I got back home tonight from Auckland where I spent the last couple of days.
We went to see NZ Opera's production of Donizetti's The Elixir of Love on Saturday.
This was superb - great fun. I don't have any clips from the actual opera (bel canto comedy) but here's Darren Pati singing it in 2015. This guy is good. I believe that yesterday he improved on this.
The production was superb being an Australian one from the nineties with the setting being outback Australia at the outbreak of WW1. There were lots of clever scenery creations depicting the setting and the choreography of the supporting cast of farmers, farm girls and in particular the troopers was superb.
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We pondered why the opera was at 5PM and then Lynn asked if there was a major rugby game on in Auckland yesterday as the apartment building we bought the new apartment in doubles as a hotel and she'd seen lots of guests arriving dressed for a sports event.
I said "yeah - All Blacks vs France at Eden Park" secretly wondering where I'd rather be - Eden Park or Aotea Centre when Lynn said "do you know that we get free Sky Sports in the apartment".
You beauty" I screamed said as we dashed out of the apartment to go down Wakefield Street to the Aotea Centre.
We had planned to go to a restaurant afterwards but with the promise of test rugby on TV we stocked up on Burger Fuel burgers and chips and ate with a bottle of pinot noir while watching the game. Magic.
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| This young guy is a star |
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For Sunday we'd booked for a tour of The Civic Theatre which we went to at 9.30.
The Civic (corner of Queen Street and Wellesley Street) built in 1929 is an Auckland institution that miraculously survived destruction at the hands of those greedy fucking 'entrepreneurs' of the 1980s who knocked down some of Auckland and Wellington's nicest buildings, some of whom were imprisoned (and too many more of the cunts went on to become billionaires).
This is a wonderful building that lifts the spirits of residents and visitors and was supported by Auckland Council to the tune of about 50 million when renovated 18 years ago.
Well today we went on the tour and saw this building from top to bottom with a great tour guide who recounted its history. We've been to many shows, concerts and films there over the years but seeing it from different perspectives ( back of stage, roof, basement, secret rooms, green room, dressing rooms etc was marvellous. We learnt about its construction and wartime popularity (Freda Stark's naked performances) and got close up with the great plaster features like the elephants, sultans and especially the panthers. The tour was supposed to be for an hour but as we and some of the other 'tourists' showed interest and asked the right questions we got a couple of hours of fascinating history and anecdotes.
This is a wonderful building that lifts the spirits of residents and visitors and was supported by Auckland Council to the tune of about 50 million when renovated 18 years ago.
Well today we went on the tour and saw this building from top to bottom with a great tour guide who recounted its history. We've been to many shows, concerts and films there over the years but seeing it from different perspectives ( back of stage, roof, basement, secret rooms, green room, dressing rooms etc was marvellous. We learnt about its construction and wartime popularity (Freda Stark's naked performances) and got close up with the great plaster features like the elephants, sultans and especially the panthers. The tour was supposed to be for an hour but as we and some of the other 'tourists' showed interest and asked the right questions we got a couple of hours of fascinating history and anecdotes.
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| The Old Girl with one of the Civic's panthers. |
10 comments:
Good post.
It was a good match to watch.
Personally, I would rather have root canal without the benefit of anesthetic than sit through another bloody opera. Little bits of nice music surrounded by boredom.
Hey, I love that aria! The rugby was good too.
New post time.
I've been working out my tax.
Oh, and playing tennis and chopping up firewood (not the racket).
Yes, and I'm the pope.
Racquet
So if you're the pope maybe you can find out where that Brother Benedict bastard is?
Was Brother Benedict a special friend?
Well, only if a bit of intimacy makes you a friend. Brother Benedict once went to the doctor because he had a bird cage caught on his hand. The doctor looked and said, "Ah, yes, there's been a cockatoo in there."
This blog is overdue for an update.
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