Daegu Opera House 2009 Brunch Opera series
La Rondine (Puccini), 23 November 2009, 11am

There are many ways to deal with Monday mornings. Personally, I usually sleep through them . One of the more unorthodox ways to start the week, however, has to be a trip to the Opera.

Daegu Opera House has for the last few months although I only discovered them recently, been running what they call ‘Brunch Opera’ – small-scale operas performed three times a month at 11am on Monday mornings. The cost is only 10 000 won (roughly R60) without brunch or 15 000 won (R90) with brunch included.

Monday’s opera was La Rondine. By strange coincidence, this is an opera I’ve seen before. In fact, I watched it at the Baxter and it was a UCT/Cape Town Opera performance so there was a lecture before the show, making this the opera that I know probably more about than any other, I was particularly pleased to be able to catch it.

Despite advanced recon to find the Opera House, I hadn’t figured out exactly where to buy tickets but they clearly cater for new-comers. Signs directed me to the ‘ticket-box’. I wasn’t at all sure how to ask for a ticket in Korean, so I smiled pathetically and held out my 10 000 won note. The ticket sales person obviously knew what I meant and, after checking that I wanted just one ticket, offered me a seat using her handy screen stuck up against the hatch, and handed me my ticket.

There is something magically wonderful about having a theatre ticket in your hand. It’s a world of possibility and wonder just waiting to become tangible. One of the favourite things for my mother and me at Fest is buy tickets for the main (and will-definitely-be-sold-out) shows as soon as we arrive and pick up all the ones we’ve pre-booked, so that we can enjoy the anticipation of those wonderful tickets in our hot little hands for days before we get to the performances. This is the first time I’ve been to the theatre in months and months and I’ve missed it a lot, so this ticket felt particularly good.

Another of the magical parts of going to a show is entering an auditorium where the orchestra is tuning up and the house lights are at mid-level and everything is plush and beautiful and luxurious, particularly if the theatre is mostly empty and you can take your time to wander down the aisles and search for your particular seat-number. I was sitting in B191. It appeared on the screen to be roughly in the middle, roughly half-way back. I didn’t realize when I bought it that I’d gotten one of the best seats in the house. Daegu Opera House has a round ground-level audience area, surrounded on three sides by balconies rising four levels to the ceiling. On the ground floor the main sections of seats (A and B) are divided into a large central block with two smaller blocks, one on each side. This extends back to an aisle area, behind which there are more seats (B to C) behind a wooden rail. The last two rows of seats in the front centre block are divided into groups of three, meaning far more space and seats that are easy to reach without having to climb over anyone. I was seated in one of these groups of three seats, right next to the middle gap, directly in line with the centre of the stage. Behind me was the open space of the aisle. The two seats next to me and the one in front of me were empty, so no noisy neighbours and no tall person obscuring my view.

The orchestra finished tuning up, the house lights went down and the opera began. The show as lovely. The good, clear of obviously well-trained voices of professionals rose and fell in the great acoustics of the venue. Costumes and acting were, for the most part, spot on. The set design was particularly interesting – using a minimal props, a screen portraying various images and three large rectangular frames (like oversized door frames) to create the impression of the different settings. Lighting design was very effective – from the imperceptible changes between spots to the fairy-lights on the large frames used to focus the attention on particular parts of the stage, to generate movement despite the small cast  and to create the sensation of distance as Magda walked away at the end of the final act. In terms of performances, it was great to see all the leads acting almost as well as they sang. The one exception was one of the male leads (Ruggero) whose acting was sometimes a little wooden. His voice, however, was so angelical that allowances must be made for any deficiencies in acting. The top performance was probably Magda but I was particularly delighted with the portrayal of her maid, Lisette, which was light and energetic and drew the audience into the story whole-heartedly. Another particularly great feature of this kind of operatic performance is that it’s so often the case, as here, that the performers are clearly having fun, which can make the difference between a good performance and one which truly delights. I do not, unfortunately, have an English cast list but I am on a mission to discover the names of the performers I particularly enjoyed so that I can make sure I see them again.

The Daegu Opera Festival Orchestra was also impressive. The conductor was great and their beautiful music lifted and at times even almost out-shined some of the solos. Timing and tone were excellent and the only possible criticism I could make – and only if I were really searching for something to criticise – would be that there was the distinctive sound of a bow clunking on the floor at one point during the second act.

It was a delightful hour and a half and a great way to start the week – all for only 10 000 won. This is unfortunately the last selection in the 2009 Brunch Opera series, but La Rondine will be performed twice more, on November 30th and December 7th. English speakers planning to attend should ensure that they are familiar with the story as the Opera is sung in Italian and the subtitles are in Korean. Judging by the crowd, advanced booking is probably not necessary, and I certainly didn’t have a problem but several sites recommend it if you would like to have the brunch meal with your Opera. For more information, check out the Daegu Opera House site for contact details. Bon Appetit!