We had thought that we had bought seats rather too near the front for comfort and rather to the right, but when we got there we found we had a pair of centre stalls about five rows back from the front, with virtually no-one sitting in front of us. The raked seats behind us were clearly more popular, but as it turned out we were not too near the front for comfort at all, with a fine view of the stage, the back of the conductor and his orchestra. Seats only slightly marred by a sweet wrapper rustler to our left.
It also turned out that the orchestra numbered about thirty and the cast about twenty, say sixty people altogether with the inevitable odds and ends. If we suppose that there were about 250 people there paying an average of £25 each, we have a gross take for the evening of £6,250, perhaps £100 a head, which did not seem much at all when one thinks that the hall has to be paid, lodgings have to be paid and the bus has to be paid, not to mention the punishing schedule (the rather gentler schedule for a companion tour being illustrated) and the tip for the driver.
But then, on closer inspection the state of the State Opera turned out to be the state of Kumi rather than Russia or the Soviet Union, with Kumi being a province in the far north of Russia, just west of the Urals. One is reminded of all those dusty provincial theatres and the tired actresses in them which figure so prominently in 19th century Russian fiction. I think that most of the Russian circuses on the circuit pull the same stroke, dressing themselves up in metropolitan clothes but actually being rather provincial.
Notwithstanding, we enjoyed the show, in my case despite it not really being my kind of thing. I don't suppose it was part of the Morse canon either (see 20th February), being rather light in tone despite the tragic ending, a tragic ending illustrated by a bull on the backdrop which rather reminded me of a tricerotops - but at least a tricerotops with a pair of vicious looking horns. The orchestra did a good job on the overtures, reminding me that was the bit that I liked best from the 'Walkyries' (this being one of the two occasions on which we attempted Wagner, when very young. I don't think that the attempt is going to be renewed, Morse notwithstanding).
Back home to try to get the book of the opera from Gutenburg (http://www.gutenberg.org/) to find that while I could get some Mérimée stories in French, I could not get this one, it only being available in English - and Dutch for some reason. Perhaps the Dutch like this particular opera. In any event, I settled on the English version, which now sits on the kindle, waiting to be read.
PS: there were male and female cigars on stage but they did not bother to light them. Perhaps the Russians are more relaxed about smoking that we are and don't feel the need to exercise their theatrical privileges. No doubt they pay the price.
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