Night at the Opera

Yesterday was a very special day in the Washerwoman's calendar. We went to London to see the English National Opera at The Coliseum. The performance was Cavalleria rusticana & Paglliacci. I am the first to admit that Opera is not really my type of music, but this was a special performance as I have spent a lot of time this year sourcing costume for them. The first performance was set in Sicily in the 1930's. The cast were dressed in rural costume, and we enjoyed spotting who was wearing the patched french jacket, darned checked shirt or the black wraparound apron that we had sourced in France this summer. It was a powerful love story and the pure sound of the singing and huge orchestra was spellbinding.
The second performance was a very unusual interpretation as it was set in the very early 70's in the North of England. The sets were fabulous and extremely true to that era. However, the great fun for us was seeing the brown jumpers, dowdy woollen coats & patterned flared trousers that we had hunted for in every charity shop in a 50 mile radius! It was a huge cast, so we had certainly had our work cut out.
Sadly (but understandably) photography was not allowed in the building, so all I have to show you is the exterior of the Theatre at the end of a magical evening.