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smallhobbitSM wanted to do another 'Come & Sing' morning at St Martin's in the Fields (this time was Mozart), so it seemed sensible to have another overnight stay in London, since it begins at 10am. Also, because it was the end of half term week, we were able to go up during the day, so quite a good ending to our week.
Because we were in London by mid-afternoon I booked for us to go to an evening slot at the National Gallery to see the Monet & Architecture exhibition. It was a really interesting exhibition, concentrating on Monet's paintings of various buildings, beginning with his early life in Normandy and visiting the Netherlands, through his trips to the French and northern Italian coasts, with his paintings of various villages. From there the exhibition progressed to the more industrial architecture of Paris - bridges and railway stations - and then to his later paintings of Rouen, London and Venice. I found it very interesting, and made various small sketches in the little booklet they provided. It took us over an hour to wander round the exhibition.
Saturday morning SM went to sing, and I went shopping. After which I went to the theatre, because I really couldn't have a stay in London without seeing a play. When I'd been looking there wasn't that much I wanted to see, at a price I was prepared to pay, but The Moderate Soprano looked promising - and I could get a ticket for £25 and still see the stage.
When I got to the theatre I found I'd been upgraded, which meant instead of being in the Upper Circle I was in the Royal Circle, and in what turned out (I checked later) to be an £85 seat. And the play was very good. It was about how John Christie founded the opera season at Glyndebourne (his family home). Roger Allam, the reason why I was attracted to the play, was Christie, and really good. As was Nancy Carroll as his wife Audrey Mildmay, the moderate soprano of the play's title. But it was very much an ensemble piece, as Anthony Calf (Carl Ebert), Jacob Fortune-Lloyd (Rudi Bing), Paul Jesson (Fritz Busch) and Jade Williams (Jane Smith), all made great contributions.
The play's subject might not be of great interest, but what captured my attention was the relationships between the characters, and how the audience's sympathy moved between them - all very true to life. The main action occurs in the mid-1930s, and Christie's attitude towards Ebert, Bing and Busch who have all recently left Germany, whilst cringeworthy to a modern audience is no doubt accurate to that of many at the time. Christie accepted what they told him about their experiences, but felt they were being over dramatic.
It wasn't a play I'd have wanted to make a special trip to see, but being in London I'm very glad to have seen it.
Because we were in London by mid-afternoon I booked for us to go to an evening slot at the National Gallery to see the Monet & Architecture exhibition. It was a really interesting exhibition, concentrating on Monet's paintings of various buildings, beginning with his early life in Normandy and visiting the Netherlands, through his trips to the French and northern Italian coasts, with his paintings of various villages. From there the exhibition progressed to the more industrial architecture of Paris - bridges and railway stations - and then to his later paintings of Rouen, London and Venice. I found it very interesting, and made various small sketches in the little booklet they provided. It took us over an hour to wander round the exhibition.
Saturday morning SM went to sing, and I went shopping. After which I went to the theatre, because I really couldn't have a stay in London without seeing a play. When I'd been looking there wasn't that much I wanted to see, at a price I was prepared to pay, but The Moderate Soprano looked promising - and I could get a ticket for £25 and still see the stage.
When I got to the theatre I found I'd been upgraded, which meant instead of being in the Upper Circle I was in the Royal Circle, and in what turned out (I checked later) to be an £85 seat. And the play was very good. It was about how John Christie founded the opera season at Glyndebourne (his family home). Roger Allam, the reason why I was attracted to the play, was Christie, and really good. As was Nancy Carroll as his wife Audrey Mildmay, the moderate soprano of the play's title. But it was very much an ensemble piece, as Anthony Calf (Carl Ebert), Jacob Fortune-Lloyd (Rudi Bing), Paul Jesson (Fritz Busch) and Jade Williams (Jane Smith), all made great contributions.
The play's subject might not be of great interest, but what captured my attention was the relationships between the characters, and how the audience's sympathy moved between them - all very true to life. The main action occurs in the mid-1930s, and Christie's attitude towards Ebert, Bing and Busch who have all recently left Germany, whilst cringeworthy to a modern audience is no doubt accurate to that of many at the time. Christie accepted what they told him about their experiences, but felt they were being over dramatic.
It wasn't a play I'd have wanted to make a special trip to see, but being in London I'm very glad to have seen it.
