I take a breath of air

I have just come back from a short but restful stay in the Alentejo region of Portugal. It was citrus flowering season. Everywhere I went, I could smell the lovely scent of citrus blossoms.

In the morning wafting up from the cloister of Evora cathedral

In the afternoon along the streets of Vila Viçosa

At night flowing down from over the walls hiding inner courtyards

Staying at the wonderful Convento do Espinheiro Hotel outside of Evora, lemons, sweet and bitter oranges were hanging from their trees in the courtyard. With the authorisation of the staff, I picked some fruits to bring back home. I now have my own citrus marmelade to remember the scent of Portuguese orange blossoms.


Orange trees
Marina, Love + Fear, Atlantic records

J'aurais voulu être un chanteur !

The last time I was involved in a very large production in 2012, I was overwhelmed by the 2000-strong teenage crowd rising to their feet and giving us a long standing ovation in the Parisian Théâtre du Chatelet.

This year I sang in front of an even larger crowd in the Pau Zenith arena for a public dress rehearsal followed by three shows for the New Year's concert of the Orchestre de Pau Pays de Béarn and its choir.

The repertoire was mainly classical: Wagner, Verdi, Tchaïkovski, Brahms, Dvorak. However, the atmosphere felt more like that of a rock concert with artificial carbon mist, traveling colourful lights and more than 3 000 people in the audience nearly filling up the large arena hall. The organisers counted that close to 12 000 people came to listen to us over the three shows and dress rehearsal.

The one migiving I have from this project was that the sound return for the choir from the microphones did not provide a good idea of the whole sound given by the orchestra and choir. I sometimes felt that I was singing only with my close neighbours and just the strings, brass and percussions. Nevertheless, the crowd must have had a better overall sound because everybody I met afterwards was delighted.

Le blues du businessman
Michel Berger and Luc Plamondon, Starmania, La Gagneraie

A small house and an olive tree

I have spent my last two holidays in Mediterranean countries. I opted for short stints to get a quick feel of these places and their cuisine: just enough to want to return in future.

In September I visited my friend Simon Bordenave in Rome and we both went for a few days in Tuscany. We drove through the hilly landscape between the vine and olive groves and sampled delicious local food. I carried on with a few days to visit Florence and its cultural highlights. I was overwhelmed by the crowds in the city, preferring the quiet country lanes at sunrise for a morning jog.

In October I flew further South to Crete. My goal was to wander through the mountains on this long narrow island although I stopped at Knossos to visit the remains and frescoes of this Minoan palace. The food was simple but delicious. The vistas in the Amari valley were stunning. The warm Mediterranean sea being only one hour's drive away from the island's central mountain range, I managed to take a dip every day.

Green fields, golden sands
An other cup, Yusuf, Cat-O-Log Records

Gloire au berger !

I am spending my Summer holiday with my parents in their country house. It is quiet and I can rest all day. I need the rest because my evenings are exhausting.

I have planned this holiday together with my participation in the production of La Belle Hélène, an operetta by Jacques Offenbach with Opéra des Landes. We are on stage for five evenings and one matinée over a period of 11 days. All is going fine up to now: we have had good reviews from the critics; the audience is enjoying the show; and so are we in the cast.

The first act of the opera centres around the figure of a mysterious and intelligent shepherd. Everybody becomes quite obsessed with him...

Meanwhile in the real world, French shepherds are having a hot summer with difficulty in finding fodder for their flock. In the Southwest of France, it is feria time with traditional brass bands and dancing groups parading around towns.

Having been to the fêtes de la Madeleine in Mont-de-Marsan one day this week while being on stage in the evenings, I can compare the organised chaos of our opera's staging and the chaotic organisation of our local brass bands. Both lead to much amusement!

La Belle Hélène
Jacques Offenbach, Les musiciens du Louvre-Grenoble, Marc Minkowski, Parlophone

Opéra des Landes Belle Hélène photo: Max Loubère

Miya sama, miya sama On n'm-ma no mayé ni

Here are notes - in the form of haikus - from my recent short visit to Japan.

