Looking down at the Theatre Royal

Went to see Scottish Opera's new version of Carmen at the Theatre Royal in Glasgow.
This grand old theatre has had a makeover and it's looking great.
I haven't been to see an opera for years but I literally bumped into its sweet-smelling star, Noah Stewart, when I was a guest last week on the Janice Forsyth Show on BBC Radio Scotland.
He was wearing a lovely aftershave and we had some banter with Noah as he left the studio and then on-air after the track finished.
The smell lingered long after he'd left the building!
Myself and fellow guest, Alan Bissett, went on to have some badinage on Twitter with the Harlem-born tenor (as you do these days).
After reading up about it, I suggested to my friend, Paula, that we go.
So go we did, with my 11-year-old daughter tagging along for good measure.
It's three hours long so a bit of an ask for a child but we all really enjoyed it.
Noah plays Don Jose, the jilted lover of flighty free spirit Carmen (Justina Gringyte). He is an earthy vulnerable Don Jose who keeps you by his side for the duration.
A lovely singer as well as sweet-smelling man.
Justina gave a gorgeous performance too. She's a great singer - and a great mover. She can even move, sing and play the castanets!! And I'm still wondering how she managed to sing lying down and project perfectly to the back of he upper circle!
There's a timeless quality to this earthy story of love and loss which appeals across the board - and if course it has some very well-known tunes!
I loved the way it looked. I couldn't think what it reminded me of and it was only afterwards on Facebook, talking to an old friend I bumped into at the end, that I realised it was based around Goya paintings.
There's a scene near the end in which the crowd at the showdown bullfight sing and cheer in slow motion and it was just mesmerising. So painterly.
A good wee night out...