For anyone who wants to see a quick clip of ‘Sylvia’, have a look at the video below… More pictures underneath!
My one treat when in Argentina (like I could get you to believe that!) was to visit the world-renowned Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires. The blurb says it has the third-best acoustics of any performance space in the world. Then I read it was cheap to get a ticket. Yes, you can get a place to stand for around £5 at a performance. But I splashed out and got a seat on the third tier (around £20, so really quite a good deal).
I picked up the ticket a day or two in advance. It was pretty easy to find the ticket office, though no-one speaks English (yes, I know, my Spanish isn’t good enough, but still, if you get a lot of English-speaking tourists…).
Given I have NO ballet-suitable outfits, I fished out my cleanest shirt, and made the best of a bad job!
I needn’t have been concerned – there was a mix of all kinds of person and all kinds of outfit on the third tier! If you were in the posh seats, I think suits and pashminas were de rigueur!
The building was beautifully lit outside as everyone made their way in. The area around the theatre is pretty sketchy so I was glad when I saw lots of other ballet-goers.
I discovered this was the wrong entrance for us cheap seaters!
Soon, I made my way up to the gods! What a lovely view from up there!
It really is beautifully kept. The theatre, that is!
To be honest, I had not a single clue what the ballet Sylvia was about before I showed up. It was in three acts. I was going to try to explain all about the goddess of hunting, Diana and the gods choosing who falls in love and it’s all a punishment and yada. Wikipedia has an article if it’s your thing.
Suffice to say, there was a lot of leaping and both the men and women were wearing very little clothing.
The idyll was agrarian, lots of yellows and greens in the set design, some sheep and a wheelbarrow.
I’m really selling this, aren’t I? In fact, it was pretty marvellous. I saw something lauded at Sadler’s Wells last year and this was much better. The quality of dancing was outstanding and the orchestra were really, really superb.
Sylvia does have a famous hit, the section known as Pizzicati – and this can be found on a hundred ‘Best of Classical’ hit albums. Here it is on a random YouTube video!
In summary, if it Buenos Aires, go to the Theatre! Attending the ballet or the opera is CHEAPER than taking the guided tour of the theatre.
