One night at the opera

Just returned from a play of Verdi’s old masterpiece Rigoletto at the Gothenburg Opera. The set was placed in quite a modern time-frame, thus abandoning the centuries-old settings. This made the title character a bit awkward in his role as the “court jester” to the prince. The assassin was great, even though he didn’t have to do more than walk around, looking dangerous. The soprano was quite a crowd pleaser. I failed to feel sympathy for poor Rigoletto this time as well. In fact, he was doomed even before the fat lady sang.

Now, if I only could get my hands on the bloke that kept humming to La donna e mobile. Just because it is the most widely popular excerpt of Verdi’s most famous opera and you suddenly recognize something for the first time in the evening doesn’t make it ok to sing along.

There’s usually a sigh of despair on my entrance at the cinema from the poor soul sitting directly behind me. Last time I was here I even got harassed for my height outside the hall, before I had the chance to sit down. I turned to the kid and told him it’s custom to at least wait until I sit down.