected the acoustics. Anyway, excellent performance - but with the unusual staging, I wouldn't take a restricted-view seat, were I you.. runs on selected dates to the 18th.

That night was given over to the finishing of the film list.. it was quite urgent, as this is a week full of films! the first of which was last Friday, with There's Still Tomorrow (C'e Ancora Domani), showing only at the Ciné Lumiere. Far enough away that I had to take the Tube, early enough that I had no time to eat beforehand - I just made it in time, leaving the last of my work to finish when I got back. But wow, was it worth it - made last year, but filmed in black and white, and set in 1945, it deals with the way women were treated in post-war Italy, focusing in particular on one woman in an abusive relationship. And by the way, tying it all in with the final granting of universal suffrage to women, that year.

A very serious topic.. filmed in an amazingly light-handed way, with so much humour. Frankly, it's not a spoiler to note that she's beaten throughout the film, but the one scene where we actually see it happening, it's turned into a dance.. really, she's such a strong character, with such a wry sense of humour, and the film is so watchable - I can't recommend it highly enough.

Afterwards, I fancied food - but not French, so ubiquitous here, after the rich fare of the night before! No, I remembered there being a decent Chinese nearby, and I hadn't had Chinese in ages - and so I came to Jia. It's over six years since I was last there! Got a table without trouble - although when a smaller one came available, they moved me there. The menu isn't as appealing as when I was here before - I skipped the starter, and had sichuan chicken for main. Which was very tasty - as is the house white. They don't really make a big thing of dessert, so I didn't have one. But as I say, it made a nice change.

Couldn't blog that night either, what with having to be up early the next morning.. yay! Another walk with Laurence Summers and the 45+ Not Grumpy Old Londoners beckoned - this time in Clapham North. Which I discovered I could get buses to - on what proved a gloriously sunny, and mild day, just like the last one with London Literary Walks! Spring is in the air..

I arrived good and early - and was soon wondering whether I should have brought a hat. Not that Laurence did, mind.. for once. We met outside Clapham North Station - and he soon moved us away from the entrance, for fear of being mistaken for customers of the nearby coffee cart..

It's not until you see him in a completely new area that you truly appreciate how interesting his walks are. He didn't take us down this road, but did tell us about the female chess champion that once lived there..! Sadly, killed by a WWII bomb..

We passed an attractive building, being made into flats - the builders were very chatty, and explained how the owners wanted to retain all the original features - so the doors were being incorporated into fitted wardrobes, for instance! It originally seems to have been a temperance hall:

And then there was this interesting street art:

A lot of old architecture, if you look carefully - like this Art Deco example:

Laurence had obviously had a chat with the local Voltaire Studios, who were falling over themselves with eagerness to give us a tour. A speech by the person in charge, while standing in the restaurant at the entrance, a short tour of the ground floor, showing us the bedrooms they provide for artists.. a peek at one of the exhibits, with a description read to us - and an instruction to visit the "spectacular" toilets. In fact, we were nearly kidnapped - poor Laurence began to worry we'd never be done in time for lunch..

We came across some past and present churches, although none of them were open for us to view - this first one is actually now the Oddfellows Hall! (That is an actual society):

He led us down an attractive backstreet:

and to the Omnibus Theatre, which I wasn't entirely sure I'd been to - turns out I was there just once, when I lived nearby, and had a car.. eight years ago! Used to be a library:

An excellent walk, packed full of new facts! And so to the Rose & Crown for lunch - a new venue, of course, for this new walk, and we were a little late, so Laurence was a little worried. Needn't have been, they have tons of room. I had flat iron steak myself - not the tastiest ever, but very satisfying, and accompanied by a beautiful sauce: and some massive chips. We were at separate, small tables - they serve breakfast up to mid-afternoon (!), so a couple of folks had that, and a couple at my table had fish n chips. And wouldn't you know it, there was a small riot when it came without mushy peas! (Can't stand 'em, myself.) Not only that, but they were told they weren't an option - used to come with them on the kids' menu, but no longer. They could have, er, spinach..?

Understandably, they passed.

Personally, my only quibble was that the drinks menu states that glasses of wine are of 125ml size.. whereas I was relieved to find that you can have the 250 ml! which I did. And we chatted away, discussing, among other things, prospects for future walks in the area.. and then some of us (not Laurence, on this occasion) repaired to the Prince of Wales, across the way, for one for the road. Where the conversation mostly turned to music..

Great to see people again!

For the rest of the evening, see the next instalment.. hopefully imminently..