To the Royal Opera House to see a revival of Bellini's La Sonnambula made famous in the past by singers such as Jenny Lind, Maria Callas and Joan Sutherland. It is one of the best examples of bel canto singing in the repertoire. Last night soloists, chorus, orchestra and conductor were in fine form but the audience (at least in the stalls) seemed to take their role as part of the opera. Often great examples of bravura singing were met by, well by silence, as the audience seemed unsure whether to clap/cheer or not.
La Sonnambula is a subtle opera and shows the early 19th century fascination with para psychology and phenomena such as sleep walking. But in the end all's well that ends well.
Different atmosphere was noticed upstairs, miles away from the stage, in the Amphhitheatre. Despite the physical distance from the drama and passion, we followed the opera word by word and the less aristochratic audience was definetely not shy in clapping. Great night, good performance!
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