6 mars 2011
When I woke up a little before 7 a.m., I decided to “study” by watching a movie that Mariette lent me: Albert est méchant, starring Christan Clavier and Michel Serrault. This movie is very silly, but the plot is intricate enough that I was glad to have the subtitles in English. I’d like to watch it again without the subtitles, now that I know the story, to see how much of the French I can understand.
Mass was as usual; Rosa and I met at 10 to walk over to Notre Dame. The organist there is quite fine. I recorded a little of his postlude with my camera for all my musical friends. Since Lent, Le Carême, begins this Wednesday, not only will Nice be quieter because Carnaval has ended, but I suspect the organist will select quieter music, too. I hope you enjoy it – there was quite a bit of chatter around me after Mass, but you can get a taste of this excellent musical treat. [The link to the recording and a few pictures of the day is at the end of the entry, below.]
After Mass we headed toward the old town to see if we could get tickets for the opera. Today the opera house was offering L’elisir d’amore by Donizetti. Since no door was open yet, we walked along the Marché aux Fleurs until we found a spot for lunch. It was a very busy day for this street. It is the last weekend of Carnaval. Just like the other tourists, we sat outside because the sun was shining brightly and it was a gently warmer day. We shared a salad, a plate of cheeses, and some regional red wine. Delightful.
About 2:00 we headed back down the street to the mid-19th century opera house. We were able to get tickets for 12 Euros. On the ticket it mentioned that there was no promise of a view of the stage, and it was open seating. The seats were benches without a place number. I saved two places for us near a pillar. Indeed, there was no view of the stage. This meant that I stood through most of the 2 ½ hour performance, but it did not matter. The four main singers were from Italy and it was glorious; the staging was delightful, too. The orchestra and chorus were those of the Nice Opera house - beautiful all around. What a treat!
Afterwards, Rosa and I stopped for a tiramisu and some coffee at our favorite Italian restaurant on Rue la France – the perfect end to a perfect day. Tomorrow school is in the morning, I think, so I will have to put in a little time to review tonight.
Have a great week, Dear Reader!
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