Planes Busses and Opera
Planes, busses, and opera Well, I’ve just landed at Bilbao Airport. I’m having a bit of a headache, probably caused by sleep deprivation or caffeine withdrawal. So ordering a double expresso seemed to be the obvious solution. Little did I know that I would be greeted with an overpriced coffee soup worthy to be served at Central Perk. To reach my final destination, Zarautz, I’m taking a bus that leaves in 30 minutes. So, I have some time to spear. And nothing better to do than to break the configuration of the URxvt terminal emulator on my netbook. I said to myself: the font is not big enough, let’s fix that! And now it is not running anymore. As they say, a problem for the future me. This PC is not my daily driver. I bought it years ago when I was at university. It has served me well with its top-tier specs including a whopping 2Gb of ram. So TLDR, I’m typing on my phone. This will be a fun one to spellcheck.
The bus trip should last no more than an hour. I’m tired but the caffeine, or at least the placebo effect, is starting to kick in. It’s a cloudy day in Bilbao. A thick fog covers pretty much everything. I’m listening to my opera and classical music playlist. I often find myself enjoying my favorite operas in times of solitude. It’s weird but it fills my heart with joy.
I’m a fan of the genre. In 2019, my best friend found out that our local opera house, el Gran Teatre del Liceu, offered discounts for those of us under 35 years old. Two weeks before the premiere, all the unsold tickets are offered for just 30€. And that’s not all, guess what kind of tickets are usually left unsold: the most expensive ones. So we always find ourselves in the most luxurious boxes or on the main floor. We have kept this tradition ever since, only to be broken by covid. Every month there is a new opera to enjoy. The list of shows I’ve seen so far goes, in strict chronological order:
- La Traviata
- Turandot
- Doña Francisquita
- Cavalleria Rusticana / Pagliacci
- Aida
- Ariadne Auf Naxos
- Rigoletto
- Píkovaia dama
- Pelleas et Melisandre
- Le Nozze de Figaró
- Don Giovanni
- Cosi fan Tutte (I’ll go next week)
I’m planning on writing a review for each one and to extract a ranking out of it. I’m not an expert by any means, I just want to share my experience. Also, I’m interested to dive deeper into this world and expanding my knowledge.
One other thing I want to point out about going to the opera is the difficulties to find someone to go with. As I said, I usually go with a friend of mine. But he does not live in Barcelona so logistics get difficult from time to time. Because of that, I sometimes end up having to go alone. At first, I did not like the idea. I don’t usually enjoy being around crowds alone. But as I faced the “challenge” more and more, I found that you can be your best company. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I love going with my friend, but going alone it’s a different experience. It lets you be more present and with yourself. I don’t know, classical music affects my mood. It relaxes me, makes me shift down gears, and makes me more present.
Well, it seems that I have derailed enough for today. I don’t know how, when, and if I’m going to publish the whole thing or not. We’ll see. Have a wonderful Easter holiday and enjoy the well-deserved (or not) vacations.
