We went to the opera yesterday evening – but it was an opera with a difference! I had some doubts about a ‘light’ opera by Shostakovich telling the story of a 1950’s Soviet housing estate and the machinations of bureaucrats but it was a light hearted romp with a great deal of topical humour. We enjoyed it tremendously.
Cheryomushki translates as Cherry Tree Estate and the re-orchestrated version we saw is titled Paradise Moscow. For more info on the production and Opera North, go to this link
There’s a great clip on youtube here
We’ve not been to the Leeds Grand Theatre before and were most impressed with the fine restoration. Rather than run the risk of plagiarising, I’ll just send you to this site to read about its history if you are interested. I just wish there were more photos.
We ate first at a little vegetarian cafe almost next door in the Grand Arcade (alas, grand no more). At first sight it looked doubtful with unmatched chairs and plastic tablecloths but it served a very good falafel (my choice) and Alan had mushroom stroganoff, thereby messing up my planned menu for today. It gradually filled with opera goers and we topped our meal off with apple and gooseberry crumble with custard. M’mm! Thank you for the recommendation, Andrew.
No comments:
Post a Comment