John Goes to the Opera (and hates it!)

Posted on 2008/05/10 10:12:23 (May 2008).

[Wednesday 7th May]
Neither Chie nor me had ever been to the opera before, and although I didn't have any specific interest it was one of those things I felt like I ought to do at some point. It just so happened that Chie's boss had got tickets for tonight but wasn't able to make it, so passed the tickets on to me and Chie.

So, we went to see Simon Boccanegra at the Royal Opera House.

...and I absolutely hated it!

I went in with an open mind, but it just completely failed to be engaging - there was no real narrative to speak of, no attempt at characterisation, and I didn't even find the music particularly appealing either. It was just thoroughly tedious. I was desperate to leave from about 10 minutes in, but unfortunately we were on a extremely narrow row with at least 5 people either side and there was no way I could get out.

So I was very grateful when the interval finally arrived. Initially both Chie and I decided to just head back home and not bother hanging around for the second act, but then Chie changed her mind and decided to go back and sit it out. I however was quite resolute, and just headed back home.

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