I saw a little of the "party" that took place in London to celebrate Brexit. Again, whatevs, as they say. The only thing that tickles me is that Nigel Farage is being hailed a hero - and frankly only the Brits could come up with a hero named Nigel! I mean, if it were the Scandinavians I'm sure their hero would be a "Thor" or an "Igor" for the Eastern Europeans, but no, we got a "Nigel"! It's a bit Monty Python-esque and says it all really doesn't it! But I, for one, can't wait until the mask comes off!
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| Farage cartoon by Gary Barker |
So what else is new? Oh, I didn't get to see the Bee Gees tribute in Geneva in the end as it was cancelled a couple of hours before it was due to start, due to poor ticket sales I guess. It's a shame really as I'm sure they were very good, but there obviously isn't the market for that kind of thing here I suppose.
But I did get to go to a live-streaming of Porgy and Bess performed by the Met in New York last night and it was lovely! Again, I'm not a great fan of opera but some of the songs were just beautiful, as you can imagine, and the cast were wonderful. Apart from the fabulous portrayal of Porgy and Bess by Eric Owens and Angel Blue I have to admit to being quite smitten with Frederick Ballentine's Sportin' Life - I just love a wicked grin and he had it down to a fine art!
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| Porgy and Bess (performed by the Met) |
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| Sportin' Life (performed by the Met) |
The introduction stated that it was being simultaneously relayed in 70 countries at 2,200 theatres to an expected audience of a quarter of a million (if I remember right). The wonderful thing is that apart from not being local to these hit shows, in many cases the cost of tickets would just be prohibitive so to see this live and just down the road was a real treat!
During the interval people stayed in their seats and then pulled out their picnics - and, this being France, their bottle of red of course. A few seats over from us, they even had champagne flutes and a couple of bottles of plonk! How civilized is that! And just as importantly, in my opinion, they took all their rubbish with them and dropped it in the bins on the way out leaving a near spotless theatre with very little clean-up for the staff!
I'm not sure what the next event will be (possibly The Flying Dutchman), but I'll be sure to look out for whatever is upcoming as I think I'm hooked!
South African Golda Schultz singing "Summertime"!
The Porgy and Bess evening sounded wonderful! What a terrific thing to participate in.
ReplyDeleteI kinda like the idea of "picnics and champagne" too! And I guess it's a way of getting the music out to the people who can't physically get to see it or can't afford it (or both)!
DeleteThanks for 'Summertime,' one of my favorite tunes ever. And Ms. Schultz's version is gorgeous.
ReplyDeleteAnd seeing it with a picnic and some red wine? Even better!
They all had such beautiful voices it was a real treat - and yep to the picnic!
DeleteThey actually stream opera/those productions at our small town theatre here! Although, to be honest, I wouldn't go to opera if my life depended upon it, not a fan either :) We live in a pretty ugly time in the world right now, sorry you have to deal with that mess just to live in the place you have so many years.
ReplyDeleteI'm not a fan of opera but as you can imagine there are some beautiful songs in Porgy and Bess! Oh and regarding staying in France I'm just whingeing I guess. Ultimately my kids and I should be ok (barring unmitigated disaster) but I hear some horror stories and feel so sad for them people affected. And I just loathe the racism that it is provoking in the brain-dead! Just tonight a group playing a gig in Italy were held up for 6 hours at the Italian border on the grounds that "you wanted this so here you go". Officious little sods are everywhere sadly!
DeleteWell, breath deeply. Politicians everywhere are so focused on their own legacy. They don't realize few are really thought about later meanwhile they muck up so much. Love your outings.
ReplyDeleteI was a bit down about it today for some reason but I always bounce right back so I'm fine now and will just do what needs to be done. I think it's just the dishonesty of politicians the world over that disgusts me - and the thought that 99% of them are just in it for themselves. I guess one solution would just be to stop reading about them wouldn't it!!!
DeleteI just loved the bit about Nigel! The comparison to Monty Python is so on point.
ReplyDeleteAnd "Porgy and Bess" was also streamed to the AMC Theater in Camp Hill, PA. the world is getting so much smaller.
The world is indeed getting smaller isn't it! And as for "Nigel", I guess it beats "Rupert"!
DeleteI hadn't really thought of all the impacts of Brexit. I suspect it will be a bit of time before it all gets sorted out for you and others whether living in Britain or in other parts of Europe.
ReplyDeleteMy thinking had only gone as far as what currency to take with me, when I cruise in June.
Love "Summertime"!
Oh I suspect most of it will be sorted out eventually (but not without collateral damage) but the BIG one is freedom of movement (the ability to cross borders to work). I know of someone who caters weddings, birthdays etc. She lives in tiny Luxembourg and caters in Germany, France, Belgium etc. With freedom of movement gone she will lose her business. I suspect it will hit the UK harder than they are letting on too, especially banking and financial services, but what can I say. The EU certainly needs a good shake up but I never wanted this. Oh and watch the currency markets. I see that the euro is going down (certainly against the Swiss franc, as is the dollar) so you might be able to buy your euros at a better price. The dollar is currently worth 90 euro cents. And have a lovely cruise (never been on one myself)!
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