Don Giovanni

Finally the next installment of the blog. Had some technical difficulties with what I originally planned so still none of the really big attractions yet. Went to Wimbledon for a day so that will be next.

A couple weeks ago I found myself at Covent Garden for a free outdoor simulcast of Don Giovanni performed by the Royal Opera Company. I got there early in order to explore the area and grab a piece of pavement. This is the piazza several hours before opera time.

Covent Garden is a great place to spend the day. There are shops and sidewalk vendors everywhere. I think you can buy any touristy item ever thought of here along with high quality merchandise as well. You can check out all there is to offer at the Covent Garden Life web site.

One of the best shops had to be this one.

Unfortunately I didn't get to talk to the owner but since I now know how to use the link feature here is the web site for Benjamin Pollocks Toy Shop. I'm pretty sure I am not related to the bloke but I'll let other Pollock's who have looked into the family history say for sure. I borrowed this next bit from the brief history on their web page so go there to read some more.

When Robert Louis Stevenson went to visit Webb, a rival of Pollock, he found him disagreeable and after an argument went down the road to Pollock's shop and was so delighted with him he immortalised him in an essay 'If you love art, folly or the bright eyes of children, speed to Pollock's'.

Apparently there is a Pollock Toy Museum as well. I might have to check it out. Anyway back to the blog. Lots of street performers doing you name it. There were jugglers, this guy just did knives, hello chainsaws a bit more exciting. I guess you can't see everything.

There was a guy stacking bricks impossibly high. He wobbled quite a bit and actually kept you watching just to see if he would miss the next. I never saw him miss. I guess he has had a bit of practice.

Another juggler, but this one on a unicycle. He was a good performer but seemed to ask for money more than the rest. This is what they have decided to do in life and they are professionals but to gripe that some people are only giving a pound rather than two or three pounds is a bit much. From what I saw in the hat it looked like he was doing quite well. So I didn't feel too bad just giving him a pound and free advertisement on my blog.

So I've always wondered about people who ride unicycles. Do they commute with those things. It seems like hills would be tough. Anyway parking is easy but riding home after a night at the pub seems a bit dangerous.

There were also classical music performers and a person or two singing. Each of the music performers were selling their own cd's for 10 pounds. The opera singer looked like he sold the most and he was quite good.

Finally it was getting close to opera time so I made my way back to the piazza to enjoy the opera. I got a good piece of pavement and settled in for the next three hours and enjoyed the opera. One thing that needs to be said about outdoor operas is that you can expect a few more interruptions than you would normally get if you were actually in the opera house. You normally expect a few coughs now and then and a sneeze or two. Outdoors you get a cacophony of noises from the surrounding restaurants and some traffic noise. But you also get the people that came just to talk to their friends and apparently annoy others around them. One person who is not in the picture below just had to try to talk through the whole performance. She was verbally berated about her voice by others at least twice (before I moved at intermission) and each time I heard her say to her friend how rude those people were, go figure. So my advice, definitely go to outdoor operas and other performances, have a picnic and just enjoy the experience. Taking all the above in to account, Don Giovanni is an opera that you have to see and hear. It was a brilliant performance and I would be the first in line to see it again inside or out.