The neighbours have been grumbling about the "long, cold winter" that we have been experiencing, but to Canadians it has been quite a good winter. We really have appreciated the snow that stayed on the ground for much of the time, as it helped liven up the very grey winter days that can drag one's spirits down so strongly. Maggie rather happily informed me that she was driving every day this week, so I would imagine there will be some convertible time in her future this week! March is usually a beautiful month here, and I anticipate that with a full week of warmth we will see flowering trees very shortly.
It has been a very busy time musically for me recently. I spent some time last week continuing to work on the Bach St. Matthew, but also to listen and sing through the Puccini Messa di Gloria which has its first rehearsal tomorrow evening. It's really very beautiful music but much easier to learn that these "peak" Bach recitatives and arias from the St. Matthew... Peter let me in on a secret; the tenor-baritone duet that completes the Mass was re-used by Puccini in its entirety in Manon Lescault. Recycling at its finest!
Saturday I went over to Matthias and Karin's place to help them hang lamps in the bathrooms, living room and hallway, and to help move some very heavy things upstairs in the attic. This is their first house purchase and the first move in at least ten years, so they still have lots of unpacking to do. It was nice to do some electrical work; it reminded me a little bit of my Bell Canada installer days, fifteen years ago now, and I was glad to give them a hand. In the evening I went to see the Brussels Choral Society present the Beethoven 3rd Symphony and the Mass in C in the BOZAR concert hall. I am happy to be singing the Duruflé Requiem with this group later on in June, but also was glad to get a feel for the "house" myself. I have two performances in the BOZAR this year: Carmina Burana in May and Don Giovanni in October, so I was listening to how the solo voices carry with great interest. I found the whole performance really very enjoyable with lots of clear and sensitive singing from the choir and the soloists, and I enjoyed the orchestra very much, conducted by Bartholomeus-Henri Van de Velde.
Sunday I went for the second fitting of the grey double-breasted waistcoat that Bert Menzel is making for me. He is a very talented artist and tailor, and is happy to collaborate with me on this design; at the moment we are examining button options; I have some vintage hexagonal blue mother-of-pearl ones but there are a little too big, and my round white mother-of-pearl ones are a little bright. I am currently on a quest for some smaller blue/white or blue/grey ones. It will likely be ready by the end of the month, and he is also making some small alterations to the tailcoat and the striped trousers. Pictures to follow I am sure! Here's Hugh Laurie (from Jeeves and Wooster) in a grey flannel one, with Stephen Fry.
But mine will likely end up a bit more like this one, except in dove grey instead of black:
Notice the white slip, which gives the impression of an added waistcoat underneath. In fact this is a removable strip that is buttoned to the inside of the waistcoat, but it pays homage to the restoration-era habit of wearing multiple waistcoats of contrasting colours.
After my fitting, I met with Peter, and as the générale for La Dispute (the new opera at La Monnaie) was delayed by an hour for some technical reasons, we decided to go do some coaching, and worked our way through the Puccini together, and sang a bit of Bach for fun, before heading back to the opera.
La Dispute is a remarkable work, with great singing, magical staging (as usual) from Karl-Ernst and Ursel Herrmann and a bang-up performance from the always excellent orchestra of La Monnaie under Patrick Davin's baton. Benoit Mernier has written a very challenging score; it's something that I need to hear more than once to really get my head around, but the colours he presents are really something to hear... it was nice to see many familiar faces from the La Monnaie planning team as well.
Speaking of planning, Maggie and I are doing some around our travel activities for the next few months. We are looking forward to the visit of my parents in about a month, and will most likely take advantage of their side trip with the children to take a little trip of our own, perhaps to Paris or maybe Champagne for a couple of nights. As well we have got out the atlas and are thinking about our route down to Croatia in July; we have an eastern and a western route to consider. The eastern one is slightly shorter, about 1700 kms, or 17 hours at a straight shot to Postira, but we plan to break that up into three sections, stopping perhaps in Frankfurt, Nurnberg or Munich, then in Austria, Trieste or upper Croatia... then again, we are planning to take this route back, and will spend some time with our friends the Kerchbaums in Graz, so the other option is to take the western route, which is only a few kilometers longer but passes through Switzerland en route to Milan, and then Venice and from there to Croatia. I should think that the roads through the mountains there are not terrible to drive in summer? Our friends Bryan and Kiana go frequently to Lugano, so as that is on this route, perhaps I will ask their advice. It's a nice problem to have!
Today I am going to continue my work with Bach and Puccini, and try to get outside for a long walk in the sunshine. I wish you a pleasant week!
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