Scottish Opera Highlights on tour

Last night I noticed a poster in the village shop, advertising Scottish Opera's Highlights tour, which was due to hit the village hall the following night. The contact details on the poster were my cousin's. So I gave her a quick ring and arranged for tickets for me and Jezzie. My mother and her husband couldn't come, because one of their car headlamps was broken, making driving in the dark impossible.

The hall was packed, and I saw some of my cousins, but when the show began and a very tall slim man appeared on stage in a black t shirt and jeans, I was not prepared for the sound that came out when he burst into song! He's a Baritone, Russian-born Alexey Gusev, and a rising star.

The show consisted of various arias and duets from many well-known as well as more obscure operas, woven together into a contemporary storyline. My heart sank when Jezzie told me that she'd forgotten her glasses and that she didn't understand Italian, but fortunately her friend's mother lent her a 120-year-old pair of opera glasses inlaid with mother-of-pearl, and we decided that the words weren't that important anyway. The music's the thing.

I wasn't supposed to have my phone on, so this was the rubbish shot I got, but at least you can see there's a stage! Kate was late picking us up afterwards, and it was absolutely.pouring with rain, but we sang in the bus shelter, and danced down the road, and Jezzie asked about opera CDs, so perhaps this is the start of a new interest for her. My own mother was very keen on classical music, and took us to the theatre when we very tiny, even, but told me that I couldn't go the the opera until I was at least 20! I.still haven't been to an opera House to see an actual opera, though I saw the ballet in the Opera House in Budapest. I must see if I can get tickets for a touring Russian company at the Cheltenham Everyman. It might be a little like dying and going to heaven.