The Royal Opera House, Covent Garden.

I have been lucky enough to attend four performances at The Royal Opera House, Covent Garden over the past few years. Today I was fortunate enough to see one of my favourite operas, La Boheme by Puccini. There really is nothing that can beat listening to a full orchestra, it really is amazing and these days, this is rare, especially in theatre. Most of the music these days is created by a small team in most theatres, but not at The Royal Opera House, it has the full blown orchestra.

La Boheme by Puccini is one of the most popular operas and that was evident this afternoon as the house was full. The performance started at 12.30pm and you may think that it would be full of the stereotypical opera goers and I thought that too. However, this afternoon there was a complete cross section of society and the dress code was everything from the twin set and pearls to jeans. I was in the jeans group! And also all age groups too, so is opera still elitist? I would say not, perhaps the ticket price for the top seats may prohibit some people, but you can get tickets starting at very low prices.

One thing you will notice at The Royal Opera House is that the performers do not use microphones. They project their voices to completely fill the auditorium and that is truly amazing. The performers are true artists who continue to improve throughout their careers.

Photographs taken by me this afternoon.

 

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Tiara's

Tiara's are worn by most royal ladies for official State functions, here are a few and their owners.

HM The Queen of Norway.

HM The Queen of Sweden.

HM The Queen of Denmark.

TM The Queen of the Netherlands and The Queen of Spain.

 

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HRH The Duchess of Cornwall

Since becoming the wife of HRH The Prince of Wales, the Duchess of Cornwall has become a major figure within the Royal Family. HRH has undertaken many engagements, both with her husband and also alone. Many charities have asked HRH to be their patron and has proved herself a tireless champion for any causes.

As wife to the Heir to the Throne, HRH has to attend many State functions and when she does so, she has access to one of the most magnificent jewel collections in the World.

The Duchess wears some of the jewels previously worn by Her Late Majesty Queen Elizabeth and they look as magnificent on the Duchess as they did on the late Queen.

Apart from the diamond jewellery worn by the Duchess, HRH is also wearing The Queen's Family Order, this is in the gift of The Queen and only given to the ladies of the Royal Family. Each monarch has their own Family Order and The Queen normally wears her Fathers Order and her Grandfathers Order. In time, HRH will also wear the Order of her husband when he becomes King.

The above tiara worn by HRH had not been seen or used for many years until loaned to the Duchess by The Queen. It is now worn on many occasions and was first worn by the person who commissioned it for the Delhi Durbar in 1911, Queen Mary.

HRH The Duchess of Cornwall has shown that she will be an asset not only to the Royal Family, but also the country when she eventually becomes Queen.

 

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A Good Day to Die Hard

Last night, in an almost empty cinema, I watched the latest Bruce Willis movie, Good Day to Die Hard. It was full of action from start to finish and the time just disappeared. It was pure escapism and if you like this genre of film, then it is well worth watching.

Some of the action was amazing and you are left wondering how on earth they managed to achieve it.

There is also a story as this is the fifth movie in this series and if you enjoyed the previous four, you will enjoy this one too. It was slightly Bourne in the action and that made it very watchable indeed.

So if you get chance and want an entertaining evening, go and see this film.

 

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HRH Princess Mary Adelaide of Cambridge

Many think that Queen Mary was German, but nothing could be further from the truth. Admittedly her father was German, having been born as HSH Prince Francis of Teck, but her mother was HRH Princess Mary Adelaide of Cambridge as as such, she was first cousin to Queen Victoria. The Princess was a very colourful character and at times was far more popular that the Queen herself.

The Princess had a relaxed approach with her children, three sons and one daughter. Se was the dominant force in her marriage, her husband being very bothered by his status, an HSH being ranked much lower than HRH. The Princess was something of a spendthrift and so the family ended up spending time abroad to escape from their creditors. The Princess's mother, The Dowager Duchess of Cambridge would normally bal out the family, so they could return. This never stopped the Princess from slipping back into her old ways though.

With her ample figure, the Princess always looked impressive in wonderful gowns and jewels, however being the poor relations, in royal terms, the children felt insecure. It was the Princess's wish was for spectacular marriages for her children. Her eldest son married the daughter of the first Duke of Westminster, her second son married HRH Princess Alice of Albany, a cousin, her third son died unmarried.

It was the Princess's daughter that made the most spectacular marriage of all, in 1893, Princess Victoria Mary became HRH The Duchess of York, the fourth lady in the land. Princess Mary Adelaide was beside herself with pride and it was also a good excuse to run up further bills!

The Princess lived long enough to see her daughters children born, Prince Edward and Prince Albert, both destined to become Kings.

 

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Dear World by Jerry Herman

I was in for a treat over the weekend, I saw a musical that has not played to an audience since its first opening on Broadway in 1969. The show was Dear World by Jerry Herman and this London premier starredBroadway legend Betty Buckley. Miss Buckley gave a superb performance as Countess Aurelia and every time she was on stage, you were transfixed.

This show is only on until the end of March and is at the Charing Cross Theatre and this venue is superb for this wonderful show, intimate and you feel as if you are part of everything that is going on. The show takes a while to get into in, but the songs are wonderful and it was great to see them in context after listening to the album for many years.

One of the highlights for me during the show was the Tea Party sequence, where Countess Aurelia and her friends Constance and Gabrielle discuss what they are going to do about the impending situation with the Presidents. It really is a masterpiece and I was totally engrossed.

If you get chance to see this gem of a show, get tickets now, the venue is great, unusual and quirky and perfect for this show. You won't be disappointed and you may never get the chance to see this show again.

 

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Carol Channing by Hirschfeld

Carol Channing was drawn by Al Hirschfeld many times and his portraits captured the energy of Miss Channing.

 

 

Hirschfeld incorporated the name of his daughter, Nina into many of his portraits and drawings. The name is always disguised in the folds of the clothes or in the hair, it is great to discover how many you can find.

This is the man himself, he lived in the Upper East Side of Manhattan and I have been past his home many times. The house has now been sold and is currently undergoing a renovation.

A great photo of Miss Channing signing Hirschfeld lithographs, two of which hang in my home.

 

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