Just Another Day in Paradise

 

Firefox crashed and I hadn’t saved my post so I have to start again and perhaps yes, a glass of wine would help.  The air was a trifle blue with the words that I said.  Last week wordpress played up and now Firefox.  Oh woe is me!

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So with glass beside me I shall start again.

I awoke this morning to the sound of rain.  Not heavy rain but the kind that soaks one through while doing absolutely nothing for the garden or the plants in tubs and pots.

Lotte took one look outside and decided it wasn’t for her.  She ran back inside and stood at the side of the bed asking for a lift up.  Well she has very tiny legs and the bed is quite high.

Far too wet out there - I'm better off here!

So no little companion while I had breakfast and got ready to start my day.

I have told you before about Opera at the Met here in Brooklyn, Wellington.  Well today we were enchanted with Donizetti’s Anna Bolena starring  Anna Netrebko  in the title role.  This was really a tour de force.  It lasted 4 hours with only an 8 minute interval.  But what a privilege to see these fantastic artists.  Anna Netrebko was supported by Ekaterina Gubanova (Jane Seymour), Tamara Mumford (Mark Smeaton), Stephen Costello (Lord Percy) and Ildar Abdrazakov (Henry VIII).

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We all know the story of Anne Boleyn and her marriage to and betrayal by Henry VIII so I wont belabour it here.  But look at this short video and see for yourself the mastery of these artists.

We also were privileged to see interviews with the stars and also with Marco Armiliato the conductor and with world-famous costume designer and former director of theater design at Shakespeare’s Globe theater, Jenny Tiramani.

A delightful way to spend four hours (10-2pm) on a wet Wednesday.

Then it was back to a normal day.  A quick lunch and then I helped my real estate friend set up a couple of apartments for photography.

“I can see clearly now, the rain is gone,
I can see all obstacles in my way
Gone are the dark clouds that had me blind
It’s gonna be a bright (bright), bright (bright)
Sun-Shiny day.”

And I think that this day deserves my rainbow.

My rainbow

Related articles

• Music Review: Met Presents Donizetti’s ‘Anna Bolena’ – Review (nytimes.com)
• Britain’s oldest family business opened when Henry VIII ruled (telegraph.co.uk)