la Boheme/Glyndebourne

When I donned my Glyndebourne klobber of white tuxedo, I felt an immediate resentment towards dress code.

It’s okay for the ladies who can wear an airy sleeveless dress but gentlemen’s formal wear is not designed for temperatures in the late 20s.

Added to this I arrived so early that Glyndebourne was not yet open, necessitating much hanging around.

It is nonetheless a beautiful setting and perfect weather to picnic by the lake around which I strolled

I generally eat in the Long Interval in one of the restaurants.

La Boheme, composed by Giacomo Puccini in the mid-19th century, is an opera in 4 acts, the first and last in the student’s garret, the second in the cafe Momus and the third in the Rue d’Enfer (street of hell).

This production was set in entirely in the Rue d’Enfer of high bleak walls and grey cobbled stones. It might have worked for the Prisoner’s chorus in Fidelio but not La Boheme.

The air of gloom was compounded by all the cast being all dressed in grey and one new cast member, The Angel ofDeath

La Boheme is a sad opera about young fated love but not necessarily a depressing one.

The love duets between Mini (the Chilean soprano Yaritza Veliz) and Rodolfo (South Korean Long Long) are exquisite and set in Paris there should be a certain gaiety. The production lacked this.

We know from the start that the consumptive heroine Mimi will not survive and death is near but it need not be as downbeat as this.

We Rusters do not seem to have much luck with our hospitality.

Nether Wallop restaurant used to serve a perfectly satisfactory carvery.

Now you sit on the long refectory tables.  There was an opening starter of sourdough bread, heritage tomato salad, pea and sesame dip and a tiny cup of chilled courgette soup.

This was all a bit of a mush and the lamb shoulder which followed was overcooked. I was not the only one to complain.

So, all in all, not an enjoyable evening and a costly one too.

With the ticket, chauffeured limo, dinner and programme I did not have much change from £500. Country house opera is getting more competitive with more players like Garsington, The Grange, Holland Park and a feature of the English summer.

The Glyndebourne crowd is elderly and they need to attract a younger audience which might be be put off by its formality and cost.