Impromptu guard

[The Tower of London looms over Jo Davies’s production © Tristram Kenton]

Quite by chance, I happened across a piece in the Financial Times on Friday evening a week ago about ENO losing its grant and their production of the G&S light opera 'The Yeomen of the Guard' - which I confused with 'Princess Ida' on account of this last including a song about guardsmen taking their helmets and cuirasses off on account of their being uncomfortable. The aria known as 'This helmet, I suppose'. But I was tempted, and G&S was very much part of BH's family background, particular the naval uncle and aunt, stalwart members of the (Gosport Amateur Operatic Society) for many years. Part to the extent of our having watched our DVD of 'Topsy Turvey' several times, perhaps even a number of times.

A production of the 'Yeomen' which did not run to many performances at all and which in any event was coming off the weekend just past. So, given that we don't do evenings any more, the matinée last Saturday was our last chance, possibly our last chance ever to see a full-on, professional production of a G&S light opera. Decent seats were a bit dear, but a half asleep BH gave it the nod, and fighting my way through the rather creaky ENO booking system, we were before close the proud possessors of two tickets in the middle of the dress circle for the following day.

Which disturbed the baking schedule, so the day started with a trip down to Waitrose to buy some white bread, possibly to accompany the sausage bought on the expedition noticed at reference 3, certainly to provide the foundation for some fried egg sandwiches. Brown bread doesn't cut it for these purposes. To find that the bakery section at Waitrose was badly infested with foreign, not to say sour-dough, bread, but I was able to buy a large white tin loaf. Not great, not as good, for example, as the white bloomers bought at the giant Tesco on the Isle of Wight in July, but adequate.

Bread dealt with, we were able to get a train to Waterloo, from where we strolled across to the Festival Hall to take our picnic, and to capture the piano noticed at reference 2. Passed on the street food market provided below. A bit cold apart from anything else.

Across the river, past the late lamented Terroirs and into ENO to take refreshment in the upstairs bar before taking our seats. A bit of a way from the stage but we had a clear view, I had my trusty monocular in lieu of opera glasses, and, as it turned out, the surtitles at the top of the arch worked really well from this angle. A quick flick of the eyes was enough, no need to crane up from a seat in the stalls. A great help to the older ear.

Very impressed by the width of the dress circle and the lack of much visible support for the upper circle. Presumably lots of cunning steel hidden away in the interior.

Auditorium pretty full, a lot of pensioners like ourselves, but plenty of people of working age and even some young people.

A simple but effective system involving biros and slips of paper for interval refreshments. But not so effective that they did not translate one and a half wines to two for no extra charge. A sentence with a triple negative but it seems alright!

A rather sentimental tale with one promising marriage at the end and a couple of make-do's. Not really my thing at all, but the blurb told us that Sullivan and others thought it one of his best from a musical point of view. Staging clever, with good use of a rotating stage. Some clever dance numbers and some clever foot work by the foot guards - that is to say the chaps with bearskins. Clapping at the end of each number which I am not used to and still find rather irritating. But, for once, I felt I saw the point of opera, even if it was not really my thing. Maybe ENO have a point and the accessibility of an English language performance more than makes up for what is lost in translation, at least for the casual customer. The show ended with a neat musical plea, along G&S lines, for ENO and its Arts Council grant.

[Scene from The Yeomen of the Guard D'Oyly Carte Opera Company 1906 Revival]

But I remembered the days in the last quarter of the nineteenth century, when G&S light opera was very much a business. A business which was conducted in a fairly tough-minded way and which sometimes made a great deal of money for the principals. No question of government handouts in those days. So why should there be handouts now? If there are enough people who still want this sort of thing, let them pay a fair price for it. In which connection, this very short run can't be a very paying proposition. Lots of capital outlay and a big cast for not very much income. Think Mikado with its 500 and more performances on its first London outing, never mind all the clones scattered around the globe.

Out onto a crowded St. Martin's Lane. Swarms of young people out for a big Saturday night. Swarms which carried on all the way down Villiers Street and over the bridge to the Festival Hall. Passed on the Retro Bar in St. George's Court, just cranking into action for the busy night to come. Almost a tourist attraction.

Settled on the Archduke for food, taking more or less the last table, in the front room, rather than in the more enclosed areas beyond. But keeping my jacket on, I was fine. A bread basket, then a carafe of Vinho Verde plus half a fried chicken for him, some species of salad for her. All very satisfactory, very reasonably priced. Service quick and efficient.

Stopover at Raynes Park where I acquired a recent number of 'Le Monde Diplomatique', already noticed at reference 6, and a not-so-recent number of 'Buses', a magazine that appeared to be aimed at both the bus spotter and the professional bus person. A much more interesting read than might at first appear: the people at reference 7, rather than the address given on the front of the magazine itself. A revenue conscious magazine, with a lot of the online content only being available to paying customers.

It seems that back in 2019, the then new edition of the Volvo 9700 bus was all the thing, being exhibited at NEC as part of that year's bus show. Clearly something to be looked out for when trolleys, pianos, fakes and Wellingtonias are all going through slow patches.

Lots more young people milling around Epsom Station when we arrived. But there were also some taxis so that was all right.

A good outing. Dear, but good.

PS: the fried egg sandwich on Sunday morning was spot on. The important thing being, in the absence of lard, to get the cooking oil good and hot before cracking the egg into it. While the future of white bread may be the sort of thing snapped above, a part baked baguette from Ocado, sold sealed but at room temperature. Pop it in the oven for 10 minutes and off you go. It was pretty good - although one does need to have a care for the fillings in one's teeth - so the next step is to investigate what Sainsbury's do in this department, which we are told is something like that offered at reference 9.

References

Reference 1: When opera lost its voice: With funding now completely cut, what is the future for the English National Opera? - Jan Dalley, Financial Times - 2022.

Reference 2: https://psmv5.blogspot.com/2022/11/piano-64.html.

Reference 3: https://psmv5.blogspot.com/2022/11/a-visit-to-tooting.html.

Reference 4: https://tristramkenton.com/. Responsible for the opening snap.

Reference 5: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Yeomen_of_the_Guard. Responsible for the tower snap.

Reference 6: https://psmv5.blogspot.com/2022/11/a-view-from-across-water.html.

Reference 7: https://www.keybuses.com/.

Reference 8: Gosport Amateur Operatic Society (Through the eyes of William Delicate) or (A lifetime devotion) - William Delicate - circa 2006. The society ran for 47 years from 1959 to 2006. Mostly, but by no means exclusively, Gilbert and Sullivan. I believe copyright was an issue for societies such as these, with what were for them substantial fees being payable.

Reference 9: https://www.menissez.fr/en/produit/baguette-nature-precuite-four-a-pierre/. Bread part-baked in a stone oven and packaged in a protective atmosphere. One wonders what exactly 'stone oven' is a euphemism for. An electric oven which has been lined with ceramic tiles? And what about 'protective'?