Hello Ian! I wanted to tell you about my weekend, seeing as we are pen friends now.
I went to see Madam Butterfly on Saturday with my mum at the Royal Albert Hall.
The day started off wonderfully. We had both been really looking forward to seeing the opera since we booked our tickets in January. Well, since mum booked her ticket. Because my mum is in a wheelchair and I was her “companion” I got to go for free! Pretty swell. I remember when my folks took me to Disneyland she got in free and we got to go on all the rides first. Also pretty swell for a 9 year old.
Anyway, Mum reserved a parking space which was right outside the entrance (1 point to Royal Albert Hall). In we popped and up to the bar we shimmied for a £4 cheese sanga and a glass of wine. After some chitchat the lady on the public address system told us that it was time to make our way to our seats, so we rolled over to the lift and headed for the 3rd floor. The doors opened and we were met with lots of blank, posh faces who it appeared didn’t really know what lifts were actually for. The doors shut and we waited for the lift to go up, deposit its livestock and come back down and up again with another load. Again we were met by a bunch of stupid people who also did not realise that people that use wheels instead of legs can’t walk up stairs. Not one of them offered to get out so that my mum could use the lift. Third time was the lucky one indeed. We got to our door and were showed to our seating area.
Here’s a picture of my mums view of the stage from where she was sat in her wheelchair.
Well shit.
I had a bar in my face and had to rest my forehead against it to see the stage but I could cope with that. Our seats were right in front of the door, so we decided to wait until people had stopped streaming in before we attempted to maneuver Mum sideways so that she could get closer to barrier and hopefully see better (albeit with a stiff neck!). Bit silly really giving a wheelchair user a space where they cant actually get close to the barrier, or a four legged chair user for that matter! This was not going to be a comfortable experience.
We wheeled out and lady on the door asked us what the problem was. We told her that mum couldn’t see anything and she quickly called for assistance. We got whisked away and ushered into a box on the 1st floor where the view was ACE!
See!
Oh my GOD it was AMAZING. We were sitting near to the pit so i could see the orchestra clearly too. I cried. 3 times. The orchestra were just so massive, in sound I mean, it think the proper use of the word awesome would be appropriate here. The lady who played Madam Butterfly was incredible. She sang the highest note I’ve ever heard anyone sing in real life, ever. It was all a bit in-comprehensibly beautiful. I can’t describe it. Puccini is a genius and the production was gorgeous. Actually quite inspired by it. Go see it!
So, thumbs up all round really! RAH really turned it round. I thought I was going to be writing a blog to complain about the experience but actually they deserve praise and I would like to thank them for not making a fuss and sorting out the situation as quickly as possible. Other than the stupid people in the lift it was a very enjoyable day for both Mum and I.
Have you been to the Opera Ian?
Stac x