Justice done to a Mozart masterpiece

I slept well and woke up late. Clare was up early cooking breakfast pancakes. I rewrote my sermon for tomorrow as I had a fresh idea to weave into it. This took most of the morning. Then I cooked lunch early to take the bus to the Millennium Centre in good time for the matinee performance of 'The Marriage of Figaro' and the drinks reception which preceded it. I had a glass of Chilean Merlot, the first glass of wine I've drunk this year. It was quite pleasant, but I had no inclination to return for a second one to take into the auditorium with me.

The opera wasn't a new production but re-worked a production we last saw nine years ago with a minimal set design. I think the libretto has been revised, attuned to more colloquial contemporary humour as some dialogue raised waves of loud laughter during the singing. The movement and body language of the performers also contributed to revealing the comedic character of this story of lust, deception, revenge and betrayal. The acting as well as the singing of all the cast was impeccable

There was one interval, an hour and three quarters into a show of three hours. Rather long for a majority audience of over sixties. The toilet queues for both sexes were a witness to that. We only had five minutes to wait for a number six bus back to the city centre. There was a large crowd waiting. The bus service runs only every half hour now, with none added at a time when performances has ended and demand is high. The new electric buses have a capacity of seventy, and many more than that were waiting at the stop, and that arctic east wind was still blowing.

The bus driver took a look at the size of the queue with its high average age too, I suspect, and abandoned issuing tickets to passengers boarding. "Get on as fast as you can and budge up!" he said, "I want to get as many  of you as I can out of the cold and back to the centre." There must have been eighty on board when we left five minutes later. The majority of passengers would have held free bus passes anyway, so not a lot of revenue was lost.

We took the 122 Tonypandy bus back to Llandaff Fields, and were home just after seven. After supper I dressed warmly and walked for three quarters of an hour in the park, to compensate for four hours sitting in a cramped seat. Having long legs, I don't find there's quite enough space for me to sit comfortably for so long, but it's worthwhile when the WNO's production and performance is so superb at many levels. Due to funding cutbacks, there are only two operas this spring, but there's no cutback in quality or standards of performance.

I had a nice chat with Rachel when I was writing after my night walk, so bed time is somewhat delayed.