Naturally we are up late after our revels last night. When Jan and I get up at 8:30 Donna and Richard are already back with groceries (chocolate, coffee, Beaujolais) and pastries (are we in France or what?). We have breakfast and then head off to the nearest Lauduree Patisserie to buy violet candies as a present. After crossing the river over the Pont Neuf bridge where Jan takes a picture of the resident panhandler, we take a circuitous route (Rue Guenegaud to Rue Seine to Rue Jacob to its intersection with Rue Bonaparte) to the small Lauduree shop in the elegant neighborhood of Saint-Germain des Pres.
Jan buys a package of the candies for use as a present and we walk up the Rue Bonaparte a ways to the Place Saint-Germaine des Pres with its Abbey Chapel and the famous Deux Magots and Cafe Flore restaurants. The plaza is crowded with people. Then we continue up the Rue Bonaparte to the Place St-Sulpice with its massive Four Cardinals Fountain and enter the church where we view the large Delacroix murals, the gnomon of 1727, the famous organ, and the Madonna and Child sculpture by Pigalle. The interior of the church is well lit because most of the windows are of clear glass. The gnomon was constructed to determine the exact timing of the equinoxes and thus Easter. A ray of sunlight from a lens in the transept strikes a copper plate in the altar and the top of the obelisk. There is a disclaimer by the obelisk avowing no connection with the book or movie The DaVinci Code.
Now we walk back to the apartment over the Pont des Artes. The booksellers along the Seine are doing a good business today. Jan goes shopping for takeout. Donna is suddenly not feeling too well. We take a nap and get up to eat supper of roasted chicken, greek salad, eggplant salad, leftover pasta, and a dessert of a large creampuff with carmelized custard.
By now it is evident that Donna is not able to make it to the opera so Richard takes the metro with us to the Opera de Paris Bastille to see if he can sell his tickets as he does not want to leave Donna alone for too long. There is a long line at the ticket office and it does not take too long to strike a deal with two French ladies in line hoping to see this performance of Lulu.
Jan and I enter the opera house. It is still early with 30 minutes to go before the start. In France if you want a program, you will pay dearly for it, in this case $16. Even so, he program sellers are doing a brisk business. The foyer and staircase of the opera are functional but not elegant. The materials are of the finest- white marble, black metal trim, crushed velvet wall coverings. The hall itself is a wonderful space, and even though we are in the second row of the second balcony, we are fairly close to the stage and not too high up. The view is very good and the seats are comfortable.
There is a large orchestra for the dense and complex orchestration. There are 14 winds, including the alto saxophone that features prominently in the score. Alban Berg wrote the opera Lula in the 1930′s but died presumably of blood poisoning before fully completing the 3rd act. The opera was premiered in its unfinished form in Zurich in 1937. Berg’s widow asked composers including Schoenberg to complete the score but there were difficulties and finally she forbade any further attempts. With her death some 40 years after her husband’s, the score was finally completed and Pierre Boulez conducted the first performance of the complete opera in Paris at the Palais Garnier. Thus, it is fitting that we see this new production here in Paris. The plot is as complex as the musical score with 15 singers, many of whom have dual roles. Tonight’s Lulu is the American Laura Aiken who performs mainly in Europe and has done Lulu in several houses including La Scala. This is a difficult role which requires an energetic singer with a large voice and marvelous acting skills. Fortunately, Ms. Aiken has these skills plus the ability to walk around the precarious sets and climb ladders in high heels. The sets are colorful yet sparse. The opera was sung in German with French subtitles. We had read the synopsis beforehand and so were able to follow the plot fairly well. Of course, the plot is shocking and Lulu is a degenerate human being but there is something fascinating about the work as a whole and the audience stayed with it and demanded four curtains. The orchestra was very fond of the conductor, Michael Schonwandt, and so there was a lot of foot shuffling of the musicians as they showed their appreciation of him. He is the Danish conductor of the Danish Opera and Orchestra.
The opera is noted for its symmetry and fittingly the three acts are 60, 55 and 50 minutes. The two intermissions are 25 minutes each and so we get back to the apt and to bed just before midnight. I would love to see this opera again with English subtitles.
I would also love to have heard what Donna and Richard thought about the opera had they seen it.
