# Brussels and Amsterdam (April 2015)



## Don Fatale (Aug 31, 2009)

I hate air travel. The average National Express bus depot has as much glamour (and they don't weigh your bags or grope you at security). So in a year when I'm travelling back and forth from Scotland to Malta, there is one thing that can make the experience of air travel tolerable... the chance to put some opera trips into the itinerary.

And so to this particular trip: Malta - Brussels - Amsterdam - Inverness, with operas to see at the middle two of these. The journey from Malta to Brussels was a 'holy grail' afternoon flight. Plenty of time to get to my hotel from the airport, a simple train connection to Brussels Central. Weekends give plenty of options for budget priced hotels in Brussels, particularly so on Easter weekend, when the Eurocrats have long since vacated. I'm soon settled into my _boutique_ (that word is overused!) hotel, two minutes walk to Grand Place/Grote Markt in one direction and La Monnaie opera house in the other. The famous Delirium bar (1000's of beers) was even closer!

I should clarify that my Brussels stay is the warm-up for the main event the following night in Amsterdam. It's my first time here and hence my first time at La Monnaie. The timing has left me with the world premiere of a new opera by Pascal Dusapin called _Penthesilia_. (You may recall that she features in Homer's story of the seige of Troy).

I'm early into the house and can't yet take my seat. I ask the attendant for directions to the bar for a coffee and am told there's only a champagne bar. I wander the building (which is clearly overdue a refurb). To my surprise I come across a room full of _young people_. Yes, in an opera house! I enter the elegant room quietly through a side door and try to blend in. A member of the production team is giving an introductory talk for the opera, specifically aimed at these young people who are no doubt paying considerably less for their seats than I am.

The man, speaking in English to the young Belgian audience, gives them an overview of the opera. Oh man, the look on these young faces as they heard a recorded sample of high pitched squawking they were about to experience! Each seemed to look to their neighbour/friend as if to say 'this is going to be the longest evening of our lives'. Unforgettable 

And so to the opera. Written by a Frenchman, but performed in German. Surtitles are offered in French and Dutch. I opted for the French, which I seem to understand more by osmosis than study. It's modern, it's a tragedy, it's all over in 90 minutes. I kind of like it. (Later I learn the reviews are favourable).

Afterwards I wander around Brussels, grab a beer and head back to the hotel. I feel I've done Brussels.

The following morning I have some time to kill so I wander the streets in the vain hope of coming across a chocolate shop(that's irony!) then head to the train station for the 1h 50m train journey to Amsterdam. I'm sure our non-European members already know there are no border controls between most European countries. Indeed I don't even encounter a gate or ticket collection.

A brisk walk from Amsterdam Centraal station takes me to the _Stopera_. Amsterdammers seem inordinately proud of their portmanteau word used for their combined city hall and opera complex, stadhuis/opera. In the lobby, waiting anxiously (not really!) were Sospiro and Dongiovanni. We go to a bar, we talk, we drink, we eat _bitterballs_, we go to to our respective hotels. Half hour later we meet again and go for dinner. I realise there are two people possibly more obsessed by opera than I am. (Wait til I tell the folks back home!)

It's time for Verdi's Macbeth, one of Sospiro's favourites, to the extent that she's sticking around for further performances. This is the premier of a new production. Who needs castles and tartan when you can set it in some kind of South American dictatorship! The director is roundly booed during the curtain calls.

Afterwards we enjoy a relaxed drink and chat over the opera and other stuff, glad that we all have accommodation nearby.

In the morning we meet again. Alas, I'm heading home, leaving Sospiro and Dongiovanni to enjoy the Matthew Passion at the Concertgebouw.


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## sospiro (Apr 3, 2010)

Great write up! Hope we can meet up again soon!


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