Phantom of the Opera
Mar. 3rd, 2005 01:57 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
lady_kareliaWell... what can I say... Before we went, I kind of fully expected to be somewhat disappointed. The show was so great, and Caroline said it was by far the best performance for her, and she's seen it lots of times and is very musical herself. Never did I dream that such a perfect performance could, indeed, be outperformed. But I'll start at the beginning of the trip.
Joy arrived, and we left together, each wearing a cloak. I wore The Cloak, my one and only completed sewing project to date, and Joy wore my other cloak. When we handed our ticket to the coach driver, he looked us up and down, in a less than neutral way, then snickered, "All dressed up, ladies?". I raised my eyebrow at him and replied "No". He looked confused, so I enlightened him. "This is the way we dress." He definitely didn't like a female species answer him. All the 2.5 hours to London, he kept muttering, swearing, and once we hit London, he flashed at every car that annoyed him, reason or none, and hooted at cars that really annoyed him, for whatever reason. I suspect he didn't like some colours of cars. He had quite a few near misses and I promised myself if I ever encounter him again as a driver, I'll refuse to get on the coach. But luckily, we got to Victoria station on time, so walked over to the bus stop and 15 minutes later arrived at Piccadilly. From there it was a mere 3 minute walk to Quod restaurant. Neither of us had been there, and we didn't know what to expect. The restaurant is really big and it was quite crowded with pre-theatre diners. But it didn't feel crowded, the atmosphere was kind of... sophisticated. The service was efficient and nice, eventhough the dress code of the waitresses was bordering on obscene, but that's just my opinion. I've never been one to wear pants so short that half the butt is showing *eek*. The food was good, to say the least. And plenty. I really enjoyed my rocket with a big parmesan shaving (eventhough I'm sure the menu said Parmesan "shavings") in a balsamico dressing, and Joy equally enjoyed her Caesar salad. We both chose Penne Arrabiata for main course, and it was the first time that I found this dish sufficiently spicy. The Chilean Red Cabernet Sauvignon was very nice, too. All in all, an enjoyable dinner experience that I can thoroughly recommend to anyone who goes for a pre-theatre dinner. Soon it was time to head for Her Majesty's Theatre, only a couple of doors down the road from Quod's. We had tickets for the Stalls again, but to my enjoyment, we sat on the left side of the auditorium this time. This way I was able to enjoy the performance from a different angle. On the way to the auditorium, we stopped at the Bar to order our drinks for the interval. They had run out of champagne *was_not_impressed*, so we each settled for a glass of white wine. Whilst in the bar, of course, we were blatantly stared at and Joy even overheard some people whispering "did you see those cloaks they're wearing..." And finally, the show started. The cast was the same, I rejoyced when Mma Giry showed up on stage in that gorgeous dress, eventhough Joy dissuaded me from jumping up there and ripping it off *snicker*. Alright. I'll go and find a pattern to make it *pout*. The only difference to the cast were Raoul and Meg Giry. And they made all the difference. If I was entranced last time, for this time I truly have no words. The Phantom completely outdid himself. If he was absolutely brilliant last time, this time he set the world ablaze with his performance. As did Christine. As did Meg Giry. And Mme Giry, all I can say is WOW. Very strict, very fair, commanding the ballet corps with complete ease. Heather Jackson rules and so does her voice. Whilst the Raoul last time was the least strong performer amongst all those brilliant ones, this time he truly lived up to his role as the hero of the show. The final act was so laden with emotion, I couldn't contain the tears *looks_embarrassed*. The way Christine showed compassion for the Phantom and then Raoul led her away... it was far more than words could ever describe.
We walked back to Victoria, having spent most of the day on our behinds, we could do with the exercise. The coach left spot on time and 2.5 hours later we got back home. It took me a while to unwind, and not for long; 5 hours later I was up again. Still slowly, very slowly, returning from Planet Phantom. Do I want to see it again? Does the sun rise in the mornings?
Joy arrived, and we left together, each wearing a cloak. I wore The Cloak, my one and only completed sewing project to date, and Joy wore my other cloak. When we handed our ticket to the coach driver, he looked us up and down, in a less than neutral way, then snickered, "All dressed up, ladies?". I raised my eyebrow at him and replied "No". He looked confused, so I enlightened him. "This is the way we dress." He definitely didn't like a female species answer him. All the 2.5 hours to London, he kept muttering, swearing, and once we hit London, he flashed at every car that annoyed him, reason or none, and hooted at cars that really annoyed him, for whatever reason. I suspect he didn't like some colours of cars. He had quite a few near misses and I promised myself if I ever encounter him again as a driver, I'll refuse to get on the coach. But luckily, we got to Victoria station on time, so walked over to the bus stop and 15 minutes later arrived at Piccadilly. From there it was a mere 3 minute walk to Quod restaurant. Neither of us had been there, and we didn't know what to expect. The restaurant is really big and it was quite crowded with pre-theatre diners. But it didn't feel crowded, the atmosphere was kind of... sophisticated. The service was efficient and nice, eventhough the dress code of the waitresses was bordering on obscene, but that's just my opinion. I've never been one to wear pants so short that half the butt is showing *eek*. The food was good, to say the least. And plenty. I really enjoyed my rocket with a big parmesan shaving (eventhough I'm sure the menu said Parmesan "shavings") in a balsamico dressing, and Joy equally enjoyed her Caesar salad. We both chose Penne Arrabiata for main course, and it was the first time that I found this dish sufficiently spicy. The Chilean Red Cabernet Sauvignon was very nice, too. All in all, an enjoyable dinner experience that I can thoroughly recommend to anyone who goes for a pre-theatre dinner. Soon it was time to head for Her Majesty's Theatre, only a couple of doors down the road from Quod's. We had tickets for the Stalls again, but to my enjoyment, we sat on the left side of the auditorium this time. This way I was able to enjoy the performance from a different angle. On the way to the auditorium, we stopped at the Bar to order our drinks for the interval. They had run out of champagne *was_not_impressed*, so we each settled for a glass of white wine. Whilst in the bar, of course, we were blatantly stared at and Joy even overheard some people whispering "did you see those cloaks they're wearing..." And finally, the show started. The cast was the same, I rejoyced when Mma Giry showed up on stage in that gorgeous dress, eventhough Joy dissuaded me from jumping up there and ripping it off *snicker*. Alright. I'll go and find a pattern to make it *pout*. The only difference to the cast were Raoul and Meg Giry. And they made all the difference. If I was entranced last time, for this time I truly have no words. The Phantom completely outdid himself. If he was absolutely brilliant last time, this time he set the world ablaze with his performance. As did Christine. As did Meg Giry. And Mme Giry, all I can say is WOW. Very strict, very fair, commanding the ballet corps with complete ease. Heather Jackson rules and so does her voice. Whilst the Raoul last time was the least strong performer amongst all those brilliant ones, this time he truly lived up to his role as the hero of the show. The final act was so laden with emotion, I couldn't contain the tears *looks_embarrassed*. The way Christine showed compassion for the Phantom and then Raoul led her away... it was far more than words could ever describe.
We walked back to Victoria, having spent most of the day on our behinds, we could do with the exercise. The coach left spot on time and 2.5 hours later we got back home. It took me a while to unwind, and not for long; 5 hours later I was up again. Still slowly, very slowly, returning from Planet Phantom. Do I want to see it again? Does the sun rise in the mornings?
