A Night at the Opera....The Marriage of Figaro
Our class is in the afternoon today, so we slept in a little before we took off to see the Duomo. The Art and Architecture group has already visited under the tutelage of Emma but we take off and manage to buy our tickets and then with the help of a charming young museum assistant time stamp them so that we don't have to queue to enter. Additionally, we hired our own guide to shepherd us through. By the way, the restrooms in the ticket center were well worth 1Euro!
I know there is so much hype about the Duomo of Firenze but I don't think it can compare with Siena.
The inside is far plainer and darker. I know this is blasphemy, enough to get me banned from every having a Bistecca Fiorentina but that's how I see it.
Our guide was knowledgeable and I enjoyed her commentary. I will say that the interior of the dome, the Last Judgement, is magnificent. The summer solstice is coming up and on that day a beam of sunlight will pierce a skylight and illuminate the floor.
We also toured the basement, home of a previous church, the Reparata, with all the interesting archeological details unearthed. We grabbed a tiny lunch and then headed to school. We climb this lovely staircase every day.
Today's practical lession will be about shopping for clothes so we learn all the different fabrics, colors, sizes and how to handle the saleslady, pay et.cetera. The lone guy in my class is none too interested in this exercise. Back at the convent, we decide to skip dinner and join a group of our fellow travelers on the patio for drinks and nibbles.
We have time to change and then it is time to hail a taxi and head to the opera. Italian taxis are a breed apart. Reception calls them, tells us the taxi will arrive in two minutes and its name is Napoli Four...and in two minutes it is there. Unbelievable!
We are headed to the English Church of Saint Mark on the other side of the Arno for what will be a very enjoyable evening. We are going with two others from our group. The church is small and less than 100 chairs are arranged in a semi circle in the main part of the sanctuary. The set is simple...potted plants, a couple of chairs and a desk. A small paper printed in cursive with Susanna (also our heroine) lies across my seat.
The narrator comes out and describes the first act in a very charming way, the accompaniest plays the overture on the piano and the opera begins. The singers are all quite good. Their strong voices fill the hall without mikes. For each act, the narrator returns with his commentary, adjusts a prop or two and on we go. There are four acts with a Prosecco filled intermission.
When all is over, they call our taxi and in seven minutes Como Five pulls up and we are off. While certainly not the scope of a theater production, it was opera in your living room with the players ten feet away!
Our class is in the afternoon today, so we slept in a little before we took off to see the Duomo. The Art and Architecture group has already visited under the tutelage of Emma but we take off and manage to buy our tickets and then with the help of a charming young museum assistant time stamp them so that we don't have to queue to enter. Additionally, we hired our own guide to shepherd us through. By the way, the restrooms in the ticket center were well worth 1Euro!
I know there is so much hype about the Duomo of Firenze but I don't think it can compare with Siena.
The inside is far plainer and darker. I know this is blasphemy, enough to get me banned from every having a Bistecca Fiorentina but that's how I see it.
Our guide was knowledgeable and I enjoyed her commentary. I will say that the interior of the dome, the Last Judgement, is magnificent. The summer solstice is coming up and on that day a beam of sunlight will pierce a skylight and illuminate the floor.
We also toured the basement, home of a previous church, the Reparata, with all the interesting archeological details unearthed. We grabbed a tiny lunch and then headed to school. We climb this lovely staircase every day.
Today's practical lession will be about shopping for clothes so we learn all the different fabrics, colors, sizes and how to handle the saleslady, pay et.cetera. The lone guy in my class is none too interested in this exercise. Back at the convent, we decide to skip dinner and join a group of our fellow travelers on the patio for drinks and nibbles.
We have time to change and then it is time to hail a taxi and head to the opera. Italian taxis are a breed apart. Reception calls them, tells us the taxi will arrive in two minutes and its name is Napoli Four...and in two minutes it is there. Unbelievable!
We are headed to the English Church of Saint Mark on the other side of the Arno for what will be a very enjoyable evening. We are going with two others from our group. The church is small and less than 100 chairs are arranged in a semi circle in the main part of the sanctuary. The set is simple...potted plants, a couple of chairs and a desk. A small paper printed in cursive with Susanna (also our heroine) lies across my seat.
The narrator comes out and describes the first act in a very charming way, the accompaniest plays the overture on the piano and the opera begins. The singers are all quite good. Their strong voices fill the hall without mikes. For each act, the narrator returns with his commentary, adjusts a prop or two and on we go. There are four acts with a Prosecco filled intermission.
When all is over, they call our taxi and in seven minutes Como Five pulls up and we are off. While certainly not the scope of a theater production, it was opera in your living room with the players ten feet away!
I remember that place when visiting Florence. Ceilings were so tall it was cold in there even though very hot outside.
ReplyDeleteI remember that place when visiting Florence. Ceilings were so tall it was cold in there even though very hot outside.
ReplyDeleteI have had eggs Florentine once.
ReplyDelete