Odd corners at the Opera House.

Of quite recent years I've acquired a charming nephew-in-law who has a gift with anything sparkly. This talent being recognised, he has recently come into the job of his dreams at the Royal Opera House in London, in the lighting department. He very kindly gave us a tour. I'd never been there before, and I was astonished how big it was, and how much he knew about it, after really quite a short time of working there.

He took us from top



to bottom.



We saw the Flying Dutchman's ship being built, and a great room full of young dancers, long-eyed boys like fauns and slender girls like wood-nymphs, and much more besides.

We saw the stage being prepared for that evening's performance. Something about watching, from above as an outsider, the stagehands going about their purpose in pools of light,

while the decontextualised translated surtitles for the opera hung in the dark above them, was unsettlingly, mysteriously beautiful.

But the very vastness of the place meant that I could only really capture corners,

and glimpses.

In fact, we weren't really supposed to be using cameras at all. And almost certainly not in one particular corner.

There was some concern that Kiwi Nephew and his younger auntie (moi) came out of the Queen's private toilet carrying cameras and giggling. We were indeed tempted, but refrained from writing something rude on the wall to greet her when she next came, but the documentary photo opportunity was too good to pass up, we thought.

In fact, any such gesture would have been wasted, since it's said she's only ever been to the Opera House twice in her reign. This may be because she is actually jealous because the Bedford family's private loo is better than hers, as may be seen below. The Bedfords own the land on which the place is built, and thus get free admission, the jammy buggers, a privilege which apparently they rarely take up either. Even though their toilet is fantastically cool.

All in all, it was a marvellous outing, for which I heartily thank my Sparkly Nephew-in-law! (who, I think, has earned his own epithet on this blog, a fairly rare thing...)

~~~

This is my final post about my UK trip. Now I will turn my face towards the spring which must surely be just around the corner, and look forward.