Poulenc

I have decided that I don't much care for Poulenc as an opera composer. I saw La Voix Humaine last night and didn't enjoy it any more than I had the previous time that Opera North did it. I thought that this staging was better and I had no complaints about Lesley Garrett's performance although I believe that some reviews have been decidedly lukewarm. I think it's more about Poulenc's choice of subject. Even by the standards of the genre he seems to have a rather unhealthy obsession with women's death. Have you ever seen The Carmelites? Grim.

For younger readers, this is a telephone

Dido and Aeneas was much better. The staging carried through some visual themes from the Poulenc (mostly women in negligees, but also green dressing gowns and red dresses) but, let's face it, the music is better and you get the singing of the chorus. It seemed to me (and feel free to correct me if I've got it wrong) that the sorceress and the witches (augmented by some dancers) were meant to be Dido's own subconscious. Thankfully they kept largely out of the way while she lamented and it all ended badly as a good opera should.

Dido is seated on the left

There is a very slight wargaming connection today. Aeneas was fleeing the Trojan War and is referred to by the libretto as a sailor. I'm afraid that's it.