Tokyo



Ever-disciplined crowds everywhere,
No rubbish bins, yet, a spotless city.
I caught up with a post-grad classmate established here.





Family reunion, Matsumoto



Steam twirling above the open-air hot pool
Grassy smell of the bedroom straw tatami
We enjoyed exquisite meals at Kai.






JR trains

The stops are always "brief" along the JR network
But crowds move on and off without delaying trains.
Sadly, there is no hot tea on the snacks trolley.


Kyoto 

I have enjoyed strolling, shopping, eating, even running in Kyoto's avenues and alleys
The handicraft is rich; the cultural sites breathtaking...
Pity the crowds!





Miya sama
W. Gilbert and A. Sullivan, The Mikado, Orchestra and chorus of the Welsh national opera, Sir C. MacKerras, Telard

Skies are blue

I have been on holiday to Yorkshire during holy week. I had gone prepared for spring weather in the North of England: cold showers. My corduroy trousers, wool pullover and duffelcoat came in handy for the first two days in the Southeast with temperatures below 7°C and hail in the morning.

However, to my delighted surprise, as I drove up North, the weather became warmer and warmer and the skies bluer and bluer. On Good Friday the title page of the Yorkshire Evening Post stated that temperatures in Leeds were warmer than in Athens! My heavy corduroy trousers were no longer adapted to temperatures above 20°C so I had to buy a pair of bermuda shorts.

I was also very lucky in crossing the paths of Graham Taylor and Dan Golden, musical friends whom I had first met 15 years ago in Bangkok and who were also holidaying in the UK from Tenerife and Bangkok respectively. We enjoyed good food and choral music together. Indeed, holy week was the right time to visit the UK to listen to religious choral music as all the cathedral choirs were involved in sung services throughout the Easter period. I got to hear the excellent choirs of Saint Paul's cathedral in London and York Minster. David Hope, another old friend from Ho Chi Minh City invited me to a Bach Saint John's Passion in English sung by musical friends of his in Leeds Minster.

My three quintessentially British highlights from this trip:

1) Hours of trekking among the sheep, hand-made stone walls and under the limitless blue sky of the Yorkshire dales.

2) A sunny day out on the roads of Northeast Yorkshire in David Hope's open-roofed car.

3) Afternoon tea with sandwiches, scones and cakes at Betty's. I visited their outlets in Harrogate, York and Ilkley over three days to try out several savoury and sweet delicacies together with their delicate tea blends.

Over the rainbow
Judy Garland, Naxos

E all' usanza teatrale, un' azion matrimoniale

Five years after my last staged production in 2013, I am delighted to have been able to take part in an opera production this past week. I joined the small choral ensemble for Mozart's Mariage of Figaro in a production of Opéra des Landes in the small coastal village of Soustons. It is not too far away from my parents' house so I took a week off work to rest during the day and sing every night for the festival.

We were sold out every night! The soloists were very good singing their solos and all manners of ensemble. They were particularly clever playing their part in the dynamic staging for this complicated story where everybody seems to be seducing one another. The original late 18th century plot was reset by the director as a Spanish 80s sitcom. The choir only had around seven minutes of stage time but it was still worth it to be able to listen to Mozart's wonderful music five nights in a row...

To compensate for the limited choir presence in the opera, the festival director also programmed a performance of Haydn's Creation with two combined choirs of 70 performers. All the artists including the orchestra and conductor wore white as the oratorio is sung by angels and archangels.

There were some real magical musical moments this past week in Soustons. However, I would like to highlight an instant of visual magic. When the choir was taking photos in our changing room, the second violin of the instrumental ensemble struck an impromptu pose as he passed by. The result: a photo I would call Nozze chorus with Rembrandt portrait.

Photo: Elina

Le nozze de Figaro
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Teodor Currentzis & Musicaeterna, Sony Classical