Il Trovatore

Last night we saw Il Trovatore. Babies on fires, inappropriate nudity, and everyone dies at the end - that's what an opera should be like. Lots of threatening to kill people, at least one poisoning, pop-up nuns hiding in a slowly advancing wall, hatred and jealousy simmering for two decades between two people who turn out to be brothers, lust, abuse of power, revenge, insanity. The Anvil Chorus was a cracker too. The singers and orchestra were, if anything, tighter and more polished than the previous evening. If only I hadn't been so tired, it would have been a really incredible evening - as it was it was still pretty special. I think we got the two operas the wrong way round, on reflection, but I definitely don't regret seeing either.

Sydney Opera House is, unsurprisingly, a fantastic place to see fantastic opera, as well as all the other excellent shows I've been fortunate enough to see